Deck 8: Public Administration: Budgeting and Service Delivery

Question 1

Which of the following factors contributed to the increased use of the merit system in government hiring?

A) the loss of political power by Americans of Catholic faith and Irish, Italian, and Polish descent and the rise in power of Anglo-Saxon Protestants
B) public outrage at the poor state of urban working and living conditions, and the desire to create a government that would improve these conditions
C) the loss of power by Anglo-Saxon Protestants and the rise in power of "new" Americans of Catholic faith and Irish, Italian, and Polish descent
D) the loss of power by Anglo-Saxon Protestants and the rise in power of African Americans

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The text identifies five stages of the budget cycle. What are those five stages?

A) preparation, formulation, adoption, execution, and audit
B) management, purchasing, lobbying, execution, and audit
C) lobbying, preparation, purchasing, adoption, and audit
D) preparation, formulation, lobbying, adoption, and execution

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The special funding procedure for one-time, nonrecurring expenditures, such as purchasing university buildings, rapid transit systems, and bridges, is called

A) an incremental budget.
B) a capital budget.
C) a line-item budget.
D) a performance budget.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If a state employee performs his or her work in a way that is motivated primarily by political considerations, is unqualified for the position, and thus tends to perform poorly in that position, this employee is not adhering to the concept of

A) neutral competence.
B) patronage.
C) performance evaluation.
D) representative bureaucracy.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an assumption that underlies the concept of representative bureaucracy?

A) Bureaucrats have discretion.
B) A workforce representative of the values, points of view, and interests of the people it governs will be responsive to their special problems and concerns.
C) Bureaucrats have limited power, given the hierarchical nature of administrative agencies, which constrains their behavior.
D) A representative bureaucracy provides strong symbolic evidence of a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Question 6

Twenty-four states, including Montana, Indiana, and Kentucky, have _______ budget cycles.

A) annual
B) triennial
C) quadrennial
D) biennial

Question 7

Formulation, or initial development, of the budget document is the responsibility of the _______ in most states and localities, with a few exceptions.

A) attorney general
B) secretary of state
C) legislature
D) chief executive

Question 8

___________, started during Andrew Jackson's presidency, is the practice of hiring government employees that depends on party affiliation and other political alliances rather than on job-related qualifications.

A) The merit system
B) Veterans' preferences
C) Gerrymandering
D) Patronage

Question 9

How are capital projects funded?

A) by borrowing money from government employees' pensions
B) through the sale of general obligation or revenue bonds
C) through donations from private donors and corporations
D) through state revenue taxes

Question 10

What piece of legislation set up an independent, bipartisan civil service commission to make objective, merit-based selections for federal job openings?

A) the Pendleton Act of 1883
B) the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
C) the Government in the Sunshine Act
D) the 1939 amendments to the Social Security Act of 1935

Question 11

State enactment of merit-based civil service systems was motivated by

A) the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881 by an insane attorney seeking a political appointment.
B) the scandals of Ulysses S. Grant's administration and the ensuing backlash against patronage.
C) conditions set by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
D) conditions set by the 1939 amendments to the Social Security Act of 1935.

Question 12

Budgets are normally based on fiscal years. The most common fiscal year used by state and local governments is

A) October 1 through September 30.
B) June 1 through May 31.
C) January 1 through December 31.
D) July 1 through June 30.

Question 13

The constitutions or statutes of _______ states mandate that the state adopt a balanced state budget each fiscal year.

A) twelve
B) fifty
C) thirty-one
D) forty-eight

Question 14

If a state constructs its budget by making small adjustments to the previous year's expenditures while avoiding a comprehensive review of requested funds, it is engaging in which type of budgeting?

A) line-item budgeting
B) performance budgeting
C) incremental budgeting
D) capital budgeting

Question 15

What role do agency heads play in the normal budget process?

A) They defend the base amount received the previous year and seek funds for new or expanded programs.
B) They organize testimony at budget hearings and pressure other participants to pursue favored policies and programs.
C) They build a new budget request from scratch, a process known as zero-based budgeting.
D) They act as an economizer.

Question 16

One popular device for circumventing balanced-budget requirements is the "off-budget," in which

A) legislators borrow money from public employee pension funds to cover the current year's deficit.
B) costs and revenues for public enterprises or special projects are exempt from central review and are not included in budget documents and figures.
C) legislators borrow money from next year's anticipated revenues to cover the current year's deficit.
D) governor performs a line-item veto on costs he doesn't want to appear in the public record.

Question 17

If a police department tracks arrests, clearance rates, crime rates, and citizen satisfaction surveys to evaluate how well they meet their objectives and these results are utilized in determining budget priorities, the department is using which type of budgeting?

A) line-item budgeting
B) performance budgeting
C) incremental budgeting
D) capital budgeting

Question 18

Approximately _______ working Americans is employed by government at some level.

A) five of every thirteen
B) one of every six
C) one of every twelve
D) two of every thirteen

Question 19

Which of the following statements about the line-item budget is true?

A) It shows where the money goes, but doesn't tell how effectively the money was spent.
B) It is output and outcome oriented.
C) It shows how effectively the money was spent by focusing on services provided and program results.
D) It applies only to operating budgets whose funds are depleted within a year.

Question 20

The concept of _______, which is related to the concept of affirmative action, suggests that the structure of government employment should reflect major sexual, racial, socioeconomic, religious, geographic, and related components in society.

A) synergy
B) patronage
C) representative bureaucracy
D) the merit principle

Question 21

In Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, the formulation of the budget document is the responsibility of the chief executive.

Question 22

Strikes for government employees at the state and local level are permitted

A) in only twelve states and only for nonessential services.
B) in all states and commonly used by public employees to get higher wages and better working conditions.
C) under the National Labor Relations Act and legal under most public-union collective bargaining agreements.
D) in all but five states.

Question 23

Line-item budgets show where the money was spent and how effectively the money was spent.

Question 24

In public budgeting, incrementalism refers to using last year's expenditures as a base for this year's budget figures.

Question 25

In all but four states and most municipalities, the fiscal year runs between January 1 and December 31 of the following year.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about bureaucratic discretion is true?

A) It prevents administrators from being swayed by political pressures.
B) It is the ability of public employees to make decisions interpreting law and administrative regulations.
C) It ensures that a policy will be implemented precisely as intended by the legislation.
D) It ensures that the legislature, rather than agencies, will make public policy.

Question 27

The outcomes of the public budget process represent the results of a zero-sum game-for every winner there is a loser-because public resources are limited.

Question 28

A performance audit examines agency or department activities in relation to goals, objectives, and outcomes.

Question 29

Once the chief executive's signature is on the budget document, the budget goes into effect as law, and the execution phase begins.

Question 30

Long-term investments, such as buildings, highways, bridges, etc. are funded through a capital budget.

Question 31

There are approximately 19.8 million state and local government employees, and total payroll costs exceed $278 million each month.

Question 32

By creating an "app" that allows citizens to report service problems and determine where to direct specific inquiries, cities like Chicago, Denver, and Charlotte are engaging in what is called

A) electronic pandering.
B) e-government.
C) Internet surveillance.
D) gerrymandering.

Question 33

Contractors and construction firms that benefit from programs included in a state highway department's expenditures are BEST described as

A) clientele groups.
B) political action committees.
C) interest groups.
D) government partners.

Question 34

Various studies on state and local budgeting indicate that the single most influential participant is the chief executive.

Question 35

Which of the following would constitute sexual harassment in the workplace?

A) an employee asking another employee out on a date
B) an employee hanging a calendar that contains nudity next to his desk
C) an employee using a sexual innuendo in front of another employee on one occasion
D) a consensual sexual relationship between a manager and her subordinate

Question 36

Which of the following statements about collective bargaining in state and local government is true?

A) It mimics negotiation procedures used in the private sector which are governed by supply and demand.
B) It is permitted in all states and by most local governments.
C) It is complicated by the fact that the results of the negotiations affect the political allocation of public resources.
D) It is a very successful process, as shown by the successful wage and salary increases in the public sector as compared with the private sector.

Question 37

The quality and capacity of public administration have improved markedly in the vast majority of the country's states, municipalities, and counties in terms of the characteristics of employees and the efficiency, effectiveness, and professionalism with which they perform their duties.

Question 38

New public management is an approach to government in which

A) governments mimic the structure of NGOs to raise funds and reduce financial and accountability constraints.
B) governments must abide by stricter ethics, performance rules, and procedures than those followed by private firms.
C) legislatures do not grant agencies decision-making authority because of rampant patronage and corruption.
D) governments attempt to improve efficiency and effectiveness through market-based solutions.

Question 39

The state of Massachusetts has contracted out mental health care, prison health care, various highway maintenance functions, and operations of interstate highway rest stops, among many other functions. This is an example of

A) patronage.
B) e-government.
C) the merit system.
D) privatization.

Question 40

More often than not, good government workers are the scapegoats for vague and poorly designed statutes and policies, failed political and corporate leadership, and other factors beyond the control of civil servants.

Question 41

What are the characteristics of the merit system? Discuss some of the potential threats to the merit system. Do you believe that the merit system should be used in public employment? Are there qualifications that must be included when using a merit-based system, such as affirmative action?

Question 42

In 1883, New Jersey became the first state to enact a merit system.

Question 43

Civil servants must apply a great deal of bureaucratic discretion in interpreting law and administrative regulations.

Question 44

Surveys of women show that only 10 percent of the respondents report being a victim of sexual harassment.

Question 45

The Pendleton Act of 1883 established the first merit system in the state of Massachusetts.

Question 46

The support of clientele groups is critical for securing the resources necessary to develop and operate a successful government program.

Question 47

Regarding representative bureaucracy, empirical research indicates that the specific agency a person works for and the profession that person belongs to are better predictors of public policy preferences than racial, sexual, and other personal characteristics.

Question 48

Should public employees be allowed to collective bargain and strike? What are the implications for state budgets, service delivery, and democracy?

Question 49

What is embodied in the concept of new public management? In your opinion, is it possible to reinvent government in the fashion described in the text?

Question 50

Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with an alternative service delivery arrangement such as privatization. Do you believe that privatization is a plausible alternative for delivering public services?

Question 51

About 10 percent of local government workers belong to unions, compared with 35 percent in private industry.

Question 52

The concept of positive competence holds that employees should perform their duties competently without influence from political pressures.

Question 53

The merit principle holds that individuals with the best qualifications should receive a job or get promoted based on their job performance.

Question 54

Criticisms of bureaucrats are widespread. To what do you attribute this phenomenon? Is it fully deserved? Should citizens be concerned by it? In your opinion, do bureaucrats serve the public interest? How do you define the public interest?

Question 55

The policy of affirmative action is grounded in the related concept of representative bureaucracy.

Question 56

If you were an agency head, what type of approach to budgeting would you pursue? Be sure to describe the various options for constructing a budget and the pros and cons of each as you present your response.

Question 57

Under affirmative action, the absence of overt discrimination in employment may not be sufficient; organizations can implement preferential hiring and promotion schemes to redress existing imbalances in the composition of their workforce.

Question 58

Strikes by public employees are illegal in most jurisdictions, although two states permit work stoppages by nonessential workers under strictly regulated conditions.

Question 59

Many practical problems are associated with implementing policies to create a representative bureaucracy, protect merit principles, cope with sexual harassment in the workplace, and deal with the effects of collective bargaining. Discuss the difficulties of implementing a program to achieve a representative bureaucracy.

Question 60

The concept of representative bureaucracy suggests that the employee composition of public agencies should resemble the composition of the general population in terms of gender, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and other related characteristics of society.

Question 61

Bowman and Kearney describe bureaucracy as a "paradox," which is both problematic and beautiful. Describe the major components of this paradox and provide at least two specific illustrations of each side of the paradox. In summary, discuss if it is possible to overcome this paradox.

Question 62

Describe how government programs, services, and priorities are affected and delivered by the expanded use of e-government and other new forms of technology. How are current and future employees affected?