Deck 5: Honor, Ethics, Accountability

Question 1

The study of the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli is are important for understanding

A) That the Prince must do all he can, even if morally wrong, to maintain the public welfare.
B) the role of power in public policy decision making.
C) The complexities and dilemmas in public office.
D) All of the above.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Appointees to high office such as cabinet positions or Supreme Court nominees have to go for hearings before the House.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

According to the authors, a sense of honor provides an individual with

A) a moral compass that determines right from wrong.
B) an ability to do chivalrous deeds.
C) the capability of getting an honorific placed after his or her name.
D) the right to perform illegal acts if it is done for the public welfare.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the followings are means through which Congress maintains oversight over public administration?

A) Hearings
B) Casework
C) Whistleblowing
D) Both a and b

Question 5

Lt. Colonel Oliver North's role in the Iran-Contra Affair serves to illustrate:

A) The problems of conflicts in responsibilities
B) Justification by a public official for lying to Congress
C) A personal interpretation of what was right and wrong
D) All of the above.

Question 6

Mark Felt's role as "Deep Throat," the informant in the Watergate scandal, is an example of the tension between maintaining honor and acting ethically.

Question 7

Niccolo Machiavelli in 1532 wrote in The Prince, that the ruler should be free from vice and his character above reproach.

Question 8

The notion that a sitting President could be sued by a private citizen in a civil suit for conduct alleged to have been committed before the President took office was upheld in the case, William Jefferson Clinton v. Paula Corbin Jones.

Question 9

The statement that "it is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope," is attributed to:

A) Richard Nixon.
B) Niccolò Machiavelli.
C) Saddam Hussein.
D) Adolf Hitler.

Question 10

Which of the following is a reason that public administrators should understand the Constitution according to David H. Rosenbloom?

A) So that managerial and political approaches are compatible with constitutional principles and values.
B) Oaths to support the Constitution may be more important than routine administrative functions.
C) Public administrators may be personally liable for civil damages if they act in contravention to the Constitution.
D) All of the above are reasons that public administrators should understand the Constitution.

Question 11

The higher law defense is often appealed to by people who

A) wish to attack an existing law or practice.
B) claim that no matter what the laws of the state are there is a higher spiritual law to which a person has an even greater obligation.
C) make conscientious objections to an existing policy.
D) claim all of the above.

Question 12

Modern concepts of honor can be traced from Aristotle to medieval chivalry, to aristocratic dueling codes, to the modern concept of the obligations of a gentleman.

Question 13

The 1998 Supreme Court decision in William Jefferson Clinton v. Paula Corbin Jones held that

A) a sitting president could be sued by a private citizen in a civil suit for conduct alleged to have occurred before the president took office.
B) a sitting president could not be sued by a private citizen in a civil suit for conduct alleged to have occurred before the president took office.
C) President Clinton's affairs outside of his marriage required monetary reparation to victims
D) The marriage vows in the Clinton marriage had been violated by Ms. Jones.

Question 14

Aristotle introduced the concept of the "sovereign's lie" referring to lies for the public good.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT included in the four levels of ethics

A) Personal morality and professional ethics.
B) Political values and corporate social responsibility.
C) Organizational codes of conduct
D) Global ethics.

Question 16

Many civilian government agencies have codes of conduct and formal guidelines for ethical behavior. Their objective is to ensure that employees refrain from using their official positions for private gain or other wrongful purposes.

Question 17

The "dirty hands dilemma" occurs

A) When a public official takes a bribe.
B) When public administrators blame superiors for their own misdeeds.
C) When officials blame their subordinates for acts of malfeasance.
D) When public administrators perform a wrong act to further the public good

Question 18

Lobbyists often offer expensive gifts, such as foreign "junkets," sports tickets, and other things of value to unlawfully influence Congresspersons to vote in a partisan way, this is a form of bribery.

Question 19

It can be argued that public officials in a democracy may be excused at times from the obligation of truth telling. When a high public official feels it necessary to not tell the truth, then this is an example of:

A) A royal lie.
B) A gross exaggeration.
C) A white lie.
D) A dirty-hands dilemma.

Question 20

The notion that organizations are obsessive with accountability-especially public organizations, was posited by management scholar Edwards Demming and Herbert Simon.

Question 21

Common Law is the totality of legislative law.

Question 22

Casework is one means through which lawmakers maintain oversight of the bureaucracy while maintaining support among constituents.

Question 23

When a government holds true to its body of law that applies equally to all, and as its highest authority, we say that this is the "rule of men", because laws are created by men.