Deck 12: Conclusion: Public Administration in a Time of Conflict and Change

Question 1

What feature of Weberian bureaucracy is particularly prized by many who nevertheless criticize Weber's model?

A)Efficiency
B)Hierarchy
C)Predictability
D)Secrecy

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Considerable ambiguity exists in the goals of politics, administration, and performance.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following was not an outcome of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government?

A)Reductions in program expenditures
B)Reductions in the number of federal employees
C)A reduction in dependence on regulation
D)The elimination of entitlement programs

Answer 3

D

Question 4

While Weberian hierarchies are used for recordkeeping and auditing, agencies increasingly organize work around projects or problems.Weberian command- and control-oriented hierarchies and bureaucratic secrecy have also diminished.

Question 5

The conflict between those advocating a higher standard of living and those seeking to enhance the quality of life is symbolized by confrontation over

A)developing new means of exploiting the resources of outer space versus pure space exploration versus no space research.
B)foreign policy.
C)construction of nuclear power plants.
D)guns versus butter.

Question 6

Greater public participation makes decision making less secret and improves accountability.

Question 7

All of the following represent a "twilight zone" between the public and private sectors and are not clearly public-sector, nonprivate agencies: Medicare, health systems agencies, community action agencies, Amtrak, and the Legal Services Corporation.

Question 8

Which of the following is most conducive to administrative rationality?

A)Incrementalism
B)Organizational development
C)Participation
D)Strong, centralized leadership

Question 9

The knowledge explosion has created more precision and certainty in government decision making and public administration.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a consequence or example of postnationalism?

A)The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
B)The Quebec separatist movement
C)Tribalism in Africa
D)Import/export conflicts between the United States and Japan

Question 11

Which of the following changes in public personnel management was not affected by the Bush administration's actions during Bush's first term as president?

A)Collective bargaining
B)Performance appraisal
C)Attempted restructuring of the basic pay system
D)Senior Executive Service staffing

Question 12

Overhead bureaucracy refers to the added costs imposed on government from public employees' inability to control costs and manage programs.

Question 13

Which of the following is not a factor contributing to tendencies toward centralization in government and society?

A)Citizen growth
B)Population growth
C)Population mobility
D)Technology

Question 14

Which of the following dimensions of public personnel management was not affected by the Reagan administration's actions during his first term as president?

A)Budget reductions for personnel functions
B)Performance appraisal
C)Restructuring of the basic pay system
D)Senior Executive Service staffing

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT an argument in favor of Weberian bureaucracy as an organizational form?

A)The need for broad, complex organizations to address broad, complex tasks
B)The attractiveness of stimulative and collaborative leadership rather than leadership through channels
C)A system in which legal guarantees against agency arbitrariness can be safeguarded by incorporating them into standard operating procedures
D)Bureaucracy's orderliness

Question 16

Among the new assumptions about government are all of the following except

A)taxpayers are less willing to approve tax increases.
B)programs are better administered at the state and local levels.
C)public managers are overpaid.
D)government cannot do anything right.

Question 17

"Overhead democracy" means

A)democratic, gregarious leadership styles.
B)majority control through political representatives.
C)participatory management in superior-subordinate relations.
D)presidential influence over congressional actions.
E)the view of democracy given by apathetic voters who believe that voting does not change the way government operates.

Question 18

The production of goods and services is a central feature of postindustrial society.

Question 19

The primary advantage of social media is its use in restricting the expansion free speech and open communication.

Question 20

Modern public administration is expected to simultaneously optimize all of the following except

A)accountability.
B)efficiency.
C)public participation and representativeness.
D)weak leadership.

Question 21

Public administration is conducted in an environment of popular discontent, reflecting the factions and policy differences present in society itself.

Question 22

The Obama administration placed heavy emphasis on process-oriented government.

Question 23

The preamble to the Constitution is no longer valid in determining the kinds of government activities the public wants and needs in the years ahead.

Question 24

Most public managers do not need to concern themselves with the political environment in which their agencies operate.