Deck 6: Organization Problems

Question 1

Which framework is recognized by an organizational design that minimizes political interference in issues concerning the technical parts of administration?

A) representativeness
B) executive leadership
C) neutral competence
D) an interagency agreement

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Executive restructuring efforts that focus on enhancing symmetry and improving the logical grouping of activities are associated with ______.

A) clearance procedures
B) executive leadership
C) representativeness
D) neutral competence

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What effect did the Supreme Court's 1983 ruling on reorganization have on the president's ability to reorganize the executive branch?

A) The decision strengthened the president's authority.
B) The decision weakened the president's authority.
C) The decision affirmed the president's past actions.
D) The decision required the president to ask OMB for analysis first.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What is the term for those support units (such as personnel or budgeting) that promote the functioning of an agency?

A) control activities
B) line activities
C) operating activities
D) staff activities

Question 5

The organizational concern that emphasizes horizontal and vertical activity is ______.

A) the role of staff
B) interagency conflict
C) choosing organizational criteria
D) interagency coordination

Question 6

What exists at the cabinet, subcabinet, and bureau levels to promote collaboration in jointly occupied areas?

A) clearance procedures
B) lead agency formulas
C) interagency committees
D) interagency agreements

Question 7

Line activities are responsible for ______.

A) operating activities
B) giving advice
C) securing organizational leverage
D) monitoring implementation of presidential decisions

Question 8

Promotion of private efficiency, accountability to the president, and effective database are components of which government organizational concern?

A) choosing organizational criteria
B) interagency coordination
C) interagency conflict
D) role of staff

Question 9

Horizontal cooperation seeks to draw related agencies together in common purpose through which of the following?

A) conflict resolution
B) terms with contracted services
C) common agreement
D) vertical coordination

Question 10

Staff activities are responsible for all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) commanding line officials
B) giving advice
C) securing organizational leverage
D) monitoring implementation of presidential decisions

Question 11

This was NOT one of the basic organizational values developed by Herbert Kaufman.

A) neutral competence
B) executive leadership
C) coordination
D) representativeness

Question 12

Neutral competence restructuring efforts in government have focused on all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) reducing the executive's span of control
B) improving grouping of activities
C) creating interest group panels
D) strengthening administrative coordination

Question 13

The major components for governments' structure may include all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) accountability to Congress
B) compatibility with state regulation
C) capacity to generate profit
D) utilization of an effective database

Question 14

Which organizational concern emphasizes purpose, clientele, process, and place?

A) choosing organizational criteria
B) interagency coordination
C) interagency conflict
D) the role of staff

Question 15

All of the following are part of the general administrative puzzles that American government uses to solve the dilemmas brought on by coordination EXCEPT ______.

A) interagency conflict
B) representativeness
C) interagency coordination
D) role of staff in supporting and controlling operating activities

Question 16

The auxiliary staff role is most closely associated with ______.

A) administrative support
B) business operations
C) pure-staff functions
D) revenue generation

Question 17

Staff roles include which of the following?

A) core-assist, assisting, and technical
B) assisting, technical, and senior
C) core, auxiliary staff, and control
D) line, technical, and executive

Question 18

What is an iron triangle?

A) a theory that suggests agency managers, congressional committees and subcommittees, and interest groups work closely to shape policy and that their shared work is more important than other forces on the process
B) a theory that suggests agency managers, cabinet members, and interest groups work closely to shape policy and that their shared work is more important than other forces on the process
C) a theory that suggests agency managers, congressional committees and subcommittees, and cabinet members work closely to shape policy and that their shared work is more important than other forces on the process
D) a theory that suggests cabinet members, congressional committees and subcommittees, and interest groups work closely to shape policy and that their shared work is more important than other forces on the process

Question 19

What provides the basis for collaboration in jointly occupied areas of government activity?

A) interagency agreements
B) interagency committees
C) lead agencies
D) clear procedures

Question 20

Since parties rarely relinquish control of core functions to another, coordination is difficult and therefore requires which of the following?

A) volunteerism and staff
B) vertical coordination
C) contracts and payments
D) horizontal collaborators

Question 21

_______ require that an agency's proposed decisions in a particular subject-matter area be reviewed by other interested agencies.

A) Lead agency formulas
B) Interagency committees
C) Clearance procedures
D) Interagency agreements

Question 22

Actual reorganization of government is common.

Question 23

According to organizational theory, conflict stems from a mismatch of any of the following agency bases EXCEPT ______.

A) executive
B) purpose
C) clientele
D) place

Question 24

Staff roles have been defined as all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) line staff
B) pure-staff
C) auxiliary staff
D) control staff

Question 25

According to the text, the president can comprehensively reorganize the executive branch either through an act of Congress or ______.

A) through reducing White House staff
B) by altering department mission
C) by shifting cabinet responsibilities
D) through a small handful of bureaus

Question 26

According to the text, the government's response to September 11, 2001, demonstrates how ______.

A) clearance procedures were misused
B) coordination and collaboration failed to be employed
C) pure-staff failed in their positions
D) control staff failed in their positions

Question 27

In 1983, the Supreme Court fundamentally changed the role of how the president can reorganize, create, and consolidate agencies making all of the statements below true EXCEPT ______.

A) the presidency lost some of its executive power
B) the Supreme Court must rule on the constitutionality of each of the president's plans for agency reorganization
C) the president's plan must be approved by a joint resolution of the House and Senate within ninety days after receipt
D) congressional idling in neutral is no longer to the president's advantage

Question 28

Staff and line activities are synonymous.

Question 29

_______________ depends on the willingness of agencies to come to agreement with one another.

A) vertical integration
B) horizontal cooperation
C) vertical cooperation
D) horizontal integration

Question 30

How are staff activities differentiated from from line activities?

A) Staff command and line listen.
B) Staff assist and line command.
C) Staff are operators and line act.
D) They perform the same duties.

Question 31

Vertical coordination is sometimes associated with warring agencies.

Question 32

Auxiliary units inevitably exercise specialized control functions, especially because top executives rarely want to invest their scarce time in housekeeping disputes.

Question 33

Organizational arrangements that respond to legislative interests and to the clienteles most affected by agency decisions describe which of Kaufman's basic organizational values?

A) horizontal cooperation
B) executive leadership
C) neutral competence
D) representativeness

Question 34

Iron triangles align congressional committees with departments or bureaus and ______.

A) pure-staff
B) state representatives
C) interest groups
D) auxiliary staff

Question 35

______ seeks to bring two warring agencies before a person with the formal authority to make a decision.

A) Horizontal cooperation
B) Vertical coordination
C) Interagency conflict
D) Organizational criteria

Question 36

Horizontal cooperation may include agencies coming together on the basis of coercion.

Question 37

_______ are created to establish specific boundaries and to clarify agencies' tasks.

A) Interagency committees
B) Lead agency formulas
C) Clearance procedures
D) Interagency agreements

Question 38

Auxiliary staff provide basic housekeeping functions.

Question 39

Which of Kaufman's organizational values calls for a strong president, governor, or mayor and strong department heads, all who adhere to a hierarchical organization that responds to the chief's policy priorities?

A) neutral competence
B) representativeness
C) executive leadership
D) equilibrium

Question 40

Of the following choices, what determines which issues get priority?

A) structure
B) cooperation
C) coordination
D) auxiliary staff

Question 41

What is the difference between a purpose agency and a clientele agency?

Question 42

Coordination requires intervention by a coordinator, which is a vertical activity.

Question 43

What role does a pure-staff official fulfill?

Question 44

How does interagency conflict arise from a mismatch of organizational bases? Make sure to list all four bases in your answer.

Question 45

What type of organizational conflict emerged during the September 11th attacks that resulted in the creation of a new department? In your answer, make sure to name that new department and discuss whether or not it solved the problems.

Question 46

What does control staff do?

Question 47

What are the president's options when attempting a comprehensive reorganization of the executive branch?

Question 48

Define the term coordination as it relates to "horizontal activity" and "vertical activity."

Question 49

What is the biggest difference between horizontal and vertical coordination?

Question 50

Another area of organizational concern for government is the role of staff.What are the different types of staff roles?

Question 51

What are interagency agreements?

Question 52

Who coined the term neutral competence and what is it?

Question 53

Interagency coordination may be a problem for organizations, but intra-agency coordination is NOT a problem.

Question 54

Why are iron triangles dangerous to government (make sure your answer defines iron triangles)?

Question 55

What is the "clearance procedure"?

Question 56

Interagency agreements require that an agency's proposed decisions in a subject-matter area be reviewed by other interested agencies.

Question 57

Employees who manage the core functions of an agency are staff officials.Those who support their work are line officials.

Question 58

According to public administration scholars, the choice of organizational structure is not a political move by public administrators.

Question 59

One of the four persistent organizational concerns for government is the choice among criteria of good organization.What are some of those organizational criteria?