Question 1

The politics surrounding structural rearrangements within public agencies tend to be very low profile and neutral.

Accepted Answer

The politics surrounding structural rearrangements within public agencies can often be quite contentious, with various stakeholders vying for influence and conflicting interests at play.

Question 2

Variations in the public's faith in the president are associated with more general feelings of confidence in government.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that when the public has greater faith in the president, they also tend to have more confidence in government as a whole. Conversely, when public trust in the president is low, confidence in government generally decreases.

Question 3

The level of government most involved with the provision of essential public services is the state level.

Accepted Answer

Local governments (such as city, town, or county governments) are typically the most involved in providing essential public services like police, fire protection, water, and sanitation services.

Question 4

The size of the federal government significantly decreased during the administration of George W.Bush (2001-2009).

Accepted Answer

The size of the federal government actually increased during the administration of George W. Bush, particularly in the areas of national security and defense spending.

Question 5

The phenomenon of administrative discretion (when lower ranking executives are able to personally affect the implementation of law) arises from a lack of centralized authority.

Accepted Answer

Administrative discretion can occur when there is a lack of clear guidelines or centralized control, giving lower ranking executives the ability to make decisions and affect the implementation of law.

Question 6

Modem bureaucracy has undergone so many changes that all influences from the past have been lost.

Accepted Answer

While modem bureaucracy has undergone changes, it is not accurate to say that all influences from the past have been lost. Many bureaucratic practices and systems have roots in historical traditions and continue to be influenced by past practices.

Question 7

The larger a unit of local government, the more likely it is that its bureaucracy will resemble state and national administrative agencies.

Accepted Answer

This is because larger units of local government have more complex and varied responsibilities that require specialized expertise and standardized procedures, similar to those found in state and national agencies. Additionally, larger local governments often receive more funding from higher levels of government, which requires compliance with more regulations and reporting requirements.

Question 8

Bureaucratic structures at the local level are generally more prevalent and sophisticated than those at the national level.

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic structures are typically more prevalent and sophisticated at the national level due to the broader scope of responsibilities, larger scale of operations, and the need for more complex coordination and administration compared to the local level.

Question 9

A challenge faced by only private administrators is that they must pursue broad goals set by others and their efforts will be evaluated by outside forces.

Accepted Answer

Both private and public administrators face the challenge of pursuing broad goals set by others (e.g., shareholders, government policies) and having their efforts evaluated by outside forces (e.g., regulatory bodies, the public).

Question 10

Electronic government was originally designed to make citizens more dependent on bureaucratic agencies.

Accepted Answer

Electronic government, also known as e-government, aims to make government services more accessible, efficient, and transparent for citizens. It uses technology to improve communication, information sharing, and decision-making processes between citizens and government agencies. The goal is not to make citizens more dependent on bureaucratic agencies, but rather to empower them to be more informed and engaged in their interactions with the government.

Question 11

Most Americans are NOT affected by the actions and decisions of public administrators on a regular basis.

Accepted Answer

Public administrators are responsible for implementing policies and providing public services that affect the daily lives of citizens. Therefore, most Americans are directly or indirectly affected by their actions and decisions on a regular basis.

Question 12

Social-demographic changes in economic activity, population, technology, and the workforce have had little affect on public administration

Accepted Answer

Social-demographic changes have had significant effects on public administration. These changes have led to new challenges and demands, such as changing workforce demographics, technological advancements, and increasing diversity in the population. Public administration has had to adapt to these changes to effectively serve and meet the needs of the community.

Question 13

Charles Goodsell maintains that America's public bureaucracies perform quite well in comparison with bureaucracies elsewhere, whether measured by objective standards or in terms of overall citizen satisfaction.

Accepted Answer

Charles Goodsell argues that America's public bureaucracies perform well in comparison to other bureaucracies, both in objective standards and citizen satisfaction.

Question 14

Federal efforts to "reinvent government" ignored the role of public employees as frontline service providers.

Accepted Answer

Federal efforts to "reinvent government," particularly those in the 1990s under Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review, emphasized improving efficiency and customer service, which inherently recognized the critical role of public employees as frontline service providers.

Question 15

Public employees can be categorized as either "generalists" or "specialists" and also as either "political" or "merit" employees.

Accepted Answer

Public employees can be categorized as either "generalists" or "specialists" based on their areas of expertise and as either "political" or "merit" employees based on their mode of appointment or selection.

Question 16

Public management has virtually nothing in common with private management.

Accepted Answer

While there are some differences in the goals, strategies, and styles of management in the public and private sectors, there are also many similarities. Both require effective leadership, strategic planning, budgeting, and oversight of operations to achieve success.

Question 17

"Clientelism," as a distinct political pattern, did not emerge in bureaucratic politics until after World War II.

Accepted Answer

Clientelism has existed in various forms throughout history, and can be seen in pre-modern societies as well as in early modern Europe. It was also present in bureaucratic politics in some contexts prior to World War II.

Question 18

Although public trust in government increased slightly during the 1990s, it is still below the levels of previous decades.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. While there was a slight increase in public trust in government during the 1990s, it is still lower than the levels of trust seen in previous decades.

Quiz 1: Approaching the Study of Public Administration