Question 1

There are more than 19 million state and local government employees, and total payroll costs for those employees exceed $700 billion each year.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2021, there were approximately 19.4 million state and local government employees in the United States, and their total payroll costs for March 2021 were $733.2 billion.

Question 2

The use of information technology to simplify and improve interactions between governments and citizens, firms, and other entities is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The correct term for the use of information technology in improving interactions between governments and citizens, firms, and other entities is e-government. This includes online services such as paying taxes, renewing licenses, and accessing government information. Digital democracy and virtual democracy are related terms, but specifically refer to broader concepts of democratic participation through digital platforms. Web-government is not a commonly used term.

Question 3

An audit that examines agency or department activities in relation to goals, objectives, and outcomes is an operational and management audit.

Accepted Answer

The answer of An audit that examines agency or department...

Question 4

In most states, the fiscal year runs between January 1 and December 31.

Accepted Answer

While many states do have a fiscal year that runs from January 1 to December 31, there are also states that have different fiscal year periods. For example, the state of Alabama's fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, and the state of Texas has a fiscal year that runs from September 1 to August 31.

Question 5

The public budget process is a political process.

Accepted Answer

The public budget process involves various political interactions, negotiations, and decision-making by elected officials and other stakeholders. This includes setting priorities, allocating resources, and managing public finances, which are all inherently political actions. Therefore, the public budget process is considered a political process.

Question 6

Formulation of the budget document is the responsibility of the chief executive in most states and localities.

Accepted Answer

The chief executive, such as the governor or mayor, typically proposes and formulates the budget document for their state or locality. However, the budget must be approved by the legislative body, such as the state legislature or city council.

Question 7

The budget process consists of five overlapping stages: preparation, formulation, acceptance, implementation, and audit.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The budget process consists of five overlapping...

Question 8

Strikes, the legal weapon of last resort in the procedures employed by unions in the private sector, are, for government employees at the state and local level,

Accepted Answer

Strikes are legal in only twelve states for state and local government employees, and only for "nonessential" services. In other states, strikes by public employees are illegal or prohibited by state law.

Question 9

Government employs approximately one of every three working Americans.

Accepted Answer

The government employs a smaller proportion of the American workforce, with estimates typically around 15% or less, not one-third.

Question 10

All of the following factors make government labor relations highly political except

Accepted Answer

The unwillingness of public officials to settle labor disputes may make government labor relations contentious or difficult, but it does not necessarily make them highly political. The other factors listed, such as the political clout of public-employee unions and the potential for strikes to become political issues, explicitly involve politics.

Question 11

All of the following statements regarding privatization are accurate except

Accepted Answer

The statement "it is a useful approach but valid for only a small segment of government services" is inaccurate. Privatization can be applied to a variety of government services, including but not limited to transportation, healthcare, and waste management. Therefore, all the other options are accurate statements about privatization.

Question 12

Performance budgeting places the emphasis on activities and programs.The idea is to focus attention on how efficiently and effectively work is being done, rather than on the things that are being acquired.

Accepted Answer

Performance budgeting places the emphasis on the efficient and effective execution of activities and programs, rather than on the acquisition of physical assets, which is a characteristic of traditional budgeting methods.

Question 13

The extent of unionization and collective bargaining is greatest in

Accepted Answer

The Midwest and Northeast are historically known as the heartland of organized labor in the United States, with strong union traditions dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. These regions have higher rates of union membership and collective bargaining than other regions, such as the South and West Coast states.

Question 14

Bureaucratic discretion

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic discretion refers to the ability of public employees to make decisions interpreting laws and regulations. It allows for flexibility in the implementation of policies and programs. This discretion is not imposed by law, but rather it is an inherent part of the bureaucracy's role in administering the government.

Question 15

An international movement to improve government efficiency and effectiveness through market-based solutions is known as

Accepted Answer

The term "New Public Management" (NPM) refers to an international movement toward improving government efficiency and effectiveness through market-based solutions. It includes a range of reforms such as privatization, contracting out, performance-based budgeting, and customer-oriented service delivery. Reinventing government, mission-driven government, and cooperative management are related concepts, but not synonymous with NPM.

Question 16

The administrative branch of government consisting of all executive offices and their workers is called bureaucracy.

Accepted Answer

The bureaucracy refers to the administrative branch of government which includes all executive offices and their workers.

Question 17

The line between elected officials' decision making and public administrators' duties in carrying out those decisions in the real world is

Accepted Answer

The line between elected officials' decision making and public administrators' duties in carrying out those decisions is often blurred. While elected officials are responsible for making policy decisions, administrators are responsible for implementing those decisions. However, administrators may become involved in the political aspects of an issue, and elected officials may become involved in the implementation process. Therefore, the line between the two is not clear-cut.

Question 18

Balanced-budget requirements are contained in the constitutions or statutes of forty-eight states and operate through precedent in two states.

Accepted Answer

Forty-eight states have balanced-budget requirements in their constitutions or statutes, while two states (Vermont and Montana) operate through precedent.

Question 19

Collective bargaining in state and local governments is

Accepted Answer

Collective bargaining in state and local governments is complicated by the fact that the results of the negotiations affect the political allocation of public resources. This is because state and local governments are responsible for providing public services and allocating resources to do so, and the outcomes of collective bargaining negotiations may affect the amount of resources available for other important public needs. This makes bargaining in the public sector different from the private sector where supply and demand typically govern the process. Collective bargaining is permitted in most states and local governments, but the process is not necessarily simpler than in the private sector.

Question 20

Bureaucratic discretion is built into legislation because

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic discretion is built into legislation because legislators and chief executives know that bureaucratic expertise is necessary for successful policy implementation. In other words, the legislators realize that there may be unforeseen circumstances surrounding the implementation of their policies, and therefore they allow for bureaucrats to have some discretion in carrying out the policies so that they can use their expertise to make necessary adjustments.

Quiz 8: Public Administration: Budgeting and Service Delivery