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Exams > Public Admininistration Midterm > Flashcards

Public Admininistration Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

public administration

A

all processes or organizations associated with carrying out laws and other rules issued by legislative and executives

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2
Q

bureaucracy

A

formal organization arrangement charaterized by:
-division of labor
-job specialization w/ no functional overlap
-exercise of authority through vertical hierarchy
-bureau=desk/office and kratos=political power

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3
Q

what impacts public trust in government?

A

-strong economic growth and policies
-keeping the country safe from terrorism
-maintaining infrastructure
-the condition of the government

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4
Q

who originally proposed politics-adminstration dichotomy?

A

woodrow wilson

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5
Q

why is politics-administration dichotomy important?

A

it establishes a clear distinction between political decision-making and administrative implementation in government organizations, it highlights the separation of powers and responsibilities between elected officials (politicians) and public administrators (civil servants).

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6
Q

list three political values

A

-accountability
-participation
-democracy

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7
Q

list three administrative values

A

-discretion
-professionalism
-efficiency

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8
Q

what are the conflicts of political and administrative values?

A

-political values are more concerned with equality and fairness
-admin. values are concerned with expertise and efficiency
-politicians focus on quick wins for votes, while administrators need to plan for stable, long-lasting programs
-politicians want to please voters, even if it means complicated processes, but administrators want things to run smoothly, even if it means simpler but less popular solutions

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9
Q

what is an independent regulatory board agency?

A

-regulates industry/commerce
-made up of bipartisan group of commissioners

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10
Q

what are some examples of independent regulatory agencies?

A

-federal trade commission (antitrust aka anti-monopoly)
-national labor relations board (remedy unfair labor practices)

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11
Q

what is a government corporation agency?

A

they are identical to the structure of private corporations, but are government owned

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12
Q

what are some examples of government corporation agencies?

A

-AMTRAK
-USPS
-FDIC

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13
Q

what types of agencies are under the executive office of the president?

A

-office of management and budget (OMB)
-national security council (NSC)

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14
Q

what is an independent executive agency?

A

agencies that are part of the executive branch, but independent of presidential control

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15
Q

what are some examples of independent executive agencies?

A

-NASA
-environmental protection administration (EPA)

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16
Q

what are the major parts of the government organization chart?

A

-legislative branch (makes laws)
-executive branch (executes laws)
-judicial branch (interprets laws)

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17
Q

what makes up the legislative branch?

A

-congress
-senate
-library of congress

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18
Q

what makes up the executive branch?

A

-president
-vice president
-office of management and budget

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19
Q

what makes up the judicial branch?

A

-supreme court
-tax court
-court of appeals

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20
Q

what is the iron triangle?

A

any political alliance uniting members of an agency, committee, subcommitte, that share the same values when it comes to policy making (view notes for image)

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21
Q

how is the iron triangle related to public administration?

A

because it describes a close and often corrupt relationship between: government agencies, legislators, and special interest groups
-the benefit of this relationship could be if lawmakers receive support from interest groups and in return the lawmakers allocate funds for programs for those groups

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22
Q

federalism

A

a division of power between central/national government and states with each having their own authority over citizens

23
Q

what makes up a unitary government?

A

-there are no state governments
-similar to France and Denmark
-typically have clear national direction, but there can be issues with distance

24
Q

what makes up a confederation government?

A

-power is within the state governments
-when the government has some limited powers
-similar to the European Union

25
Q

what makes up a federal government?

A
  • national government and state goverment
    -like US and Canada
    -it is more deliberate, but can be ineffecient
26
Q

what made up dual federalism?

A

-states have more power
-growth of national power through supreme court rulings
-demarcation of power between levels (layer cake)
-before 1930

27
Q

what made up cooperative federalism?

A

-federal spending was used to manage the economy
-connection between levels (marble cake)
- WWII cemented federal power
-1930 to 1969
-rise of national power and programs

28
Q

what made up new federalism under nixon?

A

-block grants were a solution since the feds were too distant
-believed many of the great society programs were not working

29
Q

what is the layer cake analogy?

A

the functions of the national and state governments are separate from each other

30
Q

what is the marble cake analogy?

A

the functions of the national and state governments are intertwined and cooperate on certain policies

31
Q

what is a block grant?

A

a grant-in-aid which allows funding by a grantor which leaves flexibility of how it is used to the recipient
-power to do so used by states and localities

32
Q

what is a categorical grant?

A

a grant-in-aid which allows funding to be mainly determined by the grantor which leaves little flexibility for the recipient
- state and local governments can only spend the money for specific things

33
Q

devolution

A

process of transferring power from a higher level of government to a lower one

34
Q

why is devolution important and wanted by the GOP?

A

-it provides more flexibility at the local level (public choice)
-better fit between public goods and their characteristics
-allows decision making to be moved closer to citizens (more democratic)

35
Q

minimum wage

A

-lowest amount you can legally pay an employee for work
-federal gov. sets a standard minimum wage, but states can set their own as well by passing legislation if they want to increase it
-states minimum wage can not be lower than the federal set one

36
Q

medicaid

A

-largest example of fiscal federalism because it uses federal subsidies which allows the ACA to expand it
-largest national program in terms of categorical funding
-operated by the states to assist the poor
-joint federal and state program

37
Q

temporary assistance to needy families (tanf)

A

-a significant change in the federalism of welfare financing
-provides assistance to families so that children can be cared for in their homes
-partnership with the states and fed. government to capitalize on state innovation and federal resources

38
Q

no child left behind act

A

-altered and expanded the federal gov’s. role in education
- states would accept federal funds to establish academic standards to guide their curriculum and develop a testing system that aligned with those standards

39
Q

what were the characteristics of ideal bureaucracy? (weber’s model)

A

-rationality
-division of labor
-hierarchy
-framework of rules
-maintenance of files
-professionalization

40
Q

what was taylor’s method?

A

hypothesize, experiment, measure, pick best (most effecient/cheapest)

41
Q

what were taylor’s time and motion studies?

A

he studied the movements and time taken by workers to complete tasks and by breaking down tasks into smaller motions, he aimed to eliminate wasteful movements and optimize the workflow
-sort of treated them like robots
-received a lot of backlash for this

42
Q

what did they find from hawthorne’s studies?

A

workers’ productivity increased when they were aware they were being studied, regardless of the changes made to their working conditions

43
Q

what are some characteristics of theory x? (mcgregor)

A

-people find work distasteful
-people have no creativity in solving problems
-only motivated due to threat of punishment

44
Q

what are some characteristics of theory y? (mcgregor)

A

-people find work natural
-people are creative and a source for solutions
-motivation through social rewards

45
Q

what is the high/low road enterprise? (tom kochan)

A

high road
-requires us to work together
-requires compensation systems that align with employee interests
-positive environment
-job security
low road
-won’t incorporate compensation systems to align with employees
-has high turnovers
-stressful environment
-lack of job stability

46
Q

what is one difference between high road and low road employers?

A

walmart (low road)
-tighest controls on employees
-doesn’t like unions
-lowest pay rights
costco (high road)
-emphasizes customer service
-allows unionization
-pays a fair wage

47
Q

what is bounded rationality?

A

no one has perfect rationality because there are limitations, so it is bounded

48
Q

what is satisficing?

A

-satisfy+suffice
-we make decisions that will satisfy our needs and that will suffice

49
Q

what is uncertainty?

A

this is what led to herb simon critiquing rationality because he did not believe that we can use reason to make the best decisions

50
Q

what is decision making?

A

-determining the goal (objective)
-determining the constraints
-determining the criteria (is the goal being achieved)
-determining the alternatives (what other ways can you reach the goal)

51
Q

what are some decision tools?

A

-analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
-delphi method (asking experts)
-scenario planning (low, medium, and high forecasts for the future)

52
Q

organizational theory

A

theories about how organizations act the way that they do

53
Q

decision making

A

how people make better decisions

54
Q

analytic hierarchy process

A

used to solve problems by structuring them into a hierarchy of criteria and alternatives and then evaluating their importance

Exams (10 decks)

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