Public Administration Final

Question 1

bureaucratic neutrality

Answer 1

carries out directives of other institutions of government in a politically neutral way, without acting as a political force in its own right

Question 2

which level (fed, state, local) has the most governments

Answer 2

local

Question 3

political values

Answer 3

-accountability
-participation
-democracy

Question 4

administrative values

Answer 4

-discretion
-professionalism
-efficiency

Question 5

what are the conflicts between political and administrative values?

Answer 5

-political values are more concerned with equality and fairness
-admin. values are concerned with expertise and efficiency
-politicians focus on quick wins in terms of the development of programs, 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

Question 6

how does congress exercise control over bureaucracy?

Answer 6

-making laws
-controlling the budget (how much money each gov. agency makes)
-oversight on government agencies
-changing, adding, or reviewing regulations
-listening to the general public

Question 7

cooperative federalism

Answer 7

-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

Question 8

dual federalism

Answer 8

-states have more power
-growth of national power through supreme court rulings
-demarcation of power between levels (layer cake)
-before 1930 (1789-1901)

Question 9

new federalism

Answer 9

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

Question 10

federalism

Answer 10

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

Question 11

block grant

Answer 11

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

Question 12

categorical grant

Answer 12

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

Question 13

devolution

Answer 13

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

Question 14

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

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what was taylor’s method?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

what were taylor’s time and motion studies?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

what are some characteristics of theory x? (mcgregor)

Answer 17

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

Question 18

what are some characteristics of theory y? (mcgregor)

Answer 18

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

Question 19

what did they find from hawthorne’s studies?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

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

Answer 20

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

Question 21

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

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what is the human relations model?

Answer 22

the theory of organization which stresses workers’ noneconomic needs and motivations on the job, looking to satisfy those needs

Question 23

chester barnard (human relations)

Answer 23

-telephone exectuive (AT&T)
-believed that authority is granted by subordinates
-build trust and soft power

Question 24

kurt lewin (human relations)

Answer 24

-father of social psychology
-experimented with the most effective leadership styles
-authoritarian/authoritative
-laissez-faire (hands off)
-democratic

Question 25

what is bounded rationality?

Answer 25

there are boundaries on the decision-making abilities of individuals within organizations

Question 26

what are the implications of bounded rationality?

Answer 26

-limited capacity
-limited time to evaluate
-limited information

Question 27

what is the rational model?

Answer 27

decision makers are rational; they order their behavior so that it is “directed toward the achievement of conscious goals”

Question 28

incrementalism

Answer 28

a model of decision making that stresses making decisions through limited successive comparisons

Question 29

human resources administration

Answer 29

involved the policies, processes, and procedures designed to recruit and promote people who manage government agencies

Question 30

human resources development

Answer 30

involves the training and staff development of public employees designed to improve job performance

Question 31

history of the spoils system

Answer 31

-introduced by Andrew Jackson (father of patronage)
-derived from the phrase “to the victor belong the spoils”
-under this system, the president appoints civil servants to government jobs because they are loyal to him
-the pendleton act of 1883 was created to stop the spoils system

Question 32

what is the pendleton act of 1883?

Answer 32

a U.S. law that established a merit-based system for hiring and promoting government employees for national government jobs
-led to the creation of the U.S. Civil Service Commission to oversee the merit system

Question 33

what is the hatch act? (political activities act of 1939)

Answer 33

a U.S. law that restricts the political activities of federal employees to ensure they remain neutral in their official duties.

Question 34

what is the general schedule?

Answer 34

a pay scale used by the government to determine the salaries of most white-collar federal employees

Question 35

public vs. private sectors (labor union)

Answer 35

-labor unions matter more under public sectors in terms of human resources management (35% are public)
-private sectors make up about 6% of labor unions

Question 36

regulate

Answer 36

control or supervise by means of rules and regulations.

Question 37

administrative procedure act (1946)

Answer 37

a U.S. law that sets the rules for how federal agencies make regulations and conduct their business
-brings regularity and predictability to agency decision making

Question 38

why does congress delegate rulemaking to agencies?

Answer 38

-allows them to address complex issues more efficiently
-allows agencies to write and enforce regulations that have the force to effect the law

Question 39

what is the rulemaking process?

Answer 39

calls for regulators to issue notices of proposed rules relevant to administration of any given statute, with a period of public comment lasting at least thirty days (and often longer)
-the general public can be involved in the rulemaking process because of the ability to comment publicly

Question 40

what is the purpose of anti-trust laws?

Answer 40

-to prohibit anticompetitive conduct that deprive American consumers, taxpayers, and workers of the benefits of competition
-promote fair competition and prevent monopolies or unfair business practices
-going after public service commissions

Question 41

what does it mean when public service commissions regulate prices?

Answer 41

-it means that a government agency is overseeing and controlling the prices charged by certain businesses, typically those providing essential services to the public
OR (in simple terms)
-working to create a fair system that benefits both service providers and consumers, ensuring services are accessible and reasonably priced