BGS, BSGS Bachelor of General Studies BSGS Public Administration 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Hatch Act of 1939 restricts which activities for federal employees?
- Accepting foreign gifts or payments
- Partisan political activity while on duty (Correct answer)
- Moonlighting in the private sector
- Disclosing classified information
Correct answer: Partisan political activity while on duty
The Hatch Act limits federal employees' engagement in partisan political campaigns and activities to preserve the nonpartisan character of the civil service.
Question 2: In intergovernmental relations, a 'block grant' differs from a 'categorical grant' primarily because block grants:
- Require matching funds from the recipient government
- Give recipient governments broad discretion in how funds are spent (Correct answer)
- Are awarded competitively based on proposals
- Fund only capital infrastructure projects
Correct answer: Give recipient governments broad discretion in how funds are spent
Block grants provide funds for broad functional areas (e.g., community development) with few strings attached, giving states and localities more flexibility than narrowly targeted categorical grants.
Question 3: Which ethical framework in public administration holds that administrators should follow rules and duties regardless of consequences?
- Utilitarianism
- Virtue ethics
- Deontological ethics (Correct answer)
- Pragmatism
Correct answer: Deontological ethics
Deontological ethics (associated with Kant) judges actions by adherence to rules and duties rather than their outcomes, emphasizing obligations like honesty and fairness.
Question 4: The concept of 'span of control' in public organizations refers to:
- The geographic area covered by a federal program
- The number of subordinates a supervisor can effectively manage (Correct answer)
- The range of policy issues within an agency's jurisdiction
- The financial authority of a department head
Correct answer: The number of subordinates a supervisor can effectively manage
Span of control defines how many direct reports a manager can supervise effectively; narrow spans create taller hierarchies while wide spans create flatter organizations.
Question 5: Which scenario best illustrates a 'wicked problem' in public administration?
- Calculating the correct tax withholding for a federal employee
- Addressing homelessness, which involves housing, mental health, and economic factors (Correct answer)
- Issuing a routine permit for a construction project
- Auditing a federal agency's financial statements
Correct answer: Addressing homelessness, which involves housing, mental health, and economic factors
Wicked problems are complex, interconnected policy challenges with no clear solution—homelessness exemplifies this because it defies simple fixes and involves multiple systems.
Question 6: In U.S. public budgeting, the term 'continuing resolution' refers to:
- A legislative act permanently extending a government program
- Temporary funding legislation that keeps agencies running when full appropriations have not passed (Correct answer)
- A presidential veto of a congressional spending bill
- An audit directive issued by the Government Accountability Office
Correct answer: Temporary funding legislation that keeps agencies running when full appropriations have not passed
A continuing resolution (CR) is passed when Congress fails to enact a full appropriations bill by the fiscal year start, funding agencies at prior-year levels temporarily.
Question 7: The principle of 'representative bureaucracy' argues that public agencies should:
- Be led by elected rather than appointed officials
- Reflect the demographic diversity of the populations they serve (Correct answer)
- Rotate leadership positions among all agency employees
- Report directly to Congress rather than the president
Correct answer: Reflect the demographic diversity of the populations they serve
Representative bureaucracy holds that a workforce mirroring the public's demographics will be more responsive to and trusted by diverse communities.
BGS, BSGS Bachelor of General Studies BSGS Public Administration 4
The Hatch Act of 1939 restricts which activities for federal employees?