Practice Test Geeks(CPM) Certified Public Manager Practice Test
← All CPM Flashcard Decks

Public Sector Leadership & Ethics Flashcards

7 cards from real CPM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Public Sector Leadership & Ethics flashcards as text

  1. A public manager discovers that a long-standing departmental policy conflicts with a newly enacted state ethics law. What is the most appropriate first action?

    Answer: Immediately suspend the policy and notify legal counsel and supervisors

    When departmental policy conflicts with law, a public manager must stop the conflicting practice and escalate to legal counsel immediately.

  2. Which leadership style is most effective when managing a crisis that requires rapid, decisive action with little time for consultation?

    Answer: Directive (autocratic) leadership

    Directive leadership provides clear, quick decisions essential during a crisis when speed outweighs the benefits of participation.

  3. The concept of 'stewardship' in public sector leadership primarily means:

    Answer: Managing public resources as a trustee on behalf of citizens

    Stewardship holds that public managers are trustees of taxpayer resources and must act in the public's best interest.

  4. An employee reports to you that a colleague is falsifying time records. Under public sector ethics frameworks, you should:

    Answer: Document the report and initiate an investigation per agency policy

    Ethics frameworks require managers to document and investigate credible reports of misconduct through proper channels.

  5. Equity as an ethical principle in public management requires that managers:

    Answer: Distribute services fairly, accounting for differing needs and vulnerabilities

    Equity means allocating resources based on need, not uniformity, to achieve fair outcomes across diverse populations.

  6. A public manager who consistently takes credit for team accomplishments while deflecting blame to subordinates is violating which ethical principle?

    Answer: Accountability

    Accountability requires public managers to honestly accept responsibility for both successes and failures of their unit.

  7. Which of the following best describes 'bounded rationality' as it applies to public sector decision-making?

    Answer: Decision-makers work within cognitive and informational limits, seeking satisfactory solutions

    Bounded rationality, coined by Herbert Simon, acknowledges that managers 'satisfice' — finding good-enough solutions given cognitive and resource constraints.