MPA Introduction 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The concept of 'bounded rationality,' introduced by Herbert Simon, suggests that decision-makers:
- Always seek and achieve the optimal solution
- Make decisions within cognitive and informational limits, seeking satisfactory outcomes (Correct answer)
- Rely solely on quantitative data for choices
- Delegate all complex decisions to subordinates
Correct answer: Make decisions within cognitive and informational limits, seeking satisfactory outcomes
Simon argued that human rationality is bounded by limited information, cognitive capacity, and time, leading decision-makers to 'satisfice' rather than optimize.
Question 2: Which accountability mechanism requires federal agencies to justify their existence and programs from a zero base each budget cycle?
- Performance budgeting
- Zero-based budgeting (Correct answer)
- Line-item budgeting
- Program budgeting
Correct answer: Zero-based budgeting
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) requires agencies to justify every expenditure anew each year rather than building from the prior year's approved budget.
Question 3: Which term describes the network of relationships among multiple governmental and non-governmental actors collaborating to address public problems?
- Bureaucratic hierarchy
- Collaborative governance network (Correct answer)
- Iron triangle
- Command-and-control regulation
Correct answer: Collaborative governance network
Collaborative governance networks involve public agencies, nonprofits, private firms, and citizens jointly producing public value outside traditional hierarchical structures.
Question 4: The Hatch Act of 1939 primarily restricts which behavior of federal employees?
- Collective bargaining in federal unions
- Partisan political activities while on duty (Correct answer)
- Accepting gifts from contractors
- Whistleblowing on agency misconduct
Correct answer: Partisan political activities while on duty
The Hatch Act prohibits most federal civilian employees from engaging in partisan political activities during work hours or using their official positions for political purposes.
Question 5: Which concept refers to the unwritten expectations, norms, and informal procedures that shape how a public agency actually operates day-to-day?
- Organizational culture (Correct answer)
- Statutory mandate
- Administrative law
- Formal hierarchy
Correct answer: Organizational culture
Organizational culture encompasses the shared values, assumptions, and informal norms that guide employee behavior beyond what formal rules prescribe.
Question 6: In the context of public administration, 'equity' as a core value primarily concerns:
- Achieving the lowest cost per unit of service
- Ensuring fair and impartial treatment and distribution of services across all groups (Correct answer)
- Maximizing total output of government programs
- Maintaining strict adherence to procedural rules
Correct answer: Ensuring fair and impartial treatment and distribution of services across all groups
Equity in public administration focuses on fair access to public services and ensuring that disadvantaged groups receive proportionally appropriate attention and resources.
Question 7: Which report, commissioned in 1937, led to the reorganization of the Executive Office of the President and is considered a landmark in U.S. public administration history?
- Hoover Commission Report
- Brownlow Committee Report (Correct answer)
- Grace Commission Report
- National Performance Review
Correct answer: Brownlow Committee Report
The Brownlow Committee Report recommended that 'the President needs help' and led to the creation of the Executive Office of the President in 1939.
MPA Introduction 5
The concept of 'bounded rationality,' introduced by Herbert Simon, suggests that decision-makers: