MPA Master of Public Administration 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A public administrator following the 'new public service' model would prioritize which value above efficiency?
- Profit maximization
- Democratic citizenship and the public interest (Correct answer)
- Strict hierarchical authority
- Market competition among agencies
Correct answer: Democratic citizenship and the public interest
Denhardt and Denhardt's New Public Service argues that administrators should serve citizens and the public interest rather than steer government like a business.
Question 2: In Maslow's hierarchy of needs applied to public sector motivation, which need level must be satisfied before employees seek esteem and self-actualization?
- Cognitive needs
- Aesthetic needs
- Safety and security needs (Correct answer)
- Transcendence needs
Correct answer: Safety and security needs
Maslow's hierarchy places physiological needs first, then safety needs, followed by social/belonging needs, before higher-order esteem and self-actualization needs.
Question 3: Which federal law requires agencies to assess the environmental impact of major federal actions through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)?
- Clean Air Act
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (Correct answer)
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Endangered Species Act
Correct answer: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NEPA (1969) mandates that federal agencies prepare an EIS for any major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
Question 4: Which statistical technique is most appropriate when a researcher wants to control for multiple confounding variables and estimate the independent effect of one program variable on an outcome?
- Simple frequency distribution
- Multiple regression analysis (Correct answer)
- Chi-square goodness-of-fit test
- Descriptive statistics
Correct answer: Multiple regression analysis
Multiple regression allows analysts to isolate the effect of a key independent variable on an outcome while statistically controlling for other variables.
Question 5: The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 was a landmark reform primarily because it did which of the following?
- Created the Department of Homeland Security
- Replaced the spoils system with merit-based federal hiring (Correct answer)
- Established collective bargaining rights for federal workers
- Required competitive bidding for all federal contracts
Correct answer: Replaced the spoils system with merit-based federal hiring
The Pendleton Act created the Civil Service Commission and mandated competitive examinations for many federal positions, attacking the patronage (spoils) system.
Question 6: A government that devolves authority to lower levels of government or to nongovernmental organizations to deliver services is practicing which approach?
- Centralization
- Nationalization
- Devolution and decentralization (Correct answer)
- Bureaucratic consolidation
Correct answer: Devolution and decentralization
Devolution transfers responsibilities from higher to lower levels of government, while decentralization more broadly disperses authority and decision-making power.
Question 7: In public budgeting, 'encumbrance accounting' is used to track which of the following?
- Outstanding debt obligations of the government
- Funds committed for purchase orders not yet paid (Correct answer)
- Revenue collected but not yet deposited
- Salaries accrued but not yet disbursed
Correct answer: Funds committed for purchase orders not yet paid
Encumbrance accounting reserves funds when a purchase order or contract is issued, preventing those funds from being spent on other items before the obligation is fulfilled.
MPA Master of Public Administration 4
A public administrator following the 'new public service' model would prioritize which value above efficiency?