POLS 340 Exam II Flashcards

What is not an expected behavior of the rational decision making model?

popular opinion

What is the decision-making model that mixes the rational model with incrementalism?

mixed scanning

How many governors have the power of line-item veto?

44

Chief executives have the most control over employees when they are hired through:

patronage

Anthony Down’s typology characterizes bureaucrats who focus on narrow policies as:

zealots

Which part of the bureaucracy has the most employees?

primary and secondary education

How has the amount of government employees grown since 1951?

the number of federal employees has stayed the same; the amount of state and local employees have increased

Which one of the following is most at odds with the patronage system?

demographic representation of the American general population

Which era is marked by the Pendleton Act?

government by the “good”

What is the ideal situation in terms of information quality and decision analysis?

the official had total access to all of the accurate data and be able to verify that data directly

How can personal goals broadly affect organizations?

individuals might devote more time and energy to pursuing their own goals than those of the organization

they might come into conflict with others in the organization over matters such as advancement or policy-related activities

What is the typology of bureaucrats according to Anthony Downs?

climbers, conservers, zealots, advocates, and statesmen

What are the three arenas?

public

legislative

administrative

What are the three factors that can help shape the leadership environment?

legislative support

policy and program initiative

crises

Who made up the basic prescriptions for reorganization?

Herbert Kaufman

What are the basic prescriptions for reorganization?

limiting the number of program subordinates under a given executive

grouping related functions under a common command

increasing the number of executive staff positions

granting extensive reorganization power to elected or appointed executives

insulating career public servants against political pressures

decentralizing administration

expanding opportunities for public participation in the administrative process

What are the distinct levels of responsibility and control according to Talcott Parsons (lowest to highest)?

technical

managerial

institutional

What are the traditional approaches to the study of leadership approach?

the traits approach centers on the individual and looks at personality characteristics

the situational approach analyzes leaders within an organization, doesn’t explain success or failure, and focuses on leader / follower interactions

What is effective leadership conditioned by?

the particular combination of people, tasks, and organization dynamics in a given situation

What are the values predominant in the approach to human resources practices?

executive leadership

politically neutral

demographic composition

What is government by “gentlemen” (1789 - 1829)?

an era that reflects the powerful influence of the American quasi-aristocracy on all of politics and the use of nepotism within political participation

What is government by the “common person” (1829 - 1883)?

an era that resulted from a movement toward a more egalitarian political system and was characterized by widespread patronage practices at all levels of government

What is government by the “good” (1883 - 1906)?

focused on elimination of corruption in hiring practices and equality of access to competitive entrance examinations

What is government by the “efficient” (1906 - 1937)?

an era characterized by maintenance of the merit system and of political neutrality and by the pursuit of management efficiency

What is government by “administrators” (1937 - 1955)?

an era that saw the development of an activist political role for public administrators

What is government by “professionals” (1955 - 1995)?

a period of greater concern for recruiting, testing generalized skills of job applicants, and meeting the challenges of, as well as opportunities for, increased professionalism in the public service

What is government by “citizens, experts, and results” (1995 - present)?

an era driven by changes in technology

Who is the father of patronage in the United States?

Jackson

What are the advantages of a merit system?

ability to bring individuals who are competent and have the skills for the job

continuity and stability

What are the advantages of patronage?

turnover on a fairly regulated basis

chief executive who can command those throughout the bureaucracy

make elections matter more

What was Jackson’s solution to agency appointments being based on family lineage with elites dominating the bureaucracy?

a “spoils system” (patronage)

What are the problems with the spoils system?

distributing public offices to winners of party warfare introduced inefficiency and corruption into public administration

patronage system channeled men’s minds along lines of private narrow interests and away from a concern with the public interest

dramatic turnover in personnel had chaotic consequences for administration

What was the goal of the Pendleton Act (1883)?

to develop a national administrative bureaucracy based on merit instead of party affiliation

What state was one of the first to move toward merit hiring?

New York

What are the key differences between the public and private sector?

upper level managers in the public sector are either elected or appointed by an elected official

political nature of the process in the public sector and tendency towards multilateral bargaining

often a monopoly or near monopoly in the public sector

What is the usual bargaining sequence?

labor organizing efforts; union seeks recognition as agent

bargaining team selection by employees and management

define scope of bargaining

proposals and counterproposals

reach agreement at negotiating table

submit agreements to ratification vote

resolve impasses (mediation, fact finding, arbitration, and referendum)

possible strike

sign contract, collaborate in implementation provisions

What are the purposes of budgeting?

ledger

a statement of financial intent

programmatic intent

tool for controlling the bureaucracy and shaping agencies’ programs

an index of relative distribution of power

authoritative decisions to spend or reduce spending in certain ways in preferences to others

What are the actions or tools of fiscal policy?

taxation and tax policy

direct budget expenditures

management of the national debt

indirect tax expenditures

What branch of government does the process of budget making start with?

executive

What are the essentials of the budget making process?

conflict between branches

conflict between chambers

conflict between committees

fragmentation

When does the fiscal year typically start?

October 1

What are the broad stages of the government budget process?

preparation

authorization

appropriations

execution

audit

What does financial accounting generally refer to?

a systematic approach to reporting and aggregating financial transactions within an organization

Who is the most dependent on bureaucrats at the implementation stage?

chief executive

What are the two concepts associated with the classical/economic (rational) model?

cost-benefit analysis and cost-benefit ratio

What are the key differences between rationalism and incrementalism?

rationalists maximize benefits in all phases; incrementalists satisfice

incrementalism = short-term focus; rationalism = long-term focus

incrementalists say the rational model is unrealistic

What are the problem of goals?

formally goals are established by the legislature; agencies work toward public interest

substantive goals = legitimacy

symbolic goals —→ the broader the goal, the less likely it’s to have opposition

policy goals often have the need for ongoing effort

_____ often have more power to exercise over the ______ than the _______ has over the ________

governors; state bureaucracy; president; federal government

Who was the governor who exercised strong patronage power?

Huey Long

What makes the executive more reliant on the bureaucracy?

implementation

What is “dual-difficulty”?

the executive must rely on bureaucratic expertise to both define and implement policy

What is leadership a combination of?

traits

situation

style

What are the three core values of the human resources administration that are often in tension?

executive leadership

politically neutral

demographic composition

Who was the first president to see political loyalty as a necessity for hire?

Thomas Jefferson

What is a difference between merit and patronage?

merit = what you know

patronage = who you know

What was the Pendleton Act triggered by?

Garfield assassination

What is the overall budget for fiscal year 2026?

7.4 trillion in spending

What are the accounting bases?

cash basis - record on cashflow; expenses are only recorded when there has been a cash payment; not GAAP-compliant

accrual basis - revenues when earned; expenses when liability occurs; used widely by business and state/local government

modified accrual basis - state/local government only; revenues are recorded when they are considered measurable and available; expenses when liability incurred

fund accounting