SPEA V-185 MGMT OF PUBLC PROB & SOLUTIONS: exam 2 study guide

person-regarding equity

people have different needs and that resources should be determined based on individual circumstances

What is confirmation bias?

phenomena where people not only seek out info that supports their existing opinion, but they also end to ignore or discount info that challenges it back

what is motivated reasoning?

phenomenon in cognitive science and social psychology in which emotional biases lead to justifications or decisions based on their desirability rather than an accurate reflection of the evidence.

Structural Racism

A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity

what is agency capture?

(aka Regulatory Capture) - The condition where an agency primarily serves the interests of an industry rather than those of elected officials.

what is the difference between the "police patrol" versus the "fire alarm" approach to Congressional oversight?

- Some have argued that Congress can adopt oversight strategies that are less costly, in terms of time or effort. o Wait for somebody to complain about a problem, otherwise assume that the bureaucracy is doing what it is supposed to be doing. o This is the "fire alarm" approach to oversight, as opposed to the "police patrol" approach that we have talked about so far.

What were the Asch conformity experiments, and what were the major findings from this research?

- The Asch conformity experiments were a series of psychological experiments conducted by Solomon Asch during the 1950s. - The experiments revealed the degree to which a person's own opinions are influenced by those of groups. - Asch found that people were willing to ignore reality and give an incorrect answer in order to conform to the rest of the group.

When will congress tend to delegate, and when will it tend to more aggressively take control or monitor?

- Under divided government, Congress views the bureaucracy as ideologically closer to the President than itself and less likely to delegate. - If policy is very complex/technical and/or there is great uncertainty about how a policy will work, Congress is more likely to delegate, because they don't have the expertise and don't want to get blamed if things go bad. - If policies bestow benefits to constituents (i.e. tax credits, earmarks, etc...); Congress is less likely to delegate. - When there has been some type of crisis/disaster; or when the agency is doing something to harm important constituent groups and people want action, Congress is more likely to take an aggressive role

what is overhead democracy?

- a way to integrate bureaucracies into a democratic system - when elected officials are put to the top of the bureaucratic hierarchy or are otherwise entrusted with mechanisms that allow them to control the unelected portions of government.

What does it mean to be a rational actor?

- you are able to rank-order your preference, based on the expected utility of each option - individuals in an economy who make rational choices based on calculations and the information that is available to them

ASPA code of ethics

1. Advance the public interest: promote the interests of the public and put service to the public above service to oneself 2. Uphold the Constitution and the Law: respect and support the government constitution and law,s while seeking to improve laws and policies to promote the public good 3. Promote democratic participation: Inform the public and encourage active engagement in governance. Be open, transparent, and responsive, and respect and assist all persons in their dealing with public organizations 4. Strengthen social equity: Treat all persons with fairness, justice, and equality and respect individual differences, rights, and freedoms. Promote affirmative action and other initiatives to reduce unfairness, injustice, and inequality in society 5. Fully inform and advise: Provide accurate, honest, comprehensive, and timely information and advice to elected and appointed officials and governing board members and to staff members in your organization 6. Demonstrate personal integrity: Adhere to the highest standards of conduct to inspire public confidence and trust in public service 7. Promote Ethical Organizations: strive to attain the highest standard of ethics, stewardship, and public service in organization that serve the public 8. Advance professional excellence: Strengthen personal capabilities to act competently and ethically and encourage the personal development of others

what are the 3 forms/causes of organizational isomorphism?

1. Mimetic: imitate high performing peers or competitors even if you don't know how, why or if the things you are copying are actually important for performance. Often driven by uncertainty 2. Normative: Professional standards and networks cause organizations to adopt similar practices and structures 3. Coercive: government policies and regulations put pressures on organizations to become more alike to comply with legal requirements

what are the advantages and disadvantages of using the "fire alarm" approach?

Advantages and Disadvantages of "Fire Alarms" - Is much less costly than "police patrol" approach - Allows Congress to take the credit for responding to problems and concerns that people have raised, without wasting time on issues that may not be important to constituents disadvantages: — Assumes that people will have the ability to recognize problems and to sound the alarm, and that all groups will be able to do this equally well — Assumes that there won't be a lot of false alarms

What are the three major causal mechanisms linking diversity/representation to performance? Identity and define each from examples

Advocacy, Legitimacy, and learning

identify and define the three major causal mechanisms linking diversity/representation to performance

Advocacy: Members of under-represented groups serve as advocates for their group members, improving outcomes for these individuals - Several studies have found that as representation of women or minorities increase in organizations, outcomes for women and minority clients improve - Key mechanism is that bureaucrats in these instances actively use their power/autonomy to advocate for group members Legitimacy: As organizations more closely mirror the populations they serve, they are viewed as more legitimate by those populations - In addition to advocacy efforts by gov officials, representation can also signal to underrepresented groups that the agency understands and values their concerns and experiences - Mechanism here is that the clients view the organization differently and thus have more positive experiences Learning: Organizations benefit from diversity of experiences and perspectives to be able to learn and adapt to challenges - A third way that representation can improve organizational performance is by helping the agency learn and adapt better - The diversity of the group allows for more ideas and perspectives to be included in decision-making, and for learning to occur in groups

example of institutional racism

African Americans are more likely to contract COVID and have worse outcomes o Access to quality insurance o Existing disparities in quality of care o Other health problems that stem from both poverty and discrimination o More vulnerable employment o Food insecurity and access to healthy foods o Housing conditions o Under-representation in gov and lack of trust between community and public officials o Voter suppression policies that make it more difficult to participate in the democratic process

(serial and parallel) which can individuals do, and how does this relate to decision-making organizations?

At individual level, humans can only engage in serial processing (despite our continued efforts to multitask) -Organizations and institutions can be designed to enable parallel processing, but this is limited because ultimately some key decision-maker will have to address the problem, and that decision-maker will be constrained to serial-processing of information - Because they can only attend to one task at a time, decision-makers will tend to completely ignore some problems in order to focus their attention on the problems they feel are most important

what are executive orders, and how have presidents used these in the past to influence policy?

Cannot be passed on issues that congress has already passed on. Only a wedge issue Use executive order to unilaterally create mandates and directives for agencies

Case study on administrative enforcement of speeding laws. what does the case say about the reasons for bureaucratic discretion in enforcing laws, and what are potential downsides associated with this use of discretion?

Case study #1, where there are so many laws/rules that change due to how the cops feel like, that there is a bureaucratic discretion in enforcing laws.

What are punctuated equilibriums, and how is this concept related to incrementalism?

Change happens incrementally most of the time, but that major change happens when attention of key decision -makers becomes focused on a single issue or problem- This leads to punctuated equilibriums - End result is that the political system often pays too little attention to a problem for a long time, until things reach a breaking point, at which time attention shifts and system becomes disproportionately focused on the issue

How does the garbage can model of decision-making posit that decision-makers approach problem solving?

Decision makers are as likely to start decision making from the solution side as the problem sideo "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" mentality to problem solving o Create decision-making opportunities that they can solve with ready-made solutions based on their competencies and skills o People push for competing solutions, based on their perceptions of the nature of the problem and the attractiveness of their solutions to those problems o Selection of an alternative depends on which persons or groups definitions of the current situation holds sway

what is the racial wealth gap?

Drastic and growing difference in wealth accumulation between Black and White individuals.

identify and give an example of the three types of costs that administrative burdens pose for individuals

Learning Costs Time and effort to learn about the program or service (scholarships, not aware they are eligible because you have to do all this research) Eligibility status The nature of benefits Conditions that must be satisfied How to gain access Compliance Costs Provision of information and documentation to demonstrate standing Financial costs to access services (such as fees, legal representation, travel costs) Avoiding or responding to discretionary demands made by administrators

what are the three types of costs that administrative burdens pose for individuals?

Learning costs, compliance costs and psychological costs

what is the difference between lot and person-regarding equality?

Lot equality: says that everything should e divided up equally with each person in the group receiving an identical share Person-regarding equality: says that people have different needs and that resources should be determined based on individual circumstances

Who is most impacted by these by these burdens? Why?

Low-income neighborhoods are likely to be impacted the most by these burdens.

What is organizational isomorphism?

Over time, organizations within a field or sector converge to look alike, particularly in terms of structure and policies/procedures.

what does it mean to say that administrative burdens are constructed?

Political actors can use burdens as an alternative way to reduce access to services that they believe gov should not provide o Requirements for legal immigration 12 o Voter ID laws o COVID-19 and unemployment insurance

Give an example of a situation where administrative burdens were created to further a political agenda

Political actors can use burdens as an alternative way to reduce access to services that they believe the government should not provide. While these efforts are usually defended as part of a legitimate effort to prevent fraud or abuse, they are often employed to accomplish some political goal that would not otherwise be possible to enact via legislation EX. requirements for legal immigration, Voter ID Laws, Covid-19 and unemployment insurance

what strategies can managers use to avoid groupthink?

Pressure to conform can create problems where people are uncomfortable sharing dissenting opinions o Desire to remain part of the group is more powerful than making the right decision o Can lead to extreme and unethical decisions and actions

what is the principal-agent dilemma?

Principals (electoral institutions) hire an agent (bureaucracy) to accomplish some task but are unable to completely monitor the agent's behavior. Agents are able to exploit this lack of oversight and control to "shrink" responsibilities

What is the politics-administration dichotomy, and how is it related to the progressive movement? what is the primary goal that was associated with public management during this era? what was the most important quality for public administrators to have?

Progressive era: study of public administration as a neutral instrument distinct from policy and politics. Progressive era aimed at reducing corruption and increasing the professionalism of bureaucracy Politics: normative/focuses on what should be donw Administration: empirical/setermines how to accomplish the end goald set by politics Administration should focus on "neutral competence" / not be political

what is the difference between prospect and means based approaches to equality of opportunity?

Prospect approach: two people have the same probability of receiving an outcome Means-based approach: two people have the same probability of receving an outsome assuming that they have the same qualifications

satisifying

Rather than make best decision possible, people tend to make decisions that are "good enough"

case on bias in technology and the use of facial recognition software

Refers to case study #2 in which Detroit used facial recognition software to detect crimes/criminals The software incorrectly identifies black women 1/3 of the time & disproportionally incorrectly detected/identified colored individuals

what is satisifying?

Since decision making is costly and takes energy, humans seek out ways to reduce the number of choices they have to consider and narrow things down to just a few alternatives

what strategies can be used to reduce administrative burden?

Technology can help burdens by making it easier for people to get information and to provide documentation - Can publish info on programs and eligibility requirements and then email people link o Ability to fill out forms and submit online rather than hand deliver them to a physical location o Apps on your computer or smartphone that allow you to take a picture rather than faxing o Use a video conferencing programs that reduce need for in-person appointments o Important to retain autonomy from workers and ensure that it is user-friendly for people not experienced with the system Transfer burdens to gov o Outreach efforts to increase awareness of policies and programs o Design processes that reduce wait-times o Have caseworkers meet with recipients at home or work o Merge and combine already existing administrative data sources to better communicate and share information Universalistic Programs have lower burdens Programs that are general and universal in nature often have fewer burdens because there is not as much need to show documentation proving eligibility o Social security and Medicare have almost universal take-up o Means based social welfare programs have lower rates of take-up, largely because these programs create additional costs for recipients to document their eligibility o Discussions about stimulus and COVID

what was New Public Administration, and how does this compare to the idea of neutral competence?

The New Public administration movement in the 1960s argued that administrators should be active participants in promoting social justice In fact: the ASPA code of ethics explicitly states that administrators should promote social equility

To what extent does it appear the conditions are met in the United States?

The conditions are not met to a great extent as the main goal for members of Congress is to get re-elected

what is the theory of representative bureaucracy?

This theory claims public sector performance is directly related to fit between demographic characteristics in the community and society and the people working in a given government agency. With this theory it has two forms of representation. Passive and active.

How are administrative burdens distributed in the US?

Those who need one form of government assistance often end up needing others as well.

what is the anchoring effect?

a cognitive bias in which people rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions

What is loss aversion?

a real or potential loss is perceived by indivduals as psychologically and emotionally more severe than an equivalent gain.

Which of the following most accurately describes institutional racism? a) The systematic perpetuation of racial inequalities through laws, customs and practices b) Bureaucratic use of discretion to negatively impact minority constituents c) Racist administrative norms resulting from biased individual bureaucrats d) All of the above

a) The systematic perpetuation of racial inequalities through laws, customs and practices

what are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to decision-making? (incrementalism)

advantage: - empirical and normative arguments - lots of evidence that budgets tend to be largely incremental - less work in looking a tother kinds of decisions - less risk - consistent with principles of bounded rationality - potentially expedient disadvantages: - hard to explain major changes - major change happen when attention is focused on single issue - leads to punctuated equilibrium

How do "bottom-up" approaches seek to achieve accountability?

approach to accountability places emphasis on providing "street-level" bureaucrats with necessary authority and discretion to act - Also stresses role of education, socialization, training, etc... of these street level agents - Idea is to strengthen "inner-checks," by creating a bureaucracy staffed with people who have strong ethics/morals and who are responsive to needs and demands of citizens/clients

When politicians oversee/take control of the bureaucracy only when constituents indicate that there is a problem, this is referred to as a) Bureaucratic responsibility to the public b) Fire alarm approach to monitoring c) Police patrol approach to monitoring

b) Fire alarm approach to monitoring

When government agencies, special interest lobbying organizations, and legislative committees join forces to shape the actions of public organizations, this is called a(n): a) Closed monitoring network b) Iron triangle c) Mutual regulatory body

b) Iron triangle

In class, we discussed the case of a former internet company official later working for the FCC to regulate internet companies, garnering concern for ___ (fill in the blank) a) Bureaucratic corruption b) Regulatory capture c) Legal malpractice

b) Regulatory capture

What is bounded rationality, and how does this differ from pure rationality?

bounded rationality describes the way that humans make decisions that departs from perfect economic rationality, because our rationality is limited by our thinking capacity, and the information that is available to us, and time. Pure rationality is when decisions and thoughts are based on reason rather emotions

Which of the following is most accurate? a) In means equality, two people have the same probability of receiving an outcome b) Prospect equality is also referred to as "legitimate inequality," where two people have the same probability of receiving an outcome assuming they have the same skills c) Person-regarding equality considers individual circumstances to distribute resources equitably

c) Person-regarding equality considers individual circumstances to distribute resources equitably

Which of the following were concerns we mentioned in class related to algorithmic bias? a) Inaccuracy resulting in legal consequences b) Violations of civil liberties like privacy c) Perpetuation of racial biases d) All of the above

d) All of the above

what is serial processing?

dealing with problems/decisions one at a time

what is parallel processing?

dealing with several decisions or problems simultaneously

what is incrementalism?

decisions are made in small steps with the opportunity to make adjustments between each step - less risk, consistent with principles of bounded rationality, politically expedient

what is institutional racism?

form of racism where race and its intersections with other identity markers are an integral part of society and are institutionalized by law and public policy

What is adverse selection?

hen principles (in this case, Legislatures) are unable to effectively differentiate between the quality or competence of people they hire to do some task

What is the prospect theory?

investors value gains and losses differently, placing more weight on perceived gains versus perceived losses

What is agency loss?

is what happens when the agents exploit this lack of monitoring to pursue their own interests at the expense of the principal

what would have to be true about the American political system for this to be accurate?

o People would have to hold Congress and the President accountable for adopting undesirable policies, or not addressing major issues. § Know what's going on § Get involved and participate (vote, write letters, etc...) o Congress would have to hold the bureaucracy accountable for effective implementation. § Know what it is that the bureaucracy is actually doing § Have detailed knowledge of how policy should be implemented

(adverse selection and moral hazard) how do these relate to the relationship between congress and bureaucracy?

o Will sometimes hire "bad" agents who are lazy or incompetent o Unable to directly observe the work that agents do o Difficulty knowing who or what is to blame when things go wrong o Civil service reforms, other protections, and political monopolies can serve to insulate bureaucracies from punishment for poor performance. o Bureaucrats who believe that they likely won't be fired for doing a bad job may take advantage of this for their own personal gain

What is prospect theory, and how does it relate to loss aversion?

prospect theory

What is the decoy effect?

refers to situations where the selection can be influenced by including a clearly inferior version of one of the choices - the inclusion of an inferior version of one alternative makes the better version of that alternative seem more attractive

what is choice blindness?

refers to the fact that people will come up with reasons after the fact that makes it seem like their decision was based on some logical reason

which system is used most of the time?

system one is used most of the time, without us even realizing it is happening.

What are system 1 and system 2 modes of decision-making?

system one- operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control system 2- allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it

what is a debtor's prison?

the arrest and jailing of poor people for failure to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford, through criminal justice procedures that violate their most basic rights.

what is administrative burden? define and example

the learning, psychological, and compliance costs that people experience in their interactions with gov - Focused on individual citizens rather than private businesses, nonprofits or interest groups All programs create some level of burden Builds on theories of bounded rationality and findings from behavioral economics These costs are often hidden and are not recognized or considered in analyses of programs Raise important equity concerns about access to gov serives

What is an iron triangle?

the legislature, interest groups, and bureaucracy. The triangle is used to show how the three entities work in creating public policy. Many competing interest in the external environment seek to shape the actions of public organizations Closed, mutually supportive relationships between government agencies, the special interest lobbying organizations, and the legislative committees or subcommittees with jurisdiction over a particular functional area of government policy

how does this compare and contrast with "top-down" methods of accountability?

top down mechanisms for ensuring bureaucratic performance, accountability, and democratic responsiveness focus on formal/legalistic controls by external actors

what is groupthink? what are examples?

when group members striving for agreement (norm for unanimity), fail to realistically appraise alternative courses of action Ex: Bay of Pigs invasion, bombing of pearl harbor, Columbia and Challenger space shuttle disasters, Iraq war

what is moral hazard?

when one party acts overly risky/irresponsible because they will not feel the full force of penalties EX: banking industry and housing crisis of 2008; bad teachers in public schools