Public Administration

A method of program evaluation that makes comparisons
between similar programs in similar circumstances.

An evaluation of efficiency that assigns
monetary value to all benefits and costs of a program.

1. The idea that government agencies should be
accountable to other government institutions, as well as to the public.

Goals that shape how an agency will accomplish its
primary mission.

The ability of an organization to meet its policy goals.

Meeting the primary organizational goals at the lowest
possible cost.

A form of responsiveness that emphasizes the ideal of
meeting the individual needs of citizens.

An experimental design to measure the impact of a
program by gathering information prior to and after the introduction of the
program.

Complex, difficult to
define problems with many causes that defy any single policy solution.

A method of evaluating organization-wide performance,
often on managerial issues. Useful for comparing the performance of several
organizations.

Analysis to determine the
value of effectiveness of a government program. The 4 types are evaluations of
need, process, outcome, and efficiency.

A pejorative term used to describe what are perceived
as unnecessary or inefficient rules and procedures.

The amount by which overlays exceed revenue in a
fiscal year.

At the federal level, what the president and congress
decide to spend through the 13 annual appropriations bill.

Programs in which the
federal government is legally obligated to make payments of provide aid to any
person who meets the legal criteria for eligibility. Examples include Social
Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps.

Money collected by the
government as taxes, fees, charges, and other government activities such as
transfers and grants.

A type of budgeting that ensures spending falls
substantially below revenue projections, which builds a surplus into the
budget.

Prices paid by citizens in
exchange for some government good or service.

Prices paid by citizens to
engage in activity for some government good or service

The Process of staffing
bureaucracy with political elites.

Policies that give hiring
preferences to disadvantaged groups such as women and ethnic minorities.

Nonsalary job compensation that can include health care, pension schemes, vacation allotments, an promises of jobs security.

The process of assigning
average job evaluation ratings to everyone regardless of the actual variation
in job performance.

A written test designed to gauge
job-related skills and aptitude for employment at a public agency.

Law that prohibit public agencies from discriminating in their hiring
practices on the basis of race, gender religion, age, disability, or national
origin.

bias that occurs when a
rater is overly influenced by a past positive event rather than evaluating the record relevant to the rating period.

Bias that occurs when a
rater is overly influenced by a past negative event rather than evaluation the
record relevant to the rating period.

Salary increases or bonuses based on job performance.

A personal system that uses evaluations of work to determine promotions and raises rather than basing rewards on political grounds.in a government agency will also usually protect workers’ rights in most personnel matters (hiring, firing, evaluations, promotions, and raises).

An 1883 law that
established a merit system for the federal government.

States that people in hierarchical organizations are promoted to their level of incompetence.

A fixed term when new employees do not receive full civil service job protections

The tendency of those doing a job evaluation to make subjective or uninformed judgments

Time in service. Pay raises in the public sector are often based on this.

an approach to staffing bureaucracies that allows electoral winners to hire and fire government employees as they see fit. This means government employees get and retain jobs on the basis of partisan loyalty.

An act of congress that establishes or continues a federal program or agency, and sets forth the guidelines to which it must adhere.

This result occurs
when total receipts equal total outlays for a fiscal year.

the authority provided by law to incur financial obligations that will result in outlays.
This authority comes in several forms: appropriations, borrowing authority,
contract authority, entitlement authority, and loan guarantee authority

a law designed to limit discretionary spending while ensuring that new entitlement
programs or tax cuts do not increase deficits. It set annual limits on total discretionary
spending and created Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules for changes in entitlements
and taxes.

The annual framework that Congress uses to set targets for total spending, total
revenues, and the deficit as well as locations within the spending target, for
discretionary and mandatory spending. It does not become law
and is not binding on the executive branch.

Used by state and local governments to finance expensive long-term projects.

a procedure that applies budget resolution spending limits to individual congressional
committees.

The amount paid annually in interest and principal on outstanding government debt.

Money owed by the federal government, divided into two types: debt held by the public, which is
the cumulative amount of money the federal government has borrowed from the
public and not repaid; and debt held by government accounts, which is the debt
the Treasury owes to other accounts within the federal government. Most of it
results from surpluses of Social Security and other trust funds, which are
required by law to be invested in federal securities.

Money owed by the federal government, divided into two types: debt held by the
public, which is the cumulative amount of money the federal government has
borrowed from the public and not repaid; and debt held by government accounts,
which is the debt the Treasury owes to other accounts within the federal
government. Most of it results from surpluses of Social Security and other
trust funds, which are required by law to be invested in federal securities.

The government's accounting period. The federal government's begins on October 1 and ends on
September 30.

a type of veto that
allows the executive to remove specific items, while still passing the remainder of the budget.

spending that is authorized by permanent law rather than annual appropriations.

Used by state and local governments to budget for day-to-day operations.

The amount of money the government actually spends in a given fiscal year.

Refers to requirements that new mandatory spending proposals or tax reductions must be
offset by cuts in other mandatory spending or by tax increases, to ensure that
the deficit does not rise or the surplus does not fall. These requirements are
no longer enforced.

a type of budgeting that allocates budgetary and human capital resources by comparing
historical and expected future performance levels with the full cost of
producing desired program outcomes.

Public spending targeted at specific jurisdictions,
used for constituency service.

Designed to help the federal government meet the
expectations of the Government Performance and Results Act. Scores that agencies receive help link
program performance with budget decisions, and agencies are held increasingly
accountable for the successfulness of their specific programs.

A budgeting technique that examines the purpose of
government programs, rather than just their activities, including programs’ cost-effectiveness.

A budgeting technique that in its pure form sets agency
budgets back to zero, forcing a thorough review of all spending each fiscal
year.

The means by which a policy will be implemented

An understanding of the relationship between a public policy and the goal it is to achieve.

Implementation that relies on punishments to those who
do not follow the law.

Popular causal theories that expect individuals or groups
to behave in ways to avoid punishments and to seek rewards.

A causal theory that expects individuals or groups to
make better decisions if they have more information about the outcome of their
choices.

The goal of the policy, and
the means to the goal, that are desired by the policymakers who pass a law.

Implementation that relies on things such as information, benefits, or loans. It may also involve no government action at all.

The actions taken by public
organizations to ensure that policy decisions are put into effect.

The set of individuals or groups at which a policy is
directed.

A situation in which individuals or groups respond to a policy even without government action.

The delivery of public programs and services
electronically, typically via the Internet.

A term that describes the decreasing importance of
geographical borders to political jurisdictions. This
problems ranging from traffic congestion to water conservation management are
addressed by cooperation and coordination among public agencies in different
political jurisdictions.

Another term for ATM
bureaucracy.

A wide-ranging reexamination of what government is and what it is expected to do. This debate has been a central concern to public
administration scholars since the 1970s.

a Theory that seeks to explain how one actor
(the principal) can get another actor (the agent) to act in the principal’s best interests even though the principal cannot fully control or monitor the
agent’s actions and effort.

is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Doing the right thing.

Optimism, Conviction, Humor, Civility, Energy, Enterprise, Virtue, Intelligence, Verbal ability,
Creativity, Judgement