KLB 2213

INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

STUDY QUESTIONS

MEMO:

Students are required to participate actively in class discussion, exercises and other class

activities.  It is just not enough to read and study the lectures given by the instructor, or to

participate mentally in the discussion without voicing out your opinions or relating your own

experiences.  As to facilitate the students understanding of the subjects, students are required to

respond to these Study Questions based on the schedule below.

These questions are primarily opinion or short research questions, based on the ideas in the

corresponding chapter. Submissions will therefore be graded for completion rather than

accuracy. A brief document containing student responses should be prepared and submitted in

class on the date indicated. These submissions are part of the participation grade for the course.

Late submissions will not be accepted and will detract from the student’s participation grade.

Date Study Questions

12 February 2014 Consider any public administrative operation with which you have

recently dealt or are familiar. List all their functions that (a) provide

services, (b) enforce regulations, or (c) provide a mix of service and

regulation.

5 March 2014 Some believe that Malaysia has too many governments in the sense that

governmental authority is too fragmented and that the cost of

redundancies and loss of coordination is too high. Would you favor

abolishing any levels or kinds of government? Why or why not?

19 March 2014 Can you identify a case of public administration with which you are

familiar where the official violated his or her public trust, in your view? If

so, what seems to have been the cause? How was the breach of trust

discovered, and how was the issue resolved? Do you believe the

resolution was the best one possible?

30 April 2014 During the early and mid-1980s, many states raised their drinking ages to

twenty-one, in response to federal prompting and as a means of promoting

traffic safety. How would you go about analyzing the impact of this

policy? What kind of approach would you take and what kinds of

information would you seek and use? Suppose your analysis discerned no

policy impact; how do you think different political groups react?

7 May 2014 Deregulation is currently an important political issue. Do you think

Malaysia is ‘overregulated’ in some areas of economic or social life?

“Underregulated” in any? What criteria can you develop to help you

decide?