UPSC CSE (Main) 2017 · Optional
Public Administration · Paper I · 2017
28 questions from UPSC's own paper, Administrative Theory.
UPSC's question paper: PDF ↗ (UPSC's file, as hosted by civilserviceindia.com)
- Section A
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Q1(a) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Even after 130 years of its publication, Woodrow Wilson's essay 'The Study of Administration' continues to have great relevance even today." Comment.
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Q1(b) · 10 marks · 150 words
"What is distinctive about the Classical and Human Relations schools of administration is their complementarity to each other." Analyse.
2. Administrative Thought Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q1(c) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Conflict is the appearance of differences — differences of opinions and of interests" — (Mary Parker Follett). Comment.
2. Administrative Thought Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q1(d) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Leaders do the right things; managers do them rightly" — (Warren Bennis). Is this distinction by him valid? Explain.
3. Administrative Behaviour Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q1(e) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Administrative law is recognised by its substance rather than its form." Discuss.
6. Administrative Law Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q2(a) · 20 marks
New Public Management has been branded by certain scholars as 'Neo-Taylorism'. Is it a justified comparison? What factors have led to the decline of NPM so soon after its birth?
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Q2(b) · 15 marks
"Abraham Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs' and Frederick Herzberg's 'Two-Factor theory' have commonalities in the analysis of human motivation." Comment.
3. Administrative Behaviour Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q2(c) · 15 marks
Civil Society supplements and complements the State. However, its capacity and role depend upon the will of the State. Comment.
5. Accountability and Control Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q3(a) · 20 marks
The Participative Management School of Argyris and Likert advocates democracy within the administrative system. Will this approach be equally useful to developing countries with evolving democracies?
2. Administrative Thought Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q3(b) · 15 marks
"Executive positions imply a complex morality and require a high capacity of responsibility" — (Chester Barnard). Comment.
2. Administrative Thought Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q3(c) · 15 marks
When the media is controlled by vested interests, how can it control the vested interests in the government? How can the media become more responsible and impartial?
5. Accountability and Control Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q4(a) · 20 marks
"With every major transformation in the applied world of Public Administration, the study of Public Administration has grown in scope and intensity." Discuss the relationship between the evolution of the discipline and profession of Public Administration.
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Q4(b) · 15 marks
"Systems Theory in essence is not a theory, but an approach to the study of administrative phenomena." Comment.
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Q4(c) · 15 marks
The principle of delegated legislation, is I think right, but I must emphasise that it is well for Parliament to keep a watchful and even zealous eye on it at all stages" — (Herbert Morrison). Analyse.
6. Administrative Law Write this answer — get it evaluated →
- Section B
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Q5(a) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Budgeting is a political process" — (Aaron Wildavsky). Examine.
12. Financial Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q5(b) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Development Administration and Administrative Development have a chicken and egg kind of relationship" — (Riggs). Elaborate.
8. Development Dynamics Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q5(c) · 10 marks · 150 words
"Digitalisation provides great impetus to E-governance." Discuss.
11. Techniques of Administrative Improvement Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q5(d) · 10 marks · 150 words
"360° performance appraisal system is a rational idea, but it involves complex and inauthentic procedures." How can it be made foolproof?
9. Personnel Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q5(e) · 10 marks · 150 words
"A large public debt forces the adoption of tax and spending policies that result into higher taxes and reduced services." Analyse.
12. Financial Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q6(a) · 20 marks
"Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation have transformed the nature of development administration." Discuss.
8. Development Dynamics Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q6(b) · 15 marks
"Lateral entry of competent experts into the government will promote freshness and innovation, but it can create problems of accountability." Discuss.
9. Personnel Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q6(c) · 15 marks
"There can be no performance auditing without performance budgeting." Elucidate.
12. Financial Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q7(a) · 20 marks
"The Riggsian models of Fused-Prismatic-Diffracted Societies and their administrative systems have been inspired by Max Weber's typology of Traditional Charismatic Legal-Rational Authorities." Analyse.
7. Comparative Public Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q7(b) · 15 marks
"Bureaucracy has inbuilt limitations to act as the prime catalyst to multi-faceted development in a democratic country." Analyse this statement with appropriate examples.
8. Development Dynamics Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q7(c) · 15 marks
Can we say that statutory audit and social audit are two sides of the same coin? Or, are they two separate coins with varying values? Discuss.
5. Accountability and Control Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q8(a) · 20 marks
"Various components of Human Resources Management are inter-related." Discuss.
9. Personnel Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q8(b) · 15 marks
"Administrative ethics includes the code of conduct of civil servants, but goes beyond it as well." Discuss.
9. Personnel Administration Write this answer — get it evaluated →
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Q8(c) · 15 marks
"Of all the processes involved in public policy, implementation is of greatest importance." Examine the impediments in policy implementation.