SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
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1. Administration is a(n)
A. science that can be taught. *
B. skill that all people have.
C. art that only few possess.
D. talent that one must be born with.
2. "Management" is most closely associated with
A. a sergeant in a police force.
B. day-to-day operations of elements within the organization.
*
C. direction provided on a one-to-one basis.
D. leadership of a small group.
3. "Administration" encompasses both
A. leadership and control.
B. management and supervision. *
C. execution and guidance.
D. governance and direction.
4. The system-wide goal of effectiveness is measured
by:
A. accomplishment of outcomes *
B. economy of operations
C. proficiency or quality of process
D. all of the above
5. The goal of equity refers to:
A. predictability
B. procedural fairness
C. spread of benefits or costs *
D. outcomes that enhance freedom
6. Many observers argue that the three justice components actually comprise
A. a "wheel"
B. a "chain"
C. a nonsystem *
D. a strategy
7. Much of the failure to deal effectively with
crime may be attributed to the justice process's
A. organizational/administrative fragmentation *
B. legal system
C. high risk of corruption
D. inadequate recordkeeping
8. Criminal justice managers usually refer to which
measure as a "supergoal" in criminal justice.
A. the ratio of inputs to outputs
B. the difference between inputs and outputs *
C. the quality of outputs
D. quality inputs, throughputs, and outputs
9. Which of the following is not a reason why agency personnel don't always know
the system-wide goals of criminal justice?
A. they assume the goals of their immediate supervisor
B. they assume other people are taking care of it
C. they assume their subsystem goals are system-wide
D. they assume that such goals are too idealistic *
10. The "Darwinian fallacy" refers to the acceptance of a subsystem function
that has simply survived throughout time without question by anybody.
A. true *
B. false
11. The "Roshomon effect" is likely to occur in decoupled organizations because
there are subenvironments.
A. true *
B. false
12. The goal of enforcing the law and
maintaining social order is
A. the due process model
B. found in the Sixth Amendment
C. the crime control model *
D. impossible to meet at all
13. Which of the following is an example of an
intrinsic reward?
A. Bonuses
B. Sense of worth *
C. Awards
D. Professional job titles
14. Public-sector employees must derive their
job satisfaction primarily through _____________rewards.
A. financial
B. bonus-related
C. intrinsic *
D. extrinsic
15. The criminal justice system is best
characterized as:
A. an open system with closed-loop feedback *
B. a closed system with open-loop feedback
C. an open-loop system with feedback
D. an open-loop system with no feedback
16. No feedback or unintended feedback indicates goal conflict.
A. true *
B. false
17. Closed systems are sensitive to their environment.
A. true
B. false *
18. Which of the following would not qualify as a
full-blown organization?
A. A police labor union
B. General Motors
C. A men's bridge club *
D. The Department of Defense
19. The success of any organization normally
depends on the _____________ within the agency.
A. quality of work life *
B. levels of wages
C. levels of competition
D. pyramidal structure
20. Katz said that _________skills involve
"coordinating and integrating all the activities and interests of the
organization toward a common objective."
A. administrative
B. human
C. technical
D. conceptual *
21. Which of the following elements is not
included in Weber's theory of organizational structure?
A. Division of services *
B. Hierarchy of authority
C. Written rules
D. Rulification and routinization
22. Max Weber's definition of "bureaucracy"
included sanctions for the organization as a whole if it fails in its mission.
A. true
B. false *
23. An organization becomes "debureacratized" when its goals have been
penetrated by the norms of a clientele.
A. true *
B. false
24. Why is legal-rational authority the best kind to
use?
A. it establishes fear in the minds of subordinates
B. it makes rewards and punishments more logical
C. it creates a system of rights and duties *
D. it is based on legal wisdom and jurisprudence
25. What kind of power should a person use if they are unable to rely on
legitimate power?
A. coercive
B. reward
C. expert *
D. coalition
26. According to Patrick Murphy, which areas are non-negotiable where
interference from clientele are not allowed?
A. personnel decisions
B. deployment patterns
C. accountability mechanisms
D. both A and B only *
27. When an agency manager is "cultivating a constituency" rather than
"coalition-building", he/she is usually involved in:
A. positioning for a budget request *
B. improvement of public relations
C. power games
D. community resource extraction
28. Bureaucracies are often criticized for
A. giving employees too much individual freedom
B. being efficient
C. being unresponsive to changing needs and times *
D. being too loose and unstructured
29. James Q. Wilson says that police work is neither
bureaucratic nor professional but a "craft". Using Perrow's framework of
analyzing environmental forces, what characterizes a "craft"?
A. high analyzability, many exceptions
B. high analyzability, few exceptions
C. low analyzability, many exceptions
D. low analyzability, few exceptions *
30. The pyramidal structure has which of the
following characteristics?
A. Important decisions are made throughout the pyramid
B. Nearly all contacts take the form of orders going up and
reports of results going down
C. Superiors have a limited span of control, supervising only
a limited number of people
D. Personnel at very few levels have contact only with their
boss above them and subordinates below them *
31. Which leadership style does Likert say is most in
use by bureaucracies?
A. authoritarian *
B. consultative
C. participative
D. emancipative
32.Communication among managers or subordinates
on the same level of the hierarchy is
A. downward
B. lateral *
C. upward
D. vertical
33. Which of the following is the general model for all
organizations?
A. mission---policy---procedure---action
B. mandate---mission---objectives---subobjectives
C. mission---goals---objectives---behavior *
D. mission---goals---policy---action
34. Which ancient society gave us the exception
principle?
A. Egyptians
B. Babylonians
C. Hebrews *
D. Chinese
35. The debate over generic vs. distinct management science can be traced back
to the ancient Greeks.
A. true *
B. false
36. An agency with a short span of control is a tall
organization.
A. true *
B. false
37. Downward communication is more important to a manager than upward
communication.
A. true *
B. false
38. What largely determines the shape of an organizational chart?
A. span of control *
B. chain of command
C. specialization
D. employee competency
39. Which of the following best represents the staff principle?
A. management must never abandon the staffing function
B. staff personnel are more important than line personnel
C. managers should have their own personal aides *
D. staffing should be done by talent or merit
40. Which of the following is the least common way organization charts
represent the grouping of like functions?
A. level of authority
B. amount of responsibility
C. skill *
D. closeness to chief
41. Which of the following is the most difficult principle to put into effect?
A. the delegation principle
B. the accountability principle
C. the grouping like functions principle
D. the authority-level principle *
42. The "Gang-Plank" principle deals with what kind of communication?
A. downward
B. upward
C. horizontal *
D. vertical
43.Human relations management began with studies
conducted at
A. Bethlehem Steel
B. Harvard Business School
C. Western Electric Company *
D. University of California, Berkeley
44. "Speedy" Taylor preferred flat organizations with
wide spans of control, as wide as 8.
A. true *
B. false
45. Henri Fayol preferred tall organizations with narrow spans of control, as
narrow as 4.
A. true *
B. false
46. Scientific managers believe what ratio of increased productivity should be
tied to wage increases?
A. a five to one ratio
B. a four to one ratio *
C. a three to one ratio
D. a two to one ratio
47. Which one of Taylor's followers was most involved with the creation of
employee tests to match workers to a job?
A. Henry Gantt
B. Hugo Munsterberg *
C. Frank & Lillian Gilbreth
D. Morris Cooke
48. Which one of Taylor's followers was most involved with the development of
visual aids for management?
A. Henry Gantt *
B. Hugo Munsterberg
C. Frank & Lillian Gilbreth
D. Morris Cooke
49. Who developed the concept of "zone of indifference"?
A. "Speedy" Taylor
B. Henri Fayol
C. Elton Mayo
D. Chester Barnard *
50. The "Hawthorne effect" usually produces approximately what increase in
productivity?
A. 50%
B. 100% *
C. 150%
D. 200%
51. Who discovered the "Hawthorne effect"?
A. "Speedy" Taylor
B. Henri Fayol
C. Elton Mayo *
D. Chester Barnard
52. Who was an early founder of MBO, Management By Objectives?
A. Max Weber
B. Oliver Sheldon
C. Mary Parker Follett *
D. James Mooney
53. Who invented the acronym POSDCORB for remembering all the management
functions?
A. Carl Barth
B. Frank & Lillian Gilbreth
C. Leonard White
D. Gulick & Urwick *
54. Which study at Michigan State University
looked at how leaders motivated individuals or groups to achieve organizational
goals?
A. Trait theory
B. Style theory *
C. Democratic theory
D. Laissez-faire theory
55. According to Katz, an administrator needs
A. sufficient communication skills to accomplish the
mechanics of the particular job for which he or she is responsible
B. sufficient human skill in working with others to be an
effective group member *
C. sufficient conceptual skills to recognize the mechanics of
a particular job
D. sufficient educational skills to interpret administrative
needs and wants
56.Which of the following was not a
management fad of the 1980s?
A. Demassing
B. Corporate Culture
C. Management by Objectives *
D. Management by Walking Around
57. Which principle says that 90% of the problems for
management come from 10% of the organization?
A. Parkinson's law
B. Peter Principle
C. Michel's Law
D. Pareto's Law *
58. Which principle says that managers rise to their level of incompetency?
A. Parkinson's law
B. Peter Principle *
C. Michel's Law
D. Pareto's Law
59. Which principle says that work expands to fill the time available?
A. Parkinson's law *
B. Peter Principle
C. Michel's Law
D. Pareto's Law
60. Which of these most clearly illustrate a
person's "hierarchy of needs," beginning at the bottom?
A. food, protection, creativity, power
B. food, power, protection, creativity
C. protection, food, power, creativity
D. food, protection, power, creativity *
61. Maintenance factors, according to
motivation-hygiene theory, are those
A. things in the work environment that meet an employee's
hedonistic need to avoid pain *
B. psychosocial factors in work that provide intrinsic
satisfaction and serve as an incentive *
C. characteristics and tasks that motivate individuals
D. behaviors an organization spells out in order to maintain
efficiency in the group
62. According to Kanter's theory of tokenism,
minorities who constitute less than what percent of a department usually suffer
psychological harm from coworkers?
A. 10%
B. 15% *
C. 20%
D. 25%
63. Which of the following points on the Managerial
Grid represents managers' preferred leadership style?
A. 1,9
B. 9,9 *
C. 1,1
D. 9,1
64. Which part of the "Johari window" typically represents the most confident
manager?
A. known to self---known to others
B. known to self---unknown to others
C. unknown to self---known to others *
D. unknown to self---unknown to others
65. Committees will normally engage in the "risky-shift phenomenon" if they
number at least five members.
A. true *
B. false
66. August Vollmer's most daring innovation was
the creation of
A. day and night patrol
B. bicycle patrol
C. a police school *
D. red light systems
67. Fosdick believed that police chiefs should
possess all but which of the following?
A. A good education
B. Job tenure
C. Power equal to the mayor's *
D. Good salaries
68. Bruce Smith identified a broad
classification of activities in police organization, including all but which of
the following?
A. Patrol and traffic control
B. Communication and records control
C. Canine patrol and internal affairs *
D. Criminal investigation and personnel management
69. O. W. Wilson viewed the primary police
objectives as all but which of the following?
A. Perpetuation of the policing system of the past *
B. Prevention of criminal tendencies in individuals
C. Arrest of criminals and recovery of stolen property
D. The performance of a wide variety of non-regulatory
services
79. The ________ the agency, the greater the
need for specialization and the more ________ the organizational chart will be.
A. larger/horizontal
B. smaller/vertical
C. larger/vertical *
D. smaller/horizontal
80. Police organizations in the United States,
as a whole, are quasi-military ______________________.
A. cooperatives
B. bureaucracies *
C. businesses
D. autocracies
81. The larger the police agency, the greater
its need for
A. an organizational chart
B. specialization *
C. a chief of detectives
D. a generalist approach
82. Which of the following is one of Lynch's
major criticisms of scientific management?
A. Officers were considered aggressive instruments *
B. The focus was on technical efficiency
C. The employee was considered to be an "economic man"
D. The efficiency of operation was to be obtained only
through division of labor
83. Attempts to replace the traditional
pyramidal structure in policing have included all but which of the following?
A. Expanded pay scales or salary incentives for the patrol
officer
B. The "Master Police Officer" designation
C. Separation of autonomy from rank
D. Lawsuits by the rank and file *
84. Which is an example of a secondary line
function in policing?
A. Technical services
B. Administration services
C. Investigation services *
D. Patrol services
85. Which is an example of a primary line
function in policing?
A. Technical services
B. Administration services
C. Investigation services
D. Patrol services *
86. The type of police function that the public
rarely sees, which includes jail management and crime laboratory services, is
called
A. investigative services
B. auxiliary services *
C. patrol services
D. staff services
87. Which of the following best describes police
rules and regulations?
A. Specific managerial guidelines which leaves little or no
latitude for individual discretion *
B. "Guides to action"
C. Reflections of the purpose and philosophy of the
organization
D. Guides to thinking rather than action
88. Successful police innovation is associated
with all but which of the following?
A. The chief's active commitment to policing that is oriented
toward crime prevention
B. The chief's motivation of personnel to "enlist in the
cause" of these new norms
C. The support and patience of the public
D. Allowing the quality of innovation to decline due to
everyday demands *
89. The most challenging aspect of changing the
culture of a police agency lies with
A. the first-line supervisor *
B. captains and lieutenants
C. the line officer
D. the chief executive
90. Problem oriented policing calls for
A. specifically handling the problem
B. recognizing that incidents are often merely overt symptoms
of problems *
C. monitoring the seriousness of incidents
D. taking note of the number of occurrences of the problem
91. COPPS stands for
A. common organizational people policing society
B. community oriented people policing society
C. community oriented policing and problem solving *
D. community oriented policing and people solving
92. For COPPS to be effective, the police
organization needs
A. employees to be removed from the decisionmaking process
B. the strategy to be created as a temporary "unit"
C. for only about half of the officers to engage in problem
solving
D. a chief executive who is a viable change agent *
93. Which of the following is not one of the
three major roles of CEOs, under the Mintzberg model?
A. Negotiator *
B. Interpersonal
C. Informational
D. Decision-maker
94. Which CEO role includes figurehead,
leadership, and liaison duties?
A. liaison
B. interpersonal *
C. spokesperson
D. leadership
95. Duties which include monitoring/inspecting
and spokesperson functions are
A. part of the liaison role
B. part of the negotiating role
C. part of the spokesperson role
D. part of the informational role *
96. Kuykendall and Unsinger found that the
_______________ manager style was used more frequently by police administrators.
A. telling
B. selling *
C. participating
D. delegating
97. Kuykendall and Unsinger found that the
__________ manager style was used least often.
A. Telling
B. Selling
C. Participating
D. Delegating *
98. The "telling" style can be best described as
A. placing high emphasis on both task accomplishment and
people relationships
B. emphasizing relationships and having low task orientation
C. having both low task and people orientation
D. having high task and low people orientation *
99. Which method has been most developed in
policing to obtain the most capable people for executive positions?
A. The "Johari Window"
B. The situational question/answer
C. The assessment center *
D. The managerial grid
100. The most common educational requirement for
police chief is
A. high school diploma
B. high school diploma and several years of experience as a
police supervisor *
C. college degree
D. college degree and several years of experience as a police
supervisor
101. A study by the Police Executive Research
Forum found that police executives wanted more training in all but which of the
following areas?
A. Computers
B. Legal problems
C. Personnel management
D. Writing ability *
102. The lack of police chief job tenure has
several negative consequences, including all but which of the following?
A. The creation of too many in-house programs *
B. The lack of long-range planning
C. Frequently have new policies and administrative styles
D. Time and expense in hiring a new chief
103. Which type of police chief is found the least
often?
A. the administrator
B. the top cop
C. the politician
D. the statesman *
104. Sheriffs often regard ________ as a liability.
A. service of civil service
B. serving as bailiff of the courts
C. jail administration duties *
D. collection of certain taxes and sale of estates
105. Sheriffs tend to be ____________ than
police chiefs.
A. older and less trained and educated *
B. younger and more highly trained and educated
C. in charge of more valuable resources
D. more actively involved in civic activities
106. Too often, _________ become glorified paper
pushers in top-heavy organizations.
A. civilian staff
B. patrol officers
C. deputy chiefs
D. middle managers *
107. A very difficult rank to hold, being caught
between upper management and rank and file officers, is
A. sergeant *
B. captain
C. corporal
D. lieutenant
108. Which of the following approaches is not
a means of determining the appropriate level of police personnel a department
needs?
A. Intuitive
B. Consultant-oriented *
C. Geographical
D. Comparative
109. Which approach to determining police
personnel levels requires an elaborate information system and standards of
expected performance.
A. Intuitive
B. Workload *
C. Comparative method
D. Geographical
110. The concept sweeping the country, community
oriented policing and problem solving:
A. is widely felt to be doomed to fail
B. can be applied to all sizes of cities and counties *
C. actually consists of foot patrol
D. is mostly performed by detectives
111. A study of 57 cities found all but which of
the following to be associated with high rates of justifiable homicides:
A. Awarding of incentives for marksmanship
B. A younger than average police force *
C. The issuance of shotguns
D. The issuance of weapons larger than a .38 caliber
112. Which of the following is not one of the
four parts of the SARA model, used in problem-oriented policing?
A. Scanning
B. Assessment
C. Reconfiguration *
D. Analysis
113. What is the first step towards mobilization
of personnel when a riot begins?
A. Discontinue all nonessential police tasks *
B. Mobilization of military personnel
C. Communication towards subordinates
D. Logistics and tactics
114. The best known organization for accrediting
police agencies is the
A. Uniform Accreditation Association of Police
B. InterAgency Review and Coordination Committee
C. Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies *
D. National Commission on Police Accreditation
115. During the first half of the 20th century,
emphasis on police performance was placed on
A. the numbers of problems solved
B. qualitative measures, such as quality of life in
neighborhoods
C. the amount of complaints that could be generated from
arrestees
D. quantifiable activities, such as arrests, citations, and
miles driven per shift *
116. One-third of all police and sheriff's
departments with 50,000 or more population
A. are videotaping at least some interrogations *
B. are fully accredited
C. use the Tennessee v. Garner standard
D. engage in videotaping high accident intersections
117. Once police recruits leave the academy it
is critical for administrators to see that
A. they go back to the academy as soon as possible, for more
testing
B. they continue to receive adequate, annual in-service
training *
C. they forget their academy training and instead absorb
"real world" knowledge
D. they go teach to other, more veteran officers as soon as
possible
118. With regard to stress management, police
administrators
A. have traditionally been reluctant to acknowledge the
problem *
B. have led the movement for recognition and treatment
C. actually suffer greater levels of stress than do their
subordinates
D. have generally given up hope and allow their officers to
take disability
119. Police psychologists recommend that a
systematic stress program should minimally include all but which of the
following?
A. A behavioral profile for each officer
B. A flexible counseling program
C. Training for supervisors to recognize the warning signs
D. A disciplinary policy for those officers who miss
counseling sessions *
D. reward those who consistently file litigation
154. There are approximately how many locally
administered jails in the U.S.?
A. 2,300
B. 3,300
C. 4,300 *
D. 5,300
176. Which deadly force policy has the most
serious consequences if employees violate it?
A. restrictive
B. discouragement
C. judgmental *
D. deferential
177. Which of the following levels of government are exempt from OSHA?
A. federal
B. state
C. local
D. all are exempt *
178. Title I of the __________ makes it illegal to discriminate against persons
with disabilities.
A. American Disabilities Act *
B. Civil Rights Act of 1954
C. Section 1983 Act
D. Pregnancy Act
179. Employers may discriminate when it is shown that a "business justification"
requiring doing so exists, which is also known as a:
A. affirmative employment measure
B. incompetent screening device
C. bona fide occupational qualifier *
D. liability exclusion clause
181. Which of the following is not
one of the four steps in a budget cycle?
A. formulation
B. approval
C. appeal *
D. execution
182. What is Not a primary strength of a line-item budget?
A. ease of control
B. ease of comprehension
C. ease of development
D. ease of modifying the status quo *
183. A performance budget:
A. is cheap to develop
B. is cheap to implement
C. relates volume of work to money spent *
D. compares past years with present and future years
184. The best-known management budget for monitoring organization activities is:
A. line-item
B. zero-based
C. program *
D. performance
185. Which type of budget requires justification of the entire operations in
detail, rather than simply basing it on prior years?
A. line-item
B. zero-based *
C. program
D. performance
Last updated: Oct 05, 2006
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