If you’re aspiring to crack the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Mains examination and have chosen public administration as your optional subject, you’re in the right place! In this comprehensive blog series, we’ll delve into the previous year questions from the Personnel Administration section, spanning from 2013 to 2023. Public administration is a crucial choice for many UPSC candidates due to its practical relevance and its role in shaping governance and policy implementation. Personnel Administration, as a sub-topic, is particularly significant, as it deals with the recruitment, training, motivation, and performance of civil servants, which are essential components of an efficient and accountable bureaucracy.
In this series, we will explore the evolution of Personnel Administration questions over the past decade, helping you gain insights into the pattern and depth of UPSC’s assessment of this topic. We’ll analyze the key themes and concepts, offering valuable guidance and resources to help you tackle these questions effectively. So, whether you’re just beginning your UPSC preparation or looking to fine-tune your knowledge in Personnel Administration, stay tuned for an insightful journey through a decade of UPSC Mains questions in this vital area of public administration.
Personnel Administration – Previous Year Questions (UPSC CSE Mains Psychology Optional)
Importance of human resource development
1. The environment and situational conditions under which the government operates have an important bearing on its human resource development practices. Examine. (2022)
2. Administrative reform is “an artificial inducement of administrative transformation against resistance.” (Gerald Caiden). Identify the nature of resistance and inducements required to overcome it. (2020)
3. In the absence of a merit-based, fair and objective civil service a more partisan and corrupt government will emerge. Is the statement justified? Give reasons. (2019)
4. “Various components of Human Resources Management are inter-related.” Discuss. (2017)
5. “To talk of administrative modernization and still continue with the conventional practice of public personnel administration is a gross incongruity.” Offer suggestions to initiate radical reforms in Human Resource Management of public administrative systems. (2008)
6. “Public Personnel Administration is concerned with a number of functions.” Elaborate. Why are PROCUREMENT and DEVELOPMENT functions important? (1998)
7. “It is said that the generalist rationale was part of a revealed truth. All of us should have known better, for in a world of increasing scientific and technical complexity, it has compelling inadequacies.” Discuss. (1996)
8. “Be it an occupation or a profession, Public Personnel has certainly developed a series of subspecialists and techniques that, over the years, have combined to produce an organisational subsystem that must be staffed by experts if it is to meet the standards set by Public Personnel Administration.” Explain. (1995)
9. “The administrator is a layman rather than a specialist; or at least he has about him something of the qualities of a layman.” Comment. (1994)
Recruitment
1. “Lateral entry is an antidote to the complacency in civil service.” Discuss. (2018)
2. “Lateral entry of competent experts into the government will promote freshness and innovation, but it can create problems of accountability.” Discuss. (2017)
3. The ‘selection model of recruitment rests on the assumption that the primary needs to be met are those of the organization.’ Examine. (2012)
4. Recruitment is the backbone of Public Administration. Explain. (2004)
5. Differentiate between the open and closed career systems. Do you favour the coexistence of both the systems for a balanced career development? (1992)
6. ‘Government has been slow in using modern methods for discovering executive talent.’ Examine the validity of the statement with reference to recruitment to higher civil service in India, USA and France. (1990)
Training
1. Currently, administrative training focusses more on improving efficiency than on transforming the attitudes and behaviour of civil servants. What type of training will you suggest to fill this gap? (2018)
2. “Training is considered as paid holidays.” Comment. (2016)
3. Distinguish fully between the syndicate method, role playing method, and T-Group training method in personnel management. (2010)
4. “Training has proved its incapacity to change the attitudes, behaviour and values of civil servants.” Do you agree with this statement? (2008)
5. “Training is essential not only for efficiency and effectiveness but also for broadening the vision of the employees.” Substantiate. (2007)
6. “Training is practical education in any profession, not only to improve skills but also to develop attitudes and scheme of values necessary for effective performance.” Elaborate. (2003)
Career advancement
1. What opportunities are available to All India Services and state services in career development? Do you agree that days of generalists in modern administrative state are numbered? (2000)
Position classification
1. “The position-classification attempts to establish a triangular relationship between duties and responsibilities, working conditions and qualification requirements.” Elucidate. (2015)
2. ‘Position Classification can be problematic. A serious complaint in its practice is that it dehumanises the employee.’ Discuss. (2011)
3. It is said that ‘position classification’, as originally conceived is sound in terms of its operational characteristics, but complicated and unresponsive in practice. Why is it still considered better than other models of civil service classification? (2009)
4. “If positions are the raw material of classification, class is the operating unit.” Discuss. (2005)
5. “The Generalist will always have an edge over the specialist.” Substantiate the view. (1999)
Discipline, Performance appraisal
1. Performance problems are rarely caused simply by lack of training and rarely can performance be improved by training alone. Critically analyse the statement. (2022)
2. Performance appraisal needs to be seen beyond the mere suitability of the official for vertical promotion. Explain. (2021)
3. “Performance Management Framework enables a clear line of sight between planning, measuring and monitoring performance.” Critically analyse. (2020)
4. A more effective system of performance appraisal should acknowledge the subjective elements in it and be less obsessed with the objective criteria. Elucidate. (2019)
5. “360o performance appraisal system is a rational idea, but it involves complex and inauthentic procedures.” How can it be made foolproof? (2017)
6. “A central reason for utilization of Performance Appraisal is performance improvement of the employees.” In the light of the statement, analyze the needs of Performance Appraisal in an Organization. (2016)
7. “Disciplinary action may be informal and formal.” Explain and point out the provisions made in the Constitution or Statute to check the misuse of power to take disciplinary action. (2016)
8. Why do public organisations evaluate employees’ performance/ How can performance evaluation systems affect employees’ behaviour? How can administration effectively evaluate employees? (2005)
9. What techniques the Government of India have employed to evaluate (appraise) the performance of senior level employees, i.e., Class I and Class II? Are you satisfied with these techniques? (2001)
10. Public Agencies have used a number of sources and procedures for measuring Performance. Comment. (1996)
Promotion, Pay and Service Conditions
1. Discuss in this connection the case for and against promotion based on seniority. (2010)
2. “The widening gap in emoluments of government employees versus the public sector corporations and private sector employees has a strong bearing on the motivation and ability to work.” Comment. (2007)
Employer-employee relations
1. Analyse the relevance of Whitleyism in contemporary employer – employee relationship. (2015)
2. Analyse the constitutional, political and operational dimensions of employer – employee relations. What are your suggestions to bring about a satisfactory relationship between them? (2002)
3. ‘Whitleyism represents a typical British response to Trade Unionism by public servants.’ Comment. (1987)
Grievance redressal mechanism
1. In what respects, the powers of proposed institution of Lok Pal in Bill already introduced in Indian Parliament, will strengthen the institution as compared to Parliamentary Commissioner of UK? (2001)
2. ‘Professional standards, ethics, philosophy, attitudes and ideology of public service are the means to promote accountability of Public Administration.’ Explain how career and no-Career Public Service is accountable to judiciary. (1990)
Code of Conduct (Anonymity and Neutrality)
1. Standards are the foundation which do not replace regulations but complement them. Comment. (2022)
2. Discuss in this connection the case for and against promotion based on seniority. (2015)
3. Civil Service neutrality is a thing of the Past. Discuss. (2004)
4. “The doctrine of political neutrality and anonymity is on more relevant to modern civil service.” – Comment. (2002)
5. How far is it true to state that for a developing democracy the concept of civil service neutrality is outdated; instead there is a need for a civil service with professional competence and commitment? (1997)
6. “Committed bureaucracy is unsuitable in a Parliamentary democracy.” Comment. (1996)
7. ‘Public interest demands the maintenance of political impartiality in the civil services.’ Comment. (1990)
Administrative ethics
1. Most civil service regimes still equate ‘Public Sector Ethics’ with anti-corruption efforts. Discuss the insufficiency of Ethics-code in this background. (2022)
2. Civil servants generally tend to exhibit the values and ethical framework of the political executives under whom they function. (2021)
3. Explain. “Prevention of misconduct requires institutionalization of ethical values in the political and administrative levels.” Justify. (2020)
4. The imperatives of administrative ethics are necessarily an antidote to “I was only obeying the orders” argument by public officials. Explain. (2019)
5. “Administrative values have no value unless they are valued by all stakeholders of the governance system.” Comment. (2018)
6. “Administrative ethics includes the code of conduct of civil servants, but goes beyond it as well.” Discuss. (2017)
7. “Administrative ethics is a process of independently critiquing decision standards, based on core social values that can be discovered, within reasonable organisational boundaries that can be defined, subject to the personal and professional accountability.” (Denhardt). Explain. (2015)
8. Briefly discuss the principles of ensuring ethics in public service as recommended in the Nolan Committee Report (1994). (2010)
9. The administrator needs autonomy and discretion in much the same way as the politician needs control and intervention. Discuss. (2004)
10. Account for the increasing corruption in Administration. Suggest remedies to curb administrative corruption. (2003)
11. ‘The Civil Servants must not forget that he is the servant, not the master of the community and that the official competence need not, and should not involve the loss of human touch.’ Examine. (1991)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
FAQ 1: What is Personnel Administration in the context of public administration?
Answer: Personnel Administration, in the realm of public administration, pertains to the management and oversight of the human resources within government organizations. It involves recruitment, training, performance evaluation, and the overall management of public sector employees. The objective is to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of government agencies by selecting and developing a competent and motivated workforce.
FAQ 2: What are the key challenges in Personnel Administration for government agencies?
Answer: Some common challenges in Personnel Administration include talent acquisition and retention, managing diverse and often unionized workforces, adapting to changing labor laws and regulations, ensuring transparency in hiring and promotions, and maintaining employee morale and motivation. Public sector organizations must also address issues of accountability and equity in personnel practices.
FAQ 3: How does Personnel Administration impact public policy and governance?
Answer: Personnel Administration plays a crucial role in the success of public policy implementation and governance. Effective management of government employees ensures that policies are executed efficiently and that public services are delivered effectively to citizens. Inefficient personnel practices can hinder policy outcomes and public trust in government.
FAQ 4: What is the role of the civil services in Personnel Administration?
Answer: Civil services are integral to Personnel Administration in many countries. They are responsible for the recruitment, training, and career development of government employees. Civil servants often have a key role in policy formulation and execution, making them central figures in public administration.
FAQ 5: How can aspiring civil servants prepare for Personnel Administration in the UPSC examination?
Answer: To prepare for the Personnel Administration topic in UPSC exams, candidates should study the relevant syllabus, analyze previous year’s questions, and keep up with current developments in public personnel management. Reference books and study materials on public administration and human resource management can be invaluable resources for thorough preparation. Additionally, practicing answer writing and time management is crucial for success in the examination.
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