Home › MCQs › Public Adminstration › Question #9557
Back to Questions
Public Adminstration QUESTION #9557
Question 1
The concept of 'departmentalization by geography' can be contrasted with 'departmentalization by function.' A government that reorganizes its health services from a single national directorate into four provincial health departments is making what organizational trade-off?
  • Gaining economies of scale and functional specialization but losing geographic responsiveness and local accountability
  • Gaining proximity to local needs and improved face-to-face service delivery but risking inconsistency of standards, duplication of functions and weaker central control✔️
  • Gaining tighter central control and reduced administrative cost but losing the capacity to respond to provincial health priorities
  • Gaining functional specialization in each region but losing the advantages of uniform policy application across the country
Correct Answer Explanation
Geographic departmentalization improves local responsiveness, face-to-face delivery and coordination within each region. The trade-offs are: loss of uniform national standards, potential duplication of specialized resources across regions, increased administrative cost from maintaining parallel structures, and weaker central coordination — challenges directly identified in this book's analysis of geographic departmentalization disadvantages.