Multiple Choice: What's your it management iq?
Connecting state and local government leaders
Are you cut out to be a government IT manager? The answer'indeed, your very future'depends on how you respond to certain questions and situations, none of which appear in the quiz below. But lack of validity never stopped many other famous publications from putting their readers to the test, nor will it stop GCN. So take the quiz and start realizing your future now.
Are you cut out to be a government IT manager? The answer'indeed, your very future'depends on how you respond to certain questions and situations, none of which appear in the quiz below. But lack of validity never stopped many other famous publications from putting their readers to the test, nor will it stop GCN. So take the quiz and start realizing your future now.
1. As a government IT manager, the cultural icon you most identify with is:
a. Roseanne Rosannadanna ('It's always something!')
b. Mr. Spock ('You're an expert on computers, aren't you?')
Spock: 'I know all about them.' 'from a 'Star Trek' episode)
c. Homer Simpson ('Oh, so they have Internet on computers now!')
d. Dilbert ('I love deadlines. I especially love the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.')
2. In your opinion, the biggest obstacles to outsourcing are:
a. ROI doesn't match COB, so how you gonna CYA?
b. You've finally got enough pigeons in the office Friday night poker game, and you don't want to lose them now.
c. You haven't quite figured out what the people you'd be replacing do, exactly.
d. Your job's on that bloody list.
3. When GAO auditors come knocking, you:
a. Update your resume and start looking at the private sector.
b. Hide under the desk until they go away.
c. Say, 'Golly, this will be a good learning experience.'
d. Tell them, 'Network? Oh, we do duct work here. Networks are in the next block.'
4. Half of your work force is eligible to retire in two years, so you:
a. Resolve to finally, seriously and thoroughly get the drift of this 'seat management' thing.
b. Grab your portfolio and a calculator and think: Florida or Arizona?
c. Grab a thesaurus and find a new way to say, 'Work smarter, not harder.'
d. Hold the door.
5. Your favorite thing about e-government is:
a. When something fails, we can always blame an ISP.
b. Cross-agency projects might mean that another agency does all our work for us.
c. It will eliminate paper from our offices and save a lot of trees.
d. You, personally, will get your tax refund faster.
6. The downside of e-government is:
a. You know, stovepipes really are the best security.
b. When it comes to fruition, there will be nothing left for us to do.
c. We'll lose all that fun, face-to-face interaction with the public.
d. Cross-agency projects might mean that we do other agencies' work for them.
7. Your favorite thing about being a government IT manager is:
a. What I learn at the office helps me keep track of what my kids are doing online.
b. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
c. When I look at my to-do list, I see the future of society.
d. The hours, because recreation and a social life are overrated anyway.
Answer
Answers, more or less, for questions 1-8:
a. Good thought, but no one's listening.
b. You're dreaming, kiddo.
c. How did you get this job in the first place?
d. Hey, you're just being realistic. Carry on.
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