Public Section Preview
Predicted Questions with Model Answers
Q1 (5 marks — 50 words): Explain Holland's RAISEC model of career types.
Model Answer:
Holland's RIASEC/RAISEC model (1959) classifies personality and work environments into 6 types: (R) Realistic — practical, hands-on; (A) Artistic — creative, expressive; (I) Investigative — analytical, intellectual; (S) Social — helpful, people-centred; (E) Enterprising — persuasive, ambitious; (C) Conventional — orderly, detail-oriented. Career flourishing depends on congruence between person type and environment type. Example: A Social-type person flourishes in welfare administration (S environment); placed in data auditing (C environment) they experience dissatisfaction and potential burnout.
Q2 (5 marks — 50 words): Explain Seligman's PERMA model of flourishing.
Model Answer:
Martin Seligman's PERMA model (Flourish, 2011) identifies five elements of wellbeing — each pursued for its own sake: (P) Positive Emotions — joy, gratitude, hope; (E) Engagement — flow states; deep absorption in activities using strengths; (R) Relationships — high-quality connections and social support; (M) Meaning — sense of purpose beyond self; (A) Accomplishment — achievement and mastery. PERMA-V extends this with (V) Vitality — physical health as the foundation for all other elements. Applicable to designing thriving public sector workplaces.
Q3 (5 marks — 50 words): What is Person-Environment Fit? Explain its types.
Model Answer:
Person-Environment (P-E) Fit is the degree of congruence between an individual's characteristics and their work environment. Four types: (1) Person-Job (PJ) Fit — abilities match job demands; predicts performance and engagement; (2) Person-Organisation (PO) Fit — values align with organisational culture; predicts commitment and lower turnover; (3) Person-Group (PG) Fit — compatibility with team; predicts collaboration; (4) Person-Vocation (PV) Fit — Holland's RAISEC congruence; predicts long-term career flourishing. High P-E fit satisfies autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs (Deci & Ryan's SDT).
Q4 (5 marks — 50 words): Explain VIA Character Strengths and their role in flourishing.
Model Answer:
VIA Classification (Seligman & Peterson, 2004) identifies 24 character strengths under 6 virtues: Wisdom (Creativity, Curiosity, Judgment, Love of Learning, Perspective), Courage (Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest), Humanity (Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence), Justice (Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership), Temperance (Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-Regulation), and Transcendence (Gratitude, Hope, Spirituality, Humour). Using Signature Strengths (top 3–7) at work increases engagement by 38%, reduces burnout, and produces the most authentic flourishing. Based on cross-cultural review of moral philosophy including Bhagavad Gita.
Q5 (5 marks — 50 words): What is Flow? How does it relate to flourishing at work?
Model Answer:
Flow — Csikszentmihalyi (1990, Flow) — is complete absorption in a task when skills match the challenge level: too easy = boredom; too hard = anxiety; balanced = flow. Characteristics: full concentration, loss of self-consciousness, time distortion, intrinsic reward. Flow is the 'Engagement' (E) element in Seligman's PERMA model — the peak flourishing experience. For administrators: a collector absorbed in designing a complex water-harvesting scheme for an arid district experiences flow — their highest performance moments align with flow states.
Q6 (5 marks — 50 words): What is Job Crafting? Explain with examples from public administration.
Model Answer:
Job crafting — Wrzesniewski & Dutton (2001) — is the proactive reshaping of work to align with strengths and meaning. Three types: (1) Task crafting — a patwari voluntarily digitises land records beyond official duty; (2) Relational crafting — a development officer builds stronger panchayat relationships to ease scheme implementation; (3) Cognitive crafting — a MNREGA supervisor reframes register-filling as "ensuring rural employment security" (calling orientation). Job crafting activates PERMA elements, increases engagement by 30%, and reduces burnout without requiring structural changes.