ERA Cadre Civil Servant Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

House of Federation role

The upper house of Ethiopia's parliament; it interprets the Constitution and resolves disputes between federal and regional states, and has the power to decide on issues of national unity.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

A large hydropower dam on the Blue Nile in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, designed to generate over 5,000 megawatts and central to national energy and Nile diplomacy.

SDG 9

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on industry, innovation, and infrastructure; it calls for resilient infrastructure, inclusive industrialization, and innovation by 2030.

Affect versus effect

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is usually a noun meaning a result. Confusing them is a common error in formal writing.

Second conditional

A sentence pattern for unreal or unlikely present situations: 'If' plus past simple in the condition, and 'would' plus base verb in the result, as in 'If I were manager, I would delegate.'

Parallel structure

A writing rule requiring items in a list or comparison to share the same grammatical form, such as all gerunds or all infinitives, which improves clarity and readability.

Passive voice formation

Formed with the correct tense of 'be' plus the past participle of the main verb; the original object becomes the subject, and the agent may follow 'by'.

Absolute cell reference

A spreadsheet reference with dollar signs before the column and row, such as $B$4, which stays fixed when the formula is copied to other cells.

COUNT versus COUNTA

COUNT tallies only cells containing numbers; COUNTA tallies all non-empty cells, including text and errors. Choosing the wrong one distorts totals.

BCC field

The blind carbon copy field in email; recipients listed there receive the message but their addresses are hidden from other recipients, protecting privacy in group mailings.

Three-two-one backup rule

A data protection practice: keep three copies of data, on two different media types, with one copy stored off-site so a single disaster cannot destroy all copies.

Conflict of interest

A situation where a public officer's private interest could improperly influence official duties; the officer must declare it and withdraw from the affected decision.

Audi alteram partem

A Latin principle of natural justice meaning 'hear the other side'; an affected person must be given notice and a chance to respond before an adverse administrative decision.

Whistleblower protection

Legal and administrative safeguards for people who report suspected corruption or wrongdoing in good faith, shielding them from retaliation, dismissal, or demotion.

Political neutrality

The duty of civil servants to serve the government of the day loyally and impartially without campaigning for a party or using office for partisan advantage.

Unity of command

Fayol's principle that each employee should receive orders from only one superior; dual command causes confusion, conflict, and unclear accountability.

Span of control

The number of subordinates reporting directly to one manager; a wide span means less supervision per person and generally requires flatter structures and stronger delegation.

POSDCORB

Gulick and Urwick's summary of management functions: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting, widely used to describe public administration tasks.

Management by objectives

Drucker's approach in which superiors and subordinates jointly set measurable objectives, then appraise performance against them at agreed review intervals.

Stopping sight distance

The distance a driver needs to perceive a hazard and stop, equal to the distance travelled during reaction time plus the braking distance on the given grade.

Superelevation

The transverse slope built into a horizontal curve, raising the outer edge to help counter centrifugal force and improve vehicle stability at design speed.

California Bearing Ratio

A penetration test expressing the strength of a subgrade or pavement material as a percentage of standard crushed stone, used to design pavement layer thickness.

Equivalent standard axle

A traffic loading unit representing one pass of an 8.2-tonne standard axle; design traffic is the cumulative ESAs over the pavement design life.

Fatigue cracking

Interconnected longitudinal and transverse cracks resembling alligator skin, caused by repeated traffic loading that exceeds the tensile strength of the asphalt surface.

Raveling

The progressive loss of aggregate particles from the asphalt surface, usually caused by insufficient binder, aged binder, or inadequate compaction during construction.

Routine maintenance

Small-scale, frequent works such as pothole patching, crack sealing, and drain clearing, carried out to keep the road serviceable between larger interventions.

International Roughness Index

A standard measure of road ride quality, expressed as vertical displacement in metres per kilometre travelled; higher values indicate rougher pavements.

Bid security

A tender bond submitted with a bid to deter withdrawal or modification before award; it is returned to unsuccessful bidders after contract signature.

Performance security

A bond or guarantee submitted by the winning bidder, commonly around ten percent of contract price, to protect the employer against contractor default.

Unit-price contract

A contract where bidders quote rates per unit of work and payment follows actual measured quantities, placing quantity risk largely on the employer.

Hierarchy of controls

The ranked order of hazard controls from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and finally personal protective equipment.

Silica dust hazard

Fine crystalline silica released when cutting, grinding, or drilling concrete and stone; inhalation causes silicosis, so wet methods and respiratory protection are required.