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B.A. (Hons) Political Science III Year

Paper VIII: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION WITH SPECIAL REFRENCES TO INDIA

STUDY MATERIAL-1

Editor:

L.N. Misra

School Of Correspondence Courses And Continuing Education

University Of Delhi

5, Cavalry Lines

Delhi- 110007

Contents:

1. Public Administration Meaning, Scope and Recent Trends

2. Ecology of Public Administration

3. The Politics of Development Administration with Special Reference to Milton J. Esman

4. Principles of Administration

5. The Theory of Scientific Management

6. The Human Relations1 Doctrine

7. Theories of Organizational: Staff and Auxiliary Agencies at the Central Level

8. Structure of Organization: Line Agencies, Boards/Commissions and Public Corporations

9. Personal Administration: Recruitment and Training of Civil Services in India

10. Personal Administration: Problem of Specialists Vs. Generalists in the Indian Administrative System

11. Financial Administration: The Budgetary Process in India

12. Financial Administration: Performance Budgeting in India

13. Legislative Control on Indian Administration

14. Rural Local Government in India: Panchayati Raj

15. Urban Local Government in India: Corporations, Municipalities and other Urban Institutions

LESSON 1

Public Administration: Meaning, Scope and Recent Trends

RB.JA1N

Professor of Political Science

University of Delhi

Perhaps no other discipline in social sciences has had such a controversial process of development as public administration. Ever since Woodrow Wilson wrote his first essay on the ‘Study of Public Administration’ in 1887, scholars in the field of political science, anthropology, economics, sociology, psychology, management sciences and professional public managers have voiced repeated concern about the emerging scope and dimensions of public administration. It is ironic, however, that despite the emergence of a vast literature enriching the discipline, the dilemma should still persist as to what public administration has been, what it is, and what it should be.1(Some of the selected important works which discuss the various predicaments of the development of public administration as a discipline are given at the end.) It is possibly a consequence of the fact that all those scholars who worked for the promotion and growth of the discipline have been partly biased in their approach to the emergence of a consensus on the nature of the discipline. In fact the continuing dilemma also reflects the great sociological policy-conflicts persisting practically in all societies, the developed and the developing, which seem to have defied an agreement whether it is the responsibility of a public administrator or of a public affairs manager or of the political leadership to find solutions to the complicated and difficult problems of the societies. Indeed, the phenomenon that public administration is still a developing discipline seems to be the result of a lack of agreement amongst the various social science scholars to arrive at a balanced overview of the component elements which go to make the discipline of public administration.

The Confused Landscape

Despite the extending focus of the study of public administration from its POSDCORB state to the present, incorporating various new dimensions of its study, viz., organisational theories, case studies, comparative public administration, developmental and ideological context, and the international administration, scholars,' both in the field of political science and public administration, even in the 1970's maintained that public administration as a discipline still stood in need of an identity.

While in the last two decades significant theoretical work has been done, the landscape of public administration still continues to be confused and untidy. A proper beginning to resolve this crisis of identity would be to re-examine the pre World War II literature, which Professor Dwight Waldo thinks is more complex than some of us believe it to be, which means, in turn, that what was 'rejected' our of hand might have been due to oversimplified distortion.2(Dwight Waldo, “The Scope of the Theory of Public Administration” in James C. Charles worth (ed) Theory and Practice of Public Administration (1968),p. l3)

Another step suggested by Waldo for re-examination is not just the criticism of the politics-administration dichotomy, but he attempts to respond consciously and with the help of new theories of necessary or proper relationships. The most important agenda item in this context according to him is Herbert Simon and his critics, more generally the development of the issues dialectically and as shaped by the evolution of ideas and events. The main task, he admits, would be not to trace the history of ideas, but to analyse and explicate, carefully and freely, what it means for the study, teaching, and practice of administration. This needs to be done frontally and globally in a work which puts out literature in

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a classificatory analytical framework, which relates our ideas to the 'outer' world of developing ideas and events, and concludes that a 'position statement1 for our reaction and discussion would be of inestimable value.

Waldo argues further that there is a need to respond to a bewildering arrear of value problems, for public administration is no longer value neutral. These may range from relatively simple questions of personal behaviour or ethics in an administrative context to the problems of politics and behaviour or ethics in an administrative context to the problems of politics and power, of constitutional statute, of law and jurisprudence, of public and indeed of political theory and philosophy. Thus, he contends that ‘for an organisational’ and an ‘administered’ civilization as that of ours, if it is to survive and flourish, we need the most serious attention possible to the connection between what used to fee called the 'ends of the slate' and the organisational administrative apparatus (in and out of formal government), which helps both to define and realize these ends. Our achievement is obviously far behind our needs in framing and justifying theories to relate administrative means to the objectives of free and democratic governments under conditions of the late twentieth century.

In addition, Waldo suggests a large circle of theoretical concerns for public administration. Certain items that he lists on this agenda are: (i) external and internal security, (ii) justice, (iii) education, (iv) government by the osmosis and symbiosis, (v) science and technology, (vi) urbanism, and (vii) development. He thinks that this list could obviously be extended, e.g., to the subject of inter and supranational administration.

The future of public administration, thus, according to some, is engaged with the future of political science on the one hand and with administrative science, on the other. In another way, public administration has, from its beginning, represented a joining of certain interests of political science with the 'management' movement, and it still does recognise all the additional factors the new development, the broadened spectra. What meaning and importance would be given to 'the public' in public administration, whether it will evaporate or remain insignificant, will depend in large part on what developments take place in political science and in the social sciences—indeed in contemporary social and political thought as a whole. “To argue that public administration is not a sub-discipline of political science is not to argue that “historic” political science is irrelevant to our concerns. The point is that contemporary political science is often indifferent to the urgent and over whelming problems of contemporary government and that in part and in degree, we must be our own political scientist.”1(Dwight Waldo, “Public Administration” in International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (New York; The Macmillan Company and the Free Press, 1968),p. 155.)

Towards A 'Theory of Public Administration'

Waldo's eloquent plea for professionalisation of public administration is not universally accepted. Wallace Sayre, for instance, asserts that “much valuable partial theory construction has already been accomplished”, and that “rich deposits of relevant data have also been the subject of preliminary sifting and analysis”. The theory of public administration in these respects has no major dilemma of scope unshared by other social sciences, and therefore is under no necessary compulsion to flee from its present disciplinary base to seek a new norm in some more vaguely branded half-wood called 'profession'2 (Wallaces. Sayre, “Comments on Waldo's Paper”, in James C. Charlesworth, op. ctr.p29.) He further asserts that in the post-war development of public administration three major trends, which could be termed as partial theories about public administration, are discernible in its literature.

The first set of partial theories is to be found in the writings of those interested in what may be called the 'politics of public administration'. Sayre claims "that this political system approach to public administration is one of the strongest ties to political science and is likely to endure; even if public

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administration were to become separated, the political scientists have no choice about their necessary concern with the roles and functions of administrators and bureaucrats in the world of theory to which they are committed.

The second set has its focus upon the internal organisational life or dynamics of the bureaucratic world,--which is to say that “it attempts to explain in greater detail the characteristics of one set of the actors in a political system, those actors who are of greatest interest to public administration students.” Despite the fact that some other social sciences like psychology, sociology, and social psychology contribute more directly to this field in theory-building; ultimately “public administration theory must return to its pre-occupation in explaining albeit from a specialised perspective, the nature and consequences of the political system.”

The third set is concerned with explaining the cross cultural-more ambitiously, the universal characteristics of public administration. In this set, the relations to political science seem close and mutually rewarding.

There are indications that a fourth set of partial theories may emerge with what David Easton calls the 'inputs' and 'outcomes' in political system the policies and the consequences of the working of the systems.

However, despite these trends, as Sayre himself admits, “a general theory of public administration is still lacking, a gap shared by all social sciences, and thus suggesting that, in the absence of a great synthesizer in its ranks, the society of those concerned with public administration must rely upon the gradual accumulation of satisfactory partial theories until the burden of synthesis into a general theory is no longer too great for the boldest of its members.... However primitive they may still be as theory, the students of public administration are apparently aware of their research and theory of priorities.”1 (Wallace S. Sayre, op. cit., p. 31.) And if that is so, the problem is how to maximise the incremental gains now in hand or well in sight, and now to encourage the emergence of the four sets of partial theory without overstrain upon their individual vigour. Only, when the construction of a general theory of public administration is within the range of the possible, do the esoteric questions about the outer boundaries, or 'scope' pushed to the uppermost, become highly relevant to theory constructionists. Until then, those concerned with the theory of public administration have all the scope they need for theory construction.

The above discussion, points to a clear dilemma facing the scholars of public administration in the United States regarding the growth of the discipline of public administration in the very homeland of its evolution. Some, who are not so optimistic about the emergence of public administration as an independent discipline, based on certain theoretical foundations, and who in certain measure regard public administration to be more practical and action-oriented, would favour its development towards a profession; while others who are more optimistic about the eventual outcome of a ‘theory’ of public administration would, therefore, (till that time) like the subject of public administration to develop a ‘theoretical’ within the folds of its parent discipline, i.e., political science. Years after this prolonged debate, the issue is far from settled, and therefore the dilemma still persists. Despite these trends and the persistent dilemma, public administration as a discipline has developed rather rapidly during the last two decades and is constantly on the brink of breaking new grounds in several hitherto unexplored directions.

In the pursuit of a theory of public administration scholars are still in dilemma,. McCurdy equates it with Collyer's dilemma. The two accentric brothers, Langley and Homer Collyer of Fifth Avenue in New York, never threw anything out After their death in 1947, the police took 120 tons of accumulated things from the house, including 14 grand pianos, 5000 books, and a thirty-year collection of old newspapers. Public administration also has accumulated an amazing storehouse of knowledge in the past

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nine decades which has made the discipline rich but a bit unstable. Now the problem is: how to strengthen up the house without throwing out something that might prove valuable. It needs all approaches; it is unwise to reject a theory just because it is old or controversial.

While the great debate is still inconclusive-whether public administration is to be treated as a separate ‘independent discipline’, or as a ‘profession’, or retained as a part of the parent discipline of political science, the fact remains that in the majority of universities all over the US, the UK, and in other continental countries ‘public administration’ as a subject has not been completely eliminated from the political science courses, notwithstanding its growing recognition as a separate independent discipline, which is evident from the special independent schools, faculties, institutes or advanced centres (for studies in public administration) that have been established at various universities abroad. On the basis of its deep relationship with political science, the subject is likely to continue as a part of the curricula in political studies of various educational and governmental institutions, simultaneously with the attempt to establish a scientific theory of public administration, to enable it acquire the status of a basic social science. Till that point is reached a complete breakaway from the parent discipline is neither desirable nor needed. The subject of public administration in the perspective of its development is still in its ‘teens’ and until it comes of age, a breakaway from its parent discipline may be a little too premature and strenuous for its independent growth and existence.

Approaches to the Study of Public Administration

As we know that Public Administration turned into a storehouse of different approaches and has accumulated different theories within its broad umbrella. Some of the main approaches adopted by the discipline are discussed briefly in the following paragraphs.1(For further details about the approaches, see Robert Presthus Public Administration, (6th edn., The Ronald Press Company. 1975). pp. 7-12.)

(a) The institutional or legal approach is perhaps one of the earliest ones in the study of public .administration. It is largely based on the legal rights and obligation of government. It emphasizes formal relationships and the separation of powers among the three branches of the government-executive, legislative and judiciary. It believes in politics -administration dichotomy and confines administration to merely carrying out the policy designed by political arms of government. Generalizations within this approach are often based upon formal analyses of organizational structure and the constitutional

delegation of authority and responsibility to the three sectors of government.

(b) The structural approach was developed after scientific management movement. It tends to focus upon organisational structure and personnel management. It is also concerned with the financial and legal control of administration. Role of individual and informal organisation is more or less ignored. It assumes that individuals usually fit themselves into the on going system. This approach is further glorified by the application of industrial engineering to the study of public administration. Scholars have made comments on this approach for not recognizing the political environment and the human side of an organization. Therefore it is often termed as 'organization without people' approach.

(c) The third avenue to the study of public administration is the behavioural approach which has sometimes been called the 'people without organizations' approach for its too much focus on informal aspects of public administration. Contrary to the earlier approaches, it tends to focus on methodological problems, the use of survey analysis to determine really, and the human aspects of administration and decision-making. Scholars trained in sociology and psychology have made a very significant contribution to this approach.

(d) The post-behavioural approach moved the study of the discipline somewhat away from its previous concern with institutional, structural, and behavioural aspects. The post-behaviouralists focused

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on the study of public policy. This approach, at the outset, relied on the policy advocacy which emphasised the prescriptive analysis of policy and the role of public administrators in policy-making. Later, scholars focused their attention on descriptive aspects of public policy and began to attack governmental policy issues with the tools of systematic inquiry. Public policy analysis, thus, occupies its highest place in the study of public administration in the contemporary world

In its fundamental sense, “a policy is a salient choice made by an individual or group of individuals that explains, justifies, guides, or outlines a certain course of action, real or contemplated”1(Presthus, op. cit., p. 14). It differs from a decision in scope or magnitude. It usually makes a framework on which decisions can be made. Conceptually, it differs from administration. However, operationally, we cannot separate it from public administration.

There is no single definition of public policy analysis. Scholars define it with their pre-occupied approach in mind. Thomas Dye defines it as “...the description and explanation of the accuses and consequences of government activity”.2 (Thomas R. Dye, Understanding Public Policy, (New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc. 1975), p.3.) E.S, Quade regards it as “any type of analysis that generates and presents information in such a way as to improve the basis for policy-makers to exercise their judgment”.3 (Quoted by R.A.W. Rhodes, Public Administration and Policy Analysis: Recent Development in Britain and Antrim (Croft Road. Aldershot, Hants: Gower Publishing Company, 1981), p.23.) Another set of definition regards public policy analysis as “a future-oriented inquiry into the optimum means of achieving a given set of social objective”.

From the above definitions, public policy may mean many things to many men or quite all things to all men. However, public policy analysis can be visualized from its following characteristics:

(i) It is analytical because it utilizes the analytical techniques and research methodologies developed in the recent past.

(ii) It is multi-disciplinary in the sense that it welcomes relevant information and expertise from other social sciences.

(iii)It is problem-oriented for its main concern is to provide solutions to the current problems of the government.

(iv) And finally, it is client centred.

Thus, it is primarily concerned with explanation rather than prescription or advocacy and a search for the causes and consequences and also a quest for reliable research findings for general relevance.

There are different models for public analysis. The institutionalist regards policy as an institutional activity. Group theorists view it as an outcome of group equilibrium. To the elitists, policy means elite preference. The rationalist view it as efficient goal achievement. The incrementalist take policy as a science of muddling through and to them it is variations on the past. To the followers of game theory policy is rational choice in competitive situations. And, the system theorists regard policy as the system output. Thus, there are variations in the approaches to the study of public policy analysis too.

Thus, in the last forty years, the knowledge about public administration has simply exploded, not only among experts who identify it with the profession, but outside of it; disciplines from biology to mathematics have made inroads underneath the governmental umbrella to test their own approaches to administration. The proliferation of these approaches has been in a sense the primary source of its identity crisis. The discipline has enormously expanded its periphery without retaining or creating a unifying centre.

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The New Public Administration

In 1968, a group of young public administrators met at the Minnowbroof Conference Centre who pleaded for a more human, proactive public administration. Their views challenged the old ideals of scientific; value-neutral scholarship and were widely received as a call for a 'new public administration'. The New Public Administration is characterised as “humanistic, dubious about technology, anti-rationalist, reformist, and generally doubtful of the ability of present organisations to adapt to a fast changing society.”

The most striking feature of the new public administration is its being against positivism. The empirical social science research was considered as “awful, irrelevant, dull, narrow, and barren”. It is arrogant, dangerous and stupid, because it assumed that empirical theories of the world are 'value free'. So they aimed to phenomenology, which they thought had a change to supplant empirical social science in public administration. The phenomenologists refuse to separate values from what are perceived to be facts and deal with phenomena in their essential wholeness rather than dissecting them. The ‘New Public Administration’ uses phenomenology and existentialism to create a bridge to a post-bureaucratic society in which the administrator is regarded to be proactive, and the organisation is restructured to allow it.

The new Public Administration has a concern for social quality. They argue that value neutrality is neither possible nor desirable in public administration. As a society becomes more bureaucratic, problems of equality will become more actute. Bureaucratic development creates progressivism, which in turn creates a more, visible gap between the haves and the have-nots, even though the have-nots may be better off in absolute terms. Public Administration, if it plays the role as servant of the state, also becomes the instrument of reggression. The new public administration has also a concern for its clients. To reorient administration around the citizen, they back a number of proposals from decentralisation and citizen participation, to experiments with new styles of administrative leadership to replace the old management techniques. They aim to experiment with counter-bureaucratic methods by embracing a model of diversity that emphasised a number of alternative approaches to public administration.

Ironically, however, the young experts in public administration did not organise themselves after Minnowbrook, so that the 'new Public Administration' remained more of a subtle mood than an actual movement.

Despite all this realism, public administration was poorly prepared for the explosion of governmental programme in the seventies. Public Administrationists raised questions of organisation for results, of management, of technology, of handling demands for participation, and of administering overseas programmes. Public administration, with its value-free, scientific descriptive studies simple did not have all the answers. This set off a scramble for solutions. “Political scientists and economists contributed the policy approach, while programmatists catalogue the lessons of practical executive control. Systems analysts reintroduccd management science into the public service. Social psychologists salvaged what they could out of the human relations movement to create a planned changed strategy called organisation development. Public administrators struggled to match modern administrative methods with local conditions in developing countries. And younger scholars agitated for new values, new forms of organisation, a new sensitivity to the discontinuities of change in modern governments”.

In practical terms, the identity crisis thus manifests itself in the contradictory approaches advanced by people who call themselves administrative experts. For every group of people advancing one approach, we can find another group arguing plausibly for just the opposite. As illustration, let us take the controversy over the future of bureaucracy. The new Public Administration is openly anti-bureaucratic. Its advocates want to debureaucratise the government and replace the bureau with a more

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flexible, humane, democratic form of organisation. However, it is a fact well known to practical administrators that many phases of a government operation can not be run according to bureaucratic formulae, especially at the top of the organisation. Yet, at the same time, there are other parts of the government where bureaucracy has a positive value not just at low levels, but at high levels as well.

Again those who treat public administration as a scientific problem are opposed by those who sec administrative improvement as primarily a matter of human behaviour. There are the pluralists who want to preserve the democratic state by exposing administration by taking the bureaucrat out of interest-group politics. The analysts who want to make administration rational economic models and evaluation, are opposed by the incrementalists, who want a more realistic model of decision making. Some want to balance all of these approaches. It is thus natural that people who disagree on approach and method should also disagree on the fundamental issues of administration.

The Organization Development Approach

Professor Golembiewsky regards Organisation Development (OD) as one of the future family of miniparadigms, and in his pair volumes 1 (Golembiewsky, Public Administration as a Developing Discipline (NY. Marcel Dekker Inc., 1977) elaborates this approach for facilitating the conceptual development of the discipline. His project can be seen in the following three themes:

(i) It accepts the sense of the common characterisations that public administration as a field is “...in 'drift', as being in an 'intellectual crisis', as in the need of a 'new’ perspective, as ‘coming apart’, and as ‘in a period, of stress and change’, (ii) It seeks to be sensitive to the fact that the proposed solutions to the field's problems are often “so foreign to (public administrations traditions or so rooted in other disciplines that their adoption would destroy the integrity of the field as a separate focus of inquiry”; and (iii) It details how one approach-organisation development (OD) --relates directly to public administration's needs an historical evolution; at the same time that OD is still in its early years, is not rooted in any particular discipline, and serves several tradition fields.2 (Charles H. Levine, Robert W. Backoff, Allan R. Cahoon and William J.Siffon, “Organizational Design: A Post Minnowbrook Perspective for the ‘New Administration”, Public Administration Review, vol. 35 (July 1975),p.425.) The major objectives of the Organisation Development approach are:

(a) To create an open, problem-solving climate throughout the organisation,

(b) To supplement the authority associated with role or status with the authority of knowledge and competence,

(c) To locate decision-making and problem-solving responsibilities as close to the information sources as possible,

(d) To build trust among individuals and groups throughout the organisation,

(e) To make competition more relevant to work goals to maximize collaborative efforts,

(f) To develop a reward system that recognises both the achievement of the organisation's mission (profits or service) and organisation development (growth of people),

(g) To increase the sense of ownership (or organisation objectives),

(h) To increase self-control and self-direction for people within the organisation, and

(i) To help managers to manage according to relevant objectives rather than according to ‘past practices’ or according to objectives that do not make sense for one's areas of responsibility.”

Basically, the organisation is seen “as a, system in need of continuing innovation”, and an Organization Development programme begins by stressing the development of attitudes, behaviours, and skills that will support such continuing innovation.3 (Robert T. Golembieski, Public Administration as a Developing Discipline Organisation Development as one of a Future Family of Miniparadigms (New York: Marcel Dekker Inc., 1977),vo.2.p. 186.)

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The Developing World: The New 'Concerns' of Public Administration

In the turbulent world of today, management is subordinate to decisions made in an action taken through various institutions. He is not born in a nature state subject to nature alone, but in an administered society where numerous organisations allocate advantages and disadvantages to him. Because of these reasons, human dignities, human rights and compassion seem to be essential requirements of all the developing countries particularly of a democratic society like that of India. Neither administrative nor social stability can be assured by denying this proposition. To put it simply, men's institutions are too important to be left to the 'professionals' and 'experts' alone. In the modern context, 'efficiency', in its orthodox formulation as a relationship of input resources to output, is inadequate as the ultimate criterion of organisation effectiveness. There is, thus, a necessity for greater moral concern and personal responsibility by those exercising the great regulative and coercive powers of the modern stale. This is not to deny the existence of difficult problems and dilemmas but it merely shifts the controversy to a more meaningful level. This moral concern of public administration in modern societies reflects in securing for mankind what has been termed as 'human dignity'. It is in this direction, I believe, that the focus of Public Administration in developing countries has to shift.

Public Administration, Human Dignity and Human Rights

The growing contemporary focus of modern governments all over the world on the realisation of the basic human rights and restoration of human dignity for all their people raises a host of political and administrative issues. Notwithstanding its complex politics! dimension, a large number of problems areinherent in the administrative doctrines of human dignity. Firstly, there is the problem of the application of human dignity of specific situation. The conflicting claims of weighing one man's dignity over another's pose serious problems. Secondly, if human dignity is applicable, as it apparently is, to both administrators and citizens, how are potential conflicts to be resolved? Thirdly, there is the overall problem of conditions under which the 'public interest' may conflict with the doctrine of human rights and human dignity. Fourthly, the most crucial problem: What is the role of administrators with a commitment of human dignity, working within traditional hierarchical organisation? And lastly, the fundamental problem: can the value of a human being be measured or computed? And if not, how can it be realistically utilised as a criterion for organisational design or administrative decision-making? What are the alternative guidelines?

Thus, it appears that in the context of the various socio-economic and political upheavals taking place in the developing world today, the earlier orthodox and the later (if I may use the term) 'imperialist' view of public administration, involving a concern for policy issues, management problems, socio-economic development, public welfare, etc., needs to be tempered with the renewed concern for human dignity and human rights. The term 'human dignity', involves almost all the pertinent issues of human life.-ethical, social, psychological, economic and political our times and the public administrationists today will have to take into account the multi-dimensional impact of these concerns all around. It is in this perspective alone that the new substantive aspects of the discipline of public administration have to develop and if, in India, where people have always been concerned with the moral standards of human behaviour, we are able to give such a direction and growth to the discipline, we will be able to make a lasting contribution to its development in other parts of the world as well.

The profession of public administration is now poised at the edge of transition. It has accumulated an amazing storehouse of knowledge over the past ninety years. According to one technique, no one theory, no one approach to public administration is really dispensable. At the same time, public administration needs some sense of order to its affairs, a guiding theory. Diversity without a guiding theory creates an intellectual madhous? That forces scholars free to move to solid discipline. Unfortunately, all the single-purpose theories that have served public administration in the past are too

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narrow to solve this problem: yet if public administration abandons its search for a guiding theory, it will damage its potential as a major field of study.

Conclusion

In the ultimate analysis, one should, however, concede that the greatest strength (as well as weakness) of public administration today lies in its ideological diversity and in the diffusion of leadership between practitioners and theoreticians, system maintainers and humanistics, radicals, behaviourlists and philosophers. No one single figure has dominated the field since. Woodrow Wilson, and while some major figures belonged to many discipline, the diffusion of intellectual leadership has, on the whole, been a healthy influence on the expanding frontiers of the discipline of public administration.

SELECT READINGS

Gerald, E. Ciden. The Dynamics of Public Administration: Guidelines to Current Transformations in Theory and Pracrice, (New York: Rinehard Hold, and Winston, 1971.

Frank Marini, (eds), Toward a New Public Administration: The Minnowbrook Perspective (New York: Chandler Publishing Co., 1971).

Nicholas Henry, Public Administration and Public Affairs (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentie-Hall, 1975).

William L. Marrow Public Administration: Politics and the Political System (New York, Random House, 1975).

Joseph S Uveges, Jr. The Dimension of Public. Administration (Boston, Hoi Brook Press, 1975) 2nd ed.

Robert T. Golembiewski and Michael Cohen, eds., People in Public Service: A Reader in Public Personnel Administration (Itasca, III.: F.E. Peacock Publishers, 1976), 2nd ed.

R.B. Jain, Contemporary Issues in Indian Administration (Delhi: Vishal, 1976).

Howard E. McCurdy, Public Administration: A Synthesis (Menlo Park: Cnmmings Publishing Co., 1977).

Robert H. Simmons and Eugene P. Dvorin, Public Administration; Values, Policy and Change (Port Washington: Alfred Publishing Co., 1977).

Dwight Waldo, Perspective on Administration (University of Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1956).

Dwight Waldo, “Scope of the Theory of Public Administration” in James C. Charlesworth (ed.) Theory and Practice of Public Administration, (Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1968)

LESSON 2

Ecology of Public Administration

Dr. (Mrs.) Noorjahan Bava

Reader in Political Science

University of Delhi

The post-World War II era witnessed, among others, two great developments on the global scene. Tin, first was the emergence of a large number of newly independent nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America after their liberation from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. What is common to all these developing nations is their growing poverty and increasing population, and lack of economic development. Massive programmes of development have been launched by these nations in order to meet the challenges of development and modernization.

The second major development took place in the academic world. It heralded the genesis, in the United Slates, of a new academic discipline called the Comparative Public Administration along side Comparative Politics. An altogether new approach was adopted which challenged the traditional modes of analyses of social phenomena. It became fashion par excellence of the social scientists to apply multi-disciplinary “macro” approach to the urgent and baffling problems of the new nations. Ethnocentrism born of Western experience-the hitherto dominant mode of social analysis, was found to be wanting in many respects in the context of political instability, low economic growth, mounting population pressure, growing unemployment, increasing gap between the rich and poor, malnutrition, illiteracy, disease etc. of the third world countries. It was criticised, attacked and abandoned in favour of cross -cultural, cross national and truly comparative mode of analysis of political economic and social problems of contemporary society. New conceptual constructs and categories of analysis such as “structural functionalism”, systems approach, “ecological orientation”, “development perspective”, “input”, “output”, “feed back”, “political culture”, and models and paradigms like the “fused” prismatic, “diffracted” societies, the “sala” model, the “Bazar Canteen” model came to be extensively used by administrative theorists and practicing administrators. The new behavioural, ecological, systemic, comparative approach thus became the dominant mode of analysis of problems of developed and developing societies. Students of comparative government and administration already puzzled by the new approaches, became even more baffled by the burgeoning literature on comparative public administration in general and development administration in particular.

Fred W. Riggs is, perhaps the most innovative contemporary theorist in comparative public administration. He has been primarily concerned with conceptualising the administrative ecology-the interaction between the administrative system and its environment. His “fused”, “prismatic” and “diffracted” societies and the “sala” and “bazar canteen” models are the result of such attempts.

Administrative Ecology

In his attempt at conceptualising administration in developing countries, Riggs' prime orientation has been “ecological” and his approach "structural-functionalism". Environment plays an important role in human life. There goes on a constant and continuous interaction between man and his environment. One influences the other. “By ecology” writes Riggs, “I refer to environmental forces which both influence and are influenced by politics, by the political system.”1 (Fred W. Riggs, "The Structure of Government and Administrative Reform" in Ralph Brainanti (ed), Political and Administrative Development, Duke University Press, Durham, NC 1966,p. 230.)

According to the ecological

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perspective the larger society is "a system containing administrative institutions as a sub-system."2 Besides the administrative sub-system, there are other sub-system- the political, economic, cultural, religious, and technological in society. The sub-systems are component parts of a larger system.

Riggs, under the profound influence of Marion Levy, has identified five functional requisites for the survival of any society-economic, social, communicational, symbolic and political.3 These must be performed in the simplest undifferentiated (undeveloped) and the most complex, differentiated (developed) ones. The same set of functional requisites applies to an administrative sub-system. Nowhere Riggs offers an explanation as to why he has selected only these functional requisites. However these categories have been given a central place in his work, The Ecology of Public Administration. Let us now examine one by one how these five factors affect the behaviour of the administrative system of a developed and developing (prismatic) society, and how the administrative system, in turn affects these environmental forces, thereby focusing the interaction between the administrative sub-system and the economic, social, political, communicative, symbolic sub-system of the society on the one hand, and the interaction between the administrative system and society and its environment as a whole on the other.

1. Economic Factors -- The dominant characteristics of American capitalist economy is the market mechanism. It is argued that it encourages individuals to work in such a way as to increase productivity and consequently increase their own wealth as well as that of the nation. This arrangement involves the use of 'rational' criterion for the use of scarce resources so as maximise the attainment of tangible goals in an order of priorities. The price marking system enables people to make free choices to buy and sell at the most advantageous prices and to make profits to increase their income as a desirable goal in

life. The primary criterion for the utilization of available resources is accordingly, the increase of wealth. Thus the market mechanism combines in itself both the “rational” and “utilitarian” principles. According to this line of thinking, it leads to great increase in the output of goods and services. It treats many social values including human labour, time, money etc. as a commodity to be bought and sold in the free market at the most economical price. The value of a commodity is measured in terms of its price. Commodities possessing the same value are supposed to sell for the same price. Though prices fluctuate sometimes and the value of a commodity may rise or fall, in an ideal free market conditions, prices are said “to adjust” themselves and one 'homogeneous' price for the same commodity will be adopted in the market.

Riggs shows how the market mechanism has brought about direct and indirect influence on American Public Administration. When applied to the field of public personnel administration this principle echoes itself as “equal pay for equal work”. According to the market system the work of the bureaucracy or an agency chief is a commodity which he offers for sale. The amount paid, i.e., the “salary” is supposed to vary with the value of labour. Hence the characteristic of personnel administration equal pay for equal work. Of course this norms is or can never be fully realized. “But this is the foundation stone of administration and it rests on market consideration.” Political, social, humanitarian considerations are, in principle ruled out, though in practice, not eliminated. The principle of seniority may apply to army or university positions but the principle of equalizing the prices for bureaucratic labour is deeply ingrained in American personnel administration.

It is said that the free market system offers freedom of choice to market users, buyers and sellers. One is ideally free to accept or reject any commodity offered for sale. The same outlook is transferred to personnel administration. An employee sells his service in exchange for the best offer. If he finds that he can better his position he moves to another employer. This explains the chronic tendency of American

2. Fred W. Riggs Administration in Developing Countries: The Theory of Prismatic Society, Houghton Miffin Company, Boston, 1964, [hereafter referred to as The Administration] p.19.

3. Riggs, The Ecology of Public Administration, Asia Publishing House, New Delhi, 1961 [hereafter referred to The Ecology] p. 4: Administration, p.99.

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bureaucrats to shift their service from public to private or business administration as the offer of the latter, in most, if not all, cases is more lucrative financially and, therefore, attractive. Further each government agency or administrative bureau seeks, to find the best qualified person for each position without regard to social, family, religious or racial background. “The position is thought of, not as an attribute of the incumbent, not as a status or right to which he may lay claim, but as a set of duties to be performed, as a slot in the machine which must be filled in for the required output to be produced. No wonder, the American position classification system is “duty” (responsibility) oriented" rather than status (rank) oriented as the British. If an official does not perform his duties satisfactorily, he may be discharged; or if an agency's budget is cut, members of the staff may be 'Maid off”. Of course, in practice, state which is the model employer in the case of public administration, has to modify and tone down the rigours of the dehumanising tendencies of market economy. Hence concepts like 'security of tenure', “career service” are increasingly applied to public service.

Another fundamental pillar of the market as an institution is the right of contract. This principle is extended to the relationship between the employer and employees including the government and its servants. Both the civil servant and his employing agency, say the labour department, or the irrigation department, consider their relationship to be specific in scope, governed by the terms of a contract with provision for the termination of the relationship, should either partner become dissatisfied.

Riggs observes that all aspects of public administration are similarly pervaded by the market orientation. Planning, communications, public relations, management, line and staff organizations in each instance the administrative bureau is viewed as a kind of “market” in which the participants seek to maximize the attainment of specified goals-the implementation of public policy, with the most "efficient" use of scarce available means. “In general, then the administrative bureau is the counterpart of the formal economic market. Both are utilitarian, rational, maximizing institutions for making choices in a situation where means are scarce”

Let us now examine the influence of public administration on the market system. Although the market is sometime spoken of “as self regulating” the market can persist only if the state provides numerous facilities and services and enforces innumerable regulations governing market behaviour. Public administration, for instance has to lay down and enforce rules regarding weights and measures, securities, exchange regulations, rates of public utilities, licensing of merchants, automobiles, etc. The whole pattern of highly productive agriculture in America can be obtained only because a multitude of regulations and services are enforced and furnished by government. In short "the content of American public administration is in large part, determined by the economic needs of its market society". Thus the inter-dependence between marketized, industrial society of America and its system of public administration' is so much that the economy cannot survive without the administrative system and vice vena. The economy would not survive because the administrative system is itself determined in many respects by the requirements of the economy. The administrative system would not survive but for the productivity of the economy supporting it. Both the market and the bureau are essential structures of an industrial society. It is -not so much the market peruse but industrialization which makes the establishment of a rational achievement-oriented system of public administration both possible and indispensable.

2. Social Factors:-- By focusing on two important social factors, namely the place of associations in the American social life and the class structure of the American society, Riggs seeks to highlight the interactional relationship between these social factors and American Public Administration.

a. Relationship between Association and Public Administration: The American society like its counterpart elsewhere has its social structures. These take numerous forms. The American Society for Public Administration, American Political Science Association, American Medical Association, Bar

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Association, the Civil Service Assembly, Workers Unions, Sports Clubs, American political parties, business corporations, to mention a few, are all typical examples of social groups and associations dominating the American government, economy and society. In fact the American society lives and moves and has its being through these myriad forms of groups and unions. They have certain common features. Of these, functional specificity is a central feature of all associations. Each association has a fairly specific function or set of objectives towards the attainment of which ail its members strive. All associations recruit members on a universalistic basis-- all those who share its objectives, norms and standards are enrolled as its members. Membership of an association is voluntary. The rules provide for resignation or expulsion of members. Associational membership is also contractual. Here we see the close connection between the various associations and the market orientation.

Every association has its agent or agency which when sufficiently large and professionalised may be called its “bureaucracy”. The business corporations are such associations having large bureaucracies. The company bureaucracy is responsible to the members to use the capitals as to maximize returns on investments in the forms of dividends. “The important fact for understanding America is that there the corporation, i.e., an association, has become the dominant pattern of organisation for participation in the market.” The association as a special structure is integrally related to market institutions.

The analogy of associations and administration now becomes apparent. The corporation bureaucracy is under the same kind of obligation to manage limited sources to achieve specified goals that the public bureaucracy is under. Of course the goals of the former are set by the market and that of the latter by the political system. But internally the criteria of “rationality”, “utilitarianism” and “efficiency” are equally applicable to the company and the bureau. The principles of administration both public and private are directly derivable from the pattern of the associations organisation, as well as from the market. The similarity between “business administration” and “public administration” is so striking that in some American Universities both are taught in the same school. We may think of the whole nation as one association and the governmental service as its bureaucracy. The basis of governmental association is also a “contract” formulated in the Constitution which sets forth the common aims of all members. Admission to membership is likewise, in principle, universalistic, in so far as those who agree with these goals and meet specified requirements may become a “naturalized citizen” and is normally free to surrender his citizenship if he chooses to transfer to another state.

b. Association Character of Public Administration:-- We have seen that associations play a dominant role in American life, specially in polity, economy and society. There exists a close parallelism between government, business corporations and professional societies. As in the case of business bureaucracy, the efficiency of the public bureaucracy is measured by its ability to achieve the specific goals laid down by the legislature, it is recruited on ,the understanding that is will promote those objectives or is discharged for its failure to do so; the bureaucrats can leave the governmental services according to their degree of participation in its goals and standards; the government spends the tax payers money just as its private counterpart does with the shareholders capital. And the political responsibility of the state to the citizens becomes the special responsibility of the public bureaucracy to his associations' memberships.

In short associations make it possible to “aggregate” interests and to “articulate” them to find out what wants and demands are shared by a large number of people and then to give effective public expression to these demands. Thus they become a vehicle through which many kinds of specific interests are communicated from the citizens to the government. These associations (known as interests groups or pressure groups in public administration) enter into close relationships with their corresponding government departments, agencies and bureaus to further their interest. In fact some of these bureaucratic units owe their very existence to these interest groups. The latter are instrumental for bringing them into

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existence by getting appropriate legislation enacted and necessary funds provided by American Congress. The government departments and units are often in daily communication with their respective interests groups in carrying out the law. The associations or the interest groups formed by the “clientele” of various administrative agencies often constitute the source of influence and power over these agencies. Directly or indirectly, they control, reward and furnish the agencies in many ways. The civil servants who faithfully execute laws intended to promote the interests of particular interest groups may be suitably rewarded through proper channels. For instance their agency budgets may be increased, they may receive honour, recognition and promotion and desirable legislation or amendments may be secured.

The administration, in its turn makes full use of these groups in ensuring faithful compliance by citizen with laws and securing public cooperation for the attainment of their objectives. The Public Health Service, for example, may call upon the American Medical Association of Nurses, hospital administrators, pharmacists and doctors to assist it in a campaign to vaccinate or to innoculate public against polio or cholera and to educate the people. Similarly the Department of Commerce can look to the Chambers of Commerce and trade associations for help.

In this way the associations and administrative agencies interact with each other to their mutual benefit The former keep the administrators alert and responsive by providing them with the information and making them conscious of the clientele's interests, and providing them with a weapon of incalculable power to implement governmental programmes. Thus the associational pattern, while fundamentally shaping the conduct of administration, serves also to multiply its effectiveness.

The class system in the United States is relatively open or mobile despite obstacles on the way of religious and racial minorities to reach the apex of the social ladder. The public bureaucracy forms an integral part of this open class system of the American society. In other words, the bureaucracy is not segmented into a number of ranks, i.e., into the top bureaucratic levels, where the ordinary functionaries, clerks are classed with middle and lower class strata. The personnel system of the United States is “democratic” in that any citizen with the required qualification can enter the civil service at any stage or level. He can start his career at the lowest rung of the civil service ladder and hope to reach the apex position before he retires from service. The personnel system is also “open” besides being "mobile". It does not allow recruiting favoured, “administrative officers” as is possible in the U.K. where the “aristocratic” system of personnel administration prevails. In Riggs' own words, “those who stand at the lowest rung on the bureaucratic ladder (in the U.S.) are not quite so low as the lowest social strata and those who stand highest on it do not quite attain the highest position in the general social system.”

We have just seen how the open class system affects the pattern of recruitment and promotion of civil servants in American public administration. Let us now turn our attention to the influence that public administration exercises on the class structure. In a nutshell, it helps society to maintain a mobile class structure. This is done in ways more than one. In the first place opportunities for promotion within the bureaucracy provide an important channel for class mobility. Secondly, programmes carried out by government also reinforce an open class system. The “universalistic” recruitment system is another reflection of the one class system in American society. In this way the open class system and the public recruitment and promotion system interact with one another to their mutual advantage.

3. The Communication Net Work:-- The administrative system of a democratic polity pre-supposes a high degree-of communication, between the public and administration. Experience demonstrates that a high percentage of literacy, linguistic homogeneity, a wide spread communication net work consisting of radio, telephone, television, cinema, press etc. is bound to increase the degree of communication between a people and its government and administration. Where such high degree of communication exists, “public opinion” can be strong-so strong as to compel government to pursue or not to pursue certain policies which are not in public or national interest.

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Two important dimensions of communication, viz., ‘mobilization’ and ‘assimilation’, are particularly relevant to our central question. Mobilization occurs when a population has joined, and participates in a large scale communication net. Spread of education, urbanization, industrialization, quick means of transportation are some of the contributing factors of mobilization. “Assimilation”, on the other hand, shows the extent to which a population shares the same symbol, identified with same basic values and goals as the elite. Language, religion and ideology help either in laying the foundation for assimilation or disrupting it. It is important to remember that mobilization and assimilation do not always take place simultaneously. If a population is fortunate as to become both mobilized and assimilated, it becomes a ‘national community’. If, on the other hand, a population is only mobilized hut not assimilated it becomes a differentiated population or ‘poly communal’. It becomes a plural but not a pluralistic society.

American people are highly mobilized and assimilated. They form, therefore, a national community. They are a pluralistic society, for as we have seen above, the American life is dominated by associations and groups but not a “poly-communal”, or “plural” society.

How does this affect administration? Because the American people and public officials share same language and value system, it is easier to trust each other, to gain access and acceptance for ideas, to express thoughts and explain situations and needs.

Communication within administration is also made easier to the extent that national administration has been achieved.

Besides, the existence of a national community indirectly helps in establishing a public recruitment system based on universaltic criterion. In the absence of such a community, there will be a poly-communal society where rivalry and mutual suspicion prevail between diverse linguistic and religious communities; it may be necessary to use a "quota" system to ensure equitable representation of each community in public service or else to practise outright exclusion of one or more communities. In either case recruitment is handicapped and a major source of friction develops in administration. The same is true of programmes execution as well. Where poly-communalism exists instead of one medical association, or trade union for all steel workers, for instance, there would be an association for each linguistic, religious, racial, social groups and administration would be faced with an endless number of rival groups and associations each claiming to represent the same kind of functional interest. In such a situation programme effectiveness becomes the first casualty. Last but not least, the existence of a national community explains the success of the two party system of the United States.

Similarly, Riggs feels that the openness of a class structure can exist only under conditions of national community. A differentiated society, by definition, is a closed class system. But for the existence of a national community the danger to national integration arising from the inherent tensions of a market system cannot be averted. The conflicts inherent in a market system will eat up the vitals of society and thus jeopardise the social order.

4. The Symbol System:-- Riggs strongly believes that the administrative sub-system of a social system is, to a large extent, influenced by its political symbol system, even as it influences that system. The symbol system consists of the “myth”, “formulae” and “codes” to use Lasswell and Kalpan's phrases. The "myth" refers to whatever symbols and doctrines are used to characterize the ultimate source of sovereignty, the nature and destiny of man, his rights, duties and essential relationships. By “formulae” we mean the set of rules which determine the structures of government, how rulers shall be chosen and what their duties shall be. Laws and regulations are examples of code.

Many countries lack basic agreement regarding their symbol system. By contrast the United States derives its myth and formulae from the American declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Lincoln's Gettsburg Address and laws from the Congress.

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The content of these political symbols have profound influence on the degree of consensus of a people. Consensus in turn bestows a high degree of 'authority'4 (When power is exercised in accordance with a political formula it becomes “authority”. A man without authority might have power as in the case with a mob leader; a man of authority may lack power just as the British or Japanese monarch.) on acts of administration. Mere possession of authority is not enough to ensure obedience. “The effectiveness of authority varies with the degree of consensus of the population on the validity and obligation to obey authority”. High degree of consensus makes authority “legitimate” and authority becomes “illegitimate” when people stop believing in the right of those who claim authority to rule. Legitimacy is essential for effective administration. Authority is the cheapest and most effective means of control, especially when large number of people are involved in law enforcement. The “Consensus” results in voluntary complaince with law.

Let us examine the influence of the political symbol system on the American administration. The “myth” of “popular sovereignty” on the one hand and of “equality” on the other has brought about a tremendous influence on the way in which the American political and administrative system operates.

The notion of popular sovereignty rests on the idea of popular equality. The myth of equality is at the foundation of the American “spoils” system, and the system of “elective” officials It was only when the spoils system could not provide administrative personnel with sufficient talent and experience to meet the growing needs of an extremely complex and industrialized society that it was abandoned in favour of the “technical examination” system. Even here, the American society have not copied the British or the Indian civil service examination system for the Administrative class which aims at discovering men of superior talent and capacity for ruling position. In American view there can be non “superior men” because “all men are born equal”. The American civil service is founded on this view and it follows, therefore, that public servants recruited on technical basis do not possess any inherent authority to give orders, or command others. They are regarded as public servants not only in the general sense of serving the public but in the specific sense of serving the President and Congress who have been elected by the people and who have been vested with authority to make crucial decisions on the public issues arising from time to time. In a nutshell, the structure of American administration, is mode of recruiting, promoting and organising and the demand for delegation of power-all reflect this underlying political myth".

5. The Political System: The political system of any society is a major factor of influence upon its administrative sub-system. It is true that the other sub-systems like the economic, social, symbolic and communicational and cultural, as seen above, with the administrative system. But the interaction between the political and administrative systems is the most sharp and powerful. The governmental setting is one of the fundamental determinants of administrative behaviour, for, the administrative system is, in a sense, an integral part of the political system. The relationship between the American constitutional structure, separation of power, checks and balances, federal system, political parties etc. and the Administrative system is very well known.

Another aspect of the interaction is even more crucial to our analysis, i.e., the universal tendency of public bureaucracies of modern welfare states to increase their power to the detriment of the rule of law, individual liberty and public interest and at the cost of administration, public, and the nation. All contemporary states, democratic as well as totalitarian, draw a subtle distinction between political and administrative organisations. The bureaucracy is regarded as an instrumental apparatus under the control and direction of the political organisations. But in reality this distinction remain formalistic. The "politicians" are not fully effective in framing policy [this is more true in the case of developing countries and the "administrators" are scarcely neutral instruments of policy execution. Unless the Bureaucracy, in whose hands all the main weapons of government are placed is brought under the control

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of non-bureaucratic centres of power, the former will not hesitate to misuse and abuse its power for its own self-aggrandisement and self interest,

Riggs strongly feels that an increase in bureaucratic power cannot assure improvement in administrative efficiency. Quite the contrary, it is only when non-bureaucrat are powerful enough to control and reward officials for faithful performance of their duties, and clearly lay down policies to be implemented that we can expect a. high level of administrative output. When imbalance takes place between bureaucratic power and non-bureaucratic power and development, it results in “intra-bureaucratic rivalry of politics” and paves the way for military dictatorship.

In the United States, Riggs opines, the danger to the democratic fabric arising out of such imbalance between political and administrative development does not exist. For, the constitutional and the social systems have strengthened non-bureaucratic power on the one hand, and institutionalized bureaucratic power and its weakness on the other.

Not only the maintenance of non-bureaucratic control over the bureaucracy has been institutionalised in a rule of law and constitutional pattern of separation of powers facilitating the formation of numerous centres of non-bureaucratic power around the market, church, schools, associations, clubs etc., but even bureaucratic weakness has been institutionalised. This has been done by territorial and functional fragmentation of the bureaucracy.

This pattern of functional fragmentation tends to keep government bureaucracy powerless at all levels and, therefore, more amenable to the direction and control by political organisation and nongovernmental power centres. However, Riggs warns his readers from jumping to the conclusion that because functional fragmentation helps maintain control over bureaucracy, it was invented for that purpose. Or, because the American market system has contributed to the growth and development of American administrative system and the latter has reinforced the former; we cannot deduce from this that administration was deliberately designed and modelled after the market and the market was instituted because of the administrative consequences. To think on such lines, according to Riggs, will be guilty of “ideological” fallacy.

An Estimate

Fred W. Riggs' conceptualization of administrative ecology represents his magnificent response to the clarion call of Dwoight Wald in 1956 to construct a “model of what an administrative system is like as general type.” His “fused-prismatic and diffracted” models of societies (about which we will go into detail in the next part), are the outcome of this great effort to conceptualise and study administrative systems of developing nations. His aim was obviously to project a theory of administrative ecology.

In building his theory he has largely drawn from his American experience on the one hand and the multi disciplinary approach to the study social problems on the other. The third world countries constitute a strange new phenomenon to social scientists and development analysis. The failure of the American technical assistance programmes launched under international auspices in developing countries to bring about development actually helped challenge the wisdom of applying. Western administrative concepts, techniques and practices to these nations emphasised the need to develop truly comparative, cross-national and cross-cultural studies. It is this challenge which paved the way for a burgeoning literature on various aspects of development-economic, political, social, administrative--by a galaxy of social scientists and scholars. Riggs' contribution has to be assessed against this background.

Riggs' supreme effort thoughtout his prolific writings has been directed towards theory building on the administrative systems of developing nations. His fabulous capacity for theorising has resulted in his discovery of a new frame for reference for the study of the new nations, the theory of prismatic societies. It is to explain the “administrative ecology” of transitional or developing societies that he constructed the

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prismatic-sala model and the bazaar canteen models. Certainly these models help increase our understanding of the ecological setting of these nations. His study of the Thai and Philipine administrative system is undoubtedly based upon this frame work of analysis.

Rigg's contribution lies not only in innovating conceptual constructs and tools of analysis for the study of administrative problems of developing societies but also, in applying the macro approach, for the first time towards such studies. His theory of administration ecology based on this approach and ecological-structural functionalism helps us understand the interaction between administrative system and 'tis environmental structure. Prior understanding of the ecological forces and their impacts on administration by administrators, politicians and social scientists is imperative lo maximize the effectiveness of developmental bureaucracy as the instrument of change.

SELECT READINGS

1. Fred W. Riggs, “Agraria and Industria” in William Siffin (ed), Toward Comparative Study of Public Administration.

2. Bureaucrats and Political Development - A Paradoxical View” in Joseph La Palombara (ed). Bureaucracy and Political Development, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1963,

3. “The Structures of Government and Administrative Reform” in Ralph Braibanti (ed). Political and Administrative Development, Duke University Press Durban. N.C, 1969, pp. 220-324.

4. Also Administrative Change Vol. IV. No. l, July- Dec. 1976 for Riggs reply to Daya Krishna's comment.

LESSON 3

The Politics of Development Administration with Special Reference to Milton J. Esman

Dr. (Mrs.) Uma Yaduvansh

Prof. Esman has made significant contribution in the field of Development Administration. According to him, development administration is a new and rapidly growing field of academic inquiry and professional practice. As a field of action, Development Administration is universal in scope because new technologies and ideas cause rapid changes in all contemporary societies. The central core of Development Administration is the role of governmental administration in inducing, guiding and managing the inter related processes of nation building, economic growth and social change though its outer limits are not clearly defined.

Prof. Esman regards Development Administration as an inter-disciplinary field. It draws heavily from Sociology, Social Psychology, Political Science and Economics. In practice, it is multi-professional in its concern with the management and the output of action programmes in education, agriculture, industry and transport. In the context of contemporary process of cultural change and development of developing countries, 'development' means, according to Esman, a major societal transformation a change in system states. This change is qualitative and continues in peasants and industrial levels of society -affecting values, behaviour, social structure, economic organisation and political process ‘Critical ingredient’ this change are assimilation and institutionalisation of modem technological values of society.

Development Administration at any level of government in any sector of activity has tour interrelated elements, viz., the substantive element, the managerial element, the political element and the element of social change. The substantive element is concerned with goals and outputs of public action, with shaping policy choices, allocating resources and planning and guiding programmes of action. The administration participates in shaping policy and thus in impressing its preferences on present and future events the administrator is concerned with the ends of public policy as well as with the means of achieving them. The managerial element guides actions towards established substantive goals with the objective of maximising programme effectiveness and the efficient use of means. This requires competent use of management technologies and information systems and a managerial definition of the administrator's role. It sanctions the mixture of instruments, i.e., bureaucracy in its various forms, market incentives and mechanisms, associational and voluntary groups and local authorities to achieve public objectives. The political element represents the need of the polity to constitute groups, responds to demand for the differential distribution of the costs and benefits of public services and mediates and regulates conflict among individuals and groups affected by public programmes of action. The element of social change uses governmental initiative to induce attitudinal and behavioural changes among clientele groups consistent with publicity and determined objectives, for example, inducing farmers to double crop or providing incentives to manufacturers to produce for export. Such activities draw

Mil ton 3 .Esman is Johns Kinght Professor of International Studies and Professor of Government and Director, Center for International Studies at the Comell University. He was Professor rand Head of the Department of Economics and Social Development at the University of Pittsburgh for ten years. Between 1945 and 1959, Prof. Esman actively participated in US Government's developmental programmes. From 1966-68 he worked as Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Department, Government of Malasia and was the first research director and organizer of the inter-university research programme in institution building.

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administrators into institution building activities and into close and continuous interaction with clients because they involve a high degree of uncertainty, experimentation, bargaining and dialogue. These are required to determine what changing mixtures of incentives, services, and regulation are likely to be effective. These four elements of administration can be summarised as policy, management, change agent and political roles.

These elements are analytically distinct but operationally inseparable. Many administrative positions involve their incumbent more in one element than another but the, prime function of general administrator is to keep all of them in view in making choices and in guiding action. Much public decision making is done by bureaucrats, and nearly all decisions are influenced by them but they are not a monolithic group in any society, nor are they the only decision makers. Politicians, businessmen, educators and other “influentials” participate in public decision making, depending on the issue. The main responsibility is borne by senior politicians, but only the most innocent maintain the fiction that administrators merely carry out decisions made by others.

In most developing countries, the increased and expanded role of government has imposed new demands on administration. The image of the colonial administrator as the high status mandaring keeping order and performing routine services by developing instruments of authority towards a passive and compliant public, from whom he maintains an appropriate social distance, now appears archaic and dysfunctional. New role definitions and new intellectual and operational capabilities are required if administrators are to be effective political decision makers and programme managers in the context of nation building and induced socio-economic change. While the need for this transformation has been widely recognised, the old behaviour patterns have a remarkable sustaining quality, and performance tends to lag behind normative requirements. This problem takes different forms in different countries.

All developing societies have two fundamental and inter-related goals, viz, nation building, and other socio-economic goals, irrespective of their divergent social origins, ideological commitment and political strategies. The elite and modernizing elements of these third world societies exert external pressures and provide ‘internalised drives’ to upgrade them as political goals of developing societies. These transitional societies have other goals also like those of survival, enrichment in office, territorial expansion and protection of political and economic interests which sometimes and in some societies compete and take precedence over the goals mentioned above. This traditional administrator societies lay emphasis in office holding, routine services and control functions. They are mostly imposed by change oriented political elites and by public demand for dynamic governmental performance. In less developed countries, economic growth, systems change and social justice are regarded as the outcome of governmental policy and action. This calls forth a deep analysis of the pattern of organisation and action to move these transitional societies towards these goals with a twin focus, viz,_

(i) to develop administrative institutions and capabilities which would improve the managing of change process, and

(ii) to administer,-shape and implement development programmes in all sectors of public policy.

Esman assigns the following major significant tasks for the governments of transitional societies:

1. Achieving security against external aggression and ensuring internal order is the primordial duty of all governments so that nation-state can become a viable entity within which peace can prevail.

2. Establishing and maintaining consensus on the legitimacy of the regime. The maintenance of consensus is the continuing and creative process of establishing and sustaining a responsive relationship between the governing elite and the community. The effectiveness of this relationship contributes to the stability of regimes and their capacities to organise and carry out plans and programmes of development

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3. Integrating diverse ethnic, religious, communal and regional elements into a national political community. This is the essence of nation-building.

4. Organising and distributing formal powers and functions among organs of central, regional, and local governments and between public authority and the private sector. Constitution-making is a continuing adjustment and re-interpretation of legal norms in response to changing needs originating in such areas as technological and social development, international pressures, ideological commitments, and shifts in relative power among organised interests. Especially in transitional societies, institutions and arrangements relating to the distribution of power are likely to be in flux and under pressure for frequent modification. The governing elites have to guide and manage these

adjustments.

5. Displacement of vested Western social and economic interests. Nation-building and socio-economic development require shifts in centers of power so that new technologies may be successfully introduced and institutionalised, resources may be mobilised and allocated to development functions, and the population may be brought into an effective pattern of communication with national political and administrative authorities. It is necessary to reduce the power of traditional elites, tribal chiefs, landlords, priests, local notables, urban merchants and moneylenders through gradual shrinkage.

6. Development of modernising skills and institutions. Managing the affairs of a modern nation requires a wide range of complex and sophisticated skills which are virtually unknown in peasant societies. Modern physical and social techniques must be carried out through specialised institutions which either did not exist in traditional societies or require radical restructuring in order to discharge the functions associated with nation building and development. The building of new institutions is as deliberate a process in developing nations as the fostering of modernizing skills.

7. Fostering of psychological and material security. Phenomena as alienation, anomie, crisis of identity, self-hatred, and other symptoms of psychological disintegration appear on a large scale in transitional societies. They tend to be magnified by the economic dependency. Mitigating these tensions through community organisation, welfare measures etc. can reduce the possibility of social and political disturbance, and hence, individual and group productivity, and foster the integration of the individual into modern roles and institutions.

8. Mobilisation of savings and of current financial resources. The struggle to mobilise financial resources for investment and for public services is a major and critical pre-occupation of all governments oriented to development.

9. Rational programming of investment. This process of programming applies to capital as well as manpower and is important for developing countries.

10. Efficient management of facilities and services to enhance the efficient use of existing facilities, both in the public and private sectors.

11. Activating participation in modernising activities, especially in decision making roles. One of the tasks of nation-building and of development is to bring members of the national community into a network or relationships and institutions which enable them to participate actively in decision affecting their individual and group welfare. Nation-building cannot be achieved by elities alone, nor can development activities be carried out exclusively by administrators or technicians. Thus, providing opportunities and mechanisms for relevant and widspread popular participation becomes an important development priority.

12. Achieving a secure position in the international community.

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This list does not exhaust the major tasks involved in nation-building and development, yet the emphasis on purposeful and far-reaching change, to which the political systems of developing nations must respond, distinugishes this list of tasks from those associated with institutional maintance in stable societies, traditional as well as modem. In developing countries, the execution of these tasks requires a large measure of governmental intervention. Present day governments irrespective of their political caste, use their authority to organise programmes in pursuit of the action objectives to which they are committed. Little nation building or development activity can be conceived in transitional societies as stimulated or deliberately programmed by governmental authority. Actually, stimulation and activation has become a function of government in these societies.

Nation-building and socio-economic development is, says Esman, purposeful, meaningful and relevant only in its historical context. They do not take place in a cultural vacuum. Traditional societies have no survival chances as they are completely and fundamentally shaken up by dynamic and destructive technologies of the industrialised societies of Europe and North America, by commercial activities, military invasion, secular education, mass communications, political colonialism and foreign aid etc. Thus, transitional societies are very complex and differ widely among themselves because new and more specialised institutions grow in urban areas generating new roles, opportunities, for new types of employment in offices and factories. This increased social mobility creates new social classes which aspire the elite class and compete vigourously and successfully with the traditional elites. In some countries they nave supplanted the traditional elites, in others they have forced a favourable place for themselves and in others they have forced the traditional elites to reconsider their claims to legitimacy and adapt their tactics and programmes accordingly. Many elites are influenced by socialist theories which 'reinforce the traditional values of peasant societies and reject the profit seeking businessman. In many countries where modernising elites, though do not control, yet yield considerable influence in defining broad issues internationally as well as within their borders. There have grown second generation intellectuals who are trained as professionals. They reject politics and seek protected carriers in expanding industrial and governmental bureaucracy in countries like Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel, Yugoslavia, India and the Soviet Union. Almost in all transitional societies there is a gap between aspiration and achievement which creates tension. It is aggravated by clashes of interests beyond the capacities of the elites to resolve. There are also shortages of physical and financial resources and of technical and managerial skills.

Esman regards development not as a 'natural', process which needs only to be let free to evolve. It is also not a series of bottlenecks which enlighten policy makers like production expediters and or which can break successively to permit restrained energies to flow freely. To quote Esman again, development is a series of humdrum tasks for which the physical, social, psychological and institutional resources are seldom available in sufficient quantity or in the proper combinations. The obstacles to achievement are often over-powering and time is a relentless enemy to those who hope to realise results in decades rather than in centuries. It is evident that substantial governmental power must be generated and applied if the tasks of the government are to be effectively performed. The above analysis shows that the twelve points mentioned above" are very important because they show that (i) governmental control is recessary; (ii) a doctrine which legitimises in terms of programmed action the norms, priorities, instruments, and strategies of the governing elite, and (in) a series of instruments through which two way communication is facilitated and through which commitment to action are translated into operating programmes. These elements must be given systematic analysis of the capacities of political systems to realise their goals of nation-building and socio-economic progress under the conditions that prevail in transitional societies.

It should be remembered that all governing elites are not change oriented as some may be having vision but lack strength, others may have both but they may use their instruments inaptly. It is a fact that

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sustained such initiation must be'. When values must be transformed, behavioural patterns modified, traditional loyalties successfully changed, and now institutions built, heavy responsibility falls on change oriented group. Governing elites arc those who exercise major decision making power in the national government. It includes (hose who hold formal positions of responsibility as well as those who are sympathetically associated with them and exert important influence in the decision making process. The governing elites work within the social, cultural and physical environment. Even if the capacity exists and is utilised, they face a difficult task of moderating special claims and channelling them into directions of national interest. Generation and guidance of energies necessary for nation-building must have governing elites committed to change and a doctrine which can effectively motivate action and legitimise programmes of development objectives.

The diverse political systems of development areas can be classified into five regime types in developing societies on the basis of common structural and behavioural characteristics. They are known as conservative oligarchies, competitive interest oriented party systems, dominant mass party systems, authoritarian military reforms and communist totalitarian. Instances of conservative oligarchies are Iran, Ethiopia, Northern Nigeria etc. These countries are interested in building a modern polity and in improving social and economic conditions of their countries. They arc equality interested in maintaining power also. But they do not articulate a clear view of the future. They emphasise gradual change because, according to them, rapid change is destructive of the complex network of relations which hold society together. They do not bother ideologies, more occupied with problems of today than of tomorrow, they rely on administration as principal vehicle of action and change.

Competitive interest oriented party-systems lay emphasis on regular elections, representative institutions, rule of law, free political expression, and encouragement to private enterprise. The system has been tried in Philippines, Costa Rica, Greece, Chile, Malaya and Jamaica. Records show that in many countries it has been abandoned and in a few it has been reinstated.

The dominant element in the governing elites of this regime are the landlords, urban merchants and representatives of other established interests. There is mobility and opportunity in the system but no attempt is made to mobilise the masses politically or functionally. Administration is continuously badgered by groups demanding previliged treatment or claiming immunity from administrative action.

The military reformers favour active policy of nation-building and development. Such regimes are operative in Burma, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand and Brazil. The regimes are impatient with the present procrastination, corruption and futility of their civilian predecessors and they demand results. Though they initiate social reforms and use governmental authority to intervene in the economy, they do not play the role of social revolutionaries. These competitive regimes are not mass mobilisers. When governing elites with military background become social revolutionaries they organise a single mass mobilising party and transform its character.

The dominant mass party-systems (Egypt, Algeria, Mexico, India) are created by urban secularised intellectuals strongly committed to national regeneration, social reform and modernisation. The mass mobilising party is its standard institution. It is either the single legal party or it dwarfs and eclipses the others. No elite group is monolithic. Ideology is important in this system as it attracts and sustains mass support, projects the image of a desired future and permits opportunistic adjustment to changing needs of maintaining a broad community consensus. The systems tends towards mixed economies, planned and directed by public authority but with significant scope for private enterprise and decentralised decision making. Their programme activity has large scope. They depend on public authority, administrative organisation and bureaucracy. They easily communicate and project an image of the future through their development plans and thus convey a sense of purpose to the administrator. This helps to orient his current decision making more confidently to a series of long term goals. But these regimes face the

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problem of sustaining the high quality of leadership required of governing elites or of a single charismatic personality. Many countries find the mass mobilising system useful for modernising their nation. But the forms into which this dominant mass party system will evolve is ambiguous and uncertain and there is no assumption that it will develop into Western style competitive parliamentary system; for example, regimes in Burma (AFOEL). and in Bolivia (MNR) failed to manage the growing complexity of an industrialised society.

The communist totalitarian system has elites which are everywhere intellectuals and are committed to Marxist-Leninist ideology. They have a strong power drive. Psychologically the system has ready application in developing countries. Its doctrine is comprehensive and focusses purposeful change as it eliminates exploitation and humiliation of the low income countries and gives prospects of building of a scientific society promising dignity, well-being and justice. As instruments of action, the system uses all channels and monopolises all political activity, interest associations, mass expression and economic activity. It rejects voluntarism as a principle of action. Every activity outside the scope of party and state sponsorship is brought under appropriate control or is interdicted. The entire economy is planned, directed and operated by public authority so that the burden on administrative state is very great because not only reliability but professional competence is also required for administrative positions. They have to administer enormously detailed and complex economic regulations. High value is placed on mass mobilisation and individual participation in party approved programmes. The communists guarantee cultural pluralism, co-option of members of minority groups into party and governmental organisations under unified political control. But the communist totalitarian model, says Esman, is being given up by modernising elites due to the fact that it makes a country dependent on Soviet Union and China both psychologically and materially and also because they do not accept terror as a legitimate instrument of policy.

Each regime offers some opportunities and imposes some limitations on governing elites for nation building and socio-economic progress. Development is possible in all these regimes but their capabilities to develop differ. Oligarchies and authoritarian military reformers are able to deploy only administrative instruments. They can achieve only limited productivity and are in no way conducive to dynamic or innovative administrative behaviour. The competitive interest oriented party regimes offer limited prospects for effective and purposeful modernising change. The dominant mass party regimes are handicapped by an over rigid doctrine. Though capable of mobilising vast human energies and resources, their operating techniques overload the administrative system and their resort to terror blocks communication, inhibits administrative initiative and affronts human dignity. To the advantage side the regime is relevant to the needs of many transitional societies undergoing rapid and radical change. It has a developmentally relevant doctrine, a purposeful leadership and capacity to mobilise and discipline widespread support and participation.

The utility of these regimes depends upon the stage of development of the society. This means, while the regimes differ in the degree of competitiveness, they maintain a humanistic commitment and a responsive relationship with the community. While they are able to provide dynamism, institutional stability suiting the needs of changing societies, their success might doom them over time, i.e., the party may lose its utility at a certain yet undefined point in the development process and may become unable to adapt itself to the problems of more complex and sophisticated societies. Each government in a transitional society is controlled by an identifiable elite. The behaviour of elites is influenced and regulated by their ideological commitments. Regimes in transitional societies may be classified into types according to the following criteria:

1. The purposefulness of their elites.

2. The relevance of their doctrine to the goals of nation-building and socio-economic development as determined by their scores on a series of doctrinal variables.

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3. Their style of action, particularly their capacity to create and deploy multiple instruments of communication and action. The regimes differ in their capacity to initiate, guide and sustain action leading to the goals of nation-building and socio-economic development. It is impossible to classify regime types operationally either for analytical or for predictive purposes.

The effectiveness of a regime, according to Esman, depends on numerous specific and environmental factors. Success under such diverse conditions cannot be correlated with any group of doctrinal variables or styles of action. The character of a regime is not relevant to success in development. Even if regimes can be meaningfully typed, the dominant mass party-type covers a wide range of experience. The competitive interest-oriented party-system is the most effective vehicle for political development, because it makes official action institutionally responsible and predictable, permits the free articulation of all relevant interests, develops habits of citizen participation and responsibility, and effectively maintains boundaries between polity, society, economy, and administration. The evolution of political systems into competitive interest-oriented party system is both desirable and inevitable path of political development.

Critical Appraisal

Esman has presented an action theory but it is incomplete and has yet to be proved. A number of researchable yet untested propositions are derived by him to identify some of the problems raise. Each one is paired with one or more alternative propositions so that major valuative and analytical issues may be highlighted to provide a conceptual base for a science of development administration. To give some illustrations, Esman gives a proposition that development or modernisation is a social process which can be influenced by human design in large measure. The counter proposition to this is that development is primarily a historical-evolutionary process which can be marginally influenced by purposeful effort. Progress towards the inter-related goals of nation-building and socio-economic progress depends on the performance of a group of tasks which are carried out through action programmes. It is a major concern of contemporary governments. A contrary proposition to it is that actions of governments are situationally determined, by the pressure of events and that behaviour of governing elites is more expedient than goal-oriented. One proposition is that developmental drive depends on the initiative and the sustained and purposeful guidance of public authority. The counter proposition to it is that drive for development comes from the society primarily, it comes from entrepreneurial initiative and other voluntary agencies. The function of government is to facilitate, liberate and protect these energies and permit them under a minimum restraint. Membership in the governing elites represents a shifting position of personal and institutional interests bound together by common doctrine or by common will to power. But according to a counter proposition, the concept of governing elite is meaningless. Each function and interest in the society has its particular elite, the members of which are constantly shifting and difficult to identify. Similarly, governing elites, it is said, set the goals and criteria of public policy, initiate and supervise the execution of programmes contributing to nation-building and socio-economic development goals, stimulate individual and group initiative and activity in the society, and discipline competing claims on the political system according to developmental criterion fixed by the regime. This proposition. is countered on moral grounds. Legitimate initiative for action flows primarily from organised interests or from the aggregate preferences of individuals within the society. The establishment of policy and the authorisation of programmed action should depend on the reconciliation of these interests and preferences in the political system. The effectiveness of governing elites in undertaking the tasks of development depends on their achieving some freedom to act independently of institutional controls. This enables them to initiate social experiments, concieve and implement long range plans and programmes, and achieve and maintain such autonomy by establishing mass consensus and confidence in their dedication to the interest of the common man or by using coercive sanctions, or by a judicious combination of both. The contrary proposition challenges both the value and the efficiency of autonomy

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of governing elites. It emphasises the self-seeking character of elites, the opportunity for abuse of autonomy, and the alienation of elites from the community when such autonomy is possible.

Conclusion

The basic orientation of development administration is ecological, i.e., public administration of any country cannot be understood without grasping the social setting in which it operates. Since all developing countries put new and increased demands on administration, the administrators are expected to possess intellectual and operational capabilities for effective decision making, nation building and socio-economic change. Institution building and guided change is a strategy of planned and guided social change particularly applicable in relatively stable structures. Esman believes that induced changes directly provided by the government are based on new knowledge and practices (technological) supported by efforts to modify values, roles, cultural definitions and by political changes in incentives and rewards. He takes a relatively extreme position in his stress on an unbalanced social growth strategy. He views bureaucracy as a 'powerful, indispensable and generally beneficient agency of public service especially under conditions of rapid change when social and economic progress depends in great measure on governmental performance.' This is the reason when he advocates a strategy which 'places higher priority on building its capabilities than containing its abuses'.

The perspective of development administration envisages three major classes of output programme, viz., those which attempt to induce behavioural changes among large, diffuse, low income clienteles changes in agricultural practices those which provide additional opportunities and resources to smaller roups of clients who are already motivated towards development pattern of behaviour (industrial promotion); and those which improve the effectiveness of development services provided by government

agencies (education and land development). All efforts at induced administrative change draw on technical, cultural and political methods of inducing change whether they involve the central government wide systems or any of the three classes of action programmes. The effective programmes of change involve combinations of all three methods, the class of change problem tends to determine the more effective emphasis.

Esman has presented a very thought provoking analysis of the politics of development administration. His inquiry is embryonic in character and propositions are considered crude and tentative. They indicate problem areas requiring research, but, to quote his own words, they are not reduced to verifiable hypothesis. Social and physical environment is a major such factors like geography, size, ethnic homogenity or diversity, resource endowments, stages of development, and colonial heritage. This may require the development of a topology of transitional societies and the empirical testing and refinement of each hypothesis for each societal type. All these propositions exclusively deal with transitional-societies and Esman makes no claim that they apply universally or in other environments.

LESSON 4

Principles of Administration

Dr. R. N. Mathur

Formerly Reader in Political Science

University of Delhi

In this lesson we shall discuss the classical approach to Public Administration, and study the principles of Administration with reference to Luther Gulick, L.F. Urwick and J.D. Mooney

Organization: Various Theories

Organisation may be defined as the arrangement of personnel for facilitating the accomplishment of some agreed purpose through allocation of functions and responsibilities. It is a group of individuals who are engaged in accomplishing a purpose commonly agreed upon. It is not simply a structural arrangement developed for the purpose of consciously held group objectives. It is also a human institution where members of the organization play an effective role in the running of the organization; in the words of Dimock “to try to deal with organization merely by framework and without considering the people who make it up and those for whom its services are intended would be wholly unrealistic”1(Dimock, Dimock & Kocning, Public Administration. New York, Revised Edition, 1959. p. 139.)

There are specific theories of organization which explain the nature and scope of organization and also the relationship which binds the members to the organization. They may be classified into four categories: (1) The Classical theory, (2) the Bureaucratic theory, (3) The Scientific Management theory, and (4) The Human Relations Approach theory. We may briefly refer to these theories in the net paragraphs but we propose to dwell at length with the classical theory with reference to its experiment by, Luther, Gulick, Urwick and Mooney.

The Bureaucratic theory is associated with the German Sociologist, Max Weber (1864-1920), who maintains that bureaucratic organization is the ideal type for attaining the goals of alt large states. It is superior to all other administrative organisations, because it has the following distinctive features, namely (1) Hierarchical type of organization in which each lower office is under a higher office; (2) Division of labour with specified sphere of competence legitimised as official duties ; (3) Rules for carrying out duties, are to be applied uniformly on all persons, (4) Impersonality: the official in contact with others has to act objectively, subject to informal orders and norms of conduct; (5) Officers to be selected on technical competence and merit and not on other considerations. This theory is criticised by R.K. Merton for its rigidity, inflexibility, and for its emphasis on means and not on ends2 (See lesson no 2 for the Max Weber theory.)

The exponent of the Scientific Management theory, Frederic W. Taylor, was of the view that both labour and management had common interests in increasing productivity and he believed that the better wages paid to the workers would motivate them to produce more. He was convinced that material awards to workers were closely related to their work efforts and that man was an appendage to the machine. He suggested that payment should be made to the workers on the basis of their output of work. Workers were, to be taught the best procedure of doing his work and his pay was to be tied to his output. Workers could be induced to produce the maximum physically possible as calculated by the time and motion engineering. This approach is criticised by the experiments of the Human Relation approach, especially Elton Mayo and other because it considered man as a pan of the machine. The Hawthorn Experiments (927-32) carried on by Elton Mayo established that non-economic and emotional features, were more important than economic factors in determining human behaviour.3(The Scientific Management theory will be discussed in the next lesson)

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The Classical Approach -- Gulick and Urwick are influenced by Taylor and Fayol; and they have developed their theory of organisation. This is known as the “Classical Theory”. The authors give too much importance to the structure of administration and little to the man in the organisation. Urwick remarks, “It is impossible for humanity to advance its knowledge of organisation unless the factor on structure is isolated from other considerations, however artificial such an isolation may appear to be”. Organisation is defined by Urwick as determining activities that are necessary for a purpose (or plan) and arranging them in groups which may be assigned to individuals. Organisation mainly is a designing process, and lack of design is illogical, crude, wasteful an inefficient.

Gulick and Urwick next try to find out the principles on which the organizational structure may be designed, Gulick enumerates ten of them: 1. Division of work or specialization, 2. Bases of departmental organisations, 3. Co-ordination through hierarchy, 4. Deliberate co-ordination, 5. Coordination through committees, 6. Decentralization, 7. Unity of command, 8. Staff and line, 9. Delegation, and 10. Span of control. Of these ten, Gulick lays special emphasis on division of work; to him division of work is the basis of organisation.

Urwick suggests the following eight principles: 1. The principle of objectives, 2. the principle of correspondence, 3. the principle of responsibility, 4. the scalar principle, 5. the principle of span of control, 6. the principle of specialization, 7. principle of co-ordination, and 8. the principle of definition. Later he incorporated the principles of Fayol, Mooney and Reiley, Taylor, Follet and of Graicunas, and thus he listed twenty-nine principles and other other sub-principles. These twenty nine principles are: investigation, forecasting, planning, appropriateness, organisation, co-ordination, order, command, control, co-ordination, authority, scalar process, assignment of functions, leadership, delegation, functional definition, determinative, appreciative, interpretative, general interests, centralization, staffing, spirit, selection and placement, rewards and sanctions, initiative, equity, discipline, and stability4. (Urwick The Elements of Administration, pp 118-123 (London, Sir lssac Pitman & Sons Ltd. 1947) L. Luther Gulick "Notes on the Theory of Organisation' in Luther Gulick and L. Urwick Papers on the Science of Administration NY Institute of Public Administration 1937.)

Gulick has also identified the functions of the executive. These are: Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. These functions are summarized in the expression POSDCORB.

Main Features of Luther Gulick

The classical theory is associated with Luther Gulick, Lyndon Urwick, J.D. Mooney and others. These writers hold that administration is technical in nature and carried on irrespective of the kind of work or the context in which it is done. It has well established principles which have universal applicability in all administrative situations.

Hierarchy- The first principle is the principle of hierarchy or scalar principle. Hierarchy consists of in the universal application of the superior-subordinate relationship through a number of levels of responsibility reaching from the top to the bottom of the administrative structure. In a hierarchical form of organization there is a single line of authority running from top to bottom and a return line of accountability running from bottom to top. The distribution of functions and responsibility is both horizontal and vertical. Vertical distribution creates levels like top management, middle level of management and lower level of management.

J.D. Mooney prefers to call the hierarchical principle as the scalar principle. A scale means a series of steps, usually graded. In organization it means the grading of duties, not according to different functions, but according to degrees of authority and corresponding responsibility. A scalar principle, according to J.D. Mooney, requires that the various units of organization have to be grouped at several

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levels in the form of a pyramid. The supreme authority in an organisation should be vested in one Individual and the base of the organization should be broad. The official in the administrative organisation bears responsibility to his superior and has the authority to give orders to his subordinates. The scalar principle is the chief means through which the various units of an organization are integrated. It facilitates commercial communication both upwards and downwards. As delegation of authority is permitted there is no concentration of work at one centre and many centres of decision-making are established in the organisation. This principle also helps in fixing the responsibility of each post in the organization.

Division of Work- The second principle of an administrative organization is division of work and its co-ordination. Division of work in an organization is done in accordance with the principle of division of labour and specialisation. Government work in a department is divided among several branches, divisions and units. According to Luther Gulick, if sub-division of work is inescapable, co-ordination becomes mandatory.5 This is secured by two ways: (1) by inter relating the sub-divisions of work by allotting them to men who are placed in the structure of authority, so that work may be co-ordinated by the order of the superiors to subordinates, reaching from the top to the bottom of the entire organizations; and (2) Secondly, development of singleness of purpose in the minds of those who are working together as a group, so that each worker will, of his own accord, fit his task into the whole with skill and enthusiasm.

Line and Staff- Another development in organisation, is the growth of specialists, professionals and technicians who dislike vertical relationship in organization. The concept of superior-subordinate hierarchical relationship comes under challenge and makes co-ordination difficult. Luther Gulick and Mooney are of the view that since the staff agencies exercise only advisory functions they, are simply extension of the personality of the Chief Executive and in case of clash of opinions at various levels coordination is effected at the top and so the principle of unity of command is not impaired.

Span of Control- Another principle advocated by Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick is limited span of control. This principle lays down that there should be limited number of subordinates or units of work that may be under the charge of an administrator. After all, there are limits to human capacity and if too many persons are put under the supervision of one official, supervision is likely to be ineffective. There is no agreement among scholars about determining the length of span of control. Some limit it to 3 persons, others put it at 7, and while others to 20 and so on. The general agreement however is that the shorter the span of control, the greater will be effective control of the supervisor over his subordinates. There are, however, dangers inherent in excessively limited span of control. It would mean detailed supervision of work of a few subordinates. It would also tend to stultify the capacity of the subordinates to work on their own. So there can be no rigid span of control. The exact span of control depends on variable factors like the personality of the supervisor, the age of the organization, and the calibre of the subordinates. The factor of the location of the place of the organization also affects the span of control. If the subordinates work in one building or are scattered over many buildings, the span of control is differently influenced.

The doctrine of span of control has come under revision during recent times. The increasing use of automation in administration, the information revolution and the growing role of the specialists are some factors responsible for change in this concept. Mechanical devices evolved for simplifying and expediting communication, curtailing delay in paper work have tended to extend span of control. Automation makes superfluous most of the clerical and rot-tine jobs and curtails paper work. The electronic data process machines store lot of information and relevant and accurate data for the use of administrators. Recently computers have been employed in big organizations and banks for this purpose.

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Mechanisation has also helped in reducing time and distance and facilitating speedy communication between the field and headquarters.

Department- Another principle advocated by Luther Gulick in his 'Essay on the Theory of Organisation' relates to the grouping of activities according to purpose, process, clientele, and place. According to him this was likely to enhance the efficient functioning of organisation. When an activity is described as functional the connotation is that of specialisation. According to Luther Gulik activities should be grouped into a few major departments each of which is concerned with a single general purpose-Public Health, Education etc. The question is whether general purpose departments should have process units of their own. In favour of process departments strong arguments for economy are advanced. The examples of Process departments are stenography services, medicine, finance, and engineering. Should a general purpose department be required to avail services of a central process unit or should it have its own physicians, accountants and engineers? The answer is that the determinations in this matter should be made upon the basis of studying the variables in the local situations. The advantages of economy realized by central process activities may be offset by the possibilities for co-ordination and accomplishment of mission if the purpose activities are allowed to have their own process units.6 (March & Herbert Simon, Organization (New York) 1958,) If we build up departments on the basis of clientele, that will lead to the setting up of Liliputain administration. The Machinery of Government Report 1918 has deprecated the setting up of such tiny units of administration. Sometimes departmental units are set up to serve the regional needs. However, even several units of administration cannot be self-sufficient and difficulties of co-ordination arise in centre-state administration.

Unity of Command- Another principle advocated by Luther Gulick is the principle of one-way authority. There is a single line of command running from top to bottom and a return line of responsibility running from bottom to top. Delegation of authority is not encouraged and even if delegated by the head of the organization, the latter would be held responsible for the exercise of authority by the delegates.

Centralization- Another principle which IOIIOWS from the former one is the principle of Centralization of decision-making. Centralization stands for concentration of authority at the top; decentralization denotes dispersal of authority among a number of individuals or units. Decentralization is to be distinguished from delegation. In decentralization the central authority directs itself of certain power which are given to the units and the latter become autonomous in the exercise of such powers. In delegation the local units are given specific functions by the Centre and they exercise these functions as agents of the centre. The classical approach upheld by Luther Gulick and Urwick discourages decentralization and favours centralization in decision-making. Decentralization is brought out only when certain safeguards are provided for in the administrative system: (1) Local units should report to not more than one Central agency; (2) Jurisdictional line is carefully drawn; (3) Procedures in the field establishment are standardised; (4) Local units should not take decisions in policy matters; (5) Opportunities should be given to local units to make suggestions to the Centre, and (6) The Central authorities should have effective machinery of control and supervision over the operations of the units.

Organization- Lastly, the classical theory as discussed above by Luther Gulick and Urwick regards organization as a formal structure set up in accordance with some clear-cut establishment principles.

The objective of the classical organization is to make maximum utilization of men and material for attaining speed, economy and efficiency in administration. Focus in the formal organization theory is not given on human beings as such but to their roles in the context of organizational objectives. Such an approach is atomistic because it sees the individual in isolation from fellowmen. It does not explain the

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dynamics of organizational behaviour. It treats the organization as a closed system, uninfluenced by external factors. It under estimates human behaviour and motivation. According to this approach the pattern of relationship of the members of the organization is one formally set-out in 'charts' or diagrams. The actual working of every organization is, however, not according to the formal plan designed by the management. Many times, a formal plan is incomplete. It provides a few instructions for the guidance of employees, in the vacuum that is left informal pattern of relationship develops.

Review of Luther Gulick and L. Urwick

Luther Gulick's theory of organization and principles of administration have been criticised by Herbert Simon in his book Administration Behavious. These principles according to him are not better than proverbs providing any meaningful guidelines lo scholars and practitioners of the subject. According to him, Luther Gulick's administrative theory formulating some principles of administrative theory regarding administrative efficiency have not been empirically tested and therefore has no validity. Specialization is not a condition of efficient administration, it is an inevitable characteristic of all group effort. Gulick's other principle of unity of command comes into clash with the principle of specialization the unity of command in Gulick's sense has never existed in any administrative organization. Taylor's suggestion of functional supervision is more sensible although Gulick says Taylor in saying this has committed an error. Gulick's formal theory of organisation with all its faults has made major contribution to administration. It has made notable role in stimulating production. This theory proved the principles of organization as evolved by Gulick and Urwick have been subjected to criticism. It is said that these principles do not possess 'universal truth' or universal validity, and as such cannot be applied1 to all situations. They appear in the nature of postulates of experienced men who have closely observed organizations at work and hence recommendations for action. L.D. White points out that the terms like line, staff and auxiliary agencies, hierarchy, authority and centralization, though useful, do not provide any guidance. For example, they do not explain whether an organization should be highly centralized or not, or what should be the duties of the auxiliary agencies, and also their authority. They are the working rules of conduct supported by wide experience. Herbert Simon, too, criticizes these .principles. He attacks them on the ground that they come in pairs: for every principle there is a contradictory principle. But there is nothing to indicate which is the proper one to apply. He illustrates his point by saying: the specialization increases efficiency, but it is not clarified whether this specialization is area specialization or functional specialization. Contradiction is also noted in the principle of specialization and the unity of command and span of control. Thus, Simon concludes that “the principles of administration are at best criteria for describing and diagnosing administrative situations.” These principles do not confront the theory with evidence.

The classical theory is also criticised for its neglect of the human element in organization. Human being is treated as an inert instrument incapable of individual contribution. This failure gave rise to the human relations movement and behavioral studies. The classical theory also lacks the motivational assumptions. Though at places the theory refers to human- behaviour, it takes into account only the rational behaviour of the human being.

Gulick and Urwick have shown concern only for the formal organization, and have neglected the informal.

The dynamic nature of administration has not received due attention by the classical school writers. Alferd Diamont says that most of the conceptual constraints in organization have a steady ‘state bias’. Both the organization and the organizational goods undergo a constant change as a result of the economic, social or political stimuli. It has not received adequate treatment by the classical theorists. Simon and March point out important limitations to the classical theory: (1) improper motivational assumptions, (2) neglect of the role of intra-organization conflict of interests in defining limits or

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organisational behaviour, (3) no consideration to constrains placed on human being, his limitations .as a complex information processing system, (4) no cognition in the task identification and classification, and (5) programme, evaluation has received little attention.

James D. mooney

James D. Mooney, a welt known authority on organizations, was a high executive of the General Motors and a member of its board of directors for many years. He is the author of the Principle of Organization (Harper and Brothers, Cambridge, 1948). In the book The Principles of Organization, Mooney and Reiley have enumerated the following principles of organization: (1) The Coordinative Principles,. (?) The Scalar Principle (or the Hierarchical Principle, (3) The functional Principle (or the division or labour), and (4) The Staff and Line Principle.

(1) The Coordinative Principle provides unity of action in the pursuit of a common purpose. It embodies the need for authority and leadership. Coordination comes about not only through authority and leadership but through the manipulation of hierarchy and on the unifying forces of doctrine, spirit and morale.

(2) The Scalar Principle is also called hierarchical principle. This principle refers to vertical division of authority and definite assignment of duties to organization units. .

(3) The functional principle is really the concept of specialization. There is a distinct difference in the nature of duties of an officer of an infantry and an officer if artilliary.

(4) In Staff and line, the line represents authority and the staff advice and ideas. A unified rather than divisive interpretation of staff and line is counselled.

The theory enunciated by Mooney and Reiley views organization as suggestive, considering human beings who run it as mere cogs. The principles of organization propounded by James Mooney, according to him, had universal applicability in all administrative situations.

In this matter he was in agreement with the viewpoint of Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick. Luther Gulick, Urwick and Mooney are earlier exponents of Management Science. They addressed themselves to the task of discovering the basis on which division of work in an organization is to be carried out, and devised methods by which coordination and control is exercised over personnel so that work in the organization is done with speed and efficiency. Luther Gulick in his Paper on the Science of Administration summed up the principle of organisation in the words 'POSDCORB', each alphabet of which stands for a particular function, i.e.. Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. Mooney's four principles of organization were after those enunciated by Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick. The four principles referred to above stress the point that organization is a formal structure of authority in which a well-defined plan is spelled out and requisite personnel is selected for carrying out the pre-conceived plan. The principles laid down by these writers constitute the elementary principles of management which are applicable in all administrative situation, whether in the public or private.

Their theories have certain limitations, as they give exaggerated importance to formal organizational structure in comparison with that of informal relationships within the organization and they hold a narrow view of individual motivation. However, it may be said that notwithstanding these defects the formal structure of organization has importance of its own.

Before concluding this lesson it will be pertinent to explain the difference between the classical approach to management from the structuralists approach, because both the approaches are sometimes confounded. The classical theorists used deductive reasoning to prescribe a conceptually clear organizational design and description of how each person within the organization should behave. The

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structuralists, on the other hand, examine existing organizations and use inductive reasoning to generalise about the true-nature of organization. Their descriptive approach focusses on what organizations are really like rather than what they should be like. The structuralists consider an organization a large, complex, social unit in which many social units interact. These groups share some common interests but also have some incompatible interest. The various groups might cooperate in some spheres and compete in others. The two groups within the organization whose interests frequently come into conflict are management and the workers.7

SUGGESTED READING

1. Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick (ed), Notes on the "Theory of Organization" (New York: Institute of Public Administration, 19S4)

2. James D. Mooney, The Principles of Organization (New York: Harper and Row: 1970).

3. For a discussion of the main principles of classical form of organization and their criticism consult John M. Pfiffner and Frank P. Sherwood, Administrative Organization, Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, 1964. (Chapter 4-An Introduction of Formal Organization Theory pp. 52-73.)

LESSON 5

The Theory of Scientific Management

Dr. R.N. Mathur.

Reader in Political Science (RETD.)

The evolution of management science emerged with the growth of industrialism and factory system in the United States. In the earlier days of capitalism the typical capitalist was himself his own manager. He owned his factory and managed his own enterprise. However, with the growth of large scale public corporations and technological development of modem industry the functions of the management have become more distinctive as the capitalism who formerly performed the functions of management withdrew from management capital. In this lesson we will discuss the classical theory of Scientific Management with reference to Frederick Taylor and Henry Fayol.

Frederick Taylor

During the nineteenth century conditions of work in the factories were totally unplanned and management was hardly competent to impart knowledge to the workers about the techniques of work. It is against this background that Frederick Taylor (1856-1915), an engineer, formulated a systematic theory of scientific management to be applied in industrial concerns in the interest of higher industrial efficiency. Taylor pointed out that managers instead of being whip men, would have to develop a new philosophy and approach to management. They would have to develop a broader, more comprehensive view in order to see their job as incorporating the elements of planning, organizing and controlling.

Taylor developed his ideas of scientific management gradually while working in different firms. While working at Midrale Steel Company Plants as Chief Engineer he noticed some of the shortcomings in factory operations. He saw that (1) management had no clear concept of worker-management responsibilities; (2) that no effective work standards were applied there; (3) that no incentive was given to worker to improve his performance; (4) that systematic coercion was applied on workers in their work ; (5) that managerial decisions were based on bunch institution or rule of thumb; (6) No overall studies were made to incorporate a total-flow concept of work among the departments, and that workers were inaptly placed at tasks for which they had no ability or aptitude; and finally (7) the management apparently ignored the truth that excellence in performance and operations should be suitably rewarded to both management and worker.

Taylor based his managerial system on his own production-line time studies. Instead of relying on traditional work methods, Taylor analysed and timed steel workers' movement on a series of jobs. He thereby established how many workers should be able to do with the equipment and material at hand. He broke each down into its components and designed the quickest and best methods of operation for each part of the job.

In 1893 Taylor worked as a private consulting management engineer in Simonds Rolling Machine Company. The task was inspection of the balls used in bicycle ball bearings by 120 workers. The task proved tedious and time consuming to the employees. Taylor made major changes in the work. He first studied and-timed the movement of the best workers. Secondly, he trained the rest in the method of their highly skilled co-workers and then transferred or laid off the poor performers. He also introduced rest periods during the work day, along with his differential pay-rate system. The results proved impressive. Expenses were reduced, productivity, quality, earnings and workers, —morale went up.

In 1898 Taylor was engaged as a consultant by Bethlehem Steel Company to inspect the work of unloading and loading material from railcars. Complaint was made to Taylor that workers were slow in

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their work and were nor willing to work faster. Taylor and his co-workers studied and timed the operations of unloading and loading the cars. Taylor concluded that with frequent rest period each man could handle about 48 tons a day as against 121/2 tons done by the workers. He fixed a piece-rate wage, that, would be paid to each worker; i.e., 1.85 dollars a day if he met the standard of 471/2 tons fixed by him. The workers responded favourably to Taylor to avail (he incentive wage.

Philosophy behind Frederick Taylor's Techniques: Frederick Taylor outlined his philosophy of scientific management in his two books Shop Management and Principles of Scientific Management. This rested on four basic principles: (1) Development of a true science of management, and that, the best method for performing each task could be determined. (2) Scientific selection of workers, so that each worker could be given responsibility for the tasks for which he or she was best suited. (3) Scientific education and development of the worker; and (4) Intimate, friendly cooperation between management workers.

These principles, Taylor pointed out, could succeed only on complete mental revolution on the part of management and labour, forth of these were required to increase production. By so doing, profits would increase to an extent that managers and labour would be mutually benefitted. Taylor's principles were scientific because they were based on experimentations in and keen observation of the work situations and the managerial dynamics. Taylor's ideas covered a wider sphere. They related to systems application, personnel management, cooperation between labour and management, functional organization, time and motion study and techniques of planning.

Taylor's main objective was increased labour productivity as he proposed concrete measures for a rational utilization of workman's labour and the means of production. He insisted a strict regimentation of the utilization of materials and instruments, standardisation of implements and operations, the strict accounting of labour time, the sub of work process, by dividing them into their components and measurement of each with a stop-watch (Time study), the establishment of control over every operation, the introduction of differential wages and so on. Taylor was of the view that an employee was motivated by the payment of higher wages. He suggested that payment should be made to the worker on the basis of higher output of work. Various methods of measuring workers' output were devised. According to him the payment should be fixed on the basis of merit of performance and not on any other criteria. He discouraged the practice of monthly salaries and preferred piece-rate wages in which pay was directly determined on the basis of actual amount of the work done.

Taylor's Contribution

Taylor's ideas had revolutionary effect not only in the U.S.A. but throughout the world, including the Soviet Union. Taylor viewed man as an adjunct of machine. The individual in his view did not understand the subtleties of the industrial organization and he should therefore adjust himself to the requirements of the management. He reduced worker to a state of dependency. The worker was required to work to the limit of his physical capacity and he was to be given a high wage in return. The management was to determine One best way' of doing the work and the worker has not to bother for it. Taylor's assumption was that individual worker was isolated from his social environments.

Criticism of Taylor

Taylor has been rejected both by the organized labour and the management. The labour leaders consider Taylorism as destroying trade unionism and also the principle of collective bargaining. It is a menace as it causes continuous increase in unemployment. Taylor, to them, is more interested in the mechanical aspect of the work. Hoxie criticises Taylor's approach to scientific management as unconcerned with the human aspect of production. He also holds the basic ideals of scientific management as incompatible with labour unionism.

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Taylor is also criticised by the managers, in particular for his stand on training by highly trained experts.

Oliver Sheldon, Marry Parker Follett, Sam Sewisohn, Elton Mayo and many others have criticised Taylor saying that his scientific management is impersonal, and underemphasizes the human factor. Elton Mayo holds that the structural arrangements of the organization are not important for increasing productivity and efficiency; it is the emotional altitude of the worker towards his work and colleagues. Work is an essential part in man's life, since it is that aspect of life which gives him status and binds him to the society. When they do not like it the fault lies in the psychological and social condition of the job, rattier than the worker". (J.A.C. Brown The Social Psychology of Industry, Pelican 1954)

Taylor does not properly understand the anatomy of work. He lays much emphasis in minute division of work and specialization. It is criticised on several grounds. Firstly, the work gets depersonalized, the worker becomes a mere cog in the machine, the relations between the worker and the manager are remote and the worker has no sense of participation; the worker has little opportunity to show his skill and ability. Secondly, it may lead to automation of the worker with physiological and neurological consequences. The organization becomes a piece of poor engineering. Thirdly, Taylor's division of work into planning and executive divisions is criticised. In such a situation it is difficult to develop a proper team spirit. It is also argued that the principle of minute sub-division of work is subject to the law of diminishing return.

The criticism of Taylor is summarised in these words: First, he confuses die principle of analysis with the principle of action. Second, planning and doing are separate aspects of the same job, they cannot be totally divorced.

The Behaviouralists criticise Taylor that he sacrifices the initiative of the worker, his individual freedom and use of his intelligence and responsibility. Simon describes the scientific management as physiological organisation theory.

Henry Fayol

Another exponent of the Scientific Management movement was Henry Fayol. He was a French engineer. His famous work, is General and Industrial Management (1916). He was appointed Manage! of a mining company in France, which was on the verge of bankruptcy (1880), but by the, time he retired in 1918 it become one of the most powerful French concerns. He attributed the success of his company to the consistent and systematic utilization in management of a series of simple but extremely effective and universally applicable principles.

Fayol maintains strongly that any valid theory of management cannot be limited to business but must be equally applicable to all forms of human endeavour. He further adds that all undertakings require some degree of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Since management is all-pervasive, Fayol suggests that a general knowledge of management would benefit everyone and this subject should be taught in schools and universities. He emphasises that the managerial activity deserves the utmost attention of every one. It is made up of planning, organizing commanding, coordinating and controlling.

Fayol further eleborates on each of these components. Planning consists of examining to future and drawing up a plan of action. Organising consists of a dual structure of human and material to achieve the objective of the undertaking. The organiser (Manager), according to Henry-Fayol, has to discharge sixteen managerial duties:

(1) Insure that the plan is judiciously prepared and strictly executed,

(2) To see that human and material organisation is consistent with the objectives, resources, and requirements of the concern,

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(4) Harmonise activities and co-ordinate efforts,

(5) Formulate clear, distinct, precise decisions,

(6) Arrange for efficient selection of personnel,

(7) Define duties clearly,

(8) Encourage initiative and responsibility,

(9) Provide fair and suitable recompense for services rendered,

(10) Make use of sanctions against faults and errors,

(11) Ensure maintenance of discipline,

(12) See that individual interests are subordinated to genera! interests,

(13) Pay attention to the unity of command,

(14) Supervise both human and material order,

(15) Maintain control over everything, and

(16) Fight against excessive regulations, red tap and paper control.

Fayol explains that Commanding implies maintaining activity among the personnel of the organization.

The manager should possess thorough knowledge of his personnel. He should set a good example and eliminate the incompetent workers. He should be well versed with the agreements binding the business and its employees. He should conduct periodical audits of the organisation and maintain organisation charts. He should hold conferences to bring together his chief assistants to draw attention to directions and efforts.

Co-ordinating, according to Fayol, implies binding together, unifying and harmonising all activity and efforts.

Fayol also explains that the purpose of controlling was to ensure that everything is accomplisned in conformity with the established plan and command.

The ability of a manager depends on his position in the hierarchy of the organization. If a person is doing a lower-level job he needs specific technical skill and very little managerial ability. When he moves up to a higher level of authority, managerial ability is much more required for him than more specific skill. Managerial ability is also relative to the size of an organization. We need a relatively greater measure of managerial ability in a big business organization than in a small-sized firm. Fayol suggests formal managerial training to be imparted in schools for prospective managers.

Principle of Management- Henry Fayol completed his net work of managerial theory by stating that the management to be effective should be founded on the following fourteen principles:1(Henry fayol, Industrial and General Administration (General International Management Institute).) (1) Division of work; (2) Authority and responsibility; (3) Discipline; (4) Unity of command; (5) Unity of direction; (6) Subordination of individual interest to the general interest; (7) Remuneration (fair and reasonable reward of effort), (8) Centralisation; (9) Scalar /chain (line of authority), (10) Order (A place for every one, and everyone in his place), (11) Equity, (12) Stability of tenure of personnel; (13) Initiative, and (14) Esprit de' corps.

These principles do not need any elaboration. Of all these principles, Fayol greatly emphaises the importance of Unity of Command, stating that each individual, whether manager or labourer, should have one and only one boss. He takes Taylor to task for his idea of functional foremanship, whereby each worker may have as many as eight bosses. Henry Fayol is of the view that mere is nothing of rigidness or absoluteness in these principles. They are flexible and can be adopted to meet the changing needs and circumstances. Henry Fayol's theory of management is comprehensive and all the principles are all based on his practical experience.

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Contribution of Henry Fayol to Management Theory- Henry Fayol has made a significant contribution to management thought. He points out that management is a separate body of knowledge and is applicable to all forms of group activity. He is first to suggest that management curricula be introduced, and taught in schools and universities. He displays logical thinking and foresight in his management theory.

His influence on the thinking in France and many other European countries has been equal to that of Frederick Taylor although they differed in their approach. Taylor concerned himself primarily with the worker level and the technical aspect of production, concentrated on management, from the top down, emphasising managerial ability and the application of sound managerial principles and techniques to all organization.

Fayol's approach to organization theory is more flexible than that of Frederic Taylor. Taylor's scientific management is concerned with organizational efficiency interpreted only in mechanistic terms. He views man as an adjunct of machine. Taylor considers that administrative activity is the privilege of the management and the worker is a dependent variable. Fayol, on the other hand, feels that administrative activity is not confined to a privileged few, but permits the entire organization. Taylor does not allow the worker to participate in administration. Fayol, on the other hand, is of the view that workers can participate in the administrative activity to some extent. He thinks that as one goes up the ascending order of organization, responsibility increases and vice-versa.

Taylor believes in the theory of unity of command but modifies his stand by reconciling it with the principle of functional specialization. According to him a worker can be subjected to the supervision and control of eight functional foremen. Henry Fayol criticises Taylor for undermining the principle of unity of command, according to which one worker receives order from one boss only.

Finally, Fayol points out that the principles of management are not to be applied with rigidity. They have flexibility and can be adjusted to changing needs of human beings. It would appear from this that Fayol does not ignore human aspect of the individual in a sense which is done by Taylor.

Criticism of Scientific Management Theory

Although Taylor's methods led to dramatic increases in productivity and to higher pay in a number of instances, workers and unions became uncomfortable with Taylor's approach. They feared that working harder or faster would exhaust whatever work was available and bring about more lay-off. Some organizations following Taylor's approach laid off workers. Increasing number of workers became convinced that they would lose their jobs if Taylor’s methods were adopted.

Scientific Management theorists are also criticised for their interpretation of human behaviour. It is pointed out that people are completely rational, that they are motivated primarily by a desire for gain and act in a manner best suited to satisfy their economic and physical needs. Taylor and his followers ignore the social needs of the workers as members of group and do not consider the tension created when these needs arc frustrated. They assume that as rational people, workers would do more work on an incentive wage to earn more money. This assumption has become inappropriate for modern managers today. The Hawthorne Experiments (1927-82), a research in group dynamics rejected the over-simplified notion that 'economic incentive' largely explains employees, behaviour in the organization. Scientific Management predicts that better illumination would increase production. The Hawthorne experiment disproved this and showed that there was no relation between the two variables. The wiring room experiment involving the wiring of switch boards disproved the assumption made by Scientific Management theory that piece-rate wage system led to increase in production! It on the other hand, proved that non-economic rewards played a central role in determining the output of production. The experiment, established that organisational efficiency was not determined by physical capacity of the workers but by social norms.

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Another factor which Scientific Management theorists ignored was “Job Satisfaction”. It has been observed that workers go out on strike not only on the question of salary or economic earnings but on the question of job conditions also.

This Scientific Management Theory which proved so successful in the generation is out of date in the present changed world. Taylor's view that Job is separable from man has dehumanising effect on the organisation. Social scientists all over the world have rejected this approach and are united by their common revulsion from the concept of man, the worker, as a mere commodity. Their positive view is that workers are human beings with the right to work and live with dignity. The Hawthorne Experiments, referred to above, prove that motivation1 cannot be engineered and the piece-rate wage incentive cannot improve productivity unless workers are allowed to work in a social environment favourable to them.

Summary (Lessons 4 and 5)

Although Taylor's work provided the framework for much of the original thought regarding the function of management, it was primarily directed toward those management activities normally associated with first-line supervision and other lower-level management positions. Not until the late 1930s did attention begin to focus on management activities normally associated with upper administrative levels. It was at about this time, for example, that the work of Henry Fayol, a French industrialist, was first published in the English language and began to appear in the United States, Fayol and other members of what was to be called the “functional” school of management, including James D. Mooney and A.C. Reiley, Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick, Ralph C. Davis, and Harold Koontz and Gryil O' Donneli, provided the impetus for a new approach to the management process. This approach emphasized the administrative activities of a manger as they were performed at all levels in the organization. Their primary focus was on developing a list of functions that must necessarily be performed as part of the overall administrative process. Although the exact number of functions to be performed will vary from author to author, those of planning, organizing and controlling are considered to be classic, and in general they will be found in the writings of all members of this school of thought. It was the objective of these writers to examine the organisation as a separate entity, to analyse the basic functions a manager must perform, and from these to develop a series of principles that could be utilized to guide management behaviour in all organizational situations. These principles provided direction for managers in areas such as authority and responsibility relationships, line and staff organisation, business policies, span of control, leadership, and division of labour. Following is a representative listing of management principles drawn from the writings of several well-known thinkers in this area:

1. Clear lines of authority must run from top to bottom in the organization,

2. No one in the organization report to more than one line supervisor,

3. The responsibility and authority of each supervisor should be clearly defined in writing,

4. Responsibility should always be coupled with corresponding authority,

5. The responsibility of higher authority for the acts of its subordinates is absolute,

6. Authority should be delegated as far down the line as possible,

7. The number of levels of authority should be kept at a minimum,

8. The work of every person in the organization should be confined as far as possible to the performance of a single leading function.

9. Whenever possible, line functions should be separated from staff functions, and adequate emphasis should be placed on important staff activities,

10. There is a limit to the number of positions that can be coordinated by a single executive.

11. The organization should be flexible, so that it can be adjusted to changing conditions, and

12. The organization should be kept as simple as possible.

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It is generally advocated by members of this School of thought that these principles have application to all forms of organization in all environments. This being the case,, they believe that it would be possible for a manager to improve the effectiveness of his organization by a conscientious application of these principles. Several writers of this period do however, discuss the need to give adequate consideration to each situation when applying these principles to a given organization.

This school of thought has had a most significant effect on management practice, for it represents the first major attempt to develop and apply guidelines to be utilised in the administration of all levels of the organization. It creates a body of knowledge that can be studied and then applied to the business organization so as to bring about a more effective and efficient utlization of resources.

Although this school of thought has been severely criticized in recent years because it tends to disregard the human element within the organization, it still represents a major milestone in the development of a systemized body of knowledge regarding the practice of management. The contributions of administrative and functional management are to: (a) Focus attention of administration and upper levels of management within the organization; develop a series of “functions” that must be performed by every manager within an organization (planning, organizing, controlling), and (b) Develop a series of “principles” believed to have application to all organizations (unity of command, span of control, delegation of authority, division of labour, etc.).

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Claudes, George Jr. The History of Management Thought (Prentice Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, 1968, New York) pp. 79-85 and pp. 86-99.

2. James A,F. Stoner, Management (Prentice Hall Inc. Engtewood Cliffs, New Jersey 1978), pp. 33-43.

3. Edggar F. Hass & James L. Bariditch, Behaviour in Organizations, (Addison-Wesley Publishing Coy., 1977), pp. 251-273.

4. Frederick Taylor (J) Scientific Management, (New York, Harper and Brother, 1947),

(2) Shop Management, (New York, Happer, 1947)

5. Henry Fayol, General and Industrial Management, (London, Pitman Co. 1949)

LESSON 6

The Human Relations Doctrine

Dr. O.P. Minocha Professor, UP A

In this lesson we shall study the human relations, approach to public administration with reference to Elton Mayo. In a previous lesson we studied that in the early part of the twentieth century Frederick W. Taylor and other followers of the scientific management school looked at the organisation from a highly mechanistic view and saw the employees as rational, profit maximizing element of the organization. In the last few decades since the end of world war II, we have seen profound technological and social change. These forces have affected the evolution of organization theory. New knowledge has come from conceptualization and empirical research in a number of related disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, mathematics, statistics and industrial engineering. Though it is difficult to summarize the scientific research carried on in these disciplines and their impact on the organization theory, it is clear that two broad and fundamental categories have emerged: (1) The behaviour sciences which emphasize the psycho-social system and the human aspect of administration; and (2) the administrative sciences which emphasize quantification, mathematical and the application of computer technology.

The Behavioural Approach

Many forces both within the organization and in the external environment have stimulated change in theory and approaches to administration. Most of the organisations have had an unparallelled increase in its size and complexity, specialization .within the organization has increased. Much has been written about the human consequences of the socio-technical changes brought on by advancing industrialization. Emil Durkheim (1930) believed that the rapid industrialization has broken down the solidaire within social groups. Family and community relationships have been destroyed. The work organization has become an important substitute for the traditional system of social interaction and psychological attachments which people had earlier in the pre-industrial societies. Increased genera! education levels provided employees with more intellectual skill and required new inducements to secure effective participation in the administration. Apart from the economic needs, many other social and emotional needs raised new levels of aspirations. Unionisation; especially after 1930, raised the demand for collective decisions and action. All these factors forced modifications in the old “classical” theory of organization (The classical theory is discussed in lesson 4)

In the study of organizations the behavioural approach emphasizes on the psycho-social system with primary consideration of the human components. It is concerned with studying organization in the real world and less interested in establishing normative models. They have used an open system and have considered many variable which were excluded by the ‘classical’ thinkers. As against emphasis on structure and task, the behaviour approach is concerned with human factor and the way employees behave in actual organisations. The method employed by this school of thought has been the empirical investigation into the interaction and cooperation between employees individually and collectively.

The behaviour approach has gained some respectability during the recent years because of the empirical research. This approach emphasizes the need for insights into human behaviour over the whole specturm of man’s activities. As a field of study it must satisfy two basic criteria: (1) it must deal with human behaviour, and (2) it must use “scientific” approach. The scientific aim is to establish generalizations about human behaviour which are supported by empirical evidence collected in an impersonal and objective way.

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Human Relations' Approach

This school of thought holds that every person is different and is influenced to a large extent by the work group and social factors around him. This behavioural approach contributed a lot to the organization theory and has given rise to a new school of thought, namely, “human relations”. This school concentrates on the human aspect of administration and believes that when people work together to accomplish objectives “people should understand people”.

The writers and scholars have focused on the individual and his or her motivations and relationships with others. They are also concerned with behaviour of the people in a group. Group relations, group standards, the problems of conflict and co-operation, communication barriers, informal organization and the like are the behaviour elements which have been introduced in an integrated form into the administrative theory.

The new intellectual input has been provided by a large number of researchers, philosophers and practitioners belonging to diverse fields making it truly an interdisciplinary approach. These contributions have added to our knowledge and understanding, but at the same time have increased the problem of integration of all findings to have a clear idea about the operation of the organisations.

According 10 the human relationship protagonists the worker is not an isolated, unrelated individual animal. He has his own norms, values and holds himself to an informal group in a work situation. This group exerts its influence on productivity. Membership in the group is prized for more than any reward management could offer with the possible exception of employment itself. Acceptance by the group is the key motivator. The human relationship has now moved on to “participative management”'.

This has replaced the “authoritarian” system of control and leadership developed by the “classic” school. The “human relations” school advocates the view that man desires “first a method of living in social relationship with other people, and second, as part of this, an economic function for and of value to the group”. This school of thought stresses on the informal factors in organization's activity. The ideologists of this school focus attention on the study of group relations and have attempted to suggest ways of resolving the inter group contradictions in an organization. In short, according to its adherents the “human relations” concept may be reduced to three propositions: (1) man is a 'social animal', (2) a rigid hierarchy of subordination, -a formulation of organizational process- is incompatiable with human nature, and (3) the solving of man's problem is a matter for the management of the organization.

Besides, Elton M. Mayo and Fritz J. Roethlisberger, D. McGregor, Chirs Argyris and Rensis Likest are the other notable representatives of the human relation school of administrative thought.1(We shall be studing MoGregor and Chris Argyris in subsequent lessons)

Contribution of Elton Mayo

Elton Mayo (1880-1949) was trained as a medical student but he soon abandoned it to follow his interests in psychology and philosophy. An Australian by birth, he went to the United States and joined the staff of Harvard University, eventually becoming Professor of Industrial Research at Harvard Graduate School of Business Studies. He was primarily interested in the people in the organizations. His two most widely read books are: The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1933), and The Social Problem of an Industrial Civilization (1949)

The emergence of human relations doctrine is linked with Elton Mayo. He is known for his research in the field of the “sociology of industrial relations” and for his experiments widely known as ‘Hawthorne Studies’. According to Elton Mayo the determination of optimum working conditions for the human being is left largely to dogma and tradition, guess or quasi-philosophical argument. In modern age scale industry the three persistent problems of management are:

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1. The application of science and technical skill to some material good or product,

2. The systematic ordering of operations; and

3. The organisation of teamwork, that is, of sustained cooperation.

Mayo is of the view that the last aspect must take account of the need for continual reorganization of teamwork as operating conditions are changed in an adaptive society. This aspect is almost wholly neglected and this is the aspect which makes an organisation efficient.

The Hawthorne Studies

It was in 1926 that a special department of industrial relations was set up at the Harvard University. In 1927 under the direction of Elton Mayo an extensive investigation was started at the Hawthorne" Plant, near Chicago, of the Western Electric Company. The main aim of these on the spot experiments was initially to examine the affects of fatigue on worker. Later on it was extended to study the social organisation within work groups. It took nearly five years before the project was finished. During this time Eritz J. Roetnlisberger acted as research assistant to Mayo. Mayo's main conclusion was that psychological and social, rather than material factors, affect the growth of productivity.

The first phase of the Hawthorne Studies was an experiment involving five girls engaged on electrical assembly testing. The researchers separated the girls from the rest of the labour force, placed them in a special room which came to be known as the Relay Assembly Test Room, A supervisor was asked to keep records and maintain friendly atmosphere with the girls. Over a period of one and half year various improvements were introduced in the working environment and conditions. The working hours reduced from 48 hours to 42 hours and rest periods were increased.

As these studies continued it was found that regardless of variations in these conditions, production increased. Even more astounding, production continued to increase even after the girls were returned to the original conditions with longer working days, without rest pauses and with poor surroundings. Mayo and his group hypothesised that the increased production was result of changed social situations of the workers, modification in their motivation and satisfactions and differing pattern of supervision.

This experiment disproved the traditional view of the scientific management, which held that physical and physiological variables combined with strong economic incentives were the primary factors influencing output and productivity. Social and psychological factors were seen to be more important in determining worker satisfaction and productivity.

This led to the second stage of Hawthorne studies in which over 21,000 people were interviewed during a period of three years. Although this phase of the programme did not lead to a quantifiable result, it did indicate the importance of human and social factors in the total work situation. Some generalization from this programme were:

1. A complaint is not necessarily an objective recital of facts, it is a symptom of personal

disturbance the cause of which may be deep seated.

2. Objects, persons and events are carriers of social meanings. They become related to employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction only as the employee comes to view them from his personal situation.

3. The personnel situation of the worker is a configuration of relationships composed of a

personal reference involving sentiments, desires, and interests of that person and a social

reference constituting the person's social past and his present interpersonal relations.

4. The position or status of the worker in the company is a reference from which the worker assigns meaning and value to the events, objects, and features of his environments, such hours of work, wages etc.

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5. The social organisation of the company represents a system of values from which the worker derives satisfaction or dissatisfaction according to his conception of his social status and expected social rewards.

6. The social demands of the worker are influenced by social experiences in groups both inside and outside the work plant.

The third and last phase in the Hawthorne Studies consisted of an investigation into the work practice of a non-experimental group, consisting of fourteen men and four supervisors for a period of six months. These employees were in the Bank Wiring Observation Room. The operatives were under constant supervision and their output was carefully recorded. It was soon clear that they were restricting their output despite an individually based incentive scheme. It revealed that there was a definite code of conduct operating among these employees. The informal work group established production and output norms which were often in conflict with those set forth by management. In spite of the fact that the workers were paid on a group piecework incentive plan, each worker restricted output, thereby reducing possible earnings. The work group determined the output of individual workers, indicating that production was more determined by social rather than aptitude and physiological factors. The group also established many other types of social norms in addition to output standards. These norms set forth various roles for individual workers. The experiment indicated the strength of informal social organisation which was based upon senliments and feelings, status and roles and social interactions which were often far removed from the formal organizational policies and procedures.

The results of the Hawthorne Studies clearly demonstrated that some of the basic premises of the classical theory of management were untenable. According to Elton Mayo, “man is a uniquely social animal who can achieve complete freedom only by fully submerging himself in the group”. He is of the view that industrialisation destroys cultural traditions, produces social disorganisation. and unhappy individuals. Therefore, to bring social stability should be leadership which is “people oriented” rather than “production oriented”. According to Mayo, “if our social skills (that is, our ability to secure cooperation between people) had advanced step by step with our technical skills, there would not have been another European War.” The work per se, the production process itself, and the purely physical demands made upon it according to Mayo are relatively less important than the worker's social and psychological attitudes. Therefore, all organisational problems should be considered in the light of human relations, taking into account social and psychological factors.

Mayo was fully convinced, that the conflict between man and the organisation could be fully resolved if the social and psychological needs of the workers were satisfied. The drive for efficiency had to be backed up by an understanding of the human factor at work. All this have had a shattering impact on the then existing thinking about organisation and administration, especially to the traditional hypothesis of economic theory which considered society to be made up of individuals who were trying to maximize self interest. Mayo called for modifications in this approach by giving greater recognition to human values.

Mayo along with his colleagues Roethlisberger and Whitehead developed many concepts about human behaviour in an organisation, such as:

1. The business organisation is a social system as well as a technical-economic system. The social system defines individual roles and establishes norms which may be at variation with those of the formal organization.

2. The individual is motivated not only by economic incentives but also by diverse social and psychological factors. This behaviour is effected by feelings, sentiments, and attitudes.

3. The informal work group became a dominant unit of consideration. The group has an important role in determining the attitudes and performance of individual workers.

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4. Leadership patterns based upon the formal structure and authority of position in the organization under the traditional view should be modified substantially in order to consider psycho-social factors. The human relationists emphasized democratic rather than “authoritarian” leadership patterns.

5. The human relations school generally associated worker satisfaction with productivity and emphasized that increasing satisfaction would lead to increased effectiveness.

6. It is important to develop effective communication channels between the various levels in the hierarchy that allow the exchange of information. Thus “participation” becomes an important approach of the human relations movement.

7. Management requires effective social skills as well as technical skills.

8. Participants can be motivated in the organization by fulfilling certain social- psychological needs.

Critical Appraisal

Elton Mayo's emphasis on human relation in an organisation had a major impact upon administrative thought. His ‘Hawthorne studies’ set the foundations for the later investigation in behaviour researches. His writings have influenced the later behavioural scientists and provided greater insights for organisation theory and administrative practices. Within ten years of Mayo's findings every practitioner in personnel management or human relations started reconsidering his contention. It gave a new role to management in dealing with employees, and a new concept of social order based on individual cooperative attitude and system of coordination and communication. New concepts like group dynamics, sensitivity training, etc have been added to the literature on administrative theory. All these approaches have created new work situation and have helped in maximising productivity of an organisation. These new ways of raising labour productivity are getting greater recognitions.

However, there has been substantial dissent. Some of the findings of Elton Mayo have been thoroughly criticised and some other have become subject of continued intense debate. As the traditional theorists over emphasised the formal, technical and structural aspects, the human relations and the psycho-social aspects have been overstressed by Elton Mayo. Viewing human relations in a closed system and not considering economic, political and other environmental forces have been criticised. Inadequate consideration of the role of union in the industrial society has also become a point of criticism. Mayo's findings have been criticised on the ground that they are based on a purely capitalist understanding of the worker's social and psychological needs, that is, he proceeds from the view that capitalism is able to transcend the contradictions it is creating. According to D. Gvishiani, this explains the sentimental about “humanisation1” of the relations between the workers and the owners, the attempts to picture the manager of a capitalist enterprise as a person interested only in the achievement of the “common aims” of all the firm's employees and, moreover, the common aims of the nation (growing of labour productivity, universal welfare, social peace and as on”.

There is another contradiction in Mayo's findings that first it was the presence of autonomous groups with independent interests of their own; it was regarded as a dysfunction but at the same time it is considered as natural reaction coming out of “division of labour”. Moreover, it is viewed that there is a contradiction between formal and informal groups and between administrators and workers. But at the same time one gets the impression from Mayo's writings that he thought unions were rather unnecessary management was performing its functions effectively. This also leads to the conclusion that Mayo was authoritarian and really was bent upon the maintenance of the hierarchical structure but by giving greater consideration's to human factors in order to maintain the traditional system.

In spite of these criticism Elton Mayo's Hawthorne studies: and his writing had tremendous impact management and administrative practices.

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SUGGESTED READINGS

1. D. Gvishiahi, Organisation and Management, Moscow, Progress Publishers, 1972

2. D.S. Pugh (ed) Organisation Theory, Penguin Books, 1971.

3. Elton Mayo, The Human Problem of an Industrial Civilization, New York, 1933.

4. Elton Mayo, The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization, London, 1949.

5. Bertram M. Gross, The Managing of Organizations, London, 1946.

6. Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations, New York, 1964.

7. Fritz J. Roethlisberger, Management and Worker, Cambridge, 1941.

LESSON 7

Theories of Organizational: Staff and Auxiliary Agencies at the Central Level

—Yogesh Puri

Kirorimal College

In classical organisation theory, the distinction is maintained that line commands whereas staff advises only, bat in practice, staff frequently also commands, and, in general, can hardly said to carry out functions purely incidental to line. Nonetheless, many organisation still maintain the myth of the command-advice distinction. But the actual practice is not admitted. The command advice myth persists because it is needed to prop up traditional organisation theory, which emphasises unity of command.

Before the line organisations can begin to function, they need people, money, equipment, materials, buildings and various services. These services are supportive in nature, or indirect in their contribution to the organisations’ objectives.

First is the task of finding qualified persons to fill positions in the administrative branch. Thus a personnel department is the first staff agency to be instituted. Its function will be to help the line officials find and retain good employees. It will give competitive examinations, both for original entrance into the service and for promotion; plan and carry out in service training programmes, and provide leadership in stimulating the employees to contribute their best efforts.

Nothing can be accomplished by the government without money, so there must be a Finance Department in charge of:—

(i) Preparation and control of the budget,

(ii) administration and collection of taxes and licence fees.

(iii) procurement of materials, supplies, equipment and services,

(iv) supply, property, and records management,

(v) financial estimating and fiscal accounting.

The term “staff” service conies from the word “staff”, something on which one can lean for support It exists to support the executive powers with specialised knowledge and were counsel. Common staff activities are mainly concerned with planning, budgeting, personnel, public reporting, and public relations. This “Staff” would include all those persons who devote their time to the knowing, thinking and planning functions. Nevertheless, it should be noted .that the same officer or agency may sometimes be in a “staff” and sometime in a Mine relationship to given pieces of work, depending on the location of the main responsibility for action, that is, the ‘line’ responsibility. A prime purpose of staff is to increase the executives resources by facilitating his access to them.

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If a line agency is large, it might include such units as (i) the research and policy unit (ii) the statistics units; (iii) the bill drafting and law unit; (iv) the production analysis or work measurement unit; (v) the budget and accounting unit; (vi) the personnel unit; (vii) the supply unit; and (viii) public relations unit. At the top level there is the “general Staff” and the bureau level staff functions would mostly be concerned with legal advice, finance and accounting.

As for the need of staff service, it may be pointed out that the prime functions of the head of a service are concerned with direction, supervision and controls for the proper exercise of which he needs lot of information and technical advice. Such work cannot be performed by subordinate officials, so services of magnitude have their own staff organisations. Their main functions are (a) to keep in touch whir the organisation methods, needs and problems of the services as a whole, (b) to plan and make special researches, and (c) to give technical advice and aid to the head of the service.

Staff agencies are an indispensable supplement to ministeries and a descending hierarchy of sub-division. Some staff services handle important but essentially facilitative matters such as personnel recruitment, material and accounting. Some staff agencies perform significant advisory functions, called “general staff work” or ‘programme staff work.’ They collect information and prepare for executive decisions that may affect major choices of policy. These matters include budgetary decisions. Other staff agencies fall between the major types that have been described above. Thus, the units that make recommendations for the improvement of “organisation and methods” are an intermediate type. They can bring detached thinking, together with insight which is based on comparisons to bear on existing rules and routines or the initiation of new programmes. Also in this category are some staff units for public relations. They stand close to policy devisions which they seek to explain within the government and to the public. A third intermediate type of staff are legal advisers attached to various departments of the government.

A distinction is further made by some writers between staff and auxiliary services. Whereas the staff services have been defined as the. research and planning arm of the executive branch of government, the auxiliary services differ from them in that they are operating agencies concerned with the maintenance of the existing organisations and activities, but not with major policies. For example, the central personnel agency is a staff agency for the government as a whole, but an auxiliary agency so far as it is charged with the actual administration of the personnel function. Willoughly has called them the “institutional” or “house keeping” services. Auxiliary agencies assist the line agencies by performing common services for them, e.g., supplying personnel and purchasing material. Thus auxiliary agencies are concerned with the performance of routine activities of the government such as the collection and disbursement of revenues, the custody of funds, supervision of their expenditure, the purchase and maintenance of property, supplies and equipment, recruitment, promotion and retirement of personnel.

We shall now turn our attention to the nature and functions of some of the important Staff Agencies in India at the central level. These Staff Agencies are; The Prime Minister’s office (known as Prime Minister Secretariat till June 1977), the Cabinet Committees, the Cabinet Committees, the Planning Commission, the Budget and Economic Affairs Department in the

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Finance Ministry, the Administrative Vigilance. Division in the Home Affair Ministry, and the Staff Inspection Unit in the Finance Ministry.

Prime Minster’s office, known as the Prime Minister's Secretariat till June 1977, came into existence on 15 August 1947, The Secretariat was created for the immediate purpose of taking over the fractions performed until then by the Secretary to Governor-General, as the prime Minister took over all functions which the Governor-General, prior to 15 August 1947,, performed as the executive head of the Government

The Prime Minister's office assists the Prime Minister in his public activities in that capacity and in his functions as Head of Government within the general framework of established government procedure.

The Cabinet Secretariat, which replaced the Secretariat of the Governor-General's Executive Council in August 1947, performs staff functions, serving the Cabinet as well as the Standing Committees of the Cabinet It performs the necessary Secretariat work pertaining to the meetings of the Cabinet and its committees. Its functions include preparation of agenda for the meetings of the cabinet, keeping record of the discussion in the Cabinet, and of decisions taken there, circulation of decision to each Ministry, circulation of memoranda on issues awaiting the cabinet's approval, preparation and submission of monthly summaries on a large number of specified subject to the cabinet

The cabinet Secretariat deals with the following subjects: —

(i) Cases involving legislation including the issue of ordinance,

(ii) Addresses and messages of the President to the Parliament.'

(iii) Proposals to summon and prorogue the Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

(iv) Cases involving negotiations with foreign countries on treaties and agreements.

(v) Proposals for sending abroad delegations.

(vi) Proposals to appoint public committees of enquiry and consideration of reports of

such committees.

(vii) Cases involving financial implications, (viii) Cases which a Minister puts to cabinet for decision or direction, (ix) Cases of disagreements between Ministries.

(x) Proposals to vary or reverse a decision previously taken by the cabinet.

(xi) Cases which the President or the Prime Minister may require to place before the

cabinet,

(xii) Proposals to withdraw a prosecution instituted by the Government.

The cabinet Secretariat functions under the direct charge of the Prime Minister and is headed by a functionary designated as the Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet Secretary is the Principal adviser to the Prime Minister. He is the chairman of the Committees of Secretaries as well as of the Senior Selection Board. The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in its report on the Machinery of the Government of India (1968) had recommended that “the

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role of the cabinet Secretary should not be limited to that of a coordinator. He should also act as the Principal Staff adviser of the Prime Minister, the cabinet and the Cabinet committees on important policy matters, the cabinet secretary should ordinarily have a tenure of three So four years.

One of the major tasks of the cabinet is to ensure coordination of all important policies programmes and decisions, In 1968 there were nine standing committees of the cabinet as

Follows-

Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Prices, Production and exports, Family Planning, Food and Agriculture, Tourism and Transport Parliamentary Affairs and Appointments.

The ARC recommended the setting up of eleven standing committee of the cabinet, one for etch of the following subjects- Defence, Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs and Public relation, Food and rural development, Transport, Tourism and Communications, Social Services (including Social Welfare and Family Planning); Commerce Industry and Science, Internal Affairs (including Centre-State relations); Administration, and Appointments. The ARC further recommended that "each of the Cabinet Committees should be supported by a Secretaries Committee in order to ensure that time and energy are not wasted in dealing with issues which can be settled at the Secretaries level. The committee of Secretaries should consider in advance all matters to be taken up in the Cabinet Committee. The cabinet committees should between them cover all important activities of government. The membership of each Committee should hot normally exceed six and should include all Ministers in charge of subjects covered by the committee. Adhoc committee of Ministers may be set up for investigating (but not deciding) particular issue and reporting to the cabinet or the appropriate Cabinet Committee, as the case may be.”

Below is given the list of names of the Cabinet Committees along with their functions as on July 1977: —

Name of the Cabinet Committee -- Membership -- Functions

1.Political Affairs Committee--- (i) Prime Minister (Chairman), (ii) Home Minister (iii) Defence Minister (iv) External Affairs Minister (v) Finance Minister-- All important matters relating to both in internal affairs and developments in foreign relations.

2. Economic Affairs Committee--- (i) Prime Minister (ii) Home Minister (iii) Defence minister (iv) Finance Minister (v) Food & Agriculture Minister (vi) Commerce Minister (viii) Labour Minister-- To direct and coordinate economic matters and regulation of the national economy.

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3. Committee on Parliamentary Affairs --- (i) Home Minister (Chairman) (ii) Information & Broadcasting Minister (iii) Parliamentary Affairs Minister (iv) Law Minister-- Progress of Government business in Parliament and passage of legislation Government's response to non-official bilk and resolutions moved in the parliament.

4. Appointment Committee --- (i) Prime Minister (Chairman) (ii) Home Minister (iii) The Concerned Minister-- (i) To take decision in the following matters — (a) Secretariat appointment of the rank of the Deputy Secretary and above; (b) Chairman, managing directors and general managers of state Enterprises, i.e., public corporations, Companies, including governors of Reserve Bank; (c) Other appointments which carry a salary of Rs. 2,000/- per month and above; (d) Specified senior position in the ministries of Rail ways, External Affairs and Defence. (ii) To take decisions in all matters of disagreement between the UPSC and Ministry concerned in regard to any appointment.

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5. Committee on Accomodation--- (i) Home Minister (Chairman) (ii) Finance Minister Works (iii) Works & Housing Minister (iv) Parliamentary Affair: Ministers -- Take decisions in cases pertaining to accommodation.

6. Informal Group of Minister on Prices Situation--- Home Minister (Chairman) (ii) Commerce Minister (iii) Industry Minister-- Matters relating to price situation in the Country

The most powerful and influential Cabinet Committee is the one on Political Affairs. It provides important discretions to the government on national and international issues.

Established by a Government of India Resolution, No. l-P(C)/50 dated the 15 March, 1950, the Planning Commission, headed by the Prime Minister, has emerged as a powerful and significant staff agency. Paragraph 4 of the said resolution enumerated the following functions of the Planning Commission.

“Having regard to the declared objectives of the Government to promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people by efficient exploitation of the resources of the country, increasing production, and affering opportunities to all for employment in the service of the community; the Planning Commission will”—

(i) make an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting such of these resources as are found to be deficient in relation to the nation's requirements;

(ii) formulate a Plan for the most effective, and balanced utilisation of the country's resources;

(iii) on a determination of priorities, define the stages in which the plan should be carried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage;

(iv) indicate the factors which are tending to reform economic development and determine the conditions which in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of the Plan;

(v) determine the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation of each stage of the plan in alt its aspects;

(vi) appraise from time to time the progress achieved in the execution of each stage of the Plan and recommend the adjustments of policy and measures that such appraisal may show to be necessary; and

(vii) make such interim or ancillary recommendations as appear to it to be appropriate for facilitating the discharge of the duties assigned to it, or on a consideration of the prevailing economic conditions, current policies, measures and development programmes or on an examination of such specific problems as may be referred to it for advice by central or state Governments”.

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The ARC (1967) has made the following-recommendations in regard to the functions and the composition of the Planning commission—

(1) The statement of the functions of the Planning Commission set out in the Government of India resolution dated 15-3-1950 appointing the Commission should, with slight modifications, continue to be the basis for its working. Its role should be confined to the formulation of the plans - the long-term prospective plan, the five year plan and the annual plan - and the evaluation of the plan performance. It should cease to involve itself in executive functions and decisions;

(2) The Commission should annually make a report to Parliament on plan performance;

(3) The Planning commission should be a non-statutory advisory body, having close relation with the Union Government;

(4) The Prime Minister has to be closely associated with the working of the commission without being the Chairman thereof. This association is to be secured by his being kept continuously informed of the matters coming up for discussion at the meetings of the Commission. The Prime Minister may attend the meetings of the Commission or address it whenever be considers it necessary. The Prime Minister will preside over the meetings of the Commission when he attends them;

(5) The Finance Minister will also be closely associated with the working of the Commission. As in the case of the Prime Minister, he will be kept informed of the matters coming up for discussions at the meetings of the commission and he may attend the meetings thereof. He will not be a member of the Commission;

(6) The Prime Minister or the Finance Minister as the case may be, should deal with

matters of importance of a general or administrative nature relating to the Planning Commission for which Government would be answerable in Parliament, Matters pertaining to Specific subjects allocated to different Ministers should be dealt with in Parliament by those Ministers;

(7) Ministers should not be appointed as members of the commission;

(8) The number of members should not exceed seven. They will be selected on the basis of their experiences and expertise. Though it would be an ideal arrangement to have a Commission consisting entirely of full-time members, in practice it may Sometimes happen that experts while willing to work as members, may be able to join the Commission only on a part-time basis. In order to make it possible to utilise the services of such experts, two of the members may be appointed on a part--time basis. One of the of the full-time members may be appointed as Chairman. The members may, as at present, have the status of Ministers of State and the Chairman wilt have the status of a Cabinet Minister;

(9) The member may be appointed for ft fixed term of five years. But in order to

preserve continuity, the term of one or two members may be extended by a year of so. Reappointments, however, may be made only in exceptional cases;

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(10) Allocation of work may be made among the members keeping in view their special

knowledge and expertise. Decisions on important questions should be taken by

the commission as a whole and not by individual members;

(11) The commission should have ft highly qualified person without being tied down to

any specific cadre of service 9i its secretary. It should have an efficient staff

suitably equipped with expert knowledge of technical or administrative experience. It procedures should be streamlined, simplified and based on officer-orientation. The functioning of the Commission should be so organised as to provide for the triple needs of analysis, thinking and planning; and

(12) The cabinet as a whole, and not a sub-committee thereof should finally decide on

the proposals referred to it by the Commission'.

The Budget and Economic Affairs Department in the Ministry of Finance is the other important Staff agency in India. The Department is responsible for the following subjects—

(1) Administration of the foreign exchange Regulations Act; (2) Foreign Exchange budgeting; (3) Foreign investment; (4) The Reserve Bank of India ; the State Bank of India and other Banks; (5) Investment policy; (6) Preparation of briefs and submission of material on financial and economic questions relating to India's participation in the United Nations and Allied organisations ; and (7). following matters relating to, the Budget:' (i) ways and means, (ii) preparation of the central budget, other than Railway budget, including supplementary and Excess Grants ; (iii) Borrowing and floatation of-Market loans by the central and state Governments, (iv) Finance Commission, and (v) Taxation Enquiry Commission,

The Staff Inspection Unit was set up in 1964, and it replaced the special reorganisation unit which had been in existence since 1953. The Staff Inspection Unit is located in the Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance and it plays the crucial Staff role at the central level. It is responsible for securing economy in staff strength consistent with administrative efficiency and for evolving performance standards and work norms. It also undertakes the task of work measurement and staff assessment in various Ministries and Departments.

The Administrative vigilance Division is located in the Ministry of Home Affairs and has emerged as a staff agency at the central level. It provides an overall drive, direction and coordination in cases against corruption in the civil services. Each Ministry and Department has a vigilance officer, and the Director of the Administrative Vigilance Division acts as the Chief Coordinator of the combined operations.

Department of Administrative Reforms was Hi up in the Ministry of Home Affairs in March 1964, to deal with the problem of reform, reorganisation and modernisation of administration at all levels so as to make it efficient and sensitive instrument for carrying out the task of economic development and social welfare. For this purpose the Department takes up examination the organisation and procedures of various organisations. It has already completed the examination of the organisation and structure, and methods of work and

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procedure of the offices of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Director—General of Technical Development, Director General of supplies and Disposal and the Central Public works Department. The Department of Administrative Reforms is therefore, has also emerged as an important staff agency, and is responsible for assisting the Government in effective implementation of measures for improvement of administration. The Department has also serviced and processed the reports of the Administrative Reforms Commission set up in 1966. This Department has been redesignated as Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in 1985 and is located in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

The auxiliary function or the “house-keeping” function is undertaken to enable the line agencies to perform their primary functions. The auxiliary function is, thus, secondary. But it is a necessary function, specially in a huge and complicated organisations of government. A feature of these auxiliary services is that they are common to all line departments. Therefore meaningful economics could accrue and promote specialisation and efficiency, if these functions are taken away ' from all the line agencies and are performed by separate agencies. At the central level in India, there are separate auxiliary agencies. The Central Public Works Department and the Director-General of Supply and Disposal are the most important auxiliary agencies.

The Central Public Works Department is mainly responsible for designing, construction, maintenance and repairs of all works and buildings of the Central Government. In addition, the Department looks after the maintenance of certain national highways and exercises technical control over the Public Works Departments of the Union Territories.

Directorate of Estates is another auxiliary agency responsible for the allotment of office and residential accommodation in the general pool and manages Government Hostels and Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

There is another auxiliary agency called office of the Chief Controller of Printing sad Stationery in New Delhi. It is responsible for arranging the printing work of the various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and for procuring and supplying of various categories of stationery stores to them. It also undertakes stocking and sale of official. publications, including Gazette of India.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals is an important auxiliary agency at the Central level. It is the central purchase organisation of the Government of India. It buys the major requirements of all Ministries and Department of the central Government Its services are also utilised by the state Governments, public undertakings and semi-Government organisations. The organisation had its origin in the Indian Stores Department, which was set up in 1922, to function as the Chief procurement agency of the Government. This organisation served to form a nucleus of the full-fledged Department of supply crested in 1939 to look after the heavy purchases of war requirements, including indents from the U.K. tad other allied countries.

The main functions of the Directorate-General of supplies and Disposals are:

(1) To act as the central purchasing and inspection agency for the purchase of stores required by the Ministries of the Government of India and then attached and

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subordinate offices, State Governments, local bodies, quasi-public bodies, etc., u» may desire to avail themselves of its services ;

(2) To inspect stores purchased directly by such Government Departments in India

as may desire to avail themselves of this facility ;

(3) To prepare specifications and standardisation of patterns of materials;

(4) To arrange clearance of stores imported against order of this Department and;

(5) To arrange disposal of supplies declared by central Government Departments.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals is headed by a Director General, who is assisted by six Deputy Directors General and other staff.

REFERENCES

(1) Administrative Reforms Commission Report: The Machinery of Government of India

and procedures of work, New Delhi, The Manager of Publications, September 1968.

(2) Administrative Reforms Commission Interim Report: The Machinery for Planning, New Delhi the Manager of Publications, 1967.

(3) The Indian Institute of Public Administration The Organisation of the Government of

India (Second Revised Edition) New Delhi, Somaiya Publications Ltd, 1971.

(4) Avasthi, A. and Maheshwari, S.R, Public Administration, Agra, Lakshmi Naraia

Agarwal, 1979.

(5) Sharan, Parmatma. Theory and Practice of Public Administration, Meerut, Meenakshi

Prakashan, 1974,

LESSON 8

Structure of Organization: Line Agencies: Boards/Commissions and Public Corporations

Yogesh Puri

Kirorimal College

Line agencies are those that are substantive or direct in their contribution to the Public Administrator's objectives. The term “line” originated in (the military, where it referred to the military Commanders and other officers in direct charge of combat operations--in other words, those responsible for the Substantive work of the armed forces. The line, or chain of command extends from the top-ranking officer down to the lowest-ranking enlisted troops.

An administrative system is divided into agencies or departments principally on the bases of major substantive purpose. These agencies are thus, concerned with the execution or fulfilment of the primary objects of the Government, and deal directly with the people, supplying services to the people, regulating their conduct, implementing programmes sanctioned by the legislature and collecting taxes. They are the central element of any administrative system. The line agencies comprise both the political command structure and permanent career rank. The line authorities are concerned with the substantive functions of government. It is with the line agencies that the ordinary citizens come into contact and it is they which constitute the essence of administration. Line agencies in the Government, broadly speaking, include Departments, Public Corporations, and Commissions/Boards. A department is the fundamental organisation unit of administration on which rests the responsibility of conducing government operations. This unit is the highest one in the administrative hierarchy. It is below the chief executive and is responsible and subordinate to the latter. Department is the traditional and most important form of dividing and conducting governmental operation The departmental system, according to Dimock, Dimock and Koenig, “is the natural out growth of the need for the division of labour in administration, and becomes acute when the functions off an enterprise multiply over and over as in the case of a modem government”. The Chief executive in every country does not necessarily have freedom in organising and reorganising the departments. Authority to organise departments may be vested in the constitution, the Parliament, or the executive. In India, the formation and dissolution of ministries and deportments is an executive function.

Under the provision of the constitution of India, the executive power of the Indian invested with the President, aided and advised by a council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. The President appoints the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister, and the other Ministers are appointed by him on the advice of the Prime Minister. The council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

The Council of Ministers includes three categories of Ministers. Cabinet Minister (including the Prime Minister), Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers. A Cabinet Minister

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is generally incharge of a Minister though nothing prevents the Prime Minister from giving charge of two or more Ministries to a Minister or from not giving any charge at all to a Cabinet Minister. A Minister of State may either be made incharge of a Ministry or he may be attached to a Cabinet Minister In the latter case, he performs such functions as may be assigned to him by the Cabinet Minister. A Deputy Minister is not given independent charge of a Ministry. He assists the Cabinet Minister or the Minister of State, to whom he is attached and undertakes such responsibilities as are assigned to him.

The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and the other Cabinet Ministers. The Ministers of State holding independent charge of a Ministry arc invited to attend the Cabinet meetings only when the subjects pertaining to their Ministeries are considered by the Cabinet. The Cabinet is the highest policy making body and the supreme executive authority. It considers all important matters of government including certain categories of cases which require cabinet's approval and are listed in the second schedule to the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules.

The business of the Government of India is carried out in the Ministeries and Departments, their attached offices and subordinate offices, public undertakings and other organisations under them. A Ministry or Department represents the largest subdivision or cross section of its administrative structure, designed for the satisfactory discharge of its functions and responsibilities. The Ministeries and Departments are responsible for the subjects allocated to them by rules made by the President under Article 77(3) of the constitution of India. The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules made in 1961 and amended from time to time presently govern the allocation of subjects to Ministries and Departments. The Ministries and Departments are responsible for the formulation of policies within the sphere of their responsibility, as well as for the execution and review of those policies, within the framework of the board principles embodied in the constitution or specific Acts passed by the Parliament.

The Ministries and Departments have under them a number of Attached and Subordinate Offices. The Attached offices are responsible for providing executive direction required in the implementation of the policies laid down by the Ministry to which they are attached. The subordinate offices function more or less as field establishments, responsible for the detailed execution of the-decision of the Government. They generally function under the direction of an Attached office, or in cases where the volume of executive direction involved is not considerable, directly under a Ministry.

A large number of public undertakings have been established by the Government of India during recent years. These undertakings function .under the administrative control of the concerned Ministry, which is responsible for the following tasks in respect of these

undertakings:

(1) Appointment/resignation of chairman/board members/ financial adviser, or chief finance and accounts officer on the recommendation of the Board of Directors, and of auditor on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

(2) Higher Staff Appointments, where the maximum of the pay-scale of the post exceeds Rs. 2,230.

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(3) Rules for the company governing the conditions of service of the employees, Provident fund and other rules.

(4) Annual programme of the public undertaking as reflected by its revenue and capital budget estimates.

(5) Proposals of the public undertaking regarding:

(i) assistance from other Ministries when direct contacts did not produce results,

(ii) raising loans exceeding specified limits ;

(iii) higher foreign exchange allocation;

(iv) intervention in labour disputes:

(v) negotiations with foreign countries ;

(vi) contracts involving expenditure exceeding specified limits; participation in negotiations for entering into global contracts ;

(vii) pricing of products ;

(viii) creation of reserves and special funds.

(6) Other-matters on which the public undertaking is, under its charter, required to obtain the approval by the President, e.g., (a) to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of whole or substantially the whole, of the undertaking, (b) to form a subsidiary company, and (c) to divide capital into different classes of shares.

(7) References made by public undertaking under instruments of instructions laid down by the Ministry or under accepted or developing conventions.

(8) References made by a public undertaking in connection with its operations when

the questions involved relate to other business of the administrative Ministry or of other Ministries for which it has accessarily to seek assistance of the administrative Ministry.

(9) Proposal or decision of the Board reserved by the chairman for the decision of the Central Government.

(10) Changes in the scope (volume and range) of work of the undertaking involving capital expenditure exceeding specified limits-reviewing public aspects, technical

aspects, financial aspects including modernisation of plant, equipment or change in

design.

(11) Examination of reports and return prescribed by the Ministry.

(12) Causes of progress of performance being below expectation or of other weaknesses

(13) Annual repot) of the undertaking on its performance (according to a standard pattern) including its balance sheet and profit and loss statement together with the audit report thereon.

(14) Broad evaluation of the financial results, degree of fulfilment of the tasks undertaken and overall efficiency of the public undertaking.

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(15) Public relation aspects including public criticism in regard to scale and range of

products and their quality of the public undertakings,

(16) Parliament work relating to (i) Parliament questions and debates, and (ii) report

of the Parliamentary Committee on Public undertakings.

(17) Whether a directive should be issued to the Board of Directors of the public

undertaking.

Normally, a Secretary to the Government of India is the administrative head of a Ministry, and he is the principal adviser of the Minister on all matters of policy and administration within the Ministry. The Secretary is not only responsible for the organisation and efficiency of the Ministry, but also for the advice given to the Minister through the whole range of his duties.

Where the volume of work in a Ministry exceeds the manageable charge of a secretary, one or more wings are established with a joint Secretary in charge of each wing. In such cases, a joint secretary is vested with the maximum measure of independent functioning and responsibility, subject to the general control of the secretary. In some Ministries special Secretaries have been appointed to take up independent charge of a distinct subject. The special secretary generally deals directly with the Minister incharge and it is only in certain cases that the incoming papers from the Minister pass through the Secretary of the Ministry. There also exist in some Ministries, the posts of Additional Secretary. He is generally a Senior Joint Secretary and as such is given charge of an important wing in the Ministry.

For the efficient and expeditions disposal of business allotted to it, the Ministry h divided into Divisions, Branches and Section. A section under the charge of a Section Officer, consists of a certain number of clerical staff, e.g. Assistants, Upper and Lower Division Clerk, Typists, etc. A Branch which is normally under the charge of an Under Secretary consists of two sections. Two Branches ordinarily constitute a Division, which it normally ante to charge of a Deputy Secretary. In certain matters, Deputy or Under Secretaries may transact business direct with the Minister, but proposals involving important policy decisions are always routed through the joint Secretary, or the Secretary or both.

Communications or cases addressed to a Ministry or a Department are received in the

Central Registry which distributes them to the various sections concerned. The section

on receipt of the communications from the Central Registry, submit them to the Section

officer who after going through the “receipts”, classifies them into two categories, e.g.

‘Primary’ or “subsidiary”. All initial receipts regarding original or new items of work its

summary receipts, and all communications emanating in connections with the primary receipts of interim consultations or references are subsidiary receipts. The “primary” receipts are further sub-divided into two categories, i.e., (a) those requiring electorate examination or consultations and not expected to be disposed of with in a month.

63

received need urgent disposal, the Section officer marks them for the attention of his higher officers for such orders as are necessary at that stage.

The Diarist, after getting back the days' receipts from the Section officer, pass the receipts to the dealing Assistants concerned, after diarising them. The dealing Assistant, after going through a receipt, collects the file on the subject, if one already exists, and other connected papers and files, if any are referred to in the receipt. For this purpose, he consults indices, file registers, Sectional note-books of important decisions maintained in the Section and other relevant books, Acts, rules, regulations, etc., Finally, he submits the case with a note to the section Offices. The Section Officer, at this stage, scrutinises the notes of the Assistant, adds his own remarks or suggestions, if any, and the case to the Branch Officer (Under Secretary). The Branch Officer generally disputes of as many cases as possible on his own responsibility. He takes orders of the Deputy Secretary higher officer on cases of an important nature, or those involving policy questions. The Deputy Secretary of a Ministry is generally vested with some delegated powers and disposes of certain types of cases himself, if within his purview, otherwise, he submits them with his views or suggestions to the next higher officer the Joint Secretary or the Secretary as the case may be. Papers which are submitted to the Joint Secretary or the Secretary are generally a very important nature, involving policy decisions. They, in turn, submit more important cases to the Minister. When a case is submitted to the Minister, self-contained summary is put up for his perusal. The Minister finally uses his discretion as to whether he will pass orders himself or refer the case to the Cabinet for a decision.

There has been a phenomenal growth in the size of the machinery of the central Government since Independence. There are today 40 secretariat departments as against 18 in 1947 and 25 in 1957. The number of non-secretariat organisations having the attributes of head-quarter units is at large as 569. Total employment both, regular and temporary, in the establishment of the central Government increased by over 53 percent during 1955-66. There has been one and half times increase in the number of persons employed in the Central Secretariat from over 6000 (Excluding class IV staff) in 1948 to over 15,000 (As on 1st September, 1967 excluding the Railway employees). The number of Secretaries Additional Secretaries, Special Secretaries and Joint Secretaries rose to over three times during 1948-67 (from 64 to 209), of Deputy Secretaries, to above three and half times (from 89 to 303), and of Under Secretaries to more than twice (from 214 to 457). The strength of Section Officers went up to over six and a half limes (from 442 to 2943) during the period from 1948-65).

The Central Secretariat occupies a key position in the administrative hierarchy. Its main rule naturally is to help the Government in the formulation of policies, to translate these policies into a series of connected activities or programmes and to ensure their efficient execution. Where the implementation of a policy or a programme involves field activities on the part of the Central Government, they are entrusted to separate agencies or offices which work under the control of an administrative Department or Ministry or to semi-government institutions or autonomous public sector undertakings. The executive agencies or offices are generally located the Sectctariat. The Secretariat functions of the different .Ministries or administrative with regards to (heir respective areas of activity may be described broadly as

64

(1) Assisting the Minister in policy-making and in modifying policies from time to time, as and when necessary.

(2) Framing legislation, rule and regulations.

(3) Sectoral planning and programme formulation.

(4) (a) Budgeting and control of expenditure in respect of activities of the Ministry/

Department, and (b) According or securing administrative and financial approval to

operational programmes and plans and their subsequent modifications.

(5) Supervision and control over the execution of policies and programmes by the

executive departments or semi-autonomous field agencies, and evaluation of the

results.

(6) Coordination and interpretation of policies, assisting other branches of Government and maintaining contact with state Administrations.

(7) Initiating measures to develop greater personnel and organisational competence

both in the Ministry/Department and its executive agencies.

(8) Assisting the Minister in the discharge of his Parliamentary responsibilities.

The Secretariat system of work, with all its deficiencies, has lent balance, consistency and continually to the administration- and served as a nucleus for the total machinery of a Ministry. It has facilitated inter-Ministry co-ordination and accountability to Parliament at the ministerial level. As an institutionalised system it is indispensable for the proper functioning of Government, the Administrative Reforms Commission in its report (1968) has correctly pointed out. “What is needed, however, is that the system fully answers to the changed and changing circumstances, keeping in view the fact that the mind and needs of the people are changing faster than before under the impact of education, enlightenment and the modern concept of Welfare State.”

A broad analysis of the work of non-Secretariat organisations (both attached and subordinate offices) of the Government of India shows that their work is mainly of the following types:—

1. Regulatory and allied activities: Regulatory functions are here conceived as involving the regulation the activities of the individual in a wide sense and include collection of taxes by (government agencies)

2. Activities directed at promoting developmental effort; e.g., the work done by Drug controller of India, control passport and Emigration Organisation, Controller of Patents. Designs and Trade Marks, Directorate of Enforcement, Central Bureau of investigation. Chief Inspector of Mines, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (Department of Agriculture e.g., the work done by National Commissioner, All-India Handicrafts Board

65

3. Education and training for Government Employment, professions or specialities:-- e.g., the works done by the National Academy of Administration, National Police Academy, All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Indian School of Mines.

4. Survey and Research e.g. the work done by the Directorate General Commercial intelligence and Statistics Forest Research Institute and college, Dehra Dun, Central Research Institute, Kasauli, Archaeolgoical Survey, and Survey of India.

5. Provision of a service or production or and supply of a commodity: -- e. g., the work done by the All India Radio, Directorate of Field Publicity, Phone Division (Ministry of Information and Baoadcasting), Indian Government Public works Department Controller of Printing and Stationery.

6. Carrying of one or more developmental programmes covering a substantial area of the activities of the Ministry including Planning, coordination, and review at well as rendering of advice and exercising also the connected regulatory functions, if any: -- e.g., the work done by the Directorate General of Health Services, Directorate General of Technical Development, Development Commissioner (small scale Industries), Indian Mines Bureau, Jute Commissioner, Textile Commissioner, Directorate General of Shipping, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Employment and Training.

As mentioned earlier, the powers and functions of Central Government are divided into Ministries/Department. Their number was fifty three in 1979. Their number stood at thirty five in 1962, forty one in 1966, forty six in 1969, forty seven in 1970, and fifty in 1972. At present there are fifty nine Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, which are as follows-

1-4. Ministry of Agriculture

Department of Agriculture and Cooperation

Department of Rural Development

Department of Fertilizers

Department of Agricultural Research and Education

5. Ministry of Atomic Energy.

6-7. Ministry of Commerce

Department of Commerce

Department of Supply

8. Ministry of Communication

9-11 Ministry of Defence

Department of Defence

Department of Defence Research and Development

Department of Defence Production and Supplies

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12. Ministry of Electronics

13-14. Ministry of Energy

Department of Coal

Department of Power

15. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Wild Life.

16. Ministry of External Affairs.

17-19. Ministry of Finance

Department of Expenditure

Department of Economic

Affairs Department of Revenue -

20-21. Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies

Department of Food

Department of Civil Supplies

22 – 23. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Department of Health

Department of Family Welfare

24 - 26 Ministry of Home Affairs

Department of Home Affairs

Department of official language

Department of Internal Security

27-28 Ministry of Human Resources and Development

Department of Education and Culture

Department of Youth Affairs, Sports and Women's Welfare

29-32 Ministry of Industry

Department of Industrial Development

Department of Chemical and Petrochemicals

Department of Company Affairs

Department of Public Enterprises

33. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

34. Ministry of Labour

35-36. Ministry of Law and justice

Department of Legal Affairs

Department of Justice

37. Ministry of Ocean Development

38. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

39-40. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Department of Personnel and Training

Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

41. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

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42. Ministry of planning.

43. Ministry of programme Implemsstion

44-45. Ministry of Science and Technology

Department of science and Technology

Department of science and Industrial Research

46. Ministry of space

47-48. Ministry of steel and Mines

Department of Steel

Department of Mines

49. Ministry of Textiles

50. Ministry of Tourism.

51-53. Ministry of Transport

Department of Civil Aviation

Department of Railways

Department of Surface Transport

54. Ministry of urban Development

55. Ministry of Water Resources

56. Ministry for welfare

57. Cabinet Secretariat

58. Paresident’s Secretariat

59. Price Minister’s Office

The commission/Board form of orgnaination has been extensively used in public Administration. The commission in India may be divided into three board classes. The constitution of India has created a few of such organisation. The example are, the election commission, and the union public service Commission. Boards and Commission may be established by acts of parliament.

The university Grants commission, the Railways Boards, he central Board of Revenus, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, the as

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Ministry concerned but are free from the restrictive departmental procedures and rules. The third categories of Boards set up by the executive order are attached to the Ministry and are also called Attached-Boards.

The constitution of India enumerates the following authorities to be established on the model of a Commission--The Finance Commission (Article 280); the Union Public Service Commission (Article 315); the Election Commission (Article 324); the Backward Classes Commission (Article 340); and the Official Language Commission (Article 344).

The reports of these commissions are placed on the table of each house of Parliament. The members of these commissions cannot be removed from office except by a special procedure, guaranteeing independence of the members of the commission. The members of the Commission may be government officials who are full-time members or they may be non-officials including members of Parliament or state legislature.

W.F. Willonghly has argued that the commission type of administrative organisation is more suitable in the following situations--

(i) Where duties involve the exercise of discretion on an important scale in the formation of policies and rules affecting private rights and the adjudication of claims;

(ii) Where the functions involve general control character;

(iii) Where it is desirable to have number of different interests represented; and

(iv) Where it is necessary to eliminate party politics and influence of pressure groups.

Initially, no distinction was drawn between public enterprises and traditional government functions. For this reason, the oldest public enterprises such as the Postal service, telegraph service and Railways are generally organised, financed and controlled in as much the same way as any other central government department This form of organisation is still commonly- employed when the main purpose of the Enterprises is to provide revenue. In general, four main forms of organisations are now utilised in the administration of public undertakings. The main -types of organisation are --

(1) Organisation managed on Government departmental lines.

(2) Organisations managed by a board or committee.

(3) Mixed ownership corporations.

(4) Public Corporations.

The principal features of Departmental Management are -- (i) The enterprises is financed by annual appropriations from the Treasury and all or a major share of its revenue are paid into the Treasury, (ii) The enterprise is subject to the budget and accounting /audit applicable to other government activities, (iii) The permanent staff of the enterprise consists of civil servants and the methods by which they are recruited and conditions of

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service under which they are employed are the same as for all other civil servants; and (iv) The enterprise possesses the sovereign immunity of the state and cannot be sued without die consent of the Government.

The Weaknesses of this organisation are —

(i) It fails adequately to take into account certain distinguishing characteristics which clearly set industrial and commercial enterprises apart from the general run-of-government programmes ; (ii) Under this form of organisation, public enterprise has sometimes become synonymous with red-tape, inadequate service, and insensitivity to consumer needs, (iii) It fails short of providing flexibility essential to effective operations, (iv) the basic difficulty is that most enterprises have operational and financial requirements which are incompatible with the normal governmental administrative and financial structure ; (v) Use of traditional form of governmental organisation also tends to make it more difficult to operate an enterprise on a self-sustaining basis; (vi) Departmental management is not conducive to initiative. Too many authorities have to be consulted and officers at various levels often hesitate to take decisions, and their area of authority not being dearly defined. The result is dilatory procedure, and (vii) There is a tendency not to take seriously the losses that have been incurred in a departmental organisation. Theoretically it may be possible to endow a governmental enterprise with some degree of operating and financial flexibility, in practice, it is always difficult to do so. As long as an enterprise is not clearly differentiated from other types of government activity, strong pressures will be brought to make it confirm to all the standard of government regulations and procedures. A passion for uniformity is one of the characteristics of bureaucratic administration.

Committees or Boards consisting of the representative of tits various ministers are in some cases set up for departmentally run enterprises with a view to imparting flexibility and allowing for quick decisions. Inter-ministerial committees were setup for the execution of the Bhakra-Nangal and Hirakud projects. At the stags of both planning and execution in the procurement of land, supply of water and electricity, facilitates of transport and purchasing of stocks, assistance, concurrence and sanction of several ministries are frequently required. With a view to curtailing delay m procedure regarding financial expenditure, employment, appointment and dismissal of personnel, powers have been delegated to Railways which divided into eight zones and have a considerable degree of decentralization as regards operation.

In the mixed-ownership corporation both public and private interests participate. The principal characteristics of the mixed-ownership corporation are the following: (1) The capital stock of the corporation is owned by the government. (2) As a body corporate, is a separate entity for legal purposes and can be use, enter into contracts and acquire property in its own name. (3) It obtains its funds by the sale of stock to the government and the public, by borrowing either from the Treasury or from the public and through revenues derived from the sale of goods and services. (4) It is generally exempted from the

B.A. (Hons) Political Science III Year

Paper VIII: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION WITH SPECIAL REFRENCES TO INDIA

STUDY MATERIAL-1

Editor:

L.N. Misra

School Of Correspondence Courses And Continuing Education

University Of Delhi

5, Cavalry Lines

Delhi- 110007

Contents:

1. Public Administration Meaning, Scope and Recent Trends

2. Ecology of Public Administration

3. The Politics of Development Administration with Special Reference to Milton J. Esman

4. Principles of Administration

5. The Theory of Scientific Management

6. The Human Relations1 Doctrine

7. Theories of Organizational: Staff and Auxiliary Agencies at the Central Level

8. Structure of Organization: Line Agencies, Boards/Commissions and Public Corporations

9. Personal Administration: Recruitment and Training of Civil Services in India

10. Personal Administration: Problem of Specialists Vs. Generalists in the Indian Administrative System

11. Financial Administration: The Budgetary Process in India

12. Financial Administration: Performance Budgeting in India

13. Legislative Control on Indian Administration

14. Rural Local Government in India: Panchayati Raj

15. Urban Local Government in India: Corporations, Municipalities and other Urban Institutions

LESSON 1

Public Administration: Meaning, Scope and Recent Trends

RB.JA1N

Professor of Political Science

University of Delhi

Perhaps no other discipline in social sciences has had such a controversial process of development as public administration. Ever since Woodrow Wilson wrote his first essay on the ‘Study of Public Administration’ in 1887, scholars in the field of political science, anthropology, economics, sociology, psychology, management sciences and professional public managers have voiced repeated concern about the emerging scope and dimensions of public administration. It is ironic, however, that despite the emergence of a vast literature enriching the discipline, the dilemma should still persist as to what public administration has been, what it is, and what it should be.1(Some of the selected important works which discuss the various predicaments of the development of public administration as a discipline are given at the end.) It is possibly a consequence of the fact that all those scholars who worked for the promotion and growth of the discipline have been partly biased in their approach to the emergence of a consensus on the nature of the discipline. In fact the continuing dilemma also reflects the great sociological policy-conflicts persisting practically in all societies, the developed and the developing, which seem to have defied an agreement whether it is the responsibility of a public administrator or of a public affairs manager or of the political leadership to find solutions to the complicated and difficult problems of the societies. Indeed, the phenomenon that public administration is still a developing discipline seems to be the result of a lack of agreement amongst the various social science scholars to arrive at a balanced overview of the component elements which go to make the discipline of public administration.

The Confused Landscape

Despite the extending focus of the study of public administration from its POSDCORB state to the present, incorporating various new dimensions of its study, viz., organisational theories, case studies, comparative public administration, developmental and ideological context, and the international administration, scholars,' both in the field of political science and public administration, even in the 1970's maintained that public administration as a discipline still stood in need of an identity.

While in the last two decades significant theoretical work has been done, the landscape of public administration still continues to be confused and untidy. A proper beginning to resolve this crisis of identity would be to re-examine the pre World War II literature, which Professor Dwight Waldo thinks is more complex than some of us believe it to be, which means, in turn, that what was 'rejected' our of hand might have been due to oversimplified distortion.2(Dwight Waldo, “The Scope of the Theory of Public Administration” in James C. Charles worth (ed) Theory and Practice of Public Administration (1968),p. l3)

Another step suggested by Waldo for re-examination is not just the criticism of the politics-administration dichotomy, but he attempts to respond consciously and with the help of new theories of necessary or proper relationships. The most important agenda item in this context according to him is Herbert Simon and his critics, more generally the development of the issues dialectically and as shaped by the evolution of ideas and events. The main task, he admits, would be not to trace the history of ideas, but to analyse and explicate, carefully and freely, what it means for the study, teaching, and practice of administration. This needs to be done frontally and globally in a work which puts out literature in

4

a classificatory analytical framework, which relates our ideas to the 'outer' world of developing ideas and events, and concludes that a 'position statement1 for our reaction and discussion would be of inestimable value.

Waldo argues further that there is a need to respond to a bewildering arrear of value problems, for public administration is no longer value neutral. These may range from relatively simple questions of personal behaviour or ethics in an administrative context to the problems of politics and behaviour or ethics in an administrative context to the problems of politics and power, of constitutional statute, of law and jurisprudence, of public and indeed of political theory and philosophy. Thus, he contends that ‘for an organisational’ and an ‘administered’ civilization as that of ours, if it is to survive and flourish, we need the most serious attention possible to the connection between what used to fee called the 'ends of the slate' and the organisational administrative apparatus (in and out of formal government), which helps both to define and realize these ends. Our achievement is obviously far behind our needs in framing and justifying theories to relate administrative means to the objectives of free and democratic governments under conditions of the late twentieth century.

In addition, Waldo suggests a large circle of theoretical concerns for public administration. Certain items that he lists on this agenda are: (i) external and internal security, (ii) justice, (iii) education, (iv) government by the osmosis and symbiosis, (v) science and technology, (vi) urbanism, and (vii) development. He thinks that this list could obviously be extended, e.g., to the subject of inter and supranational administration.

The future of public administration, thus, according to some, is engaged with the future of political science on the one hand and with administrative science, on the other. In another way, public administration has, from its beginning, represented a joining of certain interests of political science with the 'management' movement, and it still does recognise all the additional factors the new development, the broadened spectra. What meaning and importance would be given to 'the public' in public administration, whether it will evaporate or remain insignificant, will depend in large part on what developments take place in political science and in the social sciences—indeed in contemporary social and political thought as a whole. “To argue that public administration is not a sub-discipline of political science is not to argue that “historic” political science is irrelevant to our concerns. The point is that contemporary political science is often indifferent to the urgent and over whelming problems of contemporary government and that in part and in degree, we must be our own political scientist.”1(Dwight Waldo, “Public Administration” in International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (New York; The Macmillan Company and the Free Press, 1968),p. 155.)

Towards A 'Theory of Public Administration'

Waldo's eloquent plea for professionalisation of public administration is not universally accepted. Wallace Sayre, for instance, asserts that “much valuable partial theory construction has already been accomplished”, and that “rich deposits of relevant data have also been the subject of preliminary sifting and analysis”. The theory of public administration in these respects has no major dilemma of scope unshared by other social sciences, and therefore is under no necessary compulsion to flee from its present disciplinary base to seek a new norm in some more vaguely branded half-wood called 'profession'2 (Wallaces. Sayre, “Comments on Waldo's Paper”, in James C. Charlesworth, op. ctr.p29.) He further asserts that in the post-war development of public administration three major trends, which could be termed as partial theories about public administration, are discernible in its literature.

The first set of partial theories is to be found in the writings of those interested in what may be called the 'politics of public administration'. Sayre claims "that this political system approach to public administration is one of the strongest ties to political science and is likely to endure; even if public

5

administration were to become separated, the political scientists have no choice about their necessary concern with the roles and functions of administrators and bureaucrats in the world of theory to which they are committed.

The second set has its focus upon the internal organisational life or dynamics of the bureaucratic world,--which is to say that “it attempts to explain in greater detail the characteristics of one set of the actors in a political system, those actors who are of greatest interest to public administration students.” Despite the fact that some other social sciences like psychology, sociology, and social psychology contribute more directly to this field in theory-building; ultimately “public administration theory must return to its pre-occupation in explaining albeit from a specialised perspective, the nature and consequences of the political system.”

The third set is concerned with explaining the cross cultural-more ambitiously, the universal characteristics of public administration. In this set, the relations to political science seem close and mutually rewarding.

There are indications that a fourth set of partial theories may emerge with what David Easton calls the 'inputs' and 'outcomes' in political system the policies and the consequences of the working of the systems.

However, despite these trends, as Sayre himself admits, “a general theory of public administration is still lacking, a gap shared by all social sciences, and thus suggesting that, in the absence of a great synthesizer in its ranks, the society of those concerned with public administration must rely upon the gradual accumulation of satisfactory partial theories until the burden of synthesis into a general theory is no longer too great for the boldest of its members.... However primitive they may still be as theory, the students of public administration are apparently aware of their research and theory of priorities.”1 (Wallace S. Sayre, op. cit., p. 31.) And if that is so, the problem is how to maximise the incremental gains now in hand or well in sight, and now to encourage the emergence of the four sets of partial theory without overstrain upon their individual vigour. Only, when the construction of a general theory of public administration is within the range of the possible, do the esoteric questions about the outer boundaries, or 'scope' pushed to the uppermost, become highly relevant to theory constructionists. Until then, those concerned with the theory of public administration have all the scope they need for theory construction.

The above discussion, points to a clear dilemma facing the scholars of public administration in the United States regarding the growth of the discipline of public administration in the very homeland of its evolution. Some, who are not so optimistic about the emergence of public administration as an independent discipline, based on certain theoretical foundations, and who in certain measure regard public administration to be more practical and action-oriented, would favour its development towards a profession; while others who are more optimistic about the eventual outcome of a ‘theory’ of public administration would, therefore, (till that time) like the subject of public administration to develop a ‘theoretical’ within the folds of its parent discipline, i.e., political science. Years after this prolonged debate, the issue is far from settled, and therefore the dilemma still persists. Despite these trends and the persistent dilemma, public administration as a discipline has developed rather rapidly during the last two decades and is constantly on the brink of breaking new grounds in several hitherto unexplored directions.

In the pursuit of a theory of public administration scholars are still in dilemma,. McCurdy equates it with Collyer's dilemma. The two accentric brothers, Langley and Homer Collyer of Fifth Avenue in New York, never threw anything out After their death in 1947, the police took 120 tons of accumulated things from the house, including 14 grand pianos, 5000 books, and a thirty-year collection of old newspapers. Public administration also has accumulated an amazing storehouse of knowledge in the past

6

nine decades which has made the discipline rich but a bit unstable. Now the problem is: how to strengthen up the house without throwing out something that might prove valuable. It needs all approaches; it is unwise to reject a theory just because it is old or controversial.

While the great debate is still inconclusive-whether public administration is to be treated as a separate ‘independent discipline’, or as a ‘profession’, or retained as a part of the parent discipline of political science, the fact remains that in the majority of universities all over the US, the UK, and in other continental countries ‘public administration’ as a subject has not been completely eliminated from the political science courses, notwithstanding its growing recognition as a separate independent discipline, which is evident from the special independent schools, faculties, institutes or advanced centres (for studies in public administration) that have been established at various universities abroad. On the basis of its deep relationship with political science, the subject is likely to continue as a part of the curricula in political studies of various educational and governmental institutions, simultaneously with the attempt to establish a scientific theory of public administration, to enable it acquire the status of a basic social science. Till that point is reached a complete breakaway from the parent discipline is neither desirable nor needed. The subject of public administration in the perspective of its development is still in its ‘teens’ and until it comes of age, a breakaway from its parent discipline may be a little too premature and strenuous for its independent growth and existence.

Approaches to the Study of Public Administration

As we know that Public Administration turned into a storehouse of different approaches and has accumulated different theories within its broad umbrella. Some of the main approaches adopted by the discipline are discussed briefly in the following paragraphs.1(For further details about the approaches, see Robert Presthus Public Administration, (6th edn., The Ronald Press Company. 1975). pp. 7-12.)

(a) The institutional or legal approach is perhaps one of the earliest ones in the study of public .administration. It is largely based on the legal rights and obligation of government. It emphasizes formal relationships and the separation of powers among the three branches of the government-executive, legislative and judiciary. It believes in politics -administration dichotomy and confines administration to merely carrying out the policy designed by political arms of government. Generalizations within this approach are often based upon formal analyses of organizational structure and the constitutional

delegation of authority and responsibility to the three sectors of government.

(b) The structural approach was developed after scientific management movement. It tends to focus upon organisational structure and personnel management. It is also concerned with the financial and legal control of administration. Role of individual and informal organisation is more or less ignored. It assumes that individuals usually fit themselves into the on going system. This approach is further glorified by the application of industrial engineering to the study of public administration. Scholars have made comments on this approach for not recognizing the political environment and the human side of an organization. Therefore it is often termed as 'organization without people' approach.

(c) The third avenue to the study of public administration is the behavioural approach which has sometimes been called the 'people without organizations' approach for its too much focus on informal aspects of public administration. Contrary to the earlier approaches, it tends to focus on methodological problems, the use of survey analysis to determine really, and the human aspects of administration and decision-making. Scholars trained in sociology and psychology have made a very significant contribution to this approach.

(d) The post-behavioural approach moved the study of the discipline somewhat away from its previous concern with institutional, structural, and behavioural aspects. The post-behaviouralists focused

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on the study of public policy. This approach, at the outset, relied on the policy advocacy which emphasised the prescriptive analysis of policy and the role of public administrators in policy-making. Later, scholars focused their attention on descriptive aspects of public policy and began to attack governmental policy issues with the tools of systematic inquiry. Public policy analysis, thus, occupies its highest place in the study of public administration in the contemporary world

In its fundamental sense, “a policy is a salient choice made by an individual or group of individuals that explains, justifies, guides, or outlines a certain course of action, real or contemplated”1(Presthus, op. cit., p. 14). It differs from a decision in scope or magnitude. It usually makes a framework on which decisions can be made. Conceptually, it differs from administration. However, operationally, we cannot separate it from public administration.

There is no single definition of public policy analysis. Scholars define it with their pre-occupied approach in mind. Thomas Dye defines it as “...the description and explanation of the accuses and consequences of government activity”.2 (Thomas R. Dye, Understanding Public Policy, (New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc. 1975), p.3.) E.S, Quade regards it as “any type of analysis that generates and presents information in such a way as to improve the basis for policy-makers to exercise their judgment”.3 (Quoted by R.A.W. Rhodes, Public Administration and Policy Analysis: Recent Development in Britain and Antrim (Croft Road. Aldershot, Hants: Gower Publishing Company, 1981), p.23.) Another set of definition regards public policy analysis as “a future-oriented inquiry into the optimum means of achieving a given set of social objective”.

From the above definitions, public policy may mean many things to many men or quite all things to all men. However, public policy analysis can be visualized from its following characteristics:

(i) It is analytical because it utilizes the analytical techniques and research methodologies developed in the recent past.

(ii) It is multi-disciplinary in the sense that it welcomes relevant information and expertise from other social sciences.

(iii)It is problem-oriented for its main concern is to provide solutions to the current problems of the government.

(iv) And finally, it is client centred.

Thus, it is primarily concerned with explanation rather than prescription or advocacy and a search for the causes and consequences and also a quest for reliable research findings for general relevance.

There are different models for public analysis. The institutionalist regards policy as an institutional activity. Group theorists view it as an outcome of group equilibrium. To the elitists, policy means elite preference. The rationalist view it as efficient goal achievement. The incrementalist take policy as a science of muddling through and to them it is variations on the past. To the followers of game theory policy is rational choice in competitive situations. And, the system theorists regard policy as the system output. Thus, there are variations in the approaches to the study of public policy analysis too.

Thus, in the last forty years, the knowledge about public administration has simply exploded, not only among experts who identify it with the profession, but outside of it; disciplines from biology to mathematics have made inroads underneath the governmental umbrella to test their own approaches to administration. The proliferation of these approaches has been in a sense the primary source of its identity crisis. The discipline has enormously expanded its periphery without retaining or creating a unifying centre.

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The New Public Administration

In 1968, a group of young public administrators met at the Minnowbroof Conference Centre who pleaded for a more human, proactive public administration. Their views challenged the old ideals of scientific; value-neutral scholarship and were widely received as a call for a 'new public administration'. The New Public Administration is characterised as “humanistic, dubious about technology, anti-rationalist, reformist, and generally doubtful of the ability of present organisations to adapt to a fast changing society.”

The most striking feature of the new public administration is its being against positivism. The empirical social science research was considered as “awful, irrelevant, dull, narrow, and barren”. It is arrogant, dangerous and stupid, because it assumed that empirical theories of the world are 'value free'. So they aimed to phenomenology, which they thought had a change to supplant empirical social science in public administration. The phenomenologists refuse to separate values from what are perceived to be facts and deal with phenomena in their essential wholeness rather than dissecting them. The ‘New Public Administration’ uses phenomenology and existentialism to create a bridge to a post-bureaucratic society in which the administrator is regarded to be proactive, and the organisation is restructured to allow it.

The new Public Administration has a concern for social quality. They argue that value neutrality is neither possible nor desirable in public administration. As a society becomes more bureaucratic, problems of equality will become more actute. Bureaucratic development creates progressivism, which in turn creates a more, visible gap between the haves and the have-nots, even though the have-nots may be better off in absolute terms. Public Administration, if it plays the role as servant of the state, also becomes the instrument of reggression. The new public administration has also a concern for its clients. To reorient administration around the citizen, they back a number of proposals from decentralisation and citizen participation, to experiments with new styles of administrative leadership to replace the old management techniques. They aim to experiment with counter-bureaucratic methods by embracing a model of diversity that emphasised a number of alternative approaches to public administration.

Ironically, however, the young experts in public administration did not organise themselves after Minnowbrook, so that the 'new Public Administration' remained more of a subtle mood than an actual movement.

Despite all this realism, public administration was poorly prepared for the explosion of governmental programme in the seventies. Public Administrationists raised questions of organisation for results, of management, of technology, of handling demands for participation, and of administering overseas programmes. Public administration, with its value-free, scientific descriptive studies simple did not have all the answers. This set off a scramble for solutions. “Political scientists and economists contributed the policy approach, while programmatists catalogue the lessons of practical executive control. Systems analysts reintroduccd management science into the public service. Social psychologists salvaged what they could out of the human relations movement to create a planned changed strategy called organisation development. Public administrators struggled to match modern administrative methods with local conditions in developing countries. And younger scholars agitated for new values, new forms of organisation, a new sensitivity to the discontinuities of change in modern governments”.

In practical terms, the identity crisis thus manifests itself in the contradictory approaches advanced by people who call themselves administrative experts. For every group of people advancing one approach, we can find another group arguing plausibly for just the opposite. As illustration, let us take the controversy over the future of bureaucracy. The new Public Administration is openly anti-bureaucratic. Its advocates want to debureaucratise the government and replace the bureau with a more

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flexible, humane, democratic form of organisation. However, it is a fact well known to practical administrators that many phases of a government operation can not be run according to bureaucratic formulae, especially at the top of the organisation. Yet, at the same time, there are other parts of the government where bureaucracy has a positive value not just at low levels, but at high levels as well.

Again those who treat public administration as a scientific problem are opposed by those who sec administrative improvement as primarily a matter of human behaviour. There are the pluralists who want to preserve the democratic state by exposing administration by taking the bureaucrat out of interest-group politics. The analysts who want to make administration rational economic models and evaluation, are opposed by the incrementalists, who want a more realistic model of decision making. Some want to balance all of these approaches. It is thus natural that people who disagree on approach and method should also disagree on the fundamental issues of administration.

The Organization Development Approach

Professor Golembiewsky regards Organisation Development (OD) as one of the future family of miniparadigms, and in his pair volumes 1 (Golembiewsky, Public Administration as a Developing Discipline (NY. Marcel Dekker Inc., 1977) elaborates this approach for facilitating the conceptual development of the discipline. His project can be seen in the following three themes:

(i) It accepts the sense of the common characterisations that public administration as a field is “...in 'drift', as being in an 'intellectual crisis', as in the need of a 'new’ perspective, as ‘coming apart’, and as ‘in a period, of stress and change’, (ii) It seeks to be sensitive to the fact that the proposed solutions to the field's problems are often “so foreign to (public administrations traditions or so rooted in other disciplines that their adoption would destroy the integrity of the field as a separate focus of inquiry”; and (iii) It details how one approach-organisation development (OD) --relates directly to public administration's needs an historical evolution; at the same time that OD is still in its early years, is not rooted in any particular discipline, and serves several tradition fields.2 (Charles H. Levine, Robert W. Backoff, Allan R. Cahoon and William J.Siffon, “Organizational Design: A Post Minnowbrook Perspective for the ‘New Administration”, Public Administration Review, vol. 35 (July 1975),p.425.) The major objectives of the Organisation Development approach are:

(a) To create an open, problem-solving climate throughout the organisation,

(b) To supplement the authority associated with role or status with the authority of knowledge and competence,

(c) To locate decision-making and problem-solving responsibilities as close to the information sources as possible,

(d) To build trust among individuals and groups throughout the organisation,

(e) To make competition more relevant to work goals to maximize collaborative efforts,

(f) To develop a reward system that recognises both the achievement of the organisation's mission (profits or service) and organisation development (growth of people),

(g) To increase the sense of ownership (or organisation objectives),

(h) To increase self-control and self-direction for people within the organisation, and

(i) To help managers to manage according to relevant objectives rather than according to ‘past practices’ or according to objectives that do not make sense for one's areas of responsibility.”

Basically, the organisation is seen “as a, system in need of continuing innovation”, and an Organization Development programme begins by stressing the development of attitudes, behaviours, and skills that will support such continuing innovation.3 (Robert T. Golembieski, Public Administration as a Developing Discipline Organisation Development as one of a Future Family of Miniparadigms (New York: Marcel Dekker Inc., 1977),vo.2.p. 186.)

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The Developing World: The New 'Concerns' of Public Administration

In the turbulent world of today, management is subordinate to decisions made in an action taken through various institutions. He is not born in a nature state subject to nature alone, but in an administered society where numerous organisations allocate advantages and disadvantages to him. Because of these reasons, human dignities, human rights and compassion seem to be essential requirements of all the developing countries particularly of a democratic society like that of India. Neither administrative nor social stability can be assured by denying this proposition. To put it simply, men's institutions are too important to be left to the 'professionals' and 'experts' alone. In the modern context, 'efficiency', in its orthodox formulation as a relationship of input resources to output, is inadequate as the ultimate criterion of organisation effectiveness. There is, thus, a necessity for greater moral concern and personal responsibility by those exercising the great regulative and coercive powers of the modern stale. This is not to deny the existence of difficult problems and dilemmas but it merely shifts the controversy to a more meaningful level. This moral concern of public administration in modern societies reflects in securing for mankind what has been termed as 'human dignity'. It is in this direction, I believe, that the focus of Public Administration in developing countries has to shift.

Public Administration, Human Dignity and Human Rights

The growing contemporary focus of modern governments all over the world on the realisation of the basic human rights and restoration of human dignity for all their people raises a host of political and administrative issues. Notwithstanding its complex politics! dimension, a large number of problems areinherent in the administrative doctrines of human dignity. Firstly, there is the problem of the application of human dignity of specific situation. The conflicting claims of weighing one man's dignity over another's pose serious problems. Secondly, if human dignity is applicable, as it apparently is, to both administrators and citizens, how are potential conflicts to be resolved? Thirdly, there is the overall problem of conditions under which the 'public interest' may conflict with the doctrine of human rights and human dignity. Fourthly, the most crucial problem: What is the role of administrators with a commitment of human dignity, working within traditional hierarchical organisation? And lastly, the fundamental problem: can the value of a human being be measured or computed? And if not, how can it be realistically utilised as a criterion for organisational design or administrative decision-making? What are the alternative guidelines?

Thus, it appears that in the context of the various socio-economic and political upheavals taking place in the developing world today, the earlier orthodox and the later (if I may use the term) 'imperialist' view of public administration, involving a concern for policy issues, management problems, socio-economic development, public welfare, etc., needs to be tempered with the renewed concern for human dignity and human rights. The term 'human dignity', involves almost all the pertinent issues of human life.-ethical, social, psychological, economic and political our times and the public administrationists today will have to take into account the multi-dimensional impact of these concerns all around. It is in this perspective alone that the new substantive aspects of the discipline of public administration have to develop and if, in India, where people have always been concerned with the moral standards of human behaviour, we are able to give such a direction and growth to the discipline, we will be able to make a lasting contribution to its development in other parts of the world as well.

The profession of public administration is now poised at the edge of transition. It has accumulated an amazing storehouse of knowledge over the past ninety years. According to one technique, no one theory, no one approach to public administration is really dispensable. At the same time, public administration needs some sense of order to its affairs, a guiding theory. Diversity without a guiding theory creates an intellectual madhous? That forces scholars free to move to solid discipline. Unfortunately, all the single-purpose theories that have served public administration in the past are too

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narrow to solve this problem: yet if public administration abandons its search for a guiding theory, it will damage its potential as a major field of study.

Conclusion

In the ultimate analysis, one should, however, concede that the greatest strength (as well as weakness) of public administration today lies in its ideological diversity and in the diffusion of leadership between practitioners and theoreticians, system maintainers and humanistics, radicals, behaviourlists and philosophers. No one single figure has dominated the field since. Woodrow Wilson, and while some major figures belonged to many discipline, the diffusion of intellectual leadership has, on the whole, been a healthy influence on the expanding frontiers of the discipline of public administration.

SELECT READINGS

Gerald, E. Ciden. The Dynamics of Public Administration: Guidelines to Current Transformations in Theory and Pracrice, (New York: Rinehard Hold, and Winston, 1971.

Frank Marini, (eds), Toward a New Public Administration: The Minnowbrook Perspective (New York: Chandler Publishing Co., 1971).

Nicholas Henry, Public Administration and Public Affairs (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentie-Hall, 1975).

William L. Marrow Public Administration: Politics and the Political System (New York, Random House, 1975).

Joseph S Uveges, Jr. The Dimension of Public. Administration (Boston, Hoi Brook Press, 1975) 2nd ed.

Robert T. Golembiewski and Michael Cohen, eds., People in Public Service: A Reader in Public Personnel Administration (Itasca, III.: F.E. Peacock Publishers, 1976), 2nd ed.

R.B. Jain, Contemporary Issues in Indian Administration (Delhi: Vishal, 1976).

Howard E. McCurdy, Public Administration: A Synthesis (Menlo Park: Cnmmings Publishing Co., 1977).

Robert H. Simmons and Eugene P. Dvorin, Public Administration; Values, Policy and Change (Port Washington: Alfred Publishing Co., 1977).

Dwight Waldo, Perspective on Administration (University of Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1956).

Dwight Waldo, “Scope of the Theory of Public Administration” in James C. Charlesworth (ed.) Theory and Practice of Public Administration, (Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1968)

LESSON 2

Ecology of Public Administration

Dr. (Mrs.) Noorjahan Bava

Reader in Political Science

University of Delhi

The post-World War II era witnessed, among others, two great developments on the global scene. Tin, first was the emergence of a large number of newly independent nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America after their liberation from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. What is common to all these developing nations is their growing poverty and increasing population, and lack of economic development. Massive programmes of development have been launched by these nations in order to meet the challenges of development and modernization.

The second major development took place in the academic world. It heralded the genesis, in the United Slates, of a new academic discipline called the Comparative Public Administration along side Comparative Politics. An altogether new approach was adopted which challenged the traditional modes of analyses of social phenomena. It became fashion par excellence of the social scientists to apply multi-disciplinary “macro” approach to the urgent and baffling problems of the new nations. Ethnocentrism born of Western experience-the hitherto dominant mode of social analysis, was found to be wanting in many respects in the context of political instability, low economic growth, mounting population pressure, growing unemployment, increasing gap between the rich and poor, malnutrition, illiteracy, disease etc. of the third world countries. It was criticised, attacked and abandoned in favour of cross -cultural, cross national and truly comparative mode of analysis of political economic and social problems of contemporary society. New conceptual constructs and categories of analysis such as “structural functionalism”, systems approach, “ecological orientation”, “development perspective”, “input”, “output”, “feed back”, “political culture”, and models and paradigms like the “fused” prismatic, “diffracted” societies, the “sala” model, the “Bazar Canteen” model came to be extensively used by administrative theorists and practicing administrators. The new behavioural, ecological, systemic, comparative approach thus became the dominant mode of analysis of problems of developed and developing societies. Students of comparative government and administration already puzzled by the new approaches, became even more baffled by the burgeoning literature on comparative public administration in general and development administration in particular.

Fred W. Riggs is, perhaps the most innovative contemporary theorist in comparative public administration. He has been primarily concerned with conceptualising the administrative ecology-the interaction between the administrative system and its environment. His “fused”, “prismatic” and “diffracted” societies and the “sala” and “bazar canteen” models are the result of such attempts.

Administrative Ecology

In his attempt at conceptualising administration in developing countries, Riggs' prime orientation has been “ecological” and his approach "structural-functionalism". Environment plays an important role in human life. There goes on a constant and continuous interaction between man and his environment. One influences the other. “By ecology” writes Riggs, “I refer to environmental forces which both influence and are influenced by politics, by the political system.”1 (Fred W. Riggs, "The Structure of Government and Administrative Reform" in Ralph Brainanti (ed), Political and Administrative Development, Duke University Press, Durham, NC 1966,p. 230.)

According to the ecological

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perspective the larger society is "a system containing administrative institutions as a sub-system."2 Besides the administrative sub-system, there are other sub-system- the political, economic, cultural, religious, and technological in society. The sub-systems are component parts of a larger system.

Riggs, under the profound influence of Marion Levy, has identified five functional requisites for the survival of any society-economic, social, communicational, symbolic and political.3 These must be performed in the simplest undifferentiated (undeveloped) and the most complex, differentiated (developed) ones. The same set of functional requisites applies to an administrative sub-system. Nowhere Riggs offers an explanation as to why he has selected only these functional requisites. However these categories have been given a central place in his work, The Ecology of Public Administration. Let us now examine one by one how these five factors affect the behaviour of the administrative system of a developed and developing (prismatic) society, and how the administrative system, in turn affects these environmental forces, thereby focusing the interaction between the administrative sub-system and the economic, social, political, communicative, symbolic sub-system of the society on the one hand, and the interaction between the administrative system and society and its environment as a whole on the other.

1. Economic Factors -- The dominant characteristics of American capitalist economy is the market mechanism. It is argued that it encourages individuals to work in such a way as to increase productivity and consequently increase their own wealth as well as that of the nation. This arrangement involves the use of 'rational' criterion for the use of scarce resources so as maximise the attainment of tangible goals in an order of priorities. The price marking system enables people to make free choices to buy and sell at the most advantageous prices and to make profits to increase their income as a desirable goal in

life. The primary criterion for the utilization of available resources is accordingly, the increase of wealth. Thus the market mechanism combines in itself both the “rational” and “utilitarian” principles. According to this line of thinking, it leads to great increase in the output of goods and services. It treats many social values including human labour, time, money etc. as a commodity to be bought and sold in the free market at the most economical price. The value of a commodity is measured in terms of its price. Commodities possessing the same value are supposed to sell for the same price. Though prices fluctuate sometimes and the value of a commodity may rise or fall, in an ideal free market conditions, prices are said “to adjust” themselves and one 'homogeneous' price for the same commodity will be adopted in the market.

Riggs shows how the market mechanism has brought about direct and indirect influence on American Public Administration. When applied to the field of public personnel administration this principle echoes itself as “equal pay for equal work”. According to the market system the work of the bureaucracy or an agency chief is a commodity which he offers for sale. The amount paid, i.e., the “salary” is supposed to vary with the value of labour. Hence the characteristic of personnel administration equal pay for equal work. Of course this norms is or can never be fully realized. “But this is the foundation stone of administration and it rests on market consideration.” Political, social, humanitarian considerations are, in principle ruled out, though in practice, not eliminated. The principle of seniority may apply to army or university positions but the principle of equalizing the prices for bureaucratic labour is deeply ingrained in American personnel administration.

It is said that the free market system offers freedom of choice to market users, buyers and sellers. One is ideally free to accept or reject any commodity offered for sale. The same outlook is transferred to personnel administration. An employee sells his service in exchange for the best offer. If he finds that he can better his position he moves to another employer. This explains the chronic tendency of American

2. Fred W. Riggs Administration in Developing Countries: The Theory of Prismatic Society, Houghton Miffin Company, Boston, 1964, [hereafter referred to as The Administration] p.19.

3. Riggs, The Ecology of Public Administration, Asia Publishing House, New Delhi, 1961 [hereafter referred to The Ecology] p. 4: Administration, p.99.

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bureaucrats to shift their service from public to private or business administration as the offer of the latter, in most, if not all, cases is more lucrative financially and, therefore, attractive. Further each government agency or administrative bureau seeks, to find the best qualified person for each position without regard to social, family, religious or racial background. “The position is thought of, not as an attribute of the incumbent, not as a status or right to which he may lay claim, but as a set of duties to be performed, as a slot in the machine which must be filled in for the required output to be produced. No wonder, the American position classification system is “duty” (responsibility) oriented" rather than status (rank) oriented as the British. If an official does not perform his duties satisfactorily, he may be discharged; or if an agency's budget is cut, members of the staff may be 'Maid off”. Of course, in practice, state which is the model employer in the case of public administration, has to modify and tone down the rigours of the dehumanising tendencies of market economy. Hence concepts like 'security of tenure', “career service” are increasingly applied to public service.

Another fundamental pillar of the market as an institution is the right of contract. This principle is extended to the relationship between the employer and employees including the government and its servants. Both the civil servant and his employing agency, say the labour department, or the irrigation department, consider their relationship to be specific in scope, governed by the terms of a contract with provision for the termination of the relationship, should either partner become dissatisfied.

Riggs observes that all aspects of public administration are similarly pervaded by the market orientation. Planning, communications, public relations, management, line and staff organizations in each instance the administrative bureau is viewed as a kind of “market” in which the participants seek to maximize the attainment of specified goals-the implementation of public policy, with the most "efficient" use of scarce available means. “In general, then the administrative bureau is the counterpart of the formal economic market. Both are utilitarian, rational, maximizing institutions for making choices in a situation where means are scarce”

Let us now examine the influence of public administration on the market system. Although the market is sometime spoken of “as self regulating” the market can persist only if the state provides numerous facilities and services and enforces innumerable regulations governing market behaviour. Public administration, for instance has to lay down and enforce rules regarding weights and measures, securities, exchange regulations, rates of public utilities, licensing of merchants, automobiles, etc. The whole pattern of highly productive agriculture in America can be obtained only because a multitude of regulations and services are enforced and furnished by government. In short "the content of American public administration is in large part, determined by the economic needs of its market society". Thus the inter-dependence between marketized, industrial society of America and its system of public administration' is so much that the economy cannot survive without the administrative system and vice vena. The economy would not survive because the administrative system is itself determined in many respects by the requirements of the economy. The administrative system would not survive but for the productivity of the economy supporting it. Both the market and the bureau are essential structures of an industrial society. It is -not so much the market peruse but industrialization which makes the establishment of a rational achievement-oriented system of public administration both possible and indispensable.

2. Social Factors:-- By focusing on two important social factors, namely the place of associations in the American social life and the class structure of the American society, Riggs seeks to highlight the interactional relationship between these social factors and American Public Administration.

a. Relationship between Association and Public Administration: The American society like its counterpart elsewhere has its social structures. These take numerous forms. The American Society for Public Administration, American Political Science Association, American Medical Association, Bar

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Association, the Civil Service Assembly, Workers Unions, Sports Clubs, American political parties, business corporations, to mention a few, are all typical examples of social groups and associations dominating the American government, economy and society. In fact the American society lives and moves and has its being through these myriad forms of groups and unions. They have certain common features. Of these, functional specificity is a central feature of all associations. Each association has a fairly specific function or set of objectives towards the attainment of which ail its members strive. All associations recruit members on a universalistic basis-- all those who share its objectives, norms and standards are enrolled as its members. Membership of an association is voluntary. The rules provide for resignation or expulsion of members. Associational membership is also contractual. Here we see the close connection between the various associations and the market orientation.

Every association has its agent or agency which when sufficiently large and professionalised may be called its “bureaucracy”. The business corporations are such associations having large bureaucracies. The company bureaucracy is responsible to the members to use the capitals as to maximize returns on investments in the forms of dividends. “The important fact for understanding America is that there the corporation, i.e., an association, has become the dominant pattern of organisation for participation in the market.” The association as a special structure is integrally related to market institutions.

The analogy of associations and administration now becomes apparent. The corporation bureaucracy is under the same kind of obligation to manage limited sources to achieve specified goals that the public bureaucracy is under. Of course the goals of the former are set by the market and that of the latter by the political system. But internally the criteria of “rationality”, “utilitarianism” and “efficiency” are equally applicable to the company and the bureau. The principles of administration both public and private are directly derivable from the pattern of the associations organisation, as well as from the market. The similarity between “business administration” and “public administration” is so striking that in some American Universities both are taught in the same school. We may think of the whole nation as one association and the governmental service as its bureaucracy. The basis of governmental association is also a “contract” formulated in the Constitution which sets forth the common aims of all members. Admission to membership is likewise, in principle, universalistic, in so far as those who agree with these goals and meet specified requirements may become a “naturalized citizen” and is normally free to surrender his citizenship if he chooses to transfer to another state.

b. Association Character of Public Administration:-- We have seen that associations play a dominant role in American life, specially in polity, economy and society. There exists a close parallelism between government, business corporations and professional societies. As in the case of business bureaucracy, the efficiency of the public bureaucracy is measured by its ability to achieve the specific goals laid down by the legislature, it is recruited on ,the understanding that is will promote those objectives or is discharged for its failure to do so; the bureaucrats can leave the governmental services according to their degree of participation in its goals and standards; the government spends the tax payers money just as its private counterpart does with the shareholders capital. And the political responsibility of the state to the citizens becomes the special responsibility of the public bureaucracy to his associations' memberships.

In short associations make it possible to “aggregate” interests and to “articulate” them to find out what wants and demands are shared by a large number of people and then to give effective public expression to these demands. Thus they become a vehicle through which many kinds of specific interests are communicated from the citizens to the government. These associations (known as interests groups or pressure groups in public administration) enter into close relationships with their corresponding government departments, agencies and bureaus to further their interest. In fact some of these bureaucratic units owe their very existence to these interest groups. The latter are instrumental for bringing them into

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existence by getting appropriate legislation enacted and necessary funds provided by American Congress. The government departments and units are often in daily communication with their respective interests groups in carrying out the law. The associations or the interest groups formed by the “clientele” of various administrative agencies often constitute the source of influence and power over these agencies. Directly or indirectly, they control, reward and furnish the agencies in many ways. The civil servants who faithfully execute laws intended to promote the interests of particular interest groups may be suitably rewarded through proper channels. For instance their agency budgets may be increased, they may receive honour, recognition and promotion and desirable legislation or amendments may be secured.

The administration, in its turn makes full use of these groups in ensuring faithful compliance by citizen with laws and securing public cooperation for the attainment of their objectives. The Public Health Service, for example, may call upon the American Medical Association of Nurses, hospital administrators, pharmacists and doctors to assist it in a campaign to vaccinate or to innoculate public against polio or cholera and to educate the people. Similarly the Department of Commerce can look to the Chambers of Commerce and trade associations for help.

In this way the associations and administrative agencies interact with each other to their mutual benefit The former keep the administrators alert and responsive by providing them with the information and making them conscious of the clientele's interests, and providing them with a weapon of incalculable power to implement governmental programmes. Thus the associational pattern, while fundamentally shaping the conduct of administration, serves also to multiply its effectiveness.

The class system in the United States is relatively open or mobile despite obstacles on the way of religious and racial minorities to reach the apex of the social ladder. The public bureaucracy forms an integral part of this open class system of the American society. In other words, the bureaucracy is not segmented into a number of ranks, i.e., into the top bureaucratic levels, where the ordinary functionaries, clerks are classed with middle and lower class strata. The personnel system of the United States is “democratic” in that any citizen with the required qualification can enter the civil service at any stage or level. He can start his career at the lowest rung of the civil service ladder and hope to reach the apex position before he retires from service. The personnel system is also “open” besides being "mobile". It does not allow recruiting favoured, “administrative officers” as is possible in the U.K. where the “aristocratic” system of personnel administration prevails. In Riggs' own words, “those who stand at the lowest rung on the bureaucratic ladder (in the U.S.) are not quite so low as the lowest social strata and those who stand highest on it do not quite attain the highest position in the general social system.”

We have just seen how the open class system affects the pattern of recruitment and promotion of civil servants in American public administration. Let us now turn our attention to the influence that public administration exercises on the class structure. In a nutshell, it helps society to maintain a mobile class structure. This is done in ways more than one. In the first place opportunities for promotion within the bureaucracy provide an important channel for class mobility. Secondly, programmes carried out by government also reinforce an open class system. The “universalistic” recruitment system is another reflection of the one class system in American society. In this way the open class system and the public recruitment and promotion system interact with one another to their mutual advantage.

3. The Communication Net Work:-- The administrative system of a democratic polity pre-supposes a high degree-of communication, between the public and administration. Experience demonstrates that a high percentage of literacy, linguistic homogeneity, a wide spread communication net work consisting of radio, telephone, television, cinema, press etc. is bound to increase the degree of communication between a people and its government and administration. Where such high degree of communication exists, “public opinion” can be strong-so strong as to compel government to pursue or not to pursue certain policies which are not in public or national interest.

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Two important dimensions of communication, viz., ‘mobilization’ and ‘assimilation’, are particularly relevant to our central question. Mobilization occurs when a population has joined, and participates in a large scale communication net. Spread of education, urbanization, industrialization, quick means of transportation are some of the contributing factors of mobilization. “Assimilation”, on the other hand, shows the extent to which a population shares the same symbol, identified with same basic values and goals as the elite. Language, religion and ideology help either in laying the foundation for assimilation or disrupting it. It is important to remember that mobilization and assimilation do not always take place simultaneously. If a population is fortunate as to become both mobilized and assimilated, it becomes a ‘national community’. If, on the other hand, a population is only mobilized hut not assimilated it becomes a differentiated population or ‘poly communal’. It becomes a plural but not a pluralistic society.

American people are highly mobilized and assimilated. They form, therefore, a national community. They are a pluralistic society, for as we have seen above, the American life is dominated by associations and groups but not a “poly-communal”, or “plural” society.

How does this affect administration? Because the American people and public officials share same language and value system, it is easier to trust each other, to gain access and acceptance for ideas, to express thoughts and explain situations and needs.

Communication within administration is also made easier to the extent that national administration has been achieved.

Besides, the existence of a national community indirectly helps in establishing a public recruitment system based on universaltic criterion. In the absence of such a community, there will be a poly-communal society where rivalry and mutual suspicion prevail between diverse linguistic and religious communities; it may be necessary to use a "quota" system to ensure equitable representation of each community in public service or else to practise outright exclusion of one or more communities. In either case recruitment is handicapped and a major source of friction develops in administration. The same is true of programmes execution as well. Where poly-communalism exists instead of one medical association, or trade union for all steel workers, for instance, there would be an association for each linguistic, religious, racial, social groups and administration would be faced with an endless number of rival groups and associations each claiming to represent the same kind of functional interest. In such a situation programme effectiveness becomes the first casualty. Last but not least, the existence of a national community explains the success of the two party system of the United States.

Similarly, Riggs feels that the openness of a class structure can exist only under conditions of national community. A differentiated society, by definition, is a closed class system. But for the existence of a national community the danger to national integration arising from the inherent tensions of a market system cannot be averted. The conflicts inherent in a market system will eat up the vitals of society and thus jeopardise the social order.

4. The Symbol System:-- Riggs strongly believes that the administrative sub-system of a social system is, to a large extent, influenced by its political symbol system, even as it influences that system. The symbol system consists of the “myth”, “formulae” and “codes” to use Lasswell and Kalpan's phrases. The "myth" refers to whatever symbols and doctrines are used to characterize the ultimate source of sovereignty, the nature and destiny of man, his rights, duties and essential relationships. By “formulae” we mean the set of rules which determine the structures of government, how rulers shall be chosen and what their duties shall be. Laws and regulations are examples of code.

Many countries lack basic agreement regarding their symbol system. By contrast the United States derives its myth and formulae from the American declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Lincoln's Gettsburg Address and laws from the Congress.

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The content of these political symbols have profound influence on the degree of consensus of a people. Consensus in turn bestows a high degree of 'authority'4 (When power is exercised in accordance with a political formula it becomes “authority”. A man without authority might have power as in the case with a mob leader; a man of authority may lack power just as the British or Japanese monarch.) on acts of administration. Mere possession of authority is not enough to ensure obedience. “The effectiveness of authority varies with the degree of consensus of the population on the validity and obligation to obey authority”. High degree of consensus makes authority “legitimate” and authority becomes “illegitimate” when people stop believing in the right of those who claim authority to rule. Legitimacy is essential for effective administration. Authority is the cheapest and most effective means of control, especially when large number of people are involved in law enforcement. The “Consensus” results in voluntary complaince with law.

Let us examine the influence of the political symbol system on the American administration. The “myth” of “popular sovereignty” on the one hand and of “equality” on the other has brought about a tremendous influence on the way in which the American political and administrative system operates.

The notion of popular sovereignty rests on the idea of popular equality. The myth of equality is at the foundation of the American “spoils” system, and the system of “elective” officials It was only when the spoils system could not provide administrative personnel with sufficient talent and experience to meet the growing needs of an extremely complex and industrialized society that it was abandoned in favour of the “technical examination” system. Even here, the American society have not copied the British or the Indian civil service examination system for the Administrative class which aims at discovering men of superior talent and capacity for ruling position. In American view there can be non “superior men” because “all men are born equal”. The American civil service is founded on this view and it follows, therefore, that public servants recruited on technical basis do not possess any inherent authority to give orders, or command others. They are regarded as public servants not only in the general sense of serving the public but in the specific sense of serving the President and Congress who have been elected by the people and who have been vested with authority to make crucial decisions on the public issues arising from time to time. In a nutshell, the structure of American administration, is mode of recruiting, promoting and organising and the demand for delegation of power-all reflect this underlying political myth".

5. The Political System: The political system of any society is a major factor of influence upon its administrative sub-system. It is true that the other sub-systems like the economic, social, symbolic and communicational and cultural, as seen above, with the administrative system. But the interaction between the political and administrative systems is the most sharp and powerful. The governmental setting is one of the fundamental determinants of administrative behaviour, for, the administrative system is, in a sense, an integral part of the political system. The relationship between the American constitutional structure, separation of power, checks and balances, federal system, political parties etc. and the Administrative system is very well known.

Another aspect of the interaction is even more crucial to our analysis, i.e., the universal tendency of public bureaucracies of modern welfare states to increase their power to the detriment of the rule of law, individual liberty and public interest and at the cost of administration, public, and the nation. All contemporary states, democratic as well as totalitarian, draw a subtle distinction between political and administrative organisations. The bureaucracy is regarded as an instrumental apparatus under the control and direction of the political organisations. But in reality this distinction remain formalistic. The "politicians" are not fully effective in framing policy [this is more true in the case of developing countries and the "administrators" are scarcely neutral instruments of policy execution. Unless the Bureaucracy, in whose hands all the main weapons of government are placed is brought under the control

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of non-bureaucratic centres of power, the former will not hesitate to misuse and abuse its power for its own self-aggrandisement and self interest,

Riggs strongly feels that an increase in bureaucratic power cannot assure improvement in administrative efficiency. Quite the contrary, it is only when non-bureaucrat are powerful enough to control and reward officials for faithful performance of their duties, and clearly lay down policies to be implemented that we can expect a. high level of administrative output. When imbalance takes place between bureaucratic power and non-bureaucratic power and development, it results in “intra-bureaucratic rivalry of politics” and paves the way for military dictatorship.

In the United States, Riggs opines, the danger to the democratic fabric arising out of such imbalance between political and administrative development does not exist. For, the constitutional and the social systems have strengthened non-bureaucratic power on the one hand, and institutionalized bureaucratic power and its weakness on the other.

Not only the maintenance of non-bureaucratic control over the bureaucracy has been institutionalised in a rule of law and constitutional pattern of separation of powers facilitating the formation of numerous centres of non-bureaucratic power around the market, church, schools, associations, clubs etc., but even bureaucratic weakness has been institutionalised. This has been done by territorial and functional fragmentation of the bureaucracy.

This pattern of functional fragmentation tends to keep government bureaucracy powerless at all levels and, therefore, more amenable to the direction and control by political organisation and nongovernmental power centres. However, Riggs warns his readers from jumping to the conclusion that because functional fragmentation helps maintain control over bureaucracy, it was invented for that purpose. Or, because the American market system has contributed to the growth and development of American administrative system and the latter has reinforced the former; we cannot deduce from this that administration was deliberately designed and modelled after the market and the market was instituted because of the administrative consequences. To think on such lines, according to Riggs, will be guilty of “ideological” fallacy.

An Estimate

Fred W. Riggs' conceptualization of administrative ecology represents his magnificent response to the clarion call of Dwoight Wald in 1956 to construct a “model of what an administrative system is like as general type.” His “fused-prismatic and diffracted” models of societies (about which we will go into detail in the next part), are the outcome of this great effort to conceptualise and study administrative systems of developing nations. His aim was obviously to project a theory of administrative ecology.

In building his theory he has largely drawn from his American experience on the one hand and the multi disciplinary approach to the study social problems on the other. The third world countries constitute a strange new phenomenon to social scientists and development analysis. The failure of the American technical assistance programmes launched under international auspices in developing countries to bring about development actually helped challenge the wisdom of applying. Western administrative concepts, techniques and practices to these nations emphasised the need to develop truly comparative, cross-national and cross-cultural studies. It is this challenge which paved the way for a burgeoning literature on various aspects of development-economic, political, social, administrative--by a galaxy of social scientists and scholars. Riggs' contribution has to be assessed against this background.

Riggs' supreme effort thoughtout his prolific writings has been directed towards theory building on the administrative systems of developing nations. His fabulous capacity for theorising has resulted in his discovery of a new frame for reference for the study of the new nations, the theory of prismatic societies. It is to explain the “administrative ecology” of transitional or developing societies that he constructed the

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prismatic-sala model and the bazaar canteen models. Certainly these models help increase our understanding of the ecological setting of these nations. His study of the Thai and Philipine administrative system is undoubtedly based upon this frame work of analysis.

Rigg's contribution lies not only in innovating conceptual constructs and tools of analysis for the study of administrative problems of developing societies but also, in applying the macro approach, for the first time towards such studies. His theory of administration ecology based on this approach and ecological-structural functionalism helps us understand the interaction between administrative system and 'tis environmental structure. Prior understanding of the ecological forces and their impacts on administration by administrators, politicians and social scientists is imperative lo maximize the effectiveness of developmental bureaucracy as the instrument of change.

SELECT READINGS

1. Fred W. Riggs, “Agraria and Industria” in William Siffin (ed), Toward Comparative Study of Public Administration.

2. Bureaucrats and Political Development - A Paradoxical View” in Joseph La Palombara (ed). Bureaucracy and Political Development, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1963,

3. “The Structures of Government and Administrative Reform” in Ralph Braibanti (ed). Political and Administrative Development, Duke University Press Durban. N.C, 1969, pp. 220-324.

4. Also Administrative Change Vol. IV. No. l, July- Dec. 1976 for Riggs reply to Daya Krishna's comment.

LESSON 3

The Politics of Development Administration with Special Reference to Milton J. Esman

Dr. (Mrs.) Uma Yaduvansh

Prof. Esman has made significant contribution in the field of Development Administration. According to him, development administration is a new and rapidly growing field of academic inquiry and professional practice. As a field of action, Development Administration is universal in scope because new technologies and ideas cause rapid changes in all contemporary societies. The central core of Development Administration is the role of governmental administration in inducing, guiding and managing the inter related processes of nation building, economic growth and social change though its outer limits are not clearly defined.

Prof. Esman regards Development Administration as an inter-disciplinary field. It draws heavily from Sociology, Social Psychology, Political Science and Economics. In practice, it is multi-professional in its concern with the management and the output of action programmes in education, agriculture, industry and transport. In the context of contemporary process of cultural change and development of developing countries, 'development' means, according to Esman, a major societal transformation a change in system states. This change is qualitative and continues in peasants and industrial levels of society -affecting values, behaviour, social structure, economic organisation and political process ‘Critical ingredient’ this change are assimilation and institutionalisation of modem technological values of society.

Development Administration at any level of government in any sector of activity has tour interrelated elements, viz., the substantive element, the managerial element, the political element and the element of social change. The substantive element is concerned with goals and outputs of public action, with shaping policy choices, allocating resources and planning and guiding programmes of action. The administration participates in shaping policy and thus in impressing its preferences on present and future events the administrator is concerned with the ends of public policy as well as with the means of achieving them. The managerial element guides actions towards established substantive goals with the objective of maximising programme effectiveness and the efficient use of means. This requires competent use of management technologies and information systems and a managerial definition of the administrator's role. It sanctions the mixture of instruments, i.e., bureaucracy in its various forms, market incentives and mechanisms, associational and voluntary groups and local authorities to achieve public objectives. The political element represents the need of the polity to constitute groups, responds to demand for the differential distribution of the costs and benefits of public services and mediates and regulates conflict among individuals and groups affected by public programmes of action. The element of social change uses governmental initiative to induce attitudinal and behavioural changes among clientele groups consistent with publicity and determined objectives, for example, inducing farmers to double crop or providing incentives to manufacturers to produce for export. Such activities draw

Mil ton 3 .Esman is Johns Kinght Professor of International Studies and Professor of Government and Director, Center for International Studies at the Comell University. He was Professor rand Head of the Department of Economics and Social Development at the University of Pittsburgh for ten years. Between 1945 and 1959, Prof. Esman actively participated in US Government's developmental programmes. From 1966-68 he worked as Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Department, Government of Malasia and was the first research director and organizer of the inter-university research programme in institution building.

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administrators into institution building activities and into close and continuous interaction with clients because they involve a high degree of uncertainty, experimentation, bargaining and dialogue. These are required to determine what changing mixtures of incentives, services, and regulation are likely to be effective. These four elements of administration can be summarised as policy, management, change agent and political roles.

These elements are analytically distinct but operationally inseparable. Many administrative positions involve their incumbent more in one element than another but the, prime function of general administrator is to keep all of them in view in making choices and in guiding action. Much public decision making is done by bureaucrats, and nearly all decisions are influenced by them but they are not a monolithic group in any society, nor are they the only decision makers. Politicians, businessmen, educators and other “influentials” participate in public decision making, depending on the issue. The main responsibility is borne by senior politicians, but only the most innocent maintain the fiction that administrators merely carry out decisions made by others.

In most developing countries, the increased and expanded role of government has imposed new demands on administration. The image of the colonial administrator as the high status mandaring keeping order and performing routine services by developing instruments of authority towards a passive and compliant public, from whom he maintains an appropriate social distance, now appears archaic and dysfunctional. New role definitions and new intellectual and operational capabilities are required if administrators are to be effective political decision makers and programme managers in the context of nation building and induced socio-economic change. While the need for this transformation has been widely recognised, the old behaviour patterns have a remarkable sustaining quality, and performance tends to lag behind normative requirements. This problem takes different forms in different countries.

All developing societies have two fundamental and inter-related goals, viz, nation building, and other socio-economic goals, irrespective of their divergent social origins, ideological commitment and political strategies. The elite and modernizing elements of these third world societies exert external pressures and provide ‘internalised drives’ to upgrade them as political goals of developing societies. These transitional societies have other goals also like those of survival, enrichment in office, territorial expansion and protection of political and economic interests which sometimes and in some societies compete and take precedence over the goals mentioned above. This traditional administrator societies lay emphasis in office holding, routine services and control functions. They are mostly imposed by change oriented political elites and by public demand for dynamic governmental performance. In less developed countries, economic growth, systems change and social justice are regarded as the outcome of governmental policy and action. This calls forth a deep analysis of the pattern of organisation and action to move these transitional societies towards these goals with a twin focus, viz,_

(i) to develop administrative institutions and capabilities which would improve the managing of change process, and

(ii) to administer,-shape and implement development programmes in all sectors of public policy.

Esman assigns the following major significant tasks for the governments of transitional societies:

1. Achieving security against external aggression and ensuring internal order is the primordial duty of all governments so that nation-state can become a viable entity within which peace can prevail.

2. Establishing and maintaining consensus on the legitimacy of the regime. The maintenance of consensus is the continuing and creative process of establishing and sustaining a responsive relationship between the governing elite and the community. The effectiveness of this relationship contributes to the stability of regimes and their capacities to organise and carry out plans and programmes of development

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3. Integrating diverse ethnic, religious, communal and regional elements into a national political community. This is the essence of nation-building.

4. Organising and distributing formal powers and functions among organs of central, regional, and local governments and between public authority and the private sector. Constitution-making is a continuing adjustment and re-interpretation of legal norms in response to changing needs originating in such areas as technological and social development, international pressures, ideological commitments, and shifts in relative power among organised interests. Especially in transitional societies, institutions and arrangements relating to the distribution of power are likely to be in flux and under pressure for frequent modification. The governing elites have to guide and manage these

adjustments.

5. Displacement of vested Western social and economic interests. Nation-building and socio-economic development require shifts in centers of power so that new technologies may be successfully introduced and institutionalised, resources may be mobilised and allocated to development functions, and the population may be brought into an effective pattern of communication with national political and administrative authorities. It is necessary to reduce the power of traditional elites, tribal chiefs, landlords, priests, local notables, urban merchants and moneylenders through gradual shrinkage.

6. Development of modernising skills and institutions. Managing the affairs of a modern nation requires a wide range of complex and sophisticated skills which are virtually unknown in peasant societies. Modern physical and social techniques must be carried out through specialised institutions which either did not exist in traditional societies or require radical restructuring in order to discharge the functions associated with nation building and development. The building of new institutions is as deliberate a process in developing nations as the fostering of modernizing skills.

7. Fostering of psychological and material security. Phenomena as alienation, anomie, crisis of identity, self-hatred, and other symptoms of psychological disintegration appear on a large scale in transitional societies. They tend to be magnified by the economic dependency. Mitigating these tensions through community organisation, welfare measures etc. can reduce the possibility of social and political disturbance, and hence, individual and group productivity, and foster the integration of the individual into modern roles and institutions.

8. Mobilisation of savings and of current financial resources. The struggle to mobilise financial resources for investment and for public services is a major and critical pre-occupation of all governments oriented to development.

9. Rational programming of investment. This process of programming applies to capital as well as manpower and is important for developing countries.

10. Efficient management of facilities and services to enhance the efficient use of existing facilities, both in the public and private sectors.

11. Activating participation in modernising activities, especially in decision making roles. One of the tasks of nation-building and of development is to bring members of the national community into a network or relationships and institutions which enable them to participate actively in decision affecting their individual and group welfare. Nation-building cannot be achieved by elities alone, nor can development activities be carried out exclusively by administrators or technicians. Thus, providing opportunities and mechanisms for relevant and widspread popular participation becomes an important development priority.

12. Achieving a secure position in the international community.

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This list does not exhaust the major tasks involved in nation-building and development, yet the emphasis on purposeful and far-reaching change, to which the political systems of developing nations must respond, distinugishes this list of tasks from those associated with institutional maintance in stable societies, traditional as well as modem. In developing countries, the execution of these tasks requires a large measure of governmental intervention. Present day governments irrespective of their political caste, use their authority to organise programmes in pursuit of the action objectives to which they are committed. Little nation building or development activity can be conceived in transitional societies as stimulated or deliberately programmed by governmental authority. Actually, stimulation and activation has become a function of government in these societies.

Nation-building and socio-economic development is, says Esman, purposeful, meaningful and relevant only in its historical context. They do not take place in a cultural vacuum. Traditional societies have no survival chances as they are completely and fundamentally shaken up by dynamic and destructive technologies of the industrialised societies of Europe and North America, by commercial activities, military invasion, secular education, mass communications, political colonialism and foreign aid etc. Thus, transitional societies are very complex and differ widely among themselves because new and more specialised institutions grow in urban areas generating new roles, opportunities, for new types of employment in offices and factories. This increased social mobility creates new social classes which aspire the elite class and compete vigourously and successfully with the traditional elites. In some countries they nave supplanted the traditional elites, in others they have forced a favourable place for themselves and in others they have forced the traditional elites to reconsider their claims to legitimacy and adapt their tactics and programmes accordingly. Many elites are influenced by socialist theories which 'reinforce the traditional values of peasant societies and reject the profit seeking businessman. In many countries where modernising elites, though do not control, yet yield considerable influence in defining broad issues internationally as well as within their borders. There have grown second generation intellectuals who are trained as professionals. They reject politics and seek protected carriers in expanding industrial and governmental bureaucracy in countries like Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel, Yugoslavia, India and the Soviet Union. Almost in all transitional societies there is a gap between aspiration and achievement which creates tension. It is aggravated by clashes of interests beyond the capacities of the elites to resolve. There are also shortages of physical and financial resources and of technical and managerial skills.

Esman regards development not as a 'natural', process which needs only to be let free to evolve. It is also not a series of bottlenecks which enlighten policy makers like production expediters and or which can break successively to permit restrained energies to flow freely. To quote Esman again, development is a series of humdrum tasks for which the physical, social, psychological and institutional resources are seldom available in sufficient quantity or in the proper combinations. The obstacles to achievement are often over-powering and time is a relentless enemy to those who hope to realise results in decades rather than in centuries. It is evident that substantial governmental power must be generated and applied if the tasks of the government are to be effectively performed. The above analysis shows that the twelve points mentioned above" are very important because they show that (i) governmental control is recessary; (ii) a doctrine which legitimises in terms of programmed action the norms, priorities, instruments, and strategies of the governing elite, and (in) a series of instruments through which two way communication is facilitated and through which commitment to action are translated into operating programmes. These elements must be given systematic analysis of the capacities of political systems to realise their goals of nation-building and socio-economic progress under the conditions that prevail in transitional societies.

It should be remembered that all governing elites are not change oriented as some may be having vision but lack strength, others may have both but they may use their instruments inaptly. It is a fact that

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sustained such initiation must be'. When values must be transformed, behavioural patterns modified, traditional loyalties successfully changed, and now institutions built, heavy responsibility falls on change oriented group. Governing elites arc those who exercise major decision making power in the national government. It includes (hose who hold formal positions of responsibility as well as those who are sympathetically associated with them and exert important influence in the decision making process. The governing elites work within the social, cultural and physical environment. Even if the capacity exists and is utilised, they face a difficult task of moderating special claims and channelling them into directions of national interest. Generation and guidance of energies necessary for nation-building must have governing elites committed to change and a doctrine which can effectively motivate action and legitimise programmes of development objectives.

The diverse political systems of development areas can be classified into five regime types in developing societies on the basis of common structural and behavioural characteristics. They are known as conservative oligarchies, competitive interest oriented party systems, dominant mass party systems, authoritarian military reforms and communist totalitarian. Instances of conservative oligarchies are Iran, Ethiopia, Northern Nigeria etc. These countries are interested in building a modern polity and in improving social and economic conditions of their countries. They arc equality interested in maintaining power also. But they do not articulate a clear view of the future. They emphasise gradual change because, according to them, rapid change is destructive of the complex network of relations which hold society together. They do not bother ideologies, more occupied with problems of today than of tomorrow, they rely on administration as principal vehicle of action and change.

Competitive interest oriented party-systems lay emphasis on regular elections, representative institutions, rule of law, free political expression, and encouragement to private enterprise. The system has been tried in Philippines, Costa Rica, Greece, Chile, Malaya and Jamaica. Records show that in many countries it has been abandoned and in a few it has been reinstated.

The dominant element in the governing elites of this regime are the landlords, urban merchants and representatives of other established interests. There is mobility and opportunity in the system but no attempt is made to mobilise the masses politically or functionally. Administration is continuously badgered by groups demanding previliged treatment or claiming immunity from administrative action.

The military reformers favour active policy of nation-building and development. Such regimes are operative in Burma, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand and Brazil. The regimes are impatient with the present procrastination, corruption and futility of their civilian predecessors and they demand results. Though they initiate social reforms and use governmental authority to intervene in the economy, they do not play the role of social revolutionaries. These competitive regimes are not mass mobilisers. When governing elites with military background become social revolutionaries they organise a single mass mobilising party and transform its character.

The dominant mass party-systems (Egypt, Algeria, Mexico, India) are created by urban secularised intellectuals strongly committed to national regeneration, social reform and modernisation. The mass mobilising party is its standard institution. It is either the single legal party or it dwarfs and eclipses the others. No elite group is monolithic. Ideology is important in this system as it attracts and sustains mass support, projects the image of a desired future and permits opportunistic adjustment to changing needs of maintaining a broad community consensus. The systems tends towards mixed economies, planned and directed by public authority but with significant scope for private enterprise and decentralised decision making. Their programme activity has large scope. They depend on public authority, administrative organisation and bureaucracy. They easily communicate and project an image of the future through their development plans and thus convey a sense of purpose to the administrator. This helps to orient his current decision making more confidently to a series of long term goals. But these regimes face the

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problem of sustaining the high quality of leadership required of governing elites or of a single charismatic personality. Many countries find the mass mobilising system useful for modernising their nation. But the forms into which this dominant mass party system will evolve is ambiguous and uncertain and there is no assumption that it will develop into Western style competitive parliamentary system; for example, regimes in Burma (AFOEL). and in Bolivia (MNR) failed to manage the growing complexity of an industrialised society.

The communist totalitarian system has elites which are everywhere intellectuals and are committed to Marxist-Leninist ideology. They have a strong power drive. Psychologically the system has ready application in developing countries. Its doctrine is comprehensive and focusses purposeful change as it eliminates exploitation and humiliation of the low income countries and gives prospects of building of a scientific society promising dignity, well-being and justice. As instruments of action, the system uses all channels and monopolises all political activity, interest associations, mass expression and economic activity. It rejects voluntarism as a principle of action. Every activity outside the scope of party and state sponsorship is brought under appropriate control or is interdicted. The entire economy is planned, directed and operated by public authority so that the burden on administrative state is very great because not only reliability but professional competence is also required for administrative positions. They have to administer enormously detailed and complex economic regulations. High value is placed on mass mobilisation and individual participation in party approved programmes. The communists guarantee cultural pluralism, co-option of members of minority groups into party and governmental organisations under unified political control. But the communist totalitarian model, says Esman, is being given up by modernising elites due to the fact that it makes a country dependent on Soviet Union and China both psychologically and materially and also because they do not accept terror as a legitimate instrument of policy.

Each regime offers some opportunities and imposes some limitations on governing elites for nation building and socio-economic progress. Development is possible in all these regimes but their capabilities to develop differ. Oligarchies and authoritarian military reformers are able to deploy only administrative instruments. They can achieve only limited productivity and are in no way conducive to dynamic or innovative administrative behaviour. The competitive interest oriented party regimes offer limited prospects for effective and purposeful modernising change. The dominant mass party regimes are handicapped by an over rigid doctrine. Though capable of mobilising vast human energies and resources, their operating techniques overload the administrative system and their resort to terror blocks communication, inhibits administrative initiative and affronts human dignity. To the advantage side the regime is relevant to the needs of many transitional societies undergoing rapid and radical change. It has a developmentally relevant doctrine, a purposeful leadership and capacity to mobilise and discipline widespread support and participation.

The utility of these regimes depends upon the stage of development of the society. This means, while the regimes differ in the degree of competitiveness, they maintain a humanistic commitment and a responsive relationship with the community. While they are able to provide dynamism, institutional stability suiting the needs of changing societies, their success might doom them over time, i.e., the party may lose its utility at a certain yet undefined point in the development process and may become unable to adapt itself to the problems of more complex and sophisticated societies. Each government in a transitional society is controlled by an identifiable elite. The behaviour of elites is influenced and regulated by their ideological commitments. Regimes in transitional societies may be classified into types according to the following criteria:

1. The purposefulness of their elites.

2. The relevance of their doctrine to the goals of nation-building and socio-economic development as determined by their scores on a series of doctrinal variables.

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3. Their style of action, particularly their capacity to create and deploy multiple instruments of communication and action. The regimes differ in their capacity to initiate, guide and sustain action leading to the goals of nation-building and socio-economic development. It is impossible to classify regime types operationally either for analytical or for predictive purposes.

The effectiveness of a regime, according to Esman, depends on numerous specific and environmental factors. Success under such diverse conditions cannot be correlated with any group of doctrinal variables or styles of action. The character of a regime is not relevant to success in development. Even if regimes can be meaningfully typed, the dominant mass party-type covers a wide range of experience. The competitive interest-oriented party-system is the most effective vehicle for political development, because it makes official action institutionally responsible and predictable, permits the free articulation of all relevant interests, develops habits of citizen participation and responsibility, and effectively maintains boundaries between polity, society, economy, and administration. The evolution of political systems into competitive interest-oriented party system is both desirable and inevitable path of political development.

Critical Appraisal

Esman has presented an action theory but it is incomplete and has yet to be proved. A number of researchable yet untested propositions are derived by him to identify some of the problems raise. Each one is paired with one or more alternative propositions so that major valuative and analytical issues may be highlighted to provide a conceptual base for a science of development administration. To give some illustrations, Esman gives a proposition that development or modernisation is a social process which can be influenced by human design in large measure. The counter proposition to this is that development is primarily a historical-evolutionary process which can be marginally influenced by purposeful effort. Progress towards the inter-related goals of nation-building and socio-economic progress depends on the performance of a group of tasks which are carried out through action programmes. It is a major concern of contemporary governments. A contrary proposition to it is that actions of governments are situationally determined, by the pressure of events and that behaviour of governing elites is more expedient than goal-oriented. One proposition is that developmental drive depends on the initiative and the sustained and purposeful guidance of public authority. The counter proposition to it is that drive for development comes from the society primarily, it comes from entrepreneurial initiative and other voluntary agencies. The function of government is to facilitate, liberate and protect these energies and permit them under a minimum restraint. Membership in the governing elites represents a shifting position of personal and institutional interests bound together by common doctrine or by common will to power. But according to a counter proposition, the concept of governing elite is meaningless. Each function and interest in the society has its particular elite, the members of which are constantly shifting and difficult to identify. Similarly, governing elites, it is said, set the goals and criteria of public policy, initiate and supervise the execution of programmes contributing to nation-building and socio-economic development goals, stimulate individual and group initiative and activity in the society, and discipline competing claims on the political system according to developmental criterion fixed by the regime. This proposition. is countered on moral grounds. Legitimate initiative for action flows primarily from organised interests or from the aggregate preferences of individuals within the society. The establishment of policy and the authorisation of programmed action should depend on the reconciliation of these interests and preferences in the political system. The effectiveness of governing elites in undertaking the tasks of development depends on their achieving some freedom to act independently of institutional controls. This enables them to initiate social experiments, concieve and implement long range plans and programmes, and achieve and maintain such autonomy by establishing mass consensus and confidence in their dedication to the interest of the common man or by using coercive sanctions, or by a judicious combination of both. The contrary proposition challenges both the value and the efficiency of autonomy

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of governing elites. It emphasises the self-seeking character of elites, the opportunity for abuse of autonomy, and the alienation of elites from the community when such autonomy is possible.

Conclusion

The basic orientation of development administration is ecological, i.e., public administration of any country cannot be understood without grasping the social setting in which it operates. Since all developing countries put new and increased demands on administration, the administrators are expected to possess intellectual and operational capabilities for effective decision making, nation building and socio-economic change. Institution building and guided change is a strategy of planned and guided social change particularly applicable in relatively stable structures. Esman believes that induced changes directly provided by the government are based on new knowledge and practices (technological) supported by efforts to modify values, roles, cultural definitions and by political changes in incentives and rewards. He takes a relatively extreme position in his stress on an unbalanced social growth strategy. He views bureaucracy as a 'powerful, indispensable and generally beneficient agency of public service especially under conditions of rapid change when social and economic progress depends in great measure on governmental performance.' This is the reason when he advocates a strategy which 'places higher priority on building its capabilities than containing its abuses'.

The perspective of development administration envisages three major classes of output programme, viz., those which attempt to induce behavioural changes among large, diffuse, low income clienteles changes in agricultural practices those which provide additional opportunities and resources to smaller roups of clients who are already motivated towards development pattern of behaviour (industrial promotion); and those which improve the effectiveness of development services provided by government

agencies (education and land development). All efforts at induced administrative change draw on technical, cultural and political methods of inducing change whether they involve the central government wide systems or any of the three classes of action programmes. The effective programmes of change involve combinations of all three methods, the class of change problem tends to determine the more effective emphasis.

Esman has presented a very thought provoking analysis of the politics of development administration. His inquiry is embryonic in character and propositions are considered crude and tentative. They indicate problem areas requiring research, but, to quote his own words, they are not reduced to verifiable hypothesis. Social and physical environment is a major such factors like geography, size, ethnic homogenity or diversity, resource endowments, stages of development, and colonial heritage. This may require the development of a topology of transitional societies and the empirical testing and refinement of each hypothesis for each societal type. All these propositions exclusively deal with transitional-societies and Esman makes no claim that they apply universally or in other environments.

LESSON 4

Principles of Administration

Dr. R. N. Mathur

Formerly Reader in Political Science

University of Delhi

In this lesson we shall discuss the classical approach to Public Administration, and study the principles of Administration with reference to Luther Gulick, L.F. Urwick and J.D. Mooney

Organization: Various Theories

Organisation may be defined as the arrangement of personnel for facilitating the accomplishment of some agreed purpose through allocation of functions and responsibilities. It is a group of individuals who are engaged in accomplishing a purpose commonly agreed upon. It is not simply a structural arrangement developed for the purpose of consciously held group objectives. It is also a human institution where members of the organization play an effective role in the running of the organization; in the words of Dimock “to try to deal with organization merely by framework and without considering the people who make it up and those for whom its services are intended would be wholly unrealistic”1(Dimock, Dimock & Kocning, Public Administration. New York, Revised Edition, 1959. p. 139.)

There are specific theories of organization which explain the nature and scope of organization and also the relationship which binds the members to the organization. They may be classified into four categories: (1) The Classical theory, (2) the Bureaucratic theory, (3) The Scientific Management theory, and (4) The Human Relations Approach theory. We may briefly refer to these theories in the net paragraphs but we propose to dwell at length with the classical theory with reference to its experiment by, Luther, Gulick, Urwick and Mooney.

The Bureaucratic theory is associated with the German Sociologist, Max Weber (1864-1920), who maintains that bureaucratic organization is the ideal type for attaining the goals of alt large states. It is superior to all other administrative organisations, because it has the following distinctive features, namely (1) Hierarchical type of organization in which each lower office is under a higher office; (2) Division of labour with specified sphere of competence legitimised as official duties ; (3) Rules for carrying out duties, are to be applied uniformly on all persons, (4) Impersonality: the official in contact with others has to act objectively, subject to informal orders and norms of conduct; (5) Officers to be selected on technical competence and merit and not on other considerations. This theory is criticised by R.K. Merton for its rigidity, inflexibility, and for its emphasis on means and not on ends2 (See lesson no 2 for the Max Weber theory.)

The exponent of the Scientific Management theory, Frederic W. Taylor, was of the view that both labour and management had common interests in increasing productivity and he believed that the better wages paid to the workers would motivate them to produce more. He was convinced that material awards to workers were closely related to their work efforts and that man was an appendage to the machine. He suggested that payment should be made to the workers on the basis of their output of work. Workers were, to be taught the best procedure of doing his work and his pay was to be tied to his output. Workers could be induced to produce the maximum physically possible as calculated by the time and motion engineering. This approach is criticised by the experiments of the Human Relation approach, especially Elton Mayo and other because it considered man as a pan of the machine. The Hawthorn Experiments (927-32) carried on by Elton Mayo established that non-economic and emotional features, were more important than economic factors in determining human behaviour.3(The Scientific Management theory will be discussed in the next lesson)

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The Classical Approach -- Gulick and Urwick are influenced by Taylor and Fayol; and they have developed their theory of organisation. This is known as the “Classical Theory”. The authors give too much importance to the structure of administration and little to the man in the organisation. Urwick remarks, “It is impossible for humanity to advance its knowledge of organisation unless the factor on structure is isolated from other considerations, however artificial such an isolation may appear to be”. Organisation is defined by Urwick as determining activities that are necessary for a purpose (or plan) and arranging them in groups which may be assigned to individuals. Organisation mainly is a designing process, and lack of design is illogical, crude, wasteful an inefficient.

Gulick and Urwick next try to find out the principles on which the organizational structure may be designed, Gulick enumerates ten of them: 1. Division of work or specialization, 2. Bases of departmental organisations, 3. Co-ordination through hierarchy, 4. Deliberate co-ordination, 5. Coordination through committees, 6. Decentralization, 7. Unity of command, 8. Staff and line, 9. Delegation, and 10. Span of control. Of these ten, Gulick lays special emphasis on division of work; to him division of work is the basis of organisation.

Urwick suggests the following eight principles: 1. The principle of objectives, 2. the principle of correspondence, 3. the principle of responsibility, 4. the scalar principle, 5. the principle of span of control, 6. the principle of specialization, 7. principle of co-ordination, and 8. the principle of definition. Later he incorporated the principles of Fayol, Mooney and Reiley, Taylor, Follet and of Graicunas, and thus he listed twenty-nine principles and other other sub-principles. These twenty nine principles are: investigation, forecasting, planning, appropriateness, organisation, co-ordination, order, command, control, co-ordination, authority, scalar process, assignment of functions, leadership, delegation, functional definition, determinative, appreciative, interpretative, general interests, centralization, staffing, spirit, selection and placement, rewards and sanctions, initiative, equity, discipline, and stability4. (Urwick The Elements of Administration, pp 118-123 (London, Sir lssac Pitman & Sons Ltd. 1947) L. Luther Gulick "Notes on the Theory of Organisation' in Luther Gulick and L. Urwick Papers on the Science of Administration NY Institute of Public Administration 1937.)

Gulick has also identified the functions of the executive. These are: Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. These functions are summarized in the expression POSDCORB.

Main Features of Luther Gulick

The classical theory is associated with Luther Gulick, Lyndon Urwick, J.D. Mooney and others. These writers hold that administration is technical in nature and carried on irrespective of the kind of work or the context in which it is done. It has well established principles which have universal applicability in all administrative situations.

Hierarchy- The first principle is the principle of hierarchy or scalar principle. Hierarchy consists of in the universal application of the superior-subordinate relationship through a number of levels of responsibility reaching from the top to the bottom of the administrative structure. In a hierarchical form of organization there is a single line of authority running from top to bottom and a return line of accountability running from bottom to top. The distribution of functions and responsibility is both horizontal and vertical. Vertical distribution creates levels like top management, middle level of management and lower level of management.

J.D. Mooney prefers to call the hierarchical principle as the scalar principle. A scale means a series of steps, usually graded. In organization it means the grading of duties, not according to different functions, but according to degrees of authority and corresponding responsibility. A scalar principle, according to J.D. Mooney, requires that the various units of organization have to be grouped at several

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levels in the form of a pyramid. The supreme authority in an organisation should be vested in one Individual and the base of the organization should be broad. The official in the administrative organisation bears responsibility to his superior and has the authority to give orders to his subordinates. The scalar principle is the chief means through which the various units of an organization are integrated. It facilitates commercial communication both upwards and downwards. As delegation of authority is permitted there is no concentration of work at one centre and many centres of decision-making are established in the organisation. This principle also helps in fixing the responsibility of each post in the organization.

Division of Work- The second principle of an administrative organization is division of work and its co-ordination. Division of work in an organization is done in accordance with the principle of division of labour and specialisation. Government work in a department is divided among several branches, divisions and units. According to Luther Gulick, if sub-division of work is inescapable, co-ordination becomes mandatory.5 This is secured by two ways: (1) by inter relating the sub-divisions of work by allotting them to men who are placed in the structure of authority, so that work may be co-ordinated by the order of the superiors to subordinates, reaching from the top to the bottom of the entire organizations; and (2) Secondly, development of singleness of purpose in the minds of those who are working together as a group, so that each worker will, of his own accord, fit his task into the whole with skill and enthusiasm.

Line and Staff- Another development in organisation, is the growth of specialists, professionals and technicians who dislike vertical relationship in organization. The concept of superior-subordinate hierarchical relationship comes under challenge and makes co-ordination difficult. Luther Gulick and Mooney are of the view that since the staff agencies exercise only advisory functions they, are simply extension of the personality of the Chief Executive and in case of clash of opinions at various levels coordination is effected at the top and so the principle of unity of command is not impaired.

Span of Control- Another principle advocated by Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick is limited span of control. This principle lays down that there should be limited number of subordinates or units of work that may be under the charge of an administrator. After all, there are limits to human capacity and if too many persons are put under the supervision of one official, supervision is likely to be ineffective. There is no agreement among scholars about determining the length of span of control. Some limit it to 3 persons, others put it at 7, and while others to 20 and so on. The general agreement however is that the shorter the span of control, the greater will be effective control of the supervisor over his subordinates. There are, however, dangers inherent in excessively limited span of control. It would mean detailed supervision of work of a few subordinates. It would also tend to stultify the capacity of the subordinates to work on their own. So there can be no rigid span of control. The exact span of control depends on variable factors like the personality of the supervisor, the age of the organization, and the calibre of the subordinates. The factor of the location of the place of the organization also affects the span of control. If the subordinates work in one building or are scattered over many buildings, the span of control is differently influenced.

The doctrine of span of control has come under revision during recent times. The increasing use of automation in administration, the information revolution and the growing role of the specialists are some factors responsible for change in this concept. Mechanical devices evolved for simplifying and expediting communication, curtailing delay in paper work have tended to extend span of control. Automation makes superfluous most of the clerical and rot-tine jobs and curtails paper work. The electronic data process machines store lot of information and relevant and accurate data for the use of administrators. Recently computers have been employed in big organizations and banks for this purpose.

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Mechanisation has also helped in reducing time and distance and facilitating speedy communication between the field and headquarters.

Department- Another principle advocated by Luther Gulick in his 'Essay on the Theory of Organisation' relates to the grouping of activities according to purpose, process, clientele, and place. According to him this was likely to enhance the efficient functioning of organisation. When an activity is described as functional the connotation is that of specialisation. According to Luther Gulik activities should be grouped into a few major departments each of which is concerned with a single general purpose-Public Health, Education etc. The question is whether general purpose departments should have process units of their own. In favour of process departments strong arguments for economy are advanced. The examples of Process departments are stenography services, medicine, finance, and engineering. Should a general purpose department be required to avail services of a central process unit or should it have its own physicians, accountants and engineers? The answer is that the determinations in this matter should be made upon the basis of studying the variables in the local situations. The advantages of economy realized by central process activities may be offset by the possibilities for co-ordination and accomplishment of mission if the purpose activities are allowed to have their own process units.6 (March & Herbert Simon, Organization (New York) 1958,) If we build up departments on the basis of clientele, that will lead to the setting up of Liliputain administration. The Machinery of Government Report 1918 has deprecated the setting up of such tiny units of administration. Sometimes departmental units are set up to serve the regional needs. However, even several units of administration cannot be self-sufficient and difficulties of co-ordination arise in centre-state administration.

Unity of Command- Another principle advocated by Luther Gulick is the principle of one-way authority. There is a single line of command running from top to bottom and a return line of responsibility running from bottom to top. Delegation of authority is not encouraged and even if delegated by the head of the organization, the latter would be held responsible for the exercise of authority by the delegates.

Centralization- Another principle which IOIIOWS from the former one is the principle of Centralization of decision-making. Centralization stands for concentration of authority at the top; decentralization denotes dispersal of authority among a number of individuals or units. Decentralization is to be distinguished from delegation. In decentralization the central authority directs itself of certain power which are given to the units and the latter become autonomous in the exercise of such powers. In delegation the local units are given specific functions by the Centre and they exercise these functions as agents of the centre. The classical approach upheld by Luther Gulick and Urwick discourages decentralization and favours centralization in decision-making. Decentralization is brought out only when certain safeguards are provided for in the administrative system: (1) Local units should report to not more than one Central agency; (2) Jurisdictional line is carefully drawn; (3) Procedures in the field establishment are standardised; (4) Local units should not take decisions in policy matters; (5) Opportunities should be given to local units to make suggestions to the Centre, and (6) The Central authorities should have effective machinery of control and supervision over the operations of the units.

Organization- Lastly, the classical theory as discussed above by Luther Gulick and Urwick regards organization as a formal structure set up in accordance with some clear-cut establishment principles.

The objective of the classical organization is to make maximum utilization of men and material for attaining speed, economy and efficiency in administration. Focus in the formal organization theory is not given on human beings as such but to their roles in the context of organizational objectives. Such an approach is atomistic because it sees the individual in isolation from fellowmen. It does not explain the

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dynamics of organizational behaviour. It treats the organization as a closed system, uninfluenced by external factors. It under estimates human behaviour and motivation. According to this approach the pattern of relationship of the members of the organization is one formally set-out in 'charts' or diagrams. The actual working of every organization is, however, not according to the formal plan designed by the management. Many times, a formal plan is incomplete. It provides a few instructions for the guidance of employees, in the vacuum that is left informal pattern of relationship develops.

Review of Luther Gulick and L. Urwick

Luther Gulick's theory of organization and principles of administration have been criticised by Herbert Simon in his book Administration Behavious. These principles according to him are not better than proverbs providing any meaningful guidelines lo scholars and practitioners of the subject. According to him, Luther Gulick's administrative theory formulating some principles of administrative theory regarding administrative efficiency have not been empirically tested and therefore has no validity. Specialization is not a condition of efficient administration, it is an inevitable characteristic of all group effort. Gulick's other principle of unity of command comes into clash with the principle of specialization the unity of command in Gulick's sense has never existed in any administrative organization. Taylor's suggestion of functional supervision is more sensible although Gulick says Taylor in saying this has committed an error. Gulick's formal theory of organisation with all its faults has made major contribution to administration. It has made notable role in stimulating production. This theory proved the principles of organization as evolved by Gulick and Urwick have been subjected to criticism. It is said that these principles do not possess 'universal truth' or universal validity, and as such cannot be applied1 to all situations. They appear in the nature of postulates of experienced men who have closely observed organizations at work and hence recommendations for action. L.D. White points out that the terms like line, staff and auxiliary agencies, hierarchy, authority and centralization, though useful, do not provide any guidance. For example, they do not explain whether an organization should be highly centralized or not, or what should be the duties of the auxiliary agencies, and also their authority. They are the working rules of conduct supported by wide experience. Herbert Simon, too, criticizes these .principles. He attacks them on the ground that they come in pairs: for every principle there is a contradictory principle. But there is nothing to indicate which is the proper one to apply. He illustrates his point by saying: the specialization increases efficiency, but it is not clarified whether this specialization is area specialization or functional specialization. Contradiction is also noted in the principle of specialization and the unity of command and span of control. Thus, Simon concludes that “the principles of administration are at best criteria for describing and diagnosing administrative situations.” These principles do not confront the theory with evidence.

The classical theory is also criticised for its neglect of the human element in organization. Human being is treated as an inert instrument incapable of individual contribution. This failure gave rise to the human relations movement and behavioral studies. The classical theory also lacks the motivational assumptions. Though at places the theory refers to human- behaviour, it takes into account only the rational behaviour of the human being.

Gulick and Urwick have shown concern only for the formal organization, and have neglected the informal.

The dynamic nature of administration has not received due attention by the classical school writers. Alferd Diamont says that most of the conceptual constraints in organization have a steady ‘state bias’. Both the organization and the organizational goods undergo a constant change as a result of the economic, social or political stimuli. It has not received adequate treatment by the classical theorists. Simon and March point out important limitations to the classical theory: (1) improper motivational assumptions, (2) neglect of the role of intra-organization conflict of interests in defining limits or

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organisational behaviour, (3) no consideration to constrains placed on human being, his limitations .as a complex information processing system, (4) no cognition in the task identification and classification, and (5) programme, evaluation has received little attention.

James D. mooney

James D. Mooney, a welt known authority on organizations, was a high executive of the General Motors and a member of its board of directors for many years. He is the author of the Principle of Organization (Harper and Brothers, Cambridge, 1948). In the book The Principles of Organization, Mooney and Reiley have enumerated the following principles of organization: (1) The Coordinative Principles,. (?) The Scalar Principle (or the Hierarchical Principle, (3) The functional Principle (or the division or labour), and (4) The Staff and Line Principle.

(1) The Coordinative Principle provides unity of action in the pursuit of a common purpose. It embodies the need for authority and leadership. Coordination comes about not only through authority and leadership but through the manipulation of hierarchy and on the unifying forces of doctrine, spirit and morale.

(2) The Scalar Principle is also called hierarchical principle. This principle refers to vertical division of authority and definite assignment of duties to organization units. .

(3) The functional principle is really the concept of specialization. There is a distinct difference in the nature of duties of an officer of an infantry and an officer if artilliary.

(4) In Staff and line, the line represents authority and the staff advice and ideas. A unified rather than divisive interpretation of staff and line is counselled.

The theory enunciated by Mooney and Reiley views organization as suggestive, considering human beings who run it as mere cogs. The principles of organization propounded by James Mooney, according to him, had universal applicability in all administrative situations.

In this matter he was in agreement with the viewpoint of Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick. Luther Gulick, Urwick and Mooney are earlier exponents of Management Science. They addressed themselves to the task of discovering the basis on which division of work in an organization is to be carried out, and devised methods by which coordination and control is exercised over personnel so that work in the organization is done with speed and efficiency. Luther Gulick in his Paper on the Science of Administration summed up the principle of organisation in the words 'POSDCORB', each alphabet of which stands for a particular function, i.e.. Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. Mooney's four principles of organization were after those enunciated by Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick. The four principles referred to above stress the point that organization is a formal structure of authority in which a well-defined plan is spelled out and requisite personnel is selected for carrying out the pre-conceived plan. The principles laid down by these writers constitute the elementary principles of management which are applicable in all administrative situation, whether in the public or private.

Their theories have certain limitations, as they give exaggerated importance to formal organizational structure in comparison with that of informal relationships within the organization and they hold a narrow view of individual motivation. However, it may be said that notwithstanding these defects the formal structure of organization has importance of its own.

Before concluding this lesson it will be pertinent to explain the difference between the classical approach to management from the structuralists approach, because both the approaches are sometimes confounded. The classical theorists used deductive reasoning to prescribe a conceptually clear organizational design and description of how each person within the organization should behave. The

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structuralists, on the other hand, examine existing organizations and use inductive reasoning to generalise about the true-nature of organization. Their descriptive approach focusses on what organizations are really like rather than what they should be like. The structuralists consider an organization a large, complex, social unit in which many social units interact. These groups share some common interests but also have some incompatible interest. The various groups might cooperate in some spheres and compete in others. The two groups within the organization whose interests frequently come into conflict are management and the workers.7

SUGGESTED READING

1. Luther Gulick and Lyndon Urwick (ed), Notes on the "Theory of Organization" (New York: Institute of Public Administration, 19S4)

2. James D. Mooney, The Principles of Organization (New York: Harper and Row: 1970).

3. For a discussion of the main principles of classical form of organization and their criticism consult John M. Pfiffner and Frank P. Sherwood, Administrative Organization, Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, 1964. (Chapter 4-An Introduction of Formal Organization Theory pp. 52-73.)

LESSON 5

The Theory of Scientific Management

Dr. R.N. Mathur.

Reader in Political Science (RETD.)

The evolution of management science emerged with the growth of industrialism and factory system in the United States. In the earlier days of capitalism the typical capitalist was himself his own manager. He owned his factory and managed his own enterprise. However, with the growth of large scale public corporations and technological development of modem industry the functions of the management have become more distinctive as the capitalism who formerly performed the functions of management withdrew from management capital. In this lesson we will discuss the classical theory of Scientific Management with reference to Frederick Taylor and Henry Fayol.

Frederick Taylor

During the nineteenth century conditions of work in the factories were totally unplanned and management was hardly competent to impart knowledge to the workers about the techniques of work. It is against this background that Frederick Taylor (1856-1915), an engineer, formulated a systematic theory of scientific management to be applied in industrial concerns in the interest of higher industrial efficiency. Taylor pointed out that managers instead of being whip men, would have to develop a new philosophy and approach to management. They would have to develop a broader, more comprehensive view in order to see their job as incorporating the elements of planning, organizing and controlling.

Taylor developed his ideas of scientific management gradually while working in different firms. While working at Midrale Steel Company Plants as Chief Engineer he noticed some of the shortcomings in factory operations. He saw that (1) management had no clear concept of worker-management responsibilities; (2) that no effective work standards were applied there; (3) that no incentive was given to worker to improve his performance; (4) that systematic coercion was applied on workers in their work ; (5) that managerial decisions were based on bunch institution or rule of thumb; (6) No overall studies were made to incorporate a total-flow concept of work among the departments, and that workers were inaptly placed at tasks for which they had no ability or aptitude; and finally (7) the management apparently ignored the truth that excellence in performance and operations should be suitably rewarded to both management and worker.

Taylor based his managerial system on his own production-line time studies. Instead of relying on traditional work methods, Taylor analysed and timed steel workers' movement on a series of jobs. He thereby established how many workers should be able to do with the equipment and material at hand. He broke each down into its components and designed the quickest and best methods of operation for each part of the job.

In 1893 Taylor worked as a private consulting management engineer in Simonds Rolling Machine Company. The task was inspection of the balls used in bicycle ball bearings by 120 workers. The task proved tedious and time consuming to the employees. Taylor made major changes in the work. He first studied and-timed the movement of the best workers. Secondly, he trained the rest in the method of their highly skilled co-workers and then transferred or laid off the poor performers. He also introduced rest periods during the work day, along with his differential pay-rate system. The results proved impressive. Expenses were reduced, productivity, quality, earnings and workers, —morale went up.

In 1898 Taylor was engaged as a consultant by Bethlehem Steel Company to inspect the work of unloading and loading material from railcars. Complaint was made to Taylor that workers were slow in

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their work and were nor willing to work faster. Taylor and his co-workers studied and timed the operations of unloading and loading the cars. Taylor concluded that with frequent rest period each man could handle about 48 tons a day as against 121/2 tons done by the workers. He fixed a piece-rate wage, that, would be paid to each worker; i.e., 1.85 dollars a day if he met the standard of 471/2 tons fixed by him. The workers responded favourably to Taylor to avail (he incentive wage.

Philosophy behind Frederick Taylor's Techniques: Frederick Taylor outlined his philosophy of scientific management in his two books Shop Management and Principles of Scientific Management. This rested on four basic principles: (1) Development of a true science of management, and that, the best method for performing each task could be determined. (2) Scientific selection of workers, so that each worker could be given responsibility for the tasks for which he or she was best suited. (3) Scientific education and development of the worker; and (4) Intimate, friendly cooperation between management workers.

These principles, Taylor pointed out, could succeed only on complete mental revolution on the part of management and labour, forth of these were required to increase production. By so doing, profits would increase to an extent that managers and labour would be mutually benefitted. Taylor's principles were scientific because they were based on experimentations in and keen observation of the work situations and the managerial dynamics. Taylor's ideas covered a wider sphere. They related to systems application, personnel management, cooperation between labour and management, functional organization, time and motion study and techniques of planning.

Taylor's main objective was increased labour productivity as he proposed concrete measures for a rational utilization of workman's labour and the means of production. He insisted a strict regimentation of the utilization of materials and instruments, standardisation of implements and operations, the strict accounting of labour time, the sub of work process, by dividing them into their components and measurement of each with a stop-watch (Time study), the establishment of control over every operation, the introduction of differential wages and so on. Taylor was of the view that an employee was motivated by the payment of higher wages. He suggested that payment should be made to the worker on the basis of higher output of work. Various methods of measuring workers' output were devised. According to him the payment should be fixed on the basis of merit of performance and not on any other criteria. He discouraged the practice of monthly salaries and preferred piece-rate wages in which pay was directly determined on the basis of actual amount of the work done.

Taylor's Contribution

Taylor's ideas had revolutionary effect not only in the U.S.A. but throughout the world, including the Soviet Union. Taylor viewed man as an adjunct of machine. The individual in his view did not understand the subtleties of the industrial organization and he should therefore adjust himself to the requirements of the management. He reduced worker to a state of dependency. The worker was required to work to the limit of his physical capacity and he was to be given a high wage in return. The management was to determine One best way' of doing the work and the worker has not to bother for it. Taylor's assumption was that individual worker was isolated from his social environments.

Criticism of Taylor

Taylor has been rejected both by the organized labour and the management. The labour leaders consider Taylorism as destroying trade unionism and also the principle of collective bargaining. It is a menace as it causes continuous increase in unemployment. Taylor, to them, is more interested in the mechanical aspect of the work. Hoxie criticises Taylor's approach to scientific management as unconcerned with the human aspect of production. He also holds the basic ideals of scientific management as incompatible with labour unionism.

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Taylor is also criticised by the managers, in particular for his stand on training by highly trained experts.

Oliver Sheldon, Marry Parker Follett, Sam Sewisohn, Elton Mayo and many others have criticised Taylor saying that his scientific management is impersonal, and underemphasizes the human factor. Elton Mayo holds that the structural arrangements of the organization are not important for increasing productivity and efficiency; it is the emotional altitude of the worker towards his work and colleagues. Work is an essential part in man's life, since it is that aspect of life which gives him status and binds him to the society. When they do not like it the fault lies in the psychological and social condition of the job, rattier than the worker". (J.A.C. Brown The Social Psychology of Industry, Pelican 1954)

Taylor does not properly understand the anatomy of work. He lays much emphasis in minute division of work and specialization. It is criticised on several grounds. Firstly, the work gets depersonalized, the worker becomes a mere cog in the machine, the relations between the worker and the manager are remote and the worker has no sense of participation; the worker has little opportunity to show his skill and ability. Secondly, it may lead to automation of the worker with physiological and neurological consequences. The organization becomes a piece of poor engineering. Thirdly, Taylor's division of work into planning and executive divisions is criticised. In such a situation it is difficult to develop a proper team spirit. It is also argued that the principle of minute sub-division of work is subject to the law of diminishing return.

The criticism of Taylor is summarised in these words: First, he confuses die principle of analysis with the principle of action. Second, planning and doing are separate aspects of the same job, they cannot be totally divorced.

The Behaviouralists criticise Taylor that he sacrifices the initiative of the worker, his individual freedom and use of his intelligence and responsibility. Simon describes the scientific management as physiological organisation theory.

Henry Fayol

Another exponent of the Scientific Management movement was Henry Fayol. He was a French engineer. His famous work, is General and Industrial Management (1916). He was appointed Manage! of a mining company in France, which was on the verge of bankruptcy (1880), but by the, time he retired in 1918 it become one of the most powerful French concerns. He attributed the success of his company to the consistent and systematic utilization in management of a series of simple but extremely effective and universally applicable principles.

Fayol maintains strongly that any valid theory of management cannot be limited to business but must be equally applicable to all forms of human endeavour. He further adds that all undertakings require some degree of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Since management is all-pervasive, Fayol suggests that a general knowledge of management would benefit everyone and this subject should be taught in schools and universities. He emphasises that the managerial activity deserves the utmost attention of every one. It is made up of planning, organizing commanding, coordinating and controlling.

Fayol further eleborates on each of these components. Planning consists of examining to future and drawing up a plan of action. Organising consists of a dual structure of human and material to achieve the objective of the undertaking. The organiser (Manager), according to Henry-Fayol, has to discharge sixteen managerial duties:

(1) Insure that the plan is judiciously prepared and strictly executed,

(2) To see that human and material organisation is consistent with the objectives, resources, and requirements of the concern,

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(4) Harmonise activities and co-ordinate efforts,

(5) Formulate clear, distinct, precise decisions,

(6) Arrange for efficient selection of personnel,

(7) Define duties clearly,

(8) Encourage initiative and responsibility,

(9) Provide fair and suitable recompense for services rendered,

(10) Make use of sanctions against faults and errors,

(11) Ensure maintenance of discipline,

(12) See that individual interests are subordinated to genera! interests,

(13) Pay attention to the unity of command,

(14) Supervise both human and material order,

(15) Maintain control over everything, and

(16) Fight against excessive regulations, red tap and paper control.

Fayol explains that Commanding implies maintaining activity among the personnel of the organization.

The manager should possess thorough knowledge of his personnel. He should set a good example and eliminate the incompetent workers. He should be well versed with the agreements binding the business and its employees. He should conduct periodical audits of the organisation and maintain organisation charts. He should hold conferences to bring together his chief assistants to draw attention to directions and efforts.

Co-ordinating, according to Fayol, implies binding together, unifying and harmonising all activity and efforts.

Fayol also explains that the purpose of controlling was to ensure that everything is accomplisned in conformity with the established plan and command.

The ability of a manager depends on his position in the hierarchy of the organization. If a person is doing a lower-level job he needs specific technical skill and very little managerial ability. When he moves up to a higher level of authority, managerial ability is much more required for him than more specific skill. Managerial ability is also relative to the size of an organization. We need a relatively greater measure of managerial ability in a big business organization than in a small-sized firm. Fayol suggests formal managerial training to be imparted in schools for prospective managers.

Principle of Management- Henry Fayol completed his net work of managerial theory by stating that the management to be effective should be founded on the following fourteen principles:1(Henry fayol, Industrial and General Administration (General International Management Institute).) (1) Division of work; (2) Authority and responsibility; (3) Discipline; (4) Unity of command; (5) Unity of direction; (6) Subordination of individual interest to the general interest; (7) Remuneration (fair and reasonable reward of effort), (8) Centralisation; (9) Scalar /chain (line of authority), (10) Order (A place for every one, and everyone in his place), (11) Equity, (12) Stability of tenure of personnel; (13) Initiative, and (14) Esprit de' corps.

These principles do not need any elaboration. Of all these principles, Fayol greatly emphaises the importance of Unity of Command, stating that each individual, whether manager or labourer, should have one and only one boss. He takes Taylor to task for his idea of functional foremanship, whereby each worker may have as many as eight bosses. Henry Fayol is of the view that mere is nothing of rigidness or absoluteness in these principles. They are flexible and can be adopted to meet the changing needs and circumstances. Henry Fayol's theory of management is comprehensive and all the principles are all based on his practical experience.

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Contribution of Henry Fayol to Management Theory- Henry Fayol has made a significant contribution to management thought. He points out that management is a separate body of knowledge and is applicable to all forms of group activity. He is first to suggest that management curricula be introduced, and taught in schools and universities. He displays logical thinking and foresight in his management theory.

His influence on the thinking in France and many other European countries has been equal to that of Frederick Taylor although they differed in their approach. Taylor concerned himself primarily with the worker level and the technical aspect of production, concentrated on management, from the top down, emphasising managerial ability and the application of sound managerial principles and techniques to all organization.

Fayol's approach to organization theory is more flexible than that of Frederic Taylor. Taylor's scientific management is concerned with organizational efficiency interpreted only in mechanistic terms. He views man as an adjunct of machine. Taylor considers that administrative activity is the privilege of the management and the worker is a dependent variable. Fayol, on the other hand, feels that administrative activity is not confined to a privileged few, but permits the entire organization. Taylor does not allow the worker to participate in administration. Fayol, on the other hand, is of the view that workers can participate in the administrative activity to some extent. He thinks that as one goes up the ascending order of organization, responsibility increases and vice-versa.

Taylor believes in the theory of unity of command but modifies his stand by reconciling it with the principle of functional specialization. According to him a worker can be subjected to the supervision and control of eight functional foremen. Henry Fayol criticises Taylor for undermining the principle of unity of command, according to which one worker receives order from one boss only.

Finally, Fayol points out that the principles of management are not to be applied with rigidity. They have flexibility and can be adjusted to changing needs of human beings. It would appear from this that Fayol does not ignore human aspect of the individual in a sense which is done by Taylor.

Criticism of Scientific Management Theory

Although Taylor's methods led to dramatic increases in productivity and to higher pay in a number of instances, workers and unions became uncomfortable with Taylor's approach. They feared that working harder or faster would exhaust whatever work was available and bring about more lay-off. Some organizations following Taylor's approach laid off workers. Increasing number of workers became convinced that they would lose their jobs if Taylor’s methods were adopted.

Scientific Management theorists are also criticised for their interpretation of human behaviour. It is pointed out that people are completely rational, that they are motivated primarily by a desire for gain and act in a manner best suited to satisfy their economic and physical needs. Taylor and his followers ignore the social needs of the workers as members of group and do not consider the tension created when these needs arc frustrated. They assume that as rational people, workers would do more work on an incentive wage to earn more money. This assumption has become inappropriate for modern managers today. The Hawthorne Experiments (1927-82), a research in group dynamics rejected the over-simplified notion that 'economic incentive' largely explains employees, behaviour in the organization. Scientific Management predicts that better illumination would increase production. The Hawthorne experiment disproved this and showed that there was no relation between the two variables. The wiring room experiment involving the wiring of switch boards disproved the assumption made by Scientific Management theory that piece-rate wage system led to increase in production! It on the other hand, proved that non-economic rewards played a central role in determining the output of production. The experiment, established that organisational efficiency was not determined by physical capacity of the workers but by social norms.

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Another factor which Scientific Management theorists ignored was “Job Satisfaction”. It has been observed that workers go out on strike not only on the question of salary or economic earnings but on the question of job conditions also.

This Scientific Management Theory which proved so successful in the generation is out of date in the present changed world. Taylor's view that Job is separable from man has dehumanising effect on the organisation. Social scientists all over the world have rejected this approach and are united by their common revulsion from the concept of man, the worker, as a mere commodity. Their positive view is that workers are human beings with the right to work and live with dignity. The Hawthorne Experiments, referred to above, prove that motivation1 cannot be engineered and the piece-rate wage incentive cannot improve productivity unless workers are allowed to work in a social environment favourable to them.

Summary (Lessons 4 and 5)

Although Taylor's work provided the framework for much of the original thought regarding the function of management, it was primarily directed toward those management activities normally associated with first-line supervision and other lower-level management positions. Not until the late 1930s did attention begin to focus on management activities normally associated with upper administrative levels. It was at about this time, for example, that the work of Henry Fayol, a French industrialist, was first published in the English language and began to appear in the United States, Fayol and other members of what was to be called the “functional” school of management, including James D. Mooney and A.C. Reiley, Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick, Ralph C. Davis, and Harold Koontz and Gryil O' Donneli, provided the impetus for a new approach to the management process. This approach emphasized the administrative activities of a manger as they were performed at all levels in the organization. Their primary focus was on developing a list of functions that must necessarily be performed as part of the overall administrative process. Although the exact number of functions to be performed will vary from author to author, those of planning, organizing and controlling are considered to be classic, and in general they will be found in the writings of all members of this school of thought. It was the objective of these writers to examine the organisation as a separate entity, to analyse the basic functions a manager must perform, and from these to develop a series of principles that could be utilized to guide management behaviour in all organizational situations. These principles provided direction for managers in areas such as authority and responsibility relationships, line and staff organisation, business policies, span of control, leadership, and division of labour. Following is a representative listing of management principles drawn from the writings of several well-known thinkers in this area:

1. Clear lines of authority must run from top to bottom in the organization,

2. No one in the organization report to more than one line supervisor,

3. The responsibility and authority of each supervisor should be clearly defined in writing,

4. Responsibility should always be coupled with corresponding authority,

5. The responsibility of higher authority for the acts of its subordinates is absolute,

6. Authority should be delegated as far down the line as possible,

7. The number of levels of authority should be kept at a minimum,

8. The work of every person in the organization should be confined as far as possible to the performance of a single leading function.

9. Whenever possible, line functions should be separated from staff functions, and adequate emphasis should be placed on important staff activities,

10. There is a limit to the number of positions that can be coordinated by a single executive.

11. The organization should be flexible, so that it can be adjusted to changing conditions, and

12. The organization should be kept as simple as possible.

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It is generally advocated by members of this School of thought that these principles have application to all forms of organization in all environments. This being the case,, they believe that it would be possible for a manager to improve the effectiveness of his organization by a conscientious application of these principles. Several writers of this period do however, discuss the need to give adequate consideration to each situation when applying these principles to a given organization.

This school of thought has had a most significant effect on management practice, for it represents the first major attempt to develop and apply guidelines to be utilised in the administration of all levels of the organization. It creates a body of knowledge that can be studied and then applied to the business organization so as to bring about a more effective and efficient utlization of resources.

Although this school of thought has been severely criticized in recent years because it tends to disregard the human element within the organization, it still represents a major milestone in the development of a systemized body of knowledge regarding the practice of management. The contributions of administrative and functional management are to: (a) Focus attention of administration and upper levels of management within the organization; develop a series of “functions” that must be performed by every manager within an organization (planning, organizing, controlling), and (b) Develop a series of “principles” believed to have application to all organizations (unity of command, span of control, delegation of authority, division of labour, etc.).

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Claudes, George Jr. The History of Management Thought (Prentice Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, 1968, New York) pp. 79-85 and pp. 86-99.

2. James A,F. Stoner, Management (Prentice Hall Inc. Engtewood Cliffs, New Jersey 1978), pp. 33-43.

3. Edggar F. Hass & James L. Bariditch, Behaviour in Organizations, (Addison-Wesley Publishing Coy., 1977), pp. 251-273.

4. Frederick Taylor (J) Scientific Management, (New York, Harper and Brother, 1947),

(2) Shop Management, (New York, Happer, 1947)

5. Henry Fayol, General and Industrial Management, (London, Pitman Co. 1949)

LESSON 6

The Human Relations Doctrine

Dr. O.P. Minocha Professor, UP A

In this lesson we shall study the human relations, approach to public administration with reference to Elton Mayo. In a previous lesson we studied that in the early part of the twentieth century Frederick W. Taylor and other followers of the scientific management school looked at the organisation from a highly mechanistic view and saw the employees as rational, profit maximizing element of the organization. In the last few decades since the end of world war II, we have seen profound technological and social change. These forces have affected the evolution of organization theory. New knowledge has come from conceptualization and empirical research in a number of related disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, mathematics, statistics and industrial engineering. Though it is difficult to summarize the scientific research carried on in these disciplines and their impact on the organization theory, it is clear that two broad and fundamental categories have emerged: (1) The behaviour sciences which emphasize the psycho-social system and the human aspect of administration; and (2) the administrative sciences which emphasize quantification, mathematical and the application of computer technology.

The Behavioural Approach

Many forces both within the organization and in the external environment have stimulated change in theory and approaches to administration. Most of the organisations have had an unparallelled increase in its size and complexity, specialization .within the organization has increased. Much has been written about the human consequences of the socio-technical changes brought on by advancing industrialization. Emil Durkheim (1930) believed that the rapid industrialization has broken down the solidaire within social groups. Family and community relationships have been destroyed. The work organization has become an important substitute for the traditional system of social interaction and psychological attachments which people had earlier in the pre-industrial societies. Increased genera! education levels provided employees with more intellectual skill and required new inducements to secure effective participation in the administration. Apart from the economic needs, many other social and emotional needs raised new levels of aspirations. Unionisation; especially after 1930, raised the demand for collective decisions and action. All these factors forced modifications in the old “classical” theory of organization (The classical theory is discussed in lesson 4)

In the study of organizations the behavioural approach emphasizes on the psycho-social system with primary consideration of the human components. It is concerned with studying organization in the real world and less interested in establishing normative models. They have used an open system and have considered many variable which were excluded by the ‘classical’ thinkers. As against emphasis on structure and task, the behaviour approach is concerned with human factor and the way employees behave in actual organisations. The method employed by this school of thought has been the empirical investigation into the interaction and cooperation between employees individually and collectively.

The behaviour approach has gained some respectability during the recent years because of the empirical research. This approach emphasizes the need for insights into human behaviour over the whole specturm of man’s activities. As a field of study it must satisfy two basic criteria: (1) it must deal with human behaviour, and (2) it must use “scientific” approach. The scientific aim is to establish generalizations about human behaviour which are supported by empirical evidence collected in an impersonal and objective way.

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Human Relations' Approach

This school of thought holds that every person is different and is influenced to a large extent by the work group and social factors around him. This behavioural approach contributed a lot to the organization theory and has given rise to a new school of thought, namely, “human relations”. This school concentrates on the human aspect of administration and believes that when people work together to accomplish objectives “people should understand people”.

The writers and scholars have focused on the individual and his or her motivations and relationships with others. They are also concerned with behaviour of the people in a group. Group relations, group standards, the problems of conflict and co-operation, communication barriers, informal organization and the like are the behaviour elements which have been introduced in an integrated form into the administrative theory.

The new intellectual input has been provided by a large number of researchers, philosophers and practitioners belonging to diverse fields making it truly an interdisciplinary approach. These contributions have added to our knowledge and understanding, but at the same time have increased the problem of integration of all findings to have a clear idea about the operation of the organisations.

According 10 the human relationship protagonists the worker is not an isolated, unrelated individual animal. He has his own norms, values and holds himself to an informal group in a work situation. This group exerts its influence on productivity. Membership in the group is prized for more than any reward management could offer with the possible exception of employment itself. Acceptance by the group is the key motivator. The human relationship has now moved on to “participative management”'.

This has replaced the “authoritarian” system of control and leadership developed by the “classic” school. The “human relations” school advocates the view that man desires “first a method of living in social relationship with other people, and second, as part of this, an economic function for and of value to the group”. This school of thought stresses on the informal factors in organization's activity. The ideologists of this school focus attention on the study of group relations and have attempted to suggest ways of resolving the inter group contradictions in an organization. In short, according to its adherents the “human relations” concept may be reduced to three propositions: (1) man is a 'social animal', (2) a rigid hierarchy of subordination, -a formulation of organizational process- is incompatiable with human nature, and (3) the solving of man's problem is a matter for the management of the organization.

Besides, Elton M. Mayo and Fritz J. Roethlisberger, D. McGregor, Chirs Argyris and Rensis Likest are the other notable representatives of the human relation school of administrative thought.1(We shall be studing MoGregor and Chris Argyris in subsequent lessons)

Contribution of Elton Mayo

Elton Mayo (1880-1949) was trained as a medical student but he soon abandoned it to follow his interests in psychology and philosophy. An Australian by birth, he went to the United States and joined the staff of Harvard University, eventually becoming Professor of Industrial Research at Harvard Graduate School of Business Studies. He was primarily interested in the people in the organizations. His two most widely read books are: The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1933), and The Social Problem of an Industrial Civilization (1949)

The emergence of human relations doctrine is linked with Elton Mayo. He is known for his research in the field of the “sociology of industrial relations” and for his experiments widely known as ‘Hawthorne Studies’. According to Elton Mayo the determination of optimum working conditions for the human being is left largely to dogma and tradition, guess or quasi-philosophical argument. In modern age scale industry the three persistent problems of management are:

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1. The application of science and technical skill to some material good or product,

2. The systematic ordering of operations; and

3. The organisation of teamwork, that is, of sustained cooperation.

Mayo is of the view that the last aspect must take account of the need for continual reorganization of teamwork as operating conditions are changed in an adaptive society. This aspect is almost wholly neglected and this is the aspect which makes an organisation efficient.

The Hawthorne Studies

It was in 1926 that a special department of industrial relations was set up at the Harvard University. In 1927 under the direction of Elton Mayo an extensive investigation was started at the Hawthorne" Plant, near Chicago, of the Western Electric Company. The main aim of these on the spot experiments was initially to examine the affects of fatigue on worker. Later on it was extended to study the social organisation within work groups. It took nearly five years before the project was finished. During this time Eritz J. Roetnlisberger acted as research assistant to Mayo. Mayo's main conclusion was that psychological and social, rather than material factors, affect the growth of productivity.

The first phase of the Hawthorne Studies was an experiment involving five girls engaged on electrical assembly testing. The researchers separated the girls from the rest of the labour force, placed them in a special room which came to be known as the Relay Assembly Test Room, A supervisor was asked to keep records and maintain friendly atmosphere with the girls. Over a period of one and half year various improvements were introduced in the working environment and conditions. The working hours reduced from 48 hours to 42 hours and rest periods were increased.

As these studies continued it was found that regardless of variations in these conditions, production increased. Even more astounding, production continued to increase even after the girls were returned to the original conditions with longer working days, without rest pauses and with poor surroundings. Mayo and his group hypothesised that the increased production was result of changed social situations of the workers, modification in their motivation and satisfactions and differing pattern of supervision.

This experiment disproved the traditional view of the scientific management, which held that physical and physiological variables combined with strong economic incentives were the primary factors influencing output and productivity. Social and psychological factors were seen to be more important in determining worker satisfaction and productivity.

This led to the second stage of Hawthorne studies in which over 21,000 people were interviewed during a period of three years. Although this phase of the programme did not lead to a quantifiable result, it did indicate the importance of human and social factors in the total work situation. Some generalization from this programme were:

1. A complaint is not necessarily an objective recital of facts, it is a symptom of personal

disturbance the cause of which may be deep seated.

2. Objects, persons and events are carriers of social meanings. They become related to employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction only as the employee comes to view them from his personal situation.

3. The personnel situation of the worker is a configuration of relationships composed of a

personal reference involving sentiments, desires, and interests of that person and a social

reference constituting the person's social past and his present interpersonal relations.

4. The position or status of the worker in the company is a reference from which the worker assigns meaning and value to the events, objects, and features of his environments, such hours of work, wages etc.

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5. The social organisation of the company represents a system of values from which the worker derives satisfaction or dissatisfaction according to his conception of his social status and expected social rewards.

6. The social demands of the worker are influenced by social experiences in groups both inside and outside the work plant.

The third and last phase in the Hawthorne Studies consisted of an investigation into the work practice of a non-experimental group, consisting of fourteen men and four supervisors for a period of six months. These employees were in the Bank Wiring Observation Room. The operatives were under constant supervision and their output was carefully recorded. It was soon clear that they were restricting their output despite an individually based incentive scheme. It revealed that there was a definite code of conduct operating among these employees. The informal work group established production and output norms which were often in conflict with those set forth by management. In spite of the fact that the workers were paid on a group piecework incentive plan, each worker restricted output, thereby reducing possible earnings. The work group determined the output of individual workers, indicating that production was more determined by social rather than aptitude and physiological factors. The group also established many other types of social norms in addition to output standards. These norms set forth various roles for individual workers. The experiment indicated the strength of informal social organisation which was based upon senliments and feelings, status and roles and social interactions which were often far removed from the formal organizational policies and procedures.

The results of the Hawthorne Studies clearly demonstrated that some of the basic premises of the classical theory of management were untenable. According to Elton Mayo, “man is a uniquely social animal who can achieve complete freedom only by fully submerging himself in the group”. He is of the view that industrialisation destroys cultural traditions, produces social disorganisation. and unhappy individuals. Therefore, to bring social stability should be leadership which is “people oriented” rather than “production oriented”. According to Mayo, “if our social skills (that is, our ability to secure cooperation between people) had advanced step by step with our technical skills, there would not have been another European War.” The work per se, the production process itself, and the purely physical demands made upon it according to Mayo are relatively less important than the worker's social and psychological attitudes. Therefore, all organisational problems should be considered in the light of human relations, taking into account social and psychological factors.

Mayo was fully convinced, that the conflict between man and the organisation could be fully resolved if the social and psychological needs of the workers were satisfied. The drive for efficiency had to be backed up by an understanding of the human factor at work. All this have had a shattering impact on the then existing thinking about organisation and administration, especially to the traditional hypothesis of economic theory which considered society to be made up of individuals who were trying to maximize self interest. Mayo called for modifications in this approach by giving greater recognition to human values.

Mayo along with his colleagues Roethlisberger and Whitehead developed many concepts about human behaviour in an organisation, such as:

1. The business organisation is a social system as well as a technical-economic system. The social system defines individual roles and establishes norms which may be at variation with those of the formal organization.

2. The individual is motivated not only by economic incentives but also by diverse social and psychological factors. This behaviour is effected by feelings, sentiments, and attitudes.

3. The informal work group became a dominant unit of consideration. The group has an important role in determining the attitudes and performance of individual workers.

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4. Leadership patterns based upon the formal structure and authority of position in the organization under the traditional view should be modified substantially in order to consider psycho-social factors. The human relationists emphasized democratic rather than “authoritarian” leadership patterns.

5. The human relations school generally associated worker satisfaction with productivity and emphasized that increasing satisfaction would lead to increased effectiveness.

6. It is important to develop effective communication channels between the various levels in the hierarchy that allow the exchange of information. Thus “participation” becomes an important approach of the human relations movement.

7. Management requires effective social skills as well as technical skills.

8. Participants can be motivated in the organization by fulfilling certain social- psychological needs.

Critical Appraisal

Elton Mayo's emphasis on human relation in an organisation had a major impact upon administrative thought. His ‘Hawthorne studies’ set the foundations for the later investigation in behaviour researches. His writings have influenced the later behavioural scientists and provided greater insights for organisation theory and administrative practices. Within ten years of Mayo's findings every practitioner in personnel management or human relations started reconsidering his contention. It gave a new role to management in dealing with employees, and a new concept of social order based on individual cooperative attitude and system of coordination and communication. New concepts like group dynamics, sensitivity training, etc have been added to the literature on administrative theory. All these approaches have created new work situation and have helped in maximising productivity of an organisation. These new ways of raising labour productivity are getting greater recognitions.

However, there has been substantial dissent. Some of the findings of Elton Mayo have been thoroughly criticised and some other have become subject of continued intense debate. As the traditional theorists over emphasised the formal, technical and structural aspects, the human relations and the psycho-social aspects have been overstressed by Elton Mayo. Viewing human relations in a closed system and not considering economic, political and other environmental forces have been criticised. Inadequate consideration of the role of union in the industrial society has also become a point of criticism. Mayo's findings have been criticised on the ground that they are based on a purely capitalist understanding of the worker's social and psychological needs, that is, he proceeds from the view that capitalism is able to transcend the contradictions it is creating. According to D. Gvishiani, this explains the sentimental about “humanisation1” of the relations between the workers and the owners, the attempts to picture the manager of a capitalist enterprise as a person interested only in the achievement of the “common aims” of all the firm's employees and, moreover, the common aims of the nation (growing of labour productivity, universal welfare, social peace and as on”.

There is another contradiction in Mayo's findings that first it was the presence of autonomous groups with independent interests of their own; it was regarded as a dysfunction but at the same time it is considered as natural reaction coming out of “division of labour”. Moreover, it is viewed that there is a contradiction between formal and informal groups and between administrators and workers. But at the same time one gets the impression from Mayo's writings that he thought unions were rather unnecessary management was performing its functions effectively. This also leads to the conclusion that Mayo was authoritarian and really was bent upon the maintenance of the hierarchical structure but by giving greater consideration's to human factors in order to maintain the traditional system.

In spite of these criticism Elton Mayo's Hawthorne studies: and his writing had tremendous impact management and administrative practices.

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SUGGESTED READINGS

1. D. Gvishiahi, Organisation and Management, Moscow, Progress Publishers, 1972

2. D.S. Pugh (ed) Organisation Theory, Penguin Books, 1971.

3. Elton Mayo, The Human Problem of an Industrial Civilization, New York, 1933.

4. Elton Mayo, The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization, London, 1949.

5. Bertram M. Gross, The Managing of Organizations, London, 1946.

6. Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations, New York, 1964.

7. Fritz J. Roethlisberger, Management and Worker, Cambridge, 1941.

LESSON 7

Theories of Organizational: Staff and Auxiliary Agencies at the Central Level

—Yogesh Puri

Kirorimal College

In classical organisation theory, the distinction is maintained that line commands whereas staff advises only, bat in practice, staff frequently also commands, and, in general, can hardly said to carry out functions purely incidental to line. Nonetheless, many organisation still maintain the myth of the command-advice distinction. But the actual practice is not admitted. The command advice myth persists because it is needed to prop up traditional organisation theory, which emphasises unity of command.

Before the line organisations can begin to function, they need people, money, equipment, materials, buildings and various services. These services are supportive in nature, or indirect in their contribution to the organisations’ objectives.

First is the task of finding qualified persons to fill positions in the administrative branch. Thus a personnel department is the first staff agency to be instituted. Its function will be to help the line officials find and retain good employees. It will give competitive examinations, both for original entrance into the service and for promotion; plan and carry out in service training programmes, and provide leadership in stimulating the employees to contribute their best efforts.

Nothing can be accomplished by the government without money, so there must be a Finance Department in charge of:—

(i) Preparation and control of the budget,

(ii) administration and collection of taxes and licence fees.

(iii) procurement of materials, supplies, equipment and services,

(iv) supply, property, and records management,

(v) financial estimating and fiscal accounting.

The term “staff” service conies from the word “staff”, something on which one can lean for support It exists to support the executive powers with specialised knowledge and were counsel. Common staff activities are mainly concerned with planning, budgeting, personnel, public reporting, and public relations. This “Staff” would include all those persons who devote their time to the knowing, thinking and planning functions. Nevertheless, it should be noted .that the same officer or agency may sometimes be in a “staff” and sometime in a Mine relationship to given pieces of work, depending on the location of the main responsibility for action, that is, the ‘line’ responsibility. A prime purpose of staff is to increase the executives resources by facilitating his access to them.

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If a line agency is large, it might include such units as (i) the research and policy unit (ii) the statistics units; (iii) the bill drafting and law unit; (iv) the production analysis or work measurement unit; (v) the budget and accounting unit; (vi) the personnel unit; (vii) the supply unit; and (viii) public relations unit. At the top level there is the “general Staff” and the bureau level staff functions would mostly be concerned with legal advice, finance and accounting.

As for the need of staff service, it may be pointed out that the prime functions of the head of a service are concerned with direction, supervision and controls for the proper exercise of which he needs lot of information and technical advice. Such work cannot be performed by subordinate officials, so services of magnitude have their own staff organisations. Their main functions are (a) to keep in touch whir the organisation methods, needs and problems of the services as a whole, (b) to plan and make special researches, and (c) to give technical advice and aid to the head of the service.

Staff agencies are an indispensable supplement to ministeries and a descending hierarchy of sub-division. Some staff services handle important but essentially facilitative matters such as personnel recruitment, material and accounting. Some staff agencies perform significant advisory functions, called “general staff work” or ‘programme staff work.’ They collect information and prepare for executive decisions that may affect major choices of policy. These matters include budgetary decisions. Other staff agencies fall between the major types that have been described above. Thus, the units that make recommendations for the improvement of “organisation and methods” are an intermediate type. They can bring detached thinking, together with insight which is based on comparisons to bear on existing rules and routines or the initiation of new programmes. Also in this category are some staff units for public relations. They stand close to policy devisions which they seek to explain within the government and to the public. A third intermediate type of staff are legal advisers attached to various departments of the government.

A distinction is further made by some writers between staff and auxiliary services. Whereas the staff services have been defined as the. research and planning arm of the executive branch of government, the auxiliary services differ from them in that they are operating agencies concerned with the maintenance of the existing organisations and activities, but not with major policies. For example, the central personnel agency is a staff agency for the government as a whole, but an auxiliary agency so far as it is charged with the actual administration of the personnel function. Willoughly has called them the “institutional” or “house keeping” services. Auxiliary agencies assist the line agencies by performing common services for them, e.g., supplying personnel and purchasing material. Thus auxiliary agencies are concerned with the performance of routine activities of the government such as the collection and disbursement of revenues, the custody of funds, supervision of their expenditure, the purchase and maintenance of property, supplies and equipment, recruitment, promotion and retirement of personnel.

We shall now turn our attention to the nature and functions of some of the important Staff Agencies in India at the central level. These Staff Agencies are; The Prime Minister’s office (known as Prime Minister Secretariat till June 1977), the Cabinet Committees, the Cabinet Committees, the Planning Commission, the Budget and Economic Affairs Department in the

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Finance Ministry, the Administrative Vigilance. Division in the Home Affair Ministry, and the Staff Inspection Unit in the Finance Ministry.

Prime Minster’s office, known as the Prime Minister's Secretariat till June 1977, came into existence on 15 August 1947, The Secretariat was created for the immediate purpose of taking over the fractions performed until then by the Secretary to Governor-General, as the prime Minister took over all functions which the Governor-General, prior to 15 August 1947,, performed as the executive head of the Government

The Prime Minister's office assists the Prime Minister in his public activities in that capacity and in his functions as Head of Government within the general framework of established government procedure.

The Cabinet Secretariat, which replaced the Secretariat of the Governor-General's Executive Council in August 1947, performs staff functions, serving the Cabinet as well as the Standing Committees of the Cabinet It performs the necessary Secretariat work pertaining to the meetings of the Cabinet and its committees. Its functions include preparation of agenda for the meetings of the cabinet, keeping record of the discussion in the Cabinet, and of decisions taken there, circulation of decision to each Ministry, circulation of memoranda on issues awaiting the cabinet's approval, preparation and submission of monthly summaries on a large number of specified subject to the cabinet

The cabinet Secretariat deals with the following subjects: —

(i) Cases involving legislation including the issue of ordinance,

(ii) Addresses and messages of the President to the Parliament.'

(iii) Proposals to summon and prorogue the Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

(iv) Cases involving negotiations with foreign countries on treaties and agreements.

(v) Proposals for sending abroad delegations.

(vi) Proposals to appoint public committees of enquiry and consideration of reports of

such committees.

(vii) Cases involving financial implications, (viii) Cases which a Minister puts to cabinet for decision or direction, (ix) Cases of disagreements between Ministries.

(x) Proposals to vary or reverse a decision previously taken by the cabinet.

(xi) Cases which the President or the Prime Minister may require to place before the

cabinet,

(xii) Proposals to withdraw a prosecution instituted by the Government.

The cabinet Secretariat functions under the direct charge of the Prime Minister and is headed by a functionary designated as the Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet Secretary is the Principal adviser to the Prime Minister. He is the chairman of the Committees of Secretaries as well as of the Senior Selection Board. The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in its report on the Machinery of the Government of India (1968) had recommended that “the

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role of the cabinet Secretary should not be limited to that of a coordinator. He should also act as the Principal Staff adviser of the Prime Minister, the cabinet and the Cabinet committees on important policy matters, the cabinet secretary should ordinarily have a tenure of three So four years.

One of the major tasks of the cabinet is to ensure coordination of all important policies programmes and decisions, In 1968 there were nine standing committees of the cabinet as

Follows-

Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Prices, Production and exports, Family Planning, Food and Agriculture, Tourism and Transport Parliamentary Affairs and Appointments.

The ARC recommended the setting up of eleven standing committee of the cabinet, one for etch of the following subjects- Defence, Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs and Public relation, Food and rural development, Transport, Tourism and Communications, Social Services (including Social Welfare and Family Planning); Commerce Industry and Science, Internal Affairs (including Centre-State relations); Administration, and Appointments. The ARC further recommended that "each of the Cabinet Committees should be supported by a Secretaries Committee in order to ensure that time and energy are not wasted in dealing with issues which can be settled at the Secretaries level. The committee of Secretaries should consider in advance all matters to be taken up in the Cabinet Committee. The cabinet committees should between them cover all important activities of government. The membership of each Committee should hot normally exceed six and should include all Ministers in charge of subjects covered by the committee. Adhoc committee of Ministers may be set up for investigating (but not deciding) particular issue and reporting to the cabinet or the appropriate Cabinet Committee, as the case may be.”

Below is given the list of names of the Cabinet Committees along with their functions as on July 1977: —

Name of the Cabinet Committee -- Membership -- Functions

1.Political Affairs Committee--- (i) Prime Minister (Chairman), (ii) Home Minister (iii) Defence Minister (iv) External Affairs Minister (v) Finance Minister-- All important matters relating to both in internal affairs and developments in foreign relations.

2. Economic Affairs Committee--- (i) Prime Minister (ii) Home Minister (iii) Defence minister (iv) Finance Minister (v) Food & Agriculture Minister (vi) Commerce Minister (viii) Labour Minister-- To direct and coordinate economic matters and regulation of the national economy.

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3. Committee on Parliamentary Affairs --- (i) Home Minister (Chairman) (ii) Information & Broadcasting Minister (iii) Parliamentary Affairs Minister (iv) Law Minister-- Progress of Government business in Parliament and passage of legislation Government's response to non-official bilk and resolutions moved in the parliament.

4. Appointment Committee --- (i) Prime Minister (Chairman) (ii) Home Minister (iii) The Concerned Minister-- (i) To take decision in the following matters — (a) Secretariat appointment of the rank of the Deputy Secretary and above; (b) Chairman, managing directors and general managers of state Enterprises, i.e., public corporations, Companies, including governors of Reserve Bank; (c) Other appointments which carry a salary of Rs. 2,000/- per month and above; (d) Specified senior position in the ministries of Rail ways, External Affairs and Defence. (ii) To take decisions in all matters of disagreement between the UPSC and Ministry concerned in regard to any appointment.

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5. Committee on Accomodation--- (i) Home Minister (Chairman) (ii) Finance Minister Works (iii) Works & Housing Minister (iv) Parliamentary Affair: Ministers -- Take decisions in cases pertaining to accommodation.

6. Informal Group of Minister on Prices Situation--- Home Minister (Chairman) (ii) Commerce Minister (iii) Industry Minister-- Matters relating to price situation in the Country

The most powerful and influential Cabinet Committee is the one on Political Affairs. It provides important discretions to the government on national and international issues.

Established by a Government of India Resolution, No. l-P(C)/50 dated the 15 March, 1950, the Planning Commission, headed by the Prime Minister, has emerged as a powerful and significant staff agency. Paragraph 4 of the said resolution enumerated the following functions of the Planning Commission.

“Having regard to the declared objectives of the Government to promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people by efficient exploitation of the resources of the country, increasing production, and affering opportunities to all for employment in the service of the community; the Planning Commission will”—

(i) make an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting such of these resources as are found to be deficient in relation to the nation's requirements;

(ii) formulate a Plan for the most effective, and balanced utilisation of the country's resources;

(iii) on a determination of priorities, define the stages in which the plan should be carried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage;

(iv) indicate the factors which are tending to reform economic development and determine the conditions which in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of the Plan;

(v) determine the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation of each stage of the plan in alt its aspects;

(vi) appraise from time to time the progress achieved in the execution of each stage of the Plan and recommend the adjustments of policy and measures that such appraisal may show to be necessary; and

(vii) make such interim or ancillary recommendations as appear to it to be appropriate for facilitating the discharge of the duties assigned to it, or on a consideration of the prevailing economic conditions, current policies, measures and development programmes or on an examination of such specific problems as may be referred to it for advice by central or state Governments”.

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The ARC (1967) has made the following-recommendations in regard to the functions and the composition of the Planning commission—

(1) The statement of the functions of the Planning Commission set out in the Government of India resolution dated 15-3-1950 appointing the Commission should, with slight modifications, continue to be the basis for its working. Its role should be confined to the formulation of the plans - the long-term prospective plan, the five year plan and the annual plan - and the evaluation of the plan performance. It should cease to involve itself in executive functions and decisions;

(2) The Commission should annually make a report to Parliament on plan performance;

(3) The Planning commission should be a non-statutory advisory body, having close relation with the Union Government;

(4) The Prime Minister has to be closely associated with the working of the commission without being the Chairman thereof. This association is to be secured by his being kept continuously informed of the matters coming up for discussion at the meetings of the Commission. The Prime Minister may attend the meetings of the Commission or address it whenever be considers it necessary. The Prime Minister will preside over the meetings of the Commission when he attends them;

(5) The Finance Minister will also be closely associated with the working of the Commission. As in the case of the Prime Minister, he will be kept informed of the matters coming up for discussions at the meetings of the commission and he may attend the meetings thereof. He will not be a member of the Commission;

(6) The Prime Minister or the Finance Minister as the case may be, should deal with

matters of importance of a general or administrative nature relating to the Planning Commission for which Government would be answerable in Parliament, Matters pertaining to Specific subjects allocated to different Ministers should be dealt with in Parliament by those Ministers;

(7) Ministers should not be appointed as members of the commission;

(8) The number of members should not exceed seven. They will be selected on the basis of their experiences and expertise. Though it would be an ideal arrangement to have a Commission consisting entirely of full-time members, in practice it may Sometimes happen that experts while willing to work as members, may be able to join the Commission only on a part-time basis. In order to make it possible to utilise the services of such experts, two of the members may be appointed on a part--time basis. One of the of the full-time members may be appointed as Chairman. The members may, as at present, have the status of Ministers of State and the Chairman wilt have the status of a Cabinet Minister;

(9) The member may be appointed for ft fixed term of five years. But in order to

preserve continuity, the term of one or two members may be extended by a year of so. Reappointments, however, may be made only in exceptional cases;

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(10) Allocation of work may be made among the members keeping in view their special

knowledge and expertise. Decisions on important questions should be taken by

the commission as a whole and not by individual members;

(11) The commission should have ft highly qualified person without being tied down to

any specific cadre of service 9i its secretary. It should have an efficient staff

suitably equipped with expert knowledge of technical or administrative experience. It procedures should be streamlined, simplified and based on officer-orientation. The functioning of the Commission should be so organised as to provide for the triple needs of analysis, thinking and planning; and

(12) The cabinet as a whole, and not a sub-committee thereof should finally decide on

the proposals referred to it by the Commission'.

The Budget and Economic Affairs Department in the Ministry of Finance is the other important Staff agency in India. The Department is responsible for the following subjects—

(1) Administration of the foreign exchange Regulations Act; (2) Foreign Exchange budgeting; (3) Foreign investment; (4) The Reserve Bank of India ; the State Bank of India and other Banks; (5) Investment policy; (6) Preparation of briefs and submission of material on financial and economic questions relating to India's participation in the United Nations and Allied organisations ; and (7). following matters relating to, the Budget:' (i) ways and means, (ii) preparation of the central budget, other than Railway budget, including supplementary and Excess Grants ; (iii) Borrowing and floatation of-Market loans by the central and state Governments, (iv) Finance Commission, and (v) Taxation Enquiry Commission,

The Staff Inspection Unit was set up in 1964, and it replaced the special reorganisation unit which had been in existence since 1953. The Staff Inspection Unit is located in the Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance and it plays the crucial Staff role at the central level. It is responsible for securing economy in staff strength consistent with administrative efficiency and for evolving performance standards and work norms. It also undertakes the task of work measurement and staff assessment in various Ministries and Departments.

The Administrative vigilance Division is located in the Ministry of Home Affairs and has emerged as a staff agency at the central level. It provides an overall drive, direction and coordination in cases against corruption in the civil services. Each Ministry and Department has a vigilance officer, and the Director of the Administrative Vigilance Division acts as the Chief Coordinator of the combined operations.

Department of Administrative Reforms was Hi up in the Ministry of Home Affairs in March 1964, to deal with the problem of reform, reorganisation and modernisation of administration at all levels so as to make it efficient and sensitive instrument for carrying out the task of economic development and social welfare. For this purpose the Department takes up examination the organisation and procedures of various organisations. It has already completed the examination of the organisation and structure, and methods of work and

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procedure of the offices of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Director—General of Technical Development, Director General of supplies and Disposal and the Central Public works Department. The Department of Administrative Reforms is therefore, has also emerged as an important staff agency, and is responsible for assisting the Government in effective implementation of measures for improvement of administration. The Department has also serviced and processed the reports of the Administrative Reforms Commission set up in 1966. This Department has been redesignated as Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in 1985 and is located in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

The auxiliary function or the “house-keeping” function is undertaken to enable the line agencies to perform their primary functions. The auxiliary function is, thus, secondary. But it is a necessary function, specially in a huge and complicated organisations of government. A feature of these auxiliary services is that they are common to all line departments. Therefore meaningful economics could accrue and promote specialisation and efficiency, if these functions are taken away ' from all the line agencies and are performed by separate agencies. At the central level in India, there are separate auxiliary agencies. The Central Public Works Department and the Director-General of Supply and Disposal are the most important auxiliary agencies.

The Central Public Works Department is mainly responsible for designing, construction, maintenance and repairs of all works and buildings of the Central Government. In addition, the Department looks after the maintenance of certain national highways and exercises technical control over the Public Works Departments of the Union Territories.

Directorate of Estates is another auxiliary agency responsible for the allotment of office and residential accommodation in the general pool and manages Government Hostels and Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

There is another auxiliary agency called office of the Chief Controller of Printing sad Stationery in New Delhi. It is responsible for arranging the printing work of the various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and for procuring and supplying of various categories of stationery stores to them. It also undertakes stocking and sale of official. publications, including Gazette of India.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals is an important auxiliary agency at the Central level. It is the central purchase organisation of the Government of India. It buys the major requirements of all Ministries and Department of the central Government Its services are also utilised by the state Governments, public undertakings and semi-Government organisations. The organisation had its origin in the Indian Stores Department, which was set up in 1922, to function as the Chief procurement agency of the Government. This organisation served to form a nucleus of the full-fledged Department of supply crested in 1939 to look after the heavy purchases of war requirements, including indents from the U.K. tad other allied countries.

The main functions of the Directorate-General of supplies and Disposals are:

(1) To act as the central purchasing and inspection agency for the purchase of stores required by the Ministries of the Government of India and then attached and

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subordinate offices, State Governments, local bodies, quasi-public bodies, etc., u» may desire to avail themselves of its services ;

(2) To inspect stores purchased directly by such Government Departments in India

as may desire to avail themselves of this facility ;

(3) To prepare specifications and standardisation of patterns of materials;

(4) To arrange clearance of stores imported against order of this Department and;

(5) To arrange disposal of supplies declared by central Government Departments.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals is headed by a Director General, who is assisted by six Deputy Directors General and other staff.

REFERENCES

(1) Administrative Reforms Commission Report: The Machinery of Government of India

and procedures of work, New Delhi, The Manager of Publications, September 1968.

(2) Administrative Reforms Commission Interim Report: The Machinery for Planning, New Delhi the Manager of Publications, 1967.

(3) The Indian Institute of Public Administration The Organisation of the Government of

India (Second Revised Edition) New Delhi, Somaiya Publications Ltd, 1971.

(4) Avasthi, A. and Maheshwari, S.R, Public Administration, Agra, Lakshmi Naraia

Agarwal, 1979.

(5) Sharan, Parmatma. Theory and Practice of Public Administration, Meerut, Meenakshi

Prakashan, 1974,

LESSON 8

Structure of Organization: Line Agencies: Boards/Commissions and Public Corporations

Yogesh Puri

Kirorimal College

Line agencies are those that are substantive or direct in their contribution to the Public Administrator's objectives. The term “line” originated in (the military, where it referred to the military Commanders and other officers in direct charge of combat operations--in other words, those responsible for the Substantive work of the armed forces. The line, or chain of command extends from the top-ranking officer down to the lowest-ranking enlisted troops.

An administrative system is divided into agencies or departments principally on the bases of major substantive purpose. These agencies are thus, concerned with the execution or fulfilment of the primary objects of the Government, and deal directly with the people, supplying services to the people, regulating their conduct, implementing programmes sanctioned by the legislature and collecting taxes. They are the central element of any administrative system. The line agencies comprise both the political command structure and permanent career rank. The line authorities are concerned with the substantive functions of government. It is with the line agencies that the ordinary citizens come into contact and it is they which constitute the essence of administration. Line agencies in the Government, broadly speaking, include Departments, Public Corporations, and Commissions/Boards. A department is the fundamental organisation unit of administration on which rests the responsibility of conducing government operations. This unit is the highest one in the administrative hierarchy. It is below the chief executive and is responsible and subordinate to the latter. Department is the traditional and most important form of dividing and conducting governmental operation The departmental system, according to Dimock, Dimock and Koenig, “is the natural out growth of the need for the division of labour in administration, and becomes acute when the functions off an enterprise multiply over and over as in the case of a modem government”. The Chief executive in every country does not necessarily have freedom in organising and reorganising the departments. Authority to organise departments may be vested in the constitution, the Parliament, or the executive. In India, the formation and dissolution of ministries and deportments is an executive function.

Under the provision of the constitution of India, the executive power of the Indian invested with the President, aided and advised by a council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. The President appoints the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister, and the other Ministers are appointed by him on the advice of the Prime Minister. The council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

The Council of Ministers includes three categories of Ministers. Cabinet Minister (including the Prime Minister), Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers. A Cabinet Minister

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is generally incharge of a Minister though nothing prevents the Prime Minister from giving charge of two or more Ministries to a Minister or from not giving any charge at all to a Cabinet Minister. A Minister of State may either be made incharge of a Ministry or he may be attached to a Cabinet Minister In the latter case, he performs such functions as may be assigned to him by the Cabinet Minister. A Deputy Minister is not given independent charge of a Ministry. He assists the Cabinet Minister or the Minister of State, to whom he is attached and undertakes such responsibilities as are assigned to him.

The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and the other Cabinet Ministers. The Ministers of State holding independent charge of a Ministry arc invited to attend the Cabinet meetings only when the subjects pertaining to their Ministeries are considered by the Cabinet. The Cabinet is the highest policy making body and the supreme executive authority. It considers all important matters of government including certain categories of cases which require cabinet's approval and are listed in the second schedule to the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules.

The business of the Government of India is carried out in the Ministeries and Departments, their attached offices and subordinate offices, public undertakings and other organisations under them. A Ministry or Department represents the largest subdivision or cross section of its administrative structure, designed for the satisfactory discharge of its functions and responsibilities. The Ministeries and Departments are responsible for the subjects allocated to them by rules made by the President under Article 77(3) of the constitution of India. The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules made in 1961 and amended from time to time presently govern the allocation of subjects to Ministries and Departments. The Ministries and Departments are responsible for the formulation of policies within the sphere of their responsibility, as well as for the execution and review of those policies, within the framework of the board principles embodied in the constitution or specific Acts passed by the Parliament.

The Ministries and Departments have under them a number of Attached and Subordinate Offices. The Attached offices are responsible for providing executive direction required in the implementation of the policies laid down by the Ministry to which they are attached. The subordinate offices function more or less as field establishments, responsible for the detailed execution of the-decision of the Government. They generally function under the direction of an Attached office, or in cases where the volume of executive direction involved is not considerable, directly under a Ministry.

A large number of public undertakings have been established by the Government of India during recent years. These undertakings function .under the administrative control of the concerned Ministry, which is responsible for the following tasks in respect of these

undertakings:

(1) Appointment/resignation of chairman/board members/ financial adviser, or chief finance and accounts officer on the recommendation of the Board of Directors, and of auditor on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

(2) Higher Staff Appointments, where the maximum of the pay-scale of the post exceeds Rs. 2,230.

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(3) Rules for the company governing the conditions of service of the employees, Provident fund and other rules.

(4) Annual programme of the public undertaking as reflected by its revenue and capital budget estimates.

(5) Proposals of the public undertaking regarding:

(i) assistance from other Ministries when direct contacts did not produce results,

(ii) raising loans exceeding specified limits ;

(iii) higher foreign exchange allocation;

(iv) intervention in labour disputes:

(v) negotiations with foreign countries ;

(vi) contracts involving expenditure exceeding specified limits; participation in negotiations for entering into global contracts ;

(vii) pricing of products ;

(viii) creation of reserves and special funds.

(6) Other-matters on which the public undertaking is, under its charter, required to obtain the approval by the President, e.g., (a) to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of whole or substantially the whole, of the undertaking, (b) to form a subsidiary company, and (c) to divide capital into different classes of shares.

(7) References made by public undertaking under instruments of instructions laid down by the Ministry or under accepted or developing conventions.

(8) References made by a public undertaking in connection with its operations when

the questions involved relate to other business of the administrative Ministry or of other Ministries for which it has accessarily to seek assistance of the administrative Ministry.

(9) Proposal or decision of the Board reserved by the chairman for the decision of the Central Government.

(10) Changes in the scope (volume and range) of work of the undertaking involving capital expenditure exceeding specified limits-reviewing public aspects, technical

aspects, financial aspects including modernisation of plant, equipment or change in

design.

(11) Examination of reports and return prescribed by the Ministry.

(12) Causes of progress of performance being below expectation or of other weaknesses

(13) Annual repot) of the undertaking on its performance (according to a standard pattern) including its balance sheet and profit and loss statement together with the audit report thereon.

(14) Broad evaluation of the financial results, degree of fulfilment of the tasks undertaken and overall efficiency of the public undertaking.

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(15) Public relation aspects including public criticism in regard to scale and range of

products and their quality of the public undertakings,

(16) Parliament work relating to (i) Parliament questions and debates, and (ii) report

of the Parliamentary Committee on Public undertakings.

(17) Whether a directive should be issued to the Board of Directors of the public

undertaking.

Normally, a Secretary to the Government of India is the administrative head of a Ministry, and he is the principal adviser of the Minister on all matters of policy and administration within the Ministry. The Secretary is not only responsible for the organisation and efficiency of the Ministry, but also for the advice given to the Minister through the whole range of his duties.

Where the volume of work in a Ministry exceeds the manageable charge of a secretary, one or more wings are established with a joint Secretary in charge of each wing. In such cases, a joint secretary is vested with the maximum measure of independent functioning and responsibility, subject to the general control of the secretary. In some Ministries special Secretaries have been appointed to take up independent charge of a distinct subject. The special secretary generally deals directly with the Minister incharge and it is only in certain cases that the incoming papers from the Minister pass through the Secretary of the Ministry. There also exist in some Ministries, the posts of Additional Secretary. He is generally a Senior Joint Secretary and as such is given charge of an important wing in the Ministry.

For the efficient and expeditions disposal of business allotted to it, the Ministry h divided into Divisions, Branches and Section. A section under the charge of a Section Officer, consists of a certain number of clerical staff, e.g. Assistants, Upper and Lower Division Clerk, Typists, etc. A Branch which is normally under the charge of an Under Secretary consists of two sections. Two Branches ordinarily constitute a Division, which it normally ante to charge of a Deputy Secretary. In certain matters, Deputy or Under Secretaries may transact business direct with the Minister, but proposals involving important policy decisions are always routed through the joint Secretary, or the Secretary or both.

Communications or cases addressed to a Ministry or a Department are received in the

Central Registry which distributes them to the various sections concerned. The section

on receipt of the communications from the Central Registry, submit them to the Section

officer who after going through the “receipts”, classifies them into two categories, e.g.

‘Primary’ or “subsidiary”. All initial receipts regarding original or new items of work its

summary receipts, and all communications emanating in connections with the primary receipts of interim consultations or references are subsidiary receipts. The “primary” receipts are further sub-divided into two categories, i.e., (a) those requiring electorate examination or consultations and not expected to be disposed of with in a month.

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received need urgent disposal, the Section officer marks them for the attention of his higher officers for such orders as are necessary at that stage.

The Diarist, after getting back the days' receipts from the Section officer, pass the receipts to the dealing Assistants concerned, after diarising them. The dealing Assistant, after going through a receipt, collects the file on the subject, if one already exists, and other connected papers and files, if any are referred to in the receipt. For this purpose, he consults indices, file registers, Sectional note-books of important decisions maintained in the Section and other relevant books, Acts, rules, regulations, etc., Finally, he submits the case with a note to the section Offices. The Section Officer, at this stage, scrutinises the notes of the Assistant, adds his own remarks or suggestions, if any, and the case to the Branch Officer (Under Secretary). The Branch Officer generally disputes of as many cases as possible on his own responsibility. He takes orders of the Deputy Secretary higher officer on cases of an important nature, or those involving policy questions. The Deputy Secretary of a Ministry is generally vested with some delegated powers and disposes of certain types of cases himself, if within his purview, otherwise, he submits them with his views or suggestions to the next higher officer the Joint Secretary or the Secretary as the case may be. Papers which are submitted to the Joint Secretary or the Secretary are generally a very important nature, involving policy decisions. They, in turn, submit more important cases to the Minister. When a case is submitted to the Minister, self-contained summary is put up for his perusal. The Minister finally uses his discretion as to whether he will pass orders himself or refer the case to the Cabinet for a decision.

There has been a phenomenal growth in the size of the machinery of the central Government since Independence. There are today 40 secretariat departments as against 18 in 1947 and 25 in 1957. The number of non-secretariat organisations having the attributes of head-quarter units is at large as 569. Total employment both, regular and temporary, in the establishment of the central Government increased by over 53 percent during 1955-66. There has been one and half times increase in the number of persons employed in the Central Secretariat from over 6000 (Excluding class IV staff) in 1948 to over 15,000 (As on 1st September, 1967 excluding the Railway employees). The number of Secretaries Additional Secretaries, Special Secretaries and Joint Secretaries rose to over three times during 1948-67 (from 64 to 209), of Deputy Secretaries, to above three and half times (from 89 to 303), and of Under Secretaries to more than twice (from 214 to 457). The strength of Section Officers went up to over six and a half limes (from 442 to 2943) during the period from 1948-65).

The Central Secretariat occupies a key position in the administrative hierarchy. Its main rule naturally is to help the Government in the formulation of policies, to translate these policies into a series of connected activities or programmes and to ensure their efficient execution. Where the implementation of a policy or a programme involves field activities on the part of the Central Government, they are entrusted to separate agencies or offices which work under the control of an administrative Department or Ministry or to semi-government institutions or autonomous public sector undertakings. The executive agencies or offices are generally located the Sectctariat. The Secretariat functions of the different .Ministries or administrative with regards to (heir respective areas of activity may be described broadly as

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(1) Assisting the Minister in policy-making and in modifying policies from time to time, as and when necessary.

(2) Framing legislation, rule and regulations.

(3) Sectoral planning and programme formulation.

(4) (a) Budgeting and control of expenditure in respect of activities of the Ministry/

Department, and (b) According or securing administrative and financial approval to

operational programmes and plans and their subsequent modifications.

(5) Supervision and control over the execution of policies and programmes by the

executive departments or semi-autonomous field agencies, and evaluation of the

results.

(6) Coordination and interpretation of policies, assisting other branches of Government and maintaining contact with state Administrations.

(7) Initiating measures to develop greater personnel and organisational competence

both in the Ministry/Department and its executive agencies.

(8) Assisting the Minister in the discharge of his Parliamentary responsibilities.

The Secretariat system of work, with all its deficiencies, has lent balance, consistency and continually to the administration- and served as a nucleus for the total machinery of a Ministry. It has facilitated inter-Ministry co-ordination and accountability to Parliament at the ministerial level. As an institutionalised system it is indispensable for the proper functioning of Government, the Administrative Reforms Commission in its report (1968) has correctly pointed out. “What is needed, however, is that the system fully answers to the changed and changing circumstances, keeping in view the fact that the mind and needs of the people are changing faster than before under the impact of education, enlightenment and the modern concept of Welfare State.”

A broad analysis of the work of non-Secretariat organisations (both attached and subordinate offices) of the Government of India shows that their work is mainly of the following types:—

1. Regulatory and allied activities: Regulatory functions are here conceived as involving the regulation the activities of the individual in a wide sense and include collection of taxes by (government agencies)

2. Activities directed at promoting developmental effort; e.g., the work done by Drug controller of India, control passport and Emigration Organisation, Controller of Patents. Designs and Trade Marks, Directorate of Enforcement, Central Bureau of investigation. Chief Inspector of Mines, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (Department of Agriculture e.g., the work done by National Commissioner, All-India Handicrafts Board

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3. Education and training for Government Employment, professions or specialities:-- e.g., the works done by the National Academy of Administration, National Police Academy, All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Indian School of Mines.

4. Survey and Research e.g. the work done by the Directorate General Commercial intelligence and Statistics Forest Research Institute and college, Dehra Dun, Central Research Institute, Kasauli, Archaeolgoical Survey, and Survey of India.

5. Provision of a service or production or and supply of a commodity: -- e. g., the work done by the All India Radio, Directorate of Field Publicity, Phone Division (Ministry of Information and Baoadcasting), Indian Government Public works Department Controller of Printing and Stationery.

6. Carrying of one or more developmental programmes covering a substantial area of the activities of the Ministry including Planning, coordination, and review at well as rendering of advice and exercising also the connected regulatory functions, if any: -- e.g., the work done by the Directorate General of Health Services, Directorate General of Technical Development, Development Commissioner (small scale Industries), Indian Mines Bureau, Jute Commissioner, Textile Commissioner, Directorate General of Shipping, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Employment and Training.

As mentioned earlier, the powers and functions of Central Government are divided into Ministries/Department. Their number was fifty three in 1979. Their number stood at thirty five in 1962, forty one in 1966, forty six in 1969, forty seven in 1970, and fifty in 1972. At present there are fifty nine Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, which are as follows-

1-4. Ministry of Agriculture

Department of Agriculture and Cooperation

Department of Rural Development

Department of Fertilizers

Department of Agricultural Research and Education

5. Ministry of Atomic Energy.

6-7. Ministry of Commerce

Department of Commerce

Department of Supply

8. Ministry of Communication

9-11 Ministry of Defence

Department of Defence

Department of Defence Research and Development

Department of Defence Production and Supplies

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12. Ministry of Electronics

13-14. Ministry of Energy

Department of Coal

Department of Power

15. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Wild Life.

16. Ministry of External Affairs.

17-19. Ministry of Finance

Department of Expenditure

Department of Economic

Affairs Department of Revenue -

20-21. Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies

Department of Food

Department of Civil Supplies

22 – 23. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Department of Health

Department of Family Welfare

24 - 26 Ministry of Home Affairs

Department of Home Affairs

Department of official language

Department of Internal Security

27-28 Ministry of Human Resources and Development

Department of Education and Culture

Department of Youth Affairs, Sports and Women's Welfare

29-32 Ministry of Industry

Department of Industrial Development

Department of Chemical and Petrochemicals

Department of Company Affairs

Department of Public Enterprises

33. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

34. Ministry of Labour

35-36. Ministry of Law and justice

Department of Legal Affairs

Department of Justice

37. Ministry of Ocean Development

38. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

39-40. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Department of Personnel and Training

Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

41. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

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42. Ministry of planning.

43. Ministry of programme Implemsstion

44-45. Ministry of Science and Technology

Department of science and Technology

Department of science and Industrial Research

46. Ministry of space

47-48. Ministry of steel and Mines

Department of Steel

Department of Mines

49. Ministry of Textiles

50. Ministry of Tourism.

51-53. Ministry of Transport

Department of Civil Aviation

Department of Railways

Department of Surface Transport

54. Ministry of urban Development

55. Ministry of Water Resources

56. Ministry for welfare

57. Cabinet Secretariat

58. Paresident’s Secretariat

59. Price Minister’s Office

The commission/Board form of orgnaination has been extensively used in public Administration. The commission in India may be divided into three board classes. The constitution of India has created a few of such organisation. The example are, the election commission, and the union public service Commission. Boards and Commission may be established by acts of parliament.

The university Grants commission, the Railways Boards, he central Board of Revenus, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, the as

68

Ministry concerned but are free from the restrictive departmental procedures and rules. The third categories of Boards set up by the executive order are attached to the Ministry and are also called Attached-Boards.

The constitution of India enumerates the following authorities to be established on the model of a Commission--The Finance Commission (Article 280); the Union Public Service Commission (Article 315); the Election Commission (Article 324); the Backward Classes Commission (Article 340); and the Official Language Commission (Article 344).

The reports of these commissions are placed on the table of each house of Parliament. The members of these commissions cannot be removed from office except by a special procedure, guaranteeing independence of the members of the commission. The members of the Commission may be government officials who are full-time members or they may be non-officials including members of Parliament or state legislature.

W.F. Willonghly has argued that the commission type of administrative organisation is more suitable in the following situations--

(i) Where duties involve the exercise of discretion on an important scale in the formation of policies and rules affecting private rights and the adjudication of claims;

(ii) Where the functions involve general control character;

(iii) Where it is desirable to have number of different interests represented; and

(iv) Where it is necessary to eliminate party politics and influence of pressure groups.

Initially, no distinction was drawn between public enterprises and traditional government functions. For this reason, the oldest public enterprises such as the Postal service, telegraph service and Railways are generally organised, financed and controlled in as much the same way as any other central government department This form of organisation is still commonly- employed when the main purpose of the Enterprises is to provide revenue. In general, four main forms of organisations are now utilised in the administration of public undertakings. The main -types of organisation are --

(1) Organisation managed on Government departmental lines.

(2) Organisations managed by a board or committee.

(3) Mixed ownership corporations.

(4) Public Corporations.

The principal features of Departmental Management are -- (i) The enterprises is financed by annual appropriations from the Treasury and all or a major share of its revenue are paid into the Treasury, (ii) The enterprise is subject to the budget and accounting /audit applicable to other government activities, (iii) The permanent staff of the enterprise consists of civil servants and the methods by which they are recruited and conditions of

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service under which they are employed are the same as for all other civil servants; and (iv) The enterprise possesses the sovereign immunity of the state and cannot be sued without die consent of the Government.

The Weaknesses of this organisation are —

(i) It fails adequately to take into account certain distinguishing characteristics which clearly set industrial and commercial enterprises apart from the general run-of-government programmes ; (ii) Under this form of organisation, public enterprise has sometimes become synonymous with red-tape, inadequate service, and insensitivity to consumer needs, (iii) It fails short of providing flexibility essential to effective operations, (iv) the basic difficulty is that most enterprises have operational and financial requirements which are incompatible with the normal governmental administrative and financial structure ; (v) Use of traditional form of governmental organisation also tends to make it more difficult to operate an enterprise on a self-sustaining basis; (vi) Departmental management is not conducive to initiative. Too many authorities have to be consulted and officers at various levels often hesitate to take decisions, and their area of authority not being dearly defined. The result is dilatory procedure, and (vii) There is a tendency not to take seriously the losses that have been incurred in a departmental organisation. Theoretically it may be possible to endow a governmental enterprise with some degree of operating and financial flexibility, in practice, it is always difficult to do so. As long as an enterprise is not clearly differentiated from other types of government activity, strong pressures will be brought to make it confirm to all the standard of government regulations and procedures. A passion for uniformity is one of the characteristics of bureaucratic administration.

Committees or Boards consisting of the representative of tits various ministers are in some cases set up for departmentally run enterprises with a view to imparting flexibility and allowing for quick decisions. Inter-ministerial committees were setup for the execution of the Bhakra-Nangal and Hirakud projects. At the stags of both planning and execution in the procurement of land, supply of water and electricity, facilitates of transport and purchasing of stocks, assistance, concurrence and sanction of several ministries are frequently required. With a view to curtailing delay m procedure regarding financial expenditure, employment, appointment and dismissal of personnel, powers have been delegated to Railways which divided into eight zones and have a considerable degree of decentralization as regards operation.

In the mixed-ownership corporation both public and private interests participate. The principal characteristics of the mixed-ownership corporation are the following: (1) The capital stock of the corporation is owned by the government. (2) As a body corporate, is a separate entity for legal purposes and can be use, enter into contracts and acquire property in its own name. (3) It obtains its funds by the sale of stock to the government and the public, by borrowing either from the Treasury or from the public and through revenues derived from the sale of goods and services. (4) It is generally exempted from the

70

Personnel, budget, according and audit laws, and procedures applicable to governmental agencies.

With the rapid expansion of governmental owned and operated enterprises, it become evident that a new institution had to be developed which could be clothes be clothed with the power of government, but which would possess the operating flexiblity of private enterprise. The pragmatic solution was to adopt the form of organization most commonly employed by large scale private enterprise — the corporation use of the corporate device enabled the government to create an agency which could act in its own name rather than in the name of the state. After Independence the public corporation has become the most common form of organsation for public enterprise in India.

The principal characteristics of the public Corporation are as follows:--(1) It is wholly owned by the state. (2) It is created by a special law defining the objects powers and privileges and prescribing the form of management and its relationship to legal purpose established departments and ministries. (3) As s body corporate, it is a separate entity for and can sued, enter into contracts, and acquire property in its own name. (4) Except for appropriations to private capital or to cover losses, it is independently financed, it obtains its funds by borrowing either from the treasury, or from the public, and through revenue, (5) It is generally exempted from most of the regulatory and prohibitory statues applicable to the expenditure of public funds, (6) It is ordinary not subject to the subjects, according and audit laws and conditions which the corporations itself determines. Freedom from restrictive and prohibitive statues with respect to disbursements , contracts, purchases and personnel permits a corporation, where even desirable, to follow standard commercial and manufacturing practices in carrying out its business.

Examples of public corporation are (1) Damodar Valley corporation (1948); (2) Employers State Insurance Corporation (1948) ,(3) Industrial Finance Corporation, (4) Indian Airlines corporations (1953), (5) Air India International, (6) State Bank of India (1955), (7) Life Insurance Corporation (1956), (8) Central Warehousing Corporation (1956),

In an earlier action of this lesson, we have already discussed the nature of inter relationship and control enclosed administrative ministry/department over the public undertaking. The Administrative Reforms Commission (1968) had made the following recommendation to the Government of India on the Functioning of public undertaking --

“(1) The practice of deputing Government officers for temporary should cease.” (2) “Sector Corporations” can for each major area of enterprise should be set up with the made function of promotion and development in that area, including the setting up of new projects. The units in the corporation should have operational should have operational autonomy and the sector corporation should provide for and coordinate common service activities like research, consultancy,

71

training and sales promotion. (3) the Burean of public enterprises should be reorganised so as to it a more effective service agency for the ministries and the public undertakings.. (4) four or five audit should be constituted, each for a specified sector of public enterprise for conducting efficiency audit and appraisal performance.’’

REFERENCES

1. The Indian Institute of public administration. The organisations of the government of India (second revised edition), New Delhi, somaiya publication Pvt. Ltd, 1971.

2. Administration reforms commission Report -- the Machinery of the government of India and its procedures of work. New Delhi, Manager of publications, Govt. of India, 1963.

3. Goyal, S. K, (Ed.) public Enterprises. New Delhi, I.I.P.A, 1964.

4. Awasthi and Maheshwari public Administration, Agra, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, 1980.

LESSON 9

Personal Administration: Recruitment and Training of Civil Services in India

Dr. A.M. Jain,

Reader of Political Science, University of Delhi

In this lesson, we are concerned with an analysis of recruitment for the higher civil service in India. Let us excuseless the manner. In which recruitment for the civil service takes place in India.

In India, the Central Government has its 09m public service while the State Government have their separate State services. Besides, there is a third category of service knows aft AB-India Service, to both the Union and the States. This is in contrast to the US where there is no such All-American service common to both ‘the federal and state Governments. Though the members of appointed are allocated to work under State of (except when they are appointed to a post order the Central Government on denotation), they are centrally recruited throat the UPSC. During their tenure in the States, the Stole Governments have lull controlled by them expect that their pay and conditions of service are controlled by the Central Government nod decision on any discipline action against them requires consultation with the UPSC. When the Indian Constitution came into force in 1950, there were only two such services the successor Service of the ICS and the IPS respectively. But in accordance with a constitutional provision that Parliament may be allowed to provided of the creation of one or ,ore All India Service, three more such services, she India Service of Engineers (Irrigation, Power, Buildings and the Indian Medical and Health Service have been created. The creation of two more All Indian Agricultural service is still under consideration.

The second group of services called the Central Services work purely for the Central Government, e.g, the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Central Secretariat Service (CSS), the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) etc Most Ministry tad departments have their own services which are generally organised in three classes, Class I, II, and III. Class I constitutes the senior officers, Class III the subordinate grade officers and class III the subordinate clerical staff. Besides there is also an amorphous group of Clan IV pet-sonnet consisting of messengers, cleaners etc. There are a third group of posts comprising specialized nature. It includes have also set up their “function service”, primarily of nature. It includes various kinds of specialization, e.g., the Central Engineering Service, Railways, the Survey of the Educational Services of Ministry of Education, the Medical Services of Ministry of Health etc.

After Independence, the volume of recruitment to the higher civil services in India has increased due to the wider responsibilities devolving on India as a sovereign Republic and the

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large programmes of social and economic development embodied in the five-year plans including those in the Community Development Projects. The partition of the country and the large-scale retirement of the British Officers is the Indian Civil Service (ICS) and other services resulted in a sudden depletion of the Superior Services. This necessitated a special recruitment in 1948 by which people with certain minimum presented qualifications were selected don the bash of an interview.

The Qualifications for Recruitment

Recruitment is made to the All India Services (IAS and IPS) and the Central Services (IFS, CSS, IRS etc.) on the basis of an open competitive examination conducted on the UK pattern (Method I). Promotion from subordinate services to the IAS 11)125 per teat of the vacancies. The competitive examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. The present age limits for completing in the examination ere between 21 and 26 (prior to ISJ72 the age limits were 21 to 24) for all the services except for the IPS where the loner age-limit is 20. The minimum qualification required is a bachelor's degree from one of the universities. However, for selection to some of the subordinate posts in Government like clerkships stenographers etc., as well, the qualification required is the same.

An important feature of the British system of recruitment is that the main point of entry into the different classes of the Home Civil Service are planned to correspond to the definite stages in their education system. That it to say, admission to the Administrative class is open to the University graduates, the Executive class recruited from those wish Secondary education and for the lower-classes ordinary primary school education sufficient. We have not been able to adopt some such system in India for is simple reason that where as secondary education in Britain is highly efficient and is one of the strongest elements of their educational system, it is correspondingly inefficient and is the weakest link in the educational organisation in India. Education at all levels has deteriorated is this country but it has deteriorated most at the secondary stage. Thus to recruit men to the public services on the basis of the intellectual attainments which secondary education hat ensured to them may its really amount to importation into the public services of men without much of systematic education. Hence, the above mentioned anomaly is bound to persist till such time our secondary education is placed on a sounder footing.

The Combined Competitive Examination

The competitive examination in India is conducted in two parts. The first it the written examination for which three subject (English Essay, General English end General Knowledge) are compulsory. In addition to these three subjects there are twenty-five optional: subjects (including all the natural and social science, humanities and the classics) and sixteen subject, the standard and additional subject, Candidates for the advanced subject former. Candidates for the IAS/IFS have to appear in three optional subjects and two additional subjects, the standard of examination of the tatter being much higher than for the former. Candidate for other central Services and the Police Service need sot appear for the advanced subjects.

The number of applicants for IAS etc., examinations have doubled since 1971. For the 1974 competitive examinations 23,454 candidates were found admissible, The examinations were conducted by the UPSC all over the country at 19 centers (Gauhati being a next one). The Delhi Centre bad the maximum number of candidates (4,036), followed by Allahabad (3,021), Patna and Patiala.

Quite a few of the candidates had opted for doing the compulsory papers, that is Essay

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and General Knowledge in regional language. At the Allahabad Centre, about a thousand candidates have opted for doing the General Knowledge paper in Hindi. In Patna too, about one-third of (he candidates did the Essay paper in Hindi and about 10 per cent the General Knowledge paper in Hindi.

Examination in alt these subjects is intended not to test specialised knowledge of the candidates in matters pertaining to the actual work they would be called to perform on appointment to service. It is intended, as in Britain, to judge the general intellectual ability of the candidate, the stage of development of their minds, their general interests, their breadth of vision and outlook. In actual practice, however, though the compulsory papers are indeed a real test of, the candidate's ability to express himself and bit power comprehension, the optional and additional papers are little else than memory tests. Stock questions are asked sad it is common knowledge that high marks can be scored in a subject merely by reading one of the numerous pass" books in which the Indian market abounds. Questions are set so much on the typical University pattern that one wooden whether, papers addition to a University degree, a written examination is really necessary. What is required is that questions should be into intelligently set so that only those with a through grasp of the subject can deal with them satisfactorily.

Another often quoted complaint is that candidates who offer a particular combination of subjects for the written test are placed at an advantage to far at scoring competitive marks at the written examination is laagered, while others with a different subject-combination Cannot score highly, whatever may be their level of attainment in those subjects. For example, n the IAS/IFS Examination of 1971 the number of successful candidates offering Indian History and European History wan 39 and 35 respectively. Higher Physics cane third with 33 successful, followed by British Constitutional History, Political Theory and Political Organization and Public Administration with 22, IS and 17 respectively. Similarly Delhi University topped the success ratio of the candidates in the services. A further analysis of the candidates university-wise showed that quite a large number of students of certain universities (including their first classes) either does not teem to be aware of this examination as they do not look to it for a career. There have been some universities like Guru Nanak University, Amritsar, who sent only one candidate for such examinations in contrast to Punjab University's 896, Delhi University's 513 and Allahabad University's 417.

There it a point of view which is being increasingly voiced that in a development where economic and developmental functions of the administration have increased, It to very doubtful whether administration would benefit much by drafting in candidates who have specialised in subjects like Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, etc. The argument runs that a sound knowledge of subjects like Political Science, Economics and Political Science, Economics and Public Administration is Indispensable. Hence these subjects mast be made compulsory as it the case with the Preach system of examination. That system seek to determine weather the candidate possesses the basic knowledge of problems with which the administration it confronted. In England and in India, the compulsory papers are designed to test the general aptitudes of the candidates, their capacity to grasp non-specialised subject, their power of expression «»4 faculty of judgment It is true that the optional papers are not devised to Mat whether the candidate has the basic knowledge required in administration and from the point of view the French system seems to be better, adapted to the needs of the State.

The second part of the competitive examination it the personality test. Only those who are placed high in the written examination are called for this test. The Personality

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Test is devised with due regard to all the relevant considerations including age and educational qualification prescribed and the Service. The subject of the interview is to assess the personal equitability of the candidate for the service for which he has applied. Generally speaking, the technique of the interview U not that of a strict crow examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive, conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate. The Board is not greatly influenced by the formal character reports about the candidates obtained from the universities. Confidential reports of candidates by university teachers or head of colleges, which are an useful In the USA and the U. K. as a preliminary essential media for knowing the candidate's background are not given the kind of importance they deserve. The Board largely relies on its own impressions about the candidates, formed during the interview.

Until 1956, the personality test was in a sense a deciding factor in itself. Any one failing in it would be out of the competition although he may have secured very high marks is the written test. Since 1957, no qualifying marks in personality tests are required and even after failure in this test a candidate may be selected if he has compensated for it by high marts is the written. The need for supplementing the comprehensive written test by a personality test was explained by the UPSC in its First Report thus:

"A written test is no doubt some evidence of the intellectual development of the candidate, but with the widely acknowledged deterioration in the standards of our University degrees it has become, in many cases, more an evidence of the power to memories book knowledge than of genuine mental qualities. The viva to designed primarily to assess those mental qualities .which together may be said to constitute 'personality’, ‘brain’ or 'intellect’ being left to be assessed by written examination."

The Importance of the interview has been watered down recently as the maximum member of marks for it has been reduced, thus giving greater weightage to the written performance. This has been done because of vehement public criticism both inside Parliament and la the press of the method of the test which has been found hitherto place a premium on the degree of sophistication and fluency in English with an accent closely approximating to the ‘Oxbridge’ one, the public school background and such other superficial attributes which have very little relevance to the actual worth and potential of a candidate. Moreover the period of the interview seems altogether too short to judge the candidate s personality in full and the chance trend of questioning very often determines his fate. However, the UPSC in one of its Reports has maintained somewhat with complacency, that “No human judgment can claim to be completely free from the element of subjectivity but after carefully reviewing the matter, the Commission have come to the concession that a broad-based board with persons who have distinguished themselves in diverse fields of administration, education, science and technology etc, can be expected to size up the trend of personal qualities of young people even after a conversation of 15 to 20 minutes.

The personality test has evoked a considerable public criticism. In the personality test, M attempt is made not to test the general knowledge of the candidate, bat to estimate his mental caliber, the variety and depth of his interests, his personality traits-such as capacity for leadership, social cohesion, stability and common sense-and his character traits, such as honesty, frankness, and reliability. Now and then criticism of the test has been made on the ground that the performance of a candidate in the viva voce is conditioned by his social background, which gives a candidate from the upper social strata an advantage, and an undue

76

weightage over other, candidates belonging to lower strata of society or coming from rural areas, la spate of criticism on this point, the Commission still considers the personality test at an essential method to assets the candidates' suitability for the higher posts, and it is befog continued, even though the requirement of minimum qualifying marks have been abolished and the weights se of marks reduced. The number of chances that a candidate can avail to appear for the above examinations were also reduced to two. However, since 1973, the Government has taken a decision to allow three chances in the examination for each of the three categories of services as a purely temporary measure pending final recommendations by the Kothari Committee which was then evaluating the existing recruitment methods.

The real purpose of the interview, therefore, should be to probe the many facets of the candidate's character while taking into account his past curricular and extra-curricular record. It is of little use to ask questions requiring one or two answer’. An earnest attempt mutt be made instead to draw out the candidate into a friendly discussion and thereby to attest hit powers of analysis and judgment, mental altertness and integrity.

In the United Kingdom, according to method II of recruitment which is knows at the House Party method of interview also, the personality of the candidate is assessed by various’ tests such as an intimate personal interview, debate and general discussion, conducting meetings, etc. These tests for each batch of candidates now last ordinarily for two day and were until recently held in London itself (now at the Headquarters of the U.K. Civil Service Commission at Basingstokes). The candidates are tested in different' setting each time. The net result is that this test becomes a more prolonged interview carried out is lets artificial conditions. There is no doubt that these tests give a-better insight into, or at any rate indication of, the personal qualities of the candidates. The UPSC has not so far adopted generally the psychological tests in the scheme of personnel selection for higher services at it feels that until the educations} authorities and research institutions develop the necessary means for evolving appropriate batteries of test suitable for Indian conditions at different levels and finally establish the validity and reliability of these tests over a period of time, it would be immature to do so. There are other difficulties as well in the way of introducing this system here, such as: (i) shortage of trained personnel for conducting if (ii) the number of candidates to be handled are very much larger in India then is Britain (iii) the prolonged tests are likely to greatly delay completion and publication of results each year and (iv) it will add tremendously to the expenditure. Notwithstanding these difficulties we must admit that there is a good case for introducing the Method II type of test in India at the present times as the modern.----tread is to minimize the subjective elements its ------ and the introduction of Method II may accentuate its importance

Requirement to Class III and IV Services In the Ministries and Department

mentioned above, recruitment to some positions which are mainly of lower categories is made by the departments themselves recruitment in the higher categories is made by the UPSE. However, there are two notable exceptions. The Atomic Energy Department and India ---- of Scientific and Industrial Research have been ----- to recruit and select directly for Class O and II posts, although, the Scientist pool.

Some Ministries and Department have also developed different --- methods for certain categories of subordinate position. The Ministry of railways and recently the posts and Telegraphs Department have evolved systematic programme for recruitment. The Railways have established four Zonal Railway Service Commissions ---- --- --- Chairman and two

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members. These Commissions recruit by and large to Class III Set vices through competitive examinations and/or interviews. Recruitment to Class IV is stilt conducted by the executive officer is the respective Zonal administrations.

The Poets and Telegraphs Department of the Ministry of Transport and Communication has begun a similar experiment. Currently it has formed only one Potts and Telegraphs Services Board in the Northern Circle with one Member/Chairman and elsewhere the 'regional departmental authorities or the Circle Selection Boards to perform this function. The Board recruits only for the Class III services through written examinations. Class IV recruitment is still handled by Circle offices. Besides, different ministries and departments follow different methods for recruiting to class III and IV positions. The Central Service (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, however, provide the basic guidelines for such recruitment.

The ARC while commenting on the selection methods to Class 111 and IV positions recommended that for recruitment to clerical and repetitive jobs not calling for any special skill, simple objective tests may be devised and adopted in place of the essay type of examination or where no examinations are held at present. It further recommended that in order to provide greater opportunities for the advance of talented persons who are not already in Class I (a) the quota of vacancies in Class 11 to be filled by promotions may be increased up to a maximum of 40 per cent where the existing quota falls short of that percentage and (b) everyone who has completed 6 years of service in Government and is less than 35 year of age may be given one and only one chance to sit for the open competitive examination for Class I non-technical service’, irrespective of the chances already taken, provided that he fulfil conditions relating to educational qualifications. The recommendations have not been implement so far.

Changes is the Systems of Recruitment after Kothari Report-1979

The Committee on Recruitment' Policy and Selection Methods, known as Kothari Committee, which was set op by the Commission in February 1974, went in great depth and detail into the various aspects of the problem connected with the reform of the existing system of examinations and selection and after considerable deliberations submitted its valuable report on March 39, 1976 covering the entire field of Civil Services Examination. The report has been accepted by the UPSC effective 1979.

The Civil Service’ Examination on the new pattern introduced in 1979 is a& important innovation in the pattern of competitive examination. The Examination now consults of two stages. The first stage is a preliminary Examination, which. in the nature of screening test to test the capability of aspiring candidates. Those who get through the screening test will then take the Main Examination.

Now that many Universities have taken to teaching in the regional languages and many States have adopted the regional languages for Public Administration, if is necessary that candidates to the competitive examinations are enabled to fake the examination not only in English tat above in the other languages included in the Eighth Schedule to our Constitution. The Civil Services Examination, 1979 was therefore conducted on this basis.

This is a unified scheme of examination and recruitment to a large number of posts in Alt India and Class I Central Services is made through it, so that candidates on the basis of a single examination can get into any of these Services on the basis of their merit.

The competitive examination comprises two successive stages:

(i) Civil Santos Preliminary Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination; and

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(iii) Civil services Main Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the various Services and Posts.

The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of Objective type (multiple choke questions) and carries a maximum of 450 marks in the subjects set out in sub-section (A) of Section 11. This examination it meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The number of candidate to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about ten times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year in the various Services and Posts. Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in a year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.

The Main Examination consists of a written examination and an interview test. The written examination consists of 8 paper of conventional essay type each carrying 300 suits in the subjects set out in sub-section (B) of Section II.

Candidates who obtain such mini mom qualifying marks in the written part of the Main Examination as may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an interview for a Personality Test vide sub-section ‘C’ of Section II. However, the paper one Indian languages and English will be of qualifying nature; marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking. The number of candidates to be summoned for interview will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The interview will carry 250 marks (with no minimum qualifying marks).

Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Main Examination (written part as well as Interview) would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view their ranks in the examination and the preference expressed by them for the various Services and Posts.

The candidates will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of Us career. He will be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview it to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for the Service or Services for which the bus applied by a board of competent and unbiased observers.. The test is intended to judge the mental caliber of a candidate. In broad terms this is really an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance for judgement variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion tad leadership, intellectual and Moral integrity.

The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross examination but of a natural, through directed and purposive conversation which it intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

The interview teat It not intended to be a test either of the specialty; or general knowledge of the candidates which has already been tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest net only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own state or country as well as in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well educated youth.

Immediately test is the interview is over, the candidate would be required to write a

Resume, summarising the discussion which took place during the interview. For this exercise he will be allowed 15 minutes --- .

TRANING OF CIVIL SERVICE IN INDIA

Training of administrators is inextricably linked with the philosophy of recruitment and the objectives of the organisation. In she 'context of what has been stated about our system it is obvious that the civil servants of the higher category have to be trained more in their basic attitudes than in the basic tools which they have to use once they are placed in positions of responsibility. This is not to underestimate the need for the acquisition of skill on the job or for preparing oneself for higher responsibilities. To examine the need for such training arrange merits, it would be worthwhile examining the accepted basic principles of training as well m the actual training and education programmes in certain other countries of the world.

As regards basic principles, there are two schools of thought: (a) which believes that no amount of training can endow an individual with a flair for administration which has to be inborn, and (b) which believes that by a selective rational system of training, the bask tad essential qualities of an administrator can be instilled besides, of course, improving his skill on the job.

This brings us to a discussion of the training programmes and the organisation responsible for running these in India.

The higher civil servants of India continued to be trained in England until World War II When training to candidates selected for the 1CS began to be imparted at Dehradun. There were, however, no framing facility for Members of the Provincial Civil Services tad the Subordinate Services. They were trained mostly on jobs. Before independence, there was hardly any training programme for the civil service recruited on the basis of professional education, e.g. doctors, engineers or scientists, sod only a varied probationary period was considered sufficient for their acquiring competition-in the field. In 1945, R. Tottanham, In a Report on the Re-organisation of the Central Government made a strong plea for the establishment of us "Office Procedure and Training Division to ensure that every recruit-officer or clerk-was fully acquainted with the system of procedure before joining duty. The recommendations apparently could not be put into effect as the question of India's Independence became more prominent.

After independence when the Indian Civil Services was reconstituted as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) an IAS Training School was started at Metcalfe House in New Delhi in 1947 under the charge of a part time ICS Principal to train probationers, recruited to the IAS Probationers in the Indian Police Service were trained at the Central Police Training College at Mount Abu m Rajasthan ITS 1951, A. D Gorwala, a senior ICS Officer in a Report on Indian Administration to the Planning Commission made a strong plea for the

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need of a full-time Principal of the IAS Training School instead or a part-time one. Gorwala recommended the immediate appointment of a Director of Training, Organisation and Methods with the necessary offices and staff He was of the view that to begin with the Directorate might be located in the Home Ministry, and later on transferred to the Ministry of Finance He also recommended some refresher and short courses for the benefit of senior government officers.

Before Independence the Government of India did not pay much attention to the training officer subordinate employees The First Pay Commission its report-in 1949 recommended training programme Training classes of employees on the lines of the Assertion Committee Report in UK Accordingly, a Secretariat Training School was started in May 1948 in Delhi for providing planned, purposeful, and systematic training for all of ministerial personnel and refresher courses for Assistants and Upper Division Clerk.

In 1953, the Planning Commission recognizing the need- for improving training recommended the conversion of the IAS Training School Into a sort of Staff College for Studies in Public Administration under a whole-time officer, appointment of a Director of Training “So organize systematic programme and refresher courses for different grades of employees and emphasized the need for greater coordination between the Central Government and the States'. Following the recommendation, the post of the Principal of the IAS Training School was made full-time in 1955, and he was designated u Director of Training.

In 1956, the Public Services (Qualifications For recruitment) Committee, in report to the Ministry of Education recommended extensive training of the highest executive and administrative services. In the same year, the Home Ministry addressed all the state Governments suggesting a scheme for providing refresher course to officer of the All-India services and Central Services (Class I). A beginning in the direction was made in 1957, for starting a refresher course for IAS officers of six to ten year standing at the newly established IAS Staff College which functioned at Simla for a short duration mainly to train those IAS Probationers who were recruited through special recruitment and through promotion from the State services. The School functioned with a Vice-principal, and under of the Principal of Delhi School.

Training for Higher Services

On 15 April 1958 in a statement in the Lok Sabha, Pandit Gobind Ballabh Pant, the home minister, announce the Government’s decision to set up “a National Academy of training so that the services, wherever they may function, whether Officer or Accountants or as Revenue Officer, might imbibe the true spirit and discharge their duties in a manner which will raise their efficiency and public completely" The various Ministries were then invited to participate in the scheme for setting up an Academy for the training of officers of various states.

The National Academy of Administration

A combined course of training for new entrants to the All India Services and Central Services Class I in Background and fundamental subject was to be started at the newly established Nation Academy of Administration (which started functioning at Mussoorie on 1 September 1959). Both the IAS Training School at Delhi and IAS Staff College at Simla were amalgamated in this Academy. In Addition to the foundational course, for the services, it was also proposed to arrange seminars, conferences, and refresher centre

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etc. for Government officials on specific problems relating to planning, fiscal policy, social security etc. The Academy is now under the charge of a Director, who until recently also functioned as the Director of Training. Government of India, and in the latter capacity co-ordinate the training of programmes of probationers in the All India Services as well as Central Services Class I, after the probationers have completed their foundation^ course in the Academy. In addition, he had an overall charge of the Secretariat Training School at New Delhi, and advised the commandant of the Central Police Training College, Mount Abu, in drawing up the training programme of the IAS probationers.

The National Academy of Administration, the Central Police Training College aft Mount Abu, the Secretariat Training School, are thus the throe most important institutions run by the Government for the training of the civil services. Besides, there are some other specialised institutions, where the probationers to these services are sent for specialised training. It must be understood that the training at the National Academy of Administration imparted at-a foundation course largely consists of subject which have no direct relevance to toe work a civil servant is called upon to perform in his later career.

After the foundational course lasting for about four month, the probationers for different services are sent to various other institutions for specialised training. The IAS probationers continue for some time in the Academy and then receive the job training-in many States and in different assignments before finally approved The Indian Foreign Service probationer attends a special course on International politics and Organization, International Law and contemporary developments in the major regions and countries at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Indian Foreign Service officers who assume duties at commercial attachment in Indian Embassies and consulates undergo training for five months at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. The training aims at comprehensive development of knowledge and information on all problems relating to commercial policies and problems of foreign trade. The recruits to Indian Audit and Accounts Service spend a year at its Audit and Accounts Training School at Simla and the Income-Tax 8arrke probationers receive training at their school at Nagpur and then, at Calcutta. The Railway Board runs a Staff College at Baroda. The probationers of the Indian Economic Service receive training at the Institute of Economic Growth University of Delhi. In other services, the training it provided on the job under the guidance of experienced officers.

The Secretariat Training School

The Secretariat Training School was set up in IMS with one Director (who later combined his duties with that of a Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs), and three Instructors for training of new entrants to the grade of assistants in the Secretariat and attached offices; conducting refresher courses for Assistants and junior Superintendents; and training of and clerics in typewriting. In recent times, the activities of the School have Increased to training m Hindi Typewriting, in cash and accounts, conducting of Study tours and arranging special lectures on subjects of employees’ Interest The Secretariat Training School hat been receiving trainees dented by the Governments of Nepal, Afghanistan, and ether countries, under various International aid and other assistance programmes, and has also started training to government official in work Study O & M techniques and other tented secretariat went.

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Another important development following. Appleby’s recommendation, was this establishment of the indian Institute of public Administration in 1954. The Institute started a School of Public Administration in 1959, which until recently offered a post-graduate Diploma Course on Public Administration. The course are also organised by the Institute, e.g, course on Administrative Leadership and Behaviours, Network Techniques, Performance Budgeting. Operation Research and Decision-Making, Personnel Policies and Practices, Records Management, Personnel Administration, Project Formulation, Computer Applications in Law and Order Administration, Budgeting and Financial Control, Materials planning, Development Administration, Computers Training, Special Policy and Administration, Management of Human Resourse, Municipal Management and Administration etc. Training Course for public Enterprises, Short-term course for Budget Officers, work Study, Methods Improvement, Appreciation course for middle Executive level officers, etc. Long-term training course extending to nine months have also been recently started for Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary level personnel. Besides, the Institute holds discussions, seminars and conferences.

A significant move towards move training for executive development was the establishment of an Administrative Staff college at Hyderabad in 1957 to bring together experienced executive and administrators from business and industry, as well as from government and give then an opportunity to examine different administrative practices and practices and prepare them for higher responsibility in future. The College is patterned on the Administrative Staff College at Henley on Thames and works in collaboration with it.

Besides these organization, in recent years the Central Institute of Study and Research in Community Development has been set up at Mussoorie with the object of creating among the key personnel of the community Development a better understanding of the objective, the approaches and techniques of the programme. The Home Ministry has also increased the number of refresher courses at these institution .

From the foregoing discussion, it could be seen that in India the training programmes are confined to the following areas: (i) general foundation course for probation to the various civil service; (ii) sporadic refresher course for the higher civil services of six to eight years experience, serving on middle management positions; (iii) secretariat course for the lower echelons of services (Class II and mostly class III); (iv) departmental training by the various departments; and (v) some sporadic attempts at training e g deputation of some senior administrative and executive abroad for technical and specialised studies or to some other institutions in India.

A major deficiency in the existing set-up has been the lack of a sounds and integrated policy in employee training. There is hardly any concerted development programme for “higher” and “middle” management level employees; and there is hardly any incentive for the employees whose promotion is based on seniority rather than on merit Moreover departmental heads do not feel the need to train their subordinates. This is because of the fact that the employees belong to the services and not to a particular department. It is only when the Ministry of Home Affairs sends a circular to the department heads for among the employees close to them, ignoring merit. The

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trainees are also not very keen on new training programmes as ---- between training and promotion opportunities ------ need of such agency as can give leadership to the training. The Director of the National Academy of Administration who has been earlier designated as the Director of the training was hardly in such a position as he had the dual responsibility of the Director of Training.

The Government of the India in 1968 established a training Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs (which has since been transferred to the Department of personal according to the ARC recommendation), under a Director of Training, to co-ordinate of training activities in the States. As envisaged the ARC the Training Division, headed by a Joint Secretary, has the overall responsibility of formulation and coordination of training policies for the All India and services- National Academy of Administration and the Training Programme of the Institute of Secretarial Training and Management for the IAS, IES, CSS, ISS; Preparation and programmes of training material and of information on training techniques, facilities and programmes liaison with training institutions within the States and abroad and Refresher and special courses for Middle and Senior Management Level. The Study Team of the ARC has in this context also recommended that Training cells should be established m each State and m each Department of the Central Government and put directly under the Heads of Departments or Central Secretary. Since the cells can draw on the Training Division for advice, information on techniques and availability of facilities, the cell need not be big. Nevertless, they moat devote their attention exclusively to co-ordinating or directly administering all the training activities of civil servant’ in the States or the Central Departments. The larger Central Departments and States should aim at developing their own training material tad conduct research in their own particular field.

The Foundation Course the National Academy of Administration

The post-entry training imported to All-India and non-technical Central Services fall into two parts-institutional-training and training on-the-job. The former type of training is given in two installments. There is first, the foundational course at the National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie, which is gone through by all the direct recruits to the all-India and non-technical Central Class Services. Members of the IAS get their specific institutional training at Mussoorie Academy, itself. Members of Services for whom no special institutions arrangement for training exist, go from the foundation course, straight to their on- the job training. The foundational course at Mussoorie includes instruction in certain “core” subject which provide an orientation in the political, economic and social infa-structure. During his Law (the Indian Academy, a probationer it required to study the Five Year Plans, the During his the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Indian Evidence Act), Indian history in its Social and Political aspects, the General Principals of Economics and their application to Indian conditions; the general principles of Public Administration sad organisation of the Government institutions, Hindi and the regional language of the State to which he is allotted.

An important objective aimed at in providing a common foundation course is the promotion of a feeling of oneness among the different Class I Services Opinion, however,

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differs about the success achieved in realising this objective. According to some, the foundational course tends to accentuate rather than mitigate a feeling of separateness among Service. It has also been pointed out that the number of trainees is too large to be combined. Notwithstanding these criticisms, the idea of a foundational course is basically sound. The ARC has recommended the introduction of uniform grades of pay applicable to all India Service including the all-India Services. If this recommendation is implemented, the common foundations course will really be an effective factor in producing an espirit de crops among the service. The participants of the course will not he bedeviled by a growing feeling of inequality and so, the course will promote veal unity in thought and aspiration.

The ARC which examined the system of training for the higher Civil Service in India suggested various reforms in this direction. Firstly, the scope of the foundation course if present given by the National Academy of Administration should be extended to cover ate the members (if the Technical Class I Central Services and All India Services Secondly, “the content of the foundational course should be suitable revised to improve its useful and to lay added emphasis on building proper values and attitudes among the trainees and inculcating in them a sense of a village of dedication to duty and service-orientation.’ Thirdly “every trainee" should live in a village at least for a fortnight to acquaint himself with rural life and condition. And finally, in order to implement these proposals the ARC had suggested that the government should set up a small committee of leading non-official”, experts and experienced servants to revise the scheme of the foundational training on the above lines.

About the post-foundational institutional training the ARC recommended that it should be entrusted to a separate Staff College for the IAS, end the National Academy of Administration should be responsible only for the foundational course for Class- I Central. Service and the all-India Services and middle management training. It further recommended that the Academy should be under the new Department of Personnel and its directing staff should be drawn from different Services.

On the basis of the recommendation of the ARC, the Government has since 1969 introduced a new pattern of training called the sandwich course for the IAS. The IAS probationers undergo two spells of training at the Academy with an interval of about a year which is utilised for practical training in the States. The first spell consists of the foundational course. After completion of the foundation course the probationers are sent to the States to which they are alloted for practical training on the job. At the end of this training, where emphasis h placed on the discussion of administrative problems that they had observed in the course of practical training in their States. Thus an attempt has been made to make training more problem-oriented.

Recently another innovation has been made is the training of the civil service in India. The knowledge-content of the officers in two important subjects-Economic Administration and Management in Government-has been modernised, and the IAS training is receiving a systematic input of knowledge and skills in these areas. Systematic training is being organised both at the post-entry stage and at the in-service stage to enable the IAS officers to update their knowledge and improve efficiency to become effective instruments for change

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and development in modern public administration, A programme of in-service training for-improving the professional competence of the officers and to prepare them for assuming higher responsibilities is also being developed. The objective of the in-service programmes is to increase the efficiency of participants by enabling them to acquire knowledge of new techniques and tools of administration. In keeping with the objective, & general refresher course for IAS officers of 6-10 years seniority has been Developed. The coverage of the course has been divided into three areas-(a) economics in Government, (b) Management in Government and (c) General and Social Administration.

The ARC has also made certain far reaching recommendations in respect of- training at the junior management level, for example it has recommended that a refresher training course for Under Secretaries from the CSS cadre and a 12-week training coarse for other Under Secretaries may be formulated; and training for middle-level management in the Secretariat (for Deputy Secretaries and other officer wish equivalent status) would have the following three broad elements (a) training in headquarter work (b) special courses in each of the eight broad specialisms: and (c) sub-area specialism training. It has also suggested that training in policy and planning should be provided as a part of training for &U specialisms. According to the recommendations, of the ARC, the responsibility for Arranging middle management training programmes should rest with the National Academy of Administration, and the special courses in the eight specialisms and their sub-specialisam should, as far as possible, be farmed out to professional organisations which have he needed expertise e g. the Institute of Economic Growth, the Institute of Management (at Ahmedabad and Calcutta) and the Administration Staff College, Hyderabad, And the Indian Institute of Public Administration and the Defence Service Staff College. The ARC also recommended that a review of the existing facilities for Class III and Class IV staff should also be made wd a phased programme for improved training for these categories of personnel be drawn up. Such training should aim at not only improving job skills but also developing proper Attitudes toward the public.

Problem of Training

Five main problems have arisen in the system of training given at the Academy during the last few year. Firstly, what should be done to eliminate such of the recruits as are found unfit during the training period? Secondly, admitting that the follow-up of trainees' performance in departmental training institutions and during their period of probation is an essential part of any training programme, what can be done to introduce this arrangement? thirdly, should the National Academy merely run a few course or whether it should under take research in public administration and allied subjects ? Fourthly, should the allocations 10'he various departments or services be made before the trainees join the Academy as at present, or after completion of their course? And finally, what methods of teaching should opted for training a group of 200 officers at a time at the Academy.

The first is a very ticklish problem. Even though recruitment is made on the results of competitive examination conducted by the UPSC, the fact remains that there tie few who, according to the judgment of the Academy staff, appear unsuitable for any position of responsibility. This question is essentially linked up with the question of

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recruitment to the various services. Possibly, & change in the recruitment methods of UM UPSC is called for. The real difficulty, however, lies in the fact that if a probationer (all recruits to the various services are placed on probation for a period ranging from one to two years) were to be discharged from service after or during the course of training (the Present age-group of recruitment being what it is) be will find it difficult to find other employment, because, generally specking, the age limit for entering any public service is almost the same all over the country. And yet public interest requires that only the right type of recruits should continue in Government service. This difficulty could perhaps be obvicated by recruiting candidates at the age level 16-18, after a competitive test. Selected recruits could be sent to the Academy which will, of course, have to be re-organised so as to be able to impart instruction on the humanities and fundamental sciences, to that after & period of 3 years, even if a cadet were to be rejected for the civil services, he would get a diploma recognised as being equivalent to a University degree and thus have a chance of getting Absorbed in other vocations, incidentally, this arrangement would also relieve the Universities of the great pressure which they have at present been experiencing. Most of the students at present join the Universities to obtain degree as a passport to the civil services.

The second problem, viz., that of follow-up could be solved, if during the probationary, period the departmental training institutions and later, the officers in the field, under whom the probationers are placed, could tend to the Director of Training, a- periodical report on the work and conduct of the probationers. It might serve as a continuous training arrangement. If, however, it is decided to have a three-year or four year training course at toe age level 16-18 as indicated above, the follow-up may not be necessary to the same extent.

If the above proposals were to be accepted, the third problem viz. the difficulty about allocations will automatically disappear, because in that event, the allocations will atomically disappear; after the completion of training on the basis of individual aptitude, merit, performance and inclination. So long us this type of training is not introduced, the system reported by the Assheton Committee of the U.K. that "allocation should precede training' may be followed. The is also the practice which the Government India has been following at present.

About the fourth problem, it seems convincing, that any institution intended for training the highest services of the country-both young cadets as well as senior, officers—should have a regular research department. Provision of a first class reference library, appointment of research officers attached to the department on a permanent basis and attractive remunerations, the publication of the results of research in a journal-all these are inter-connected and necessary factors for the growth of the institution. It has been found that the appointment even of a two research scholars on a temporary basis has resulted is considerable improvement in the quality of training imparted at the Academy.

As regards teaching methods, it has been discovered that group discussions, seminars. and syndicate studies by small groups have made for a more effective understanding between the teaching staff and the probationers. The probationers also have been found to respond better to Instructions and guidance received in similar groups. The success of the two-year old experiment in conducting a combined course for all the federal services leads to the conclusion that similar residential training institutions should be established in the various States also for conducting courses for all state services. Many States have such institutes

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These institution could alto, with advantage, utilities the services of the Director of training the Government of India.

So far, we have discussed only about the generalist services. In a developing economy the role of the technologist, the scientist and the expert cannot be over emphasized, and as the activities of the State expand and develop, as they must, its role of the “technocrat” becomes equally important. He must leant that he, cannot, in applying his specialized knowledge, have the same completeness of fact as he had in acquiring While all this is true, the fact remains that in countries like India, the expert still has to find place for himself. In order that he might get over his over-specialized attitude of mind at thereby make himself more useful to the community, it is important that he should be given short course of instruction in job methods, job relations and job instruction, and above a general instructions in regard to the implications, as far as the community is concerned, of wh be is doing.

It thus appears that combined specialized courses intended for both bureaucrats as technocrats are essential, because in the present day it can no longer be maintained (as it with regard to the old Indian Civil Service) that the generalist can tackle any job with confidence and distinction. The acceptance by the State of the socialist ideal, the process of nations nation of industries and the setting up of a large number of autonomous corporations in public sector, all these call for specialized knowledge on the part of the generalist. By the token, the increasingly large number of experts being appointed to higher administrative job require training as geoeralist administrators. No effort has so far been made to bring t technocrats together for this sort of generalist training. The new Department of Person would have continuing responsibility to see that this aspect of the problem is not neglected.

SELECT READING

R B. lain, Contemporary issues In Indian Administration (Delhi, Vishal Publications, 1976}.

India Administrative Reforms Commission, Report on Personnel Administration (New Delhi April 1969).

U.K. Report of the Committee, Chairman Lord Fulton, The Civil Service, Vol. I London 1968).

S.R. Maheshwari. Indian Administration (Delhi, Orient Longmans, 1969).

UPSC, Civil Services Examination. Report of the Committee on Requirement Policy Selection Methods. (1976).

LESSON 10

Personal Administration: Problem of Specialists Vs. Generalists in the Indian Administrative System

R..B. Jaia,

Reader in Political Science,

University of Delhi.

This lesson is concerned with an analysis of the relative role of specialists and generalists in the administrative system of India. The concept of a genera list administrator imbibed with the values of breadth, vision and balance, which the Indian administrative system has inherited from the past, has evolved a considerable debate in the modern times. The controversy has arisen on the issue whether in a democratic set up, the policy formulation should be done by the generalist-administrator of or the specialist, or alternatively would it not be better if the political executive be advised by the two parallel hierarchies one of the specialists, to guide- it on technical points, and the other of the generalist administrator, to acquaint it with the public reaction to whatever policy that is under consideration?

The Indian Situation

In the Indian context, the administrative machinery has been dominated by the generalist –administrator since the British colonial rule. There has been, no significant change in the general pattern even after the Independence. On the contrary, there has been a tremendous growth in the size of the generalist class in the civil service. The generalist cadre of service comprise of the Indian Administrative Service, the State Administrative Services of the various State and of the Union Territories and likewise the Subordinate Administrative Services in both these units. The remaining Services both at the Centre and the States are classified as functions! services, which may be equated with the specialists class of services in the context of the present controversy. The most sought after positions in India are the posts in the Central and State secretariats which go up to the Secretary in the Departments and Minister of Government. "The general impression" to quote an ex-ICS officer is "that Secretaries to Government are in a position to distribute largesse in the nature of posts and perquisites. They are supposed to be in a position to get the .Ministers to approve policies which may give power and prestige to particular services or posts thereof. There capacity to stop or harass any sector is supposed to be large and this power is envied to enable one to use such arbitrary powers of destruction against one's enemies."

This phenomenon has resulted in a good deal of criticism against the generalist-class of civil servants- It has been, argued that, in the context of planned economic development, amateurism of the generalist is an "expensive and unproductive luxury. The generalists have been accused of being the worst type of bureaucrats, who always give precedence to procedures over the sound decision-making. It has been asserted that the comparative easiness with 'which a generalist civil servant moves from one job to another leaves him no opportunity to understand a particular job. For most of the time, he is either busy in learning about the job

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of his new posting or e!«e preparing to leave his old assignment for a new position. These am alee criticisms to the effect that a generalist’s approach to any problem of administration k mostly static and he rarely ever makes bold experiments or hat a bold and positive outlook. It is further argued that in a situation dominated by the generalists can, the specialists Glass of civil service suffers not only for the lack of morale (since their decisions in technical matters are subject to the final judgments of the generalists who may have no knowledge of the technical points involved in the matter) but also became of the inferiority of the status accorded to them.

Thus, it is increasingly being accepted –both in India and in the United Kingdom—that the generalist class of civil servants is a relic of the old political system prevailing In the 19th century. In the context of & positive welfare state, the economic, politics! and social welfare of the people demand new techniques methods, and specialism on the part of the civil servant and hence, coo much dominate of the generalist—administrator is not country to sound policy decisions Whereas the generalist’s case rests -on the premises that in taking a decision, he brings to bear on it, the same kind of consideration that his Minister would; if he were dealing with it himself; apolitical judgement rather than a technical one— “what the people wilt stand for”, the specialist's case, on the other hand, is that “it b no longer possible to make decisions by rule of the thumb; they need a scientific analysis of all die issues involved.” The specialist is, thus, in a better position to advise on the correct coarse of action to be taken.

It is difficult to make any concrete Judgment on there conflicting clams. It should be clear, however, that neither the generalist nor the specialise can by himself run the modem complex administrative machinery. The two obviously must work together as a team, harmonizing different approaches and synthesizing different experiences This it, however, an ideal inflation, which is difficult to obtain in practice. The solution of the problem lies in a proper recognition on the part of the generalists and the specialists of the proper role of each other and in the appreciation of what each can learn from the other, so that they make a joint contribution towards the attainment of their common goals and objectives,

The generalist and his Role

Before discussing the role of (he generalist, let us first agree as to who is a generalist Attending to Professor Leonard D. White, "general administration is understood to mean those duties which are concerned with the formulation of policy; with the coordination and improvement of government machinery and with the general management and control of the departments' Thus a generalist administrator is concerned .with all types of administrative process, indicated by the word POSDCORB, i.e. planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. In a purely negative sense he is a person, who is not an expert or a scientist. Thai is why he is often referred, to somewhat disdainfully as an amateur. Bet, fat a positive sense, this notion of a generator is - applicable to a person who is called a professional administrator, if administration is to be regarded as a field and a profession as that of law; engineering or medicine. In his professional capacity a generalist possesses the kill and techniques of a manager and a kind of politician. At a manager, he is entrusted with the responsibility of getting things done, and as a "politician", be is responsible of interpreting the public mind to the complex social, economics and even political problems of the

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State within constraints of administrative system. It Is in this light that it will be fruitful examine the rote of the generalist in public administration.

The Tradition Role

In the traditional pattern, the administrative all-rounder-the generalist—played a crucial part by linking the broad objectives of the politician to the more specific or vocational orientation of sectional and specialist Interests, in or out of the department R.Q.S. Brows (an ex-generalist of the British Administrator class turned academic), summarises the functions of a generalist as under.

Firstly, a generalist is above all a facilitator. "If the politician (or the expert) provides

end ideas and motive force someone has to ensure that to ensure that decisions ate property recorded, processed for knowledge of the system and tome sense of what it with political objectives, nor does it call for a graft Bet tome professionals, particularly engineers and are able and willing to take on much of this work themselves; others an glad to be relieved of it.”

Secondly, a more demanding role for the general administrator is that of a “modulator” It becomes especially important when political or financial constraints have to be placed on technical initiative. “The task of the mediator is to link the specialist to the rest of the system by discovering what the limits are and trying to persuade him to work within them ……. The goods mediator can talk several languages simultaneously and this is not a task in which the professional civil servant will easily feel at home ……… The most suitable candidate will often be the departmental administrator who is attuned to his Minister’s wishes, is aware if the interests of other departments and has moved from post to often enough to aviod an excessively narrow or specialized commitment.”

Thirdly, a generalist can also be seen as an arblier. As Brown has put it, “this is ultimately a political function, but the time of political heads is limited—they need assistants to take decisions, on their behalf, to narrow the field and sharpen the issues involved in question coming to them for decision. This role demands the ability to compare and reconcile conflicting priorities……….. He must have the courage to choose between objectives that can not be reduced to common terms and on occasion to sacrifice consistency to flexibility. In short, he needs the power of “judgement”…… Perhaps the best candidate for such a post is still the all purpose administrator of outstanding calibre who combines political flair with an ability to use appraisal techniques where they are appropriate.”

It has also been argued that to a large degree a generalist performs the works of a coordinator. In some cases, he may co-relate the recommendations of experts in different branches, while in other he may devise compromises between the conditions recommended by the political expediency on the other. The administrative functions in general, consist of two different aspects i.e., policy-making and policy-execution. Administration is very largely confined to these two activities; (a) the analysis and co-ordination of ideas and proposals, the relation of these to political and economics, (b) and the expression of proposals and decisions in a form

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in which they can be assimilated and curried out by the government machine. The administrator has, thus, to assess and bring together a large number of different factors in governmental decisions; technical, financial, organizational, And perhaps above all, political, and then to balance them with the interests of affected groups. He has to reconcile conflicting interest and evolve a policy which would subserve common good, even by sacrificing if accessory, technical excellence. Thus, the simple t case for the generalist is that the administrative function does not depend on any tingle form of technical expertise and that the specialist, therefore, has no particular qualifications for this sort of work. A seasoned generalist virtue of his experience, is therefore, not a "generalist" or "amateur", but at R.C.S. Sarkar observes, "a professional administrator as fully as any one of the other services".

The Specialist’s Role

This approach, however, seems to imply that the technical element is a very minor factor in the final decision or that there are so many different elements that expertise in one Is no advantage to bring together the whole. This also means that a generalist-administrator has available all She necessary specialist advice; can understand it and can even judge between conflicting expert advice, whereas a specialist may find it difficult to give sufficient weight to-non-technical factors. He may moderate the political factors, or may be insufficiently cost-conscious because of hit zeal for perfection. Although, there is tome element of truth in fact theory that specialists are often one-sided, but to certain extent it may be the result of his on sided training or inadequate experience. If the specialists are too narrow is their outlook, it is because of the system of their education and training which has made them so and thus the system needs to be changed.

Strong arguments can be advanced In support of the specialists. It is argued that the whole approach of the generalists to a problem tends to fee conservative rather than progressive. They are more concerned with the maintenance of the status quo than in giving effect to progressive innovations. They have a caution approach to everything and a tendency to view enthusiasm and commitment with suspicion if not hostility. It is alto argued that other the specialists can effectively appraise the complex problems of modern administration, which have become too technical. “Planning” and “development” in a scientific world demand that policy-making be entrusted to experts. Government policy-making and administration today embrace a wide sphere of complex and technical Issues whose successful handling requires than those in authority be qualified to understand the essential technicalities. All this needs the help of specialists.

Further, different posts in the administrative machinery call for different kinds of experience and also, perhaps, for different personality characteristics. For example, it has been suggested that the O & M function involves patience and attention to details; the function of staff management needs negotiating ability and a sense of judgement on the timings is the modification of rules while expenditure control requires commonsense, all-round experience and an ability to synthesize. A generalist-administrator may not possess all of these qualities at the same time to be equally successful in each of these functional areas.

However, the strongest grounds on which the specialists' case has been advocated in recent times (both in the U K. and in India) is that the specialist is unjustifiably excluded from

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direct excess to political executive and from the processes of administration. And secondly, the differences in salaries and promotion prospects that exist between the generalists and the specialists are too wide. Thus it is maintained that an expert is inferior to an administrator. For example, both in the British and the Indian system, in almost all departments, the specialist groups have generally bees found to be overlaid by an administrative secretariat, e.g., the technical head of a particular group is responsible to the permanent secretary or to some lower member of the non-technical staff. In the normal courses of events (and unless the expert had the privilege of direct access to the Minister by virtue of special circumstances such as personal acquaintance), all his plans and ideas in connection with matters coming within his purview are subject to filtration and interpretation by an officer or officers who must in the nature of things, be less competent to appreciate their significance.’ The official position, however, is that no barrier exists to prevent the promotion of the technical expert to high controlling positions within the Service. But, it is urged by the professional associations in England that the door to administrative preferment is in fact almost as affectively dosed to Professional, Scientific and Technical officers possessing administrative talent as if they were excluded by statutory enactments.

Thus, the major problem that emerges from the specialist generalists controversy, is that the specialists have to submit to the final decisions taken by the generalists on issues which have an important bearing on his field of specialization. This results is an inevitable conflict between the power of knowledge possessed by the experts and the power of position possessed by the generalist

ABC on the Specialist Generalist Controversy

In India, the high policy-making positions, with a few exceptions, are generally occupied by the generalist class of the civil servants. In the British days it used to be the ICS, and after independence the IAS has gradually replaced all but a few of the ICS positions. The assignment of police making functions to the IAS can be justified, on the grounds that it involves coordination of a wide variety of areas of knowledge. It requires the ability to place the common good above technical excellence and the ability to perceive the wider implications of a decision Since these are the qualifications which are the product of experience and of training, the IAS, by virtue of its experience in this kind of work is “intrinsically superior to the other services in performing this task'. An IAS officer, it is claimed, has the knowledge of the grass-roots-essential for policy-making-and is, therefore, likely to do better than the pure expert. In India, we are fortunate in having same system of civil services, which is quite indispensable in the functioning of a democratic government. The British also have the same system, but in the USA. there has been no arrangement for such a senior corps of qualified generalist, although in the 1950, the Second Hoover Commission, made a strong plea for the creation of such a class.

However, at the same time it is argued that such a system has led simultaneously to a situation where the IAS has become a prestigious symbol. It has been noted, much to the dissatisfaction and frustration of the other services that the members of the IAS have come to develop a kind of superiority complex leading often to an attitude of irresponsibility. They are said to wield power out of all proportion to their numbers, a fact which is generally resented by those who do not belong to it They have become at once a symbol of authority and in

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the process have inspired an inner ‘rebellion' within the folds of the civil service. No wonder that, more recently demands of parity with the IAS have been heard from all other Service cadres. At the tame time, it is hard, to deny that in certain fields, specialists quite often perform better than the so-called IAS all rounders.

The whole conflict which hat emerged in this regard as one observer puts it, “is only the symptoms and not the disease itself”, It is quite unnatural for a specialist to aspire for bureaucratic positions at the top of the government. “A specialist who is true to his vocation, wants So get on with his job. He has particular pride in what he can do and what often he alone is capable of doing. He has a professional pride and will not bother about bureaucracy if he himself is not bothered by the bureaucracy. However, the past experience of the country, as A.V. Indiresan in a recent article has observed, shows that the bureaucracy has established a strong hold on every professional and productive endeavor, has destroyed by deliberate policy individuality, and removed all avenues by which the specialist satisfies his own ago.”

Though it would be completely hypocritical to deny the pecuniary motivation but for a specialist, money is often of secondary importance. Had it not been so, a specialist would have preferred to be a generalist rather than a specialist. The specialist has, therefore, reason to be a proud man. However, at present he is not allowed to have this earned pride. If he is allowed to get on with his job without hindrance, let the bureaucrat be there to help him and not to check him, to stifle him; let the accent in the administration be on service. Once such a change lakes place then the specialist "world no longer be bothered by factional fights, be will get on with his job to the betterment of the whole society." Thus, the Indian system, which puts a high premium on the generalists cannot be regarded as the most satisfactory on'. The basic problem is to achieve a kind of harmonious relationship between the generalist and the specialist, that is between the professional administrative skill and the subject matter knowledge.

The Study Team of the ARC , which had examined this problem was of the view that "in India, generalist 'specialist' controversy, which is essentially an articulation of the need for functional approach to staffing, has been reduced to the level of a conflict between stereotyped "formulae". The claim that all ills can be cured if only the so-called 'generalists' were removed from the scene and specialists, with any background whatsoever, replaced them is obviously naive.' One possible basis for arriving at some valid conclusion is our experience of the last twenty years or so. Is there any evidence to indicate conclusively that departments manned by appropriate specialists even at the highest level have generally fared better and that departments manned by non-specialists have fared worse' ? The Study Team thought that it was a loaded question and, even if they were to go in search of evidence, they would be presented only with a series of opinions and not a collection of incontrovertible facts.

We wonder whether it is at all possible to avoid the conclusion that the most important factors contributing to success have been a high level of intellectual ability, a continuing awareness of developments is the modern world, an eagerness to benefit from experience, a willingness to undertake risks, wide-ranging experience, intimate knowledge of desired results. It h impossible to pretend that even a specialist who stopped reading and learning after his student-days it better invariably than a person who has

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been wide awake and it more knowledgeable about the nature of modern problems Dynamism Is not a specialist monopoly and departments and projects have often fared much better under a single dynamic personality-specialist or non-specialist. We must face the fact squarely that knowledge Is yet nowhere near providing readily suitable techniques for dealing with multi-dimensional dynamic situations. On the other hand, we should not be blind to the fact that even multi-dimensional situations can be grouped together into broad classes. Situations and problems can be identified as being broadly economic in character—or social or financial or industrial or whatever else they may be We are committed in the public interest to provide them with properly selected and appropriately trained personnel The controversy that continues to range between the so-called "specialist" and the so-called "generalist", is completely barren, The time has come 'for us, to rise above the rather narrow range of this controversy and look m the overall situation.

This is precisely what the Fulton Committee (1968) had in mind, when operating on the reorganization of the British Civil Service. It said, ''Our aim is not to replace specialists by administrators, or vice versa They should be complementary to one another. It is rather, that the administrator, trained and experienced in his subject matter, should enjoy a mort fruitful relationship with the specialist than in the past, and that the Service should harness the best contribution from each."

Thus both, the generalist add the specialist class, of public services are necessary for any society. Their functions are complementary and one cannot replace the other. The continuing debate, therefore, seems to be meaningless. The present day dissatisfaction in the specialist can to a large extent be. remove by increasing their pay and promotion chances, according them their due status and by giving them a more positive role to play is policy formulations.

Among the remedies suggested by the ARC is the regrouping of all the present Services in the Government of India into eight functional categories, so that the IAS shall no more be a generalist but shall have a purely functional role of revenue administration. This recommendation has evoked sharp and bitter reaction from certain quarters. According to a retired member of the ICS "if the logic of the argument is translated into practice at the State level, the State Administrative Service and the State Subordinate Administrative Service should also be restricted to revenue administration. The basic assumption behind the recommendation appears to be that in the State or Central administration, there is no more need for a genera list. If the proposition is correct and is accepted, then there will no more be any controversy regarding generalist and specialist to administration. There will be only specialists and no generalists." As man who knew about ""State and Central administration in the field, he felt quite strongly that the proposition is not sustainable in administration today. A generalist administrator is trained to handle a vast and varied field from maintenance of law and order to developmental projects. He has to learn the art of managing men and the social forces to achieve results. For this be has for various. sectors, the help of specialists in the particular flew. Then are pure revenue expert is the revenue ad ministration. In the law and order, hell assisted by the police, which is a specialist service. In local self-government he is aided by a eat of local self-government experts. In development, he coordinates the work of various specialists in the field, ranging from agriculture to public works and co-operative From this position he gravitates towards the State Secretariat or the Central Secretariats

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Department. Thus, be thinks that ''whereas the federalist wit! generally fit in s& an overall adviser 01 coordinator or planner, it is only GB rare occasions that the specialist will fit in as such adviser, coordinator or planner. It is, therefore, theoretically incorrect to put ail services at par in any system of selection, especially for the top management posts. The generalist who has the right training will always be in advantage over the specialist, because the field is of the generalist.

The end to the controversy cannot be sighted in the replacement of bureaucratization by profissionalisatioin nor can one recommend that profissionalisation be allowed to dominate the organisation (the bureaucratisation has had enough of its hey days in the organisation). What is needed is the proper blending of the two processes in such a manner that their negative qualities get diminished and there is a multiplier effect on their positive qualities.

Professionalising Public Service

The ARC was further of the opinion that the contemporary need was for the more purposive development of professionalism. By this it meant, that the development of a broad genus like, say, that of the professional civil servant was no long-r satisfactory, on the contrary we must try and develop a professional economic administrator, a professional social administrator and so on. The base of this professionalism may not necessarily be provided by a single specialty. For instance, professional industrial administrators the world over have been lawyers, economists, civil servants, engineers and—for all professionalism that we need to develop for public administration is not the usual kind pf professionalism. It mil be readily admitted on all hands that a man who lays down the policy on prices has to have some knowledge of the extent to which the administrative machinery as a whole is competent to administer price controls and commodity controls. He has also got !o be aware of the extent to which, and the rapidity with which, the production of various commodities currently in short supply is likely to change. He will have to form his own judgement of the degree to which the policies being implemented by other ministries for the expansion of production are likely to be effective-He must also have a sympathetic awareness of the consequences of each course of a cotton on our people, not as statistical entities in office files, but as living, responding human beings. Tots professionalism is not the same being as that of a professional economist. Basically, the background of this professionalism has to be, in the initial stages, pervasive and comprehensive rather than narrow and restricted. It is of the greatest importance, therefore, to determine, from time to time, the broad fields in which professionalism should be developed for servicing the highest levels in public administration.

The kind of professionalism, that the ARC had in mind, could only be developed through a variety of innovations in the field of recruitment, training and the career-planning" The last is easily the most important aspect of personnel management which has so far received scant attention in the personnel policies of the Government of India. Career planning at present Is virtually unknown in the various cadres of public services to India, There MISSO the problem of striking a balance between the need for specialisation and the need for a-broad vision and approach. The type of mobility existing in the generalist administration has for long discouraged the acquisition of knowledge in depth and the accomplishment of the goals of administration. A systematic career planning undertaken for all kinds and categories of

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service can possibly inculcate the desired functional specialism needed for the “generalist” class of civil services and the 'generalist' qualifications needed for the top specialists.

The new Department of Personnel will have to give serious thought for the development of the ways which can provide a specialist with a reasonably representative cross-section of experience in organization, management, programme planning, field administration and of working within a framework of political, sociological and economic constraints. At the same time the generalist would need to acquire greater professionalism in various functional areas like social, economic, industrial or financial relevant to his area of administration and appropriate to his level of responsibility. He must have a real understanding of. and familiarity with, the principles, techniques and trends of development in the subject matter of the field in which he is operating. It is only by developing a systematic plan for inducting and training of civil servants, that the system may receive the necessary fillip that it so urgently requires. It will be worthwhile to undertake a comprehensive empirical research in various. Ministries and Departments about the actual relationship between these two different wings with a view to analyse their role-perceptions and identifying the areas of their co-operations. This will also help develop a plan for a 'generalise administrator to acquire the qualities of a "generalist specialist" and a 'specialist' attain a position of "specialist-generalist".

It is encouraging to mote that the Central Training Division in the Department of Personnel has done some modest work in trying to identity same of the specific tasks with respect to training of higher specialist personnel for general administrative work. Beginning within the two-fold aim of developing indigenous training literature, and development off suitable training programmes since 1969, the Division can claim the credit Of giving training an executive Development Programme to about 2,000 personnel until 1973. The venue of the Executive Development Programmes sponsored by the Division has been extended beyond New Delhi to Bombay and Chandigarh through respective university collaboration arrangement. In addition the Division has sought to sponsor Annual Training Conferences planned around specific themes which have attempted not only to bring together training institutions and coordinators from all over the country but have provided a forum for serious discussion.

However, the Division has been conducting such Executive Development Programmes for senior officials mainly in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, although the Division did develop links with the university of Punjab and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Bombay University and Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University, leading to several very useful Executive Development Programmes. But creativity in training involves a constant coordination between theory and practice at all levels of what is sought to be covered and conveyed through training. It has long been realized that training in Government can only develop in a rounder form provided it can ensure benefit of interaction from the academics It could, therefore, well be an important responsibility of the Division to bring the Universities and the academics closer to training in Government and forge mutually advantageous collaboration arrangements.

Mention may also be made about the work of the Division of Career Management

which is engaged in the tasks of analysis of functions, preparation of inventories, collection of information including job classification, establishing improved methods of information retrieval, scientific projection of manpower resource, preparation of individual career plans

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and devising of suitable criteria for assignment. The functions of this Division in detail an:

(1) To plan, develop and promote programmes for systematic career development of

personnel of the IAS, IPS, Central Secretariat Service, and certain other services

through the analysis of career patterns and the use of such methods AS job rotation,

counseling, assignments, training courses and related employee development

methods.

(2) To operate an advisory service to advise and assist the cadre administering authorities on all aspects of career management

(3) To plan management development Programmes.

(4) To plan and conduct research Programmes on employees.

It is too early to make a full assessment of the work of this Division. there is, however no doubt that such activities when undertaken seriously and with a sense of purpose may Indeed be fruitful m reducing the very wide gap that exists between the specialists and generalist and thus promoting harmony between the two wings of the officials. Much needs to be accomplished. This is only a beginning and a drop in the ocean. The remedial measure to tad this futile debate certainly lies In better career-planning and management with appropriate and adequate training arrangements to all classes of employees different fields of specialty -including the specialism of a professional administrator.

SELECT HEADINGS

R.B. Jain contemporary Issues in Indian Administration (Delhi Vishal Publications, 1976)India Administrative Reforms Commission, Report on Personal Administration (New Delhi April 1989).

U.K. Report of the Committee (Chairman Lord Fulton): The Civil Sevice Vol 1 (London 1968)

S.R. Maheshwari, Indian Administration, (Delhi Orient Longmans 1979)

F.F. Rider, Specialists and Generalists: A Comparative Study of the professional Civil Servants at Home and Abroad (London 1968).

LESSON 11

Financial Administration: The Budgetary Process in India

R.B. Jain

Professor of Political Science,

University of Delhi

Control and administration of finance is of prime importance to any system of government for the simple reason that while there are unlimited demands of the people to be catered for by the government, The financial resources at its command arc almost always limited. Financial administration, thus, becomes an exercise in striking a balance between scarce resources and limitless demands. It also is one of the decisive dements in the control and direction of national economic and social development. Every governmental decision in practice has financial implications, and these in turn influence all the sectors of the economy, public and private. The determination of "spending priorities" and of finding money needed for them is indeed very difficult, more so, when a government is committed, as governments of developing countries are, to the objective of waging a war against poverty. Thus as Professor Maufice E. O'Donnell has put it: ''Financial administration reflects the growth and expansion of governmental functions. Here in this process financial resources must be set and then distributed to various areas and functions. Financial administration becomes, therefore, an important part of the political process by means of which financial resources are translated into human resources."

The Principles of Financial Control

Financial control is basic to administrative accountability. Its objective is to ensure the economical utilisation of the available resources effectively. It is natural that in a democratic government, the legislature should continuously exercise control over finances. The legislature as the agent of the people has to ensure that public revenue is raised in an equitable manner and spent economically so that the tax-payer may get, as far as it is possible, full value for his money.

One of the most important devices that modern governments have adopted in this connection is the National Budget. The budget is both the compass which, indicates the course, that a Government should take in its financial administration and the wheel with which it can steer that course.

It is an instrument for scheduling and evaluating government activities and also of its economic and social policies in the broadest sense of the terms. It is. through such a document that approval and consent at the highest executive and legislative levels are obtained for the manner in which the country's financial resources are to be utilized. Control of the public purse by the elected representatives of the people has for long been one of the basic guarantees in a democratic State against a possible misuse of public funds.

The principle of legislative control over finances came to be established as a result of certain historical circumstances which simultaneously paved the way for the evolution of the parliamentary system of government in Great Britain. In the I7lh century, the Stuart Monarchs in England gradually became dependent on the Parliament for finances because it

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asserted its sole right to tax (inherent in the doctrine 'No taxation without representation’) and sanctioned money to the King for expenditure. This was later codified in the Bill of Rights (1689) that "Levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative without grant of Parliament...is illegal". Parliament thus established its undisputed claim to provide money to the Crown and came to acquire primacy in financial matters. The Parliaments power to raise money is the first cardinal principle of financial control in the United Kingdom. But there were dangers inherent in the mode of control especially it this power were to be left unlimited. Members might be tempted to raise funds and sanction alternative services. The second principle was, therefore, laid down that “the Commons cannot votemoney unless, be required by the Crown. The House cannot by itself initiate any such-legion . This constitutional principle is embodied in the Standing Order 78 of the House of Commons. The House will receive no petition for any sum relating to public service or proceed upon any motion for a gram or charge upon the public revenue unless recommended from the Crown .

Both these principle form a basic or the main planks of all responsible democratic governments today Thus while administration cannot have money without parliamentary approval, the legislature cannot appropriate money on its own initiative. These principles have been embodied the Simian Constitution as well. Article 113 (3) states "No demand for a grant shall be made except on the recommendation of the President" And the Supremacy of Parliament is assured under Article 265: "No tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law. Appropriation of money can only be done by it Article 266(3) states: "No money out of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Consolidated Fund of State shall be appropriated except in accordance with law and in the manner provided in this constitution."

This is itself an important factor in financial control. Even when the Parliament controls taxation government has the freedom to spend it as it likes. This happened in England in the earner days. With the passage of time, it was obvious that in order to be effective, it would be necessary for the Parliament to also sanction approval of the destination of money which implied that, it acquired the power also to appropriate funds. In other words, the Parliament must know and approve the purposes for which money is being raised.

Grants are made, in the normal practice, for specific stated objects under particular head, and subheads of expenditure. The Government is required to give full justification for hand demands by way of expenditure. Parliament also regulates the issue of money which gives it a certain measure o control. In India Article 283(1) of the Constitution empowers Parliament to regulate by taw the custody of the Consolidate Fund of India etc., and with drawl of money from such accounts". It thus not only authorized expenditure but also controls the issue of funds.

The System of Financial Control

In parliamentary systems, such as in India, there are in general four agencies for the control of public finances: (i) the Legislature, (ii) the Political Executive, (iii) the Central Financial Agency, and (iv) the Audit Department. Control' by the Legislature is mainly through (a) control over taxes, and other revenue receipts, (b) control over expenditure, (c) control over borrowings, and finally (d) control over accounts. The political executive

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controls finance, just as much as it controls and shapes policies. Expenditure on any major or minor head depends upon policy, and here economy in administration is a function of this fundamental factor. On the other hand, certain general question:), such as determining the financial powers of administrative authority at various levels, pay, leave, travelling allowances and pension rules of government servants, etc., which have a bearing on the entire administration, are finally determined by the political executive.

The Finance Ministry in India, being the Central Financial Agency of all the Ministries, has a major role in matters of financial control. Its main function is to secure economy in expenditure done by the administrative departments. In addition to this it has responsibility of exercising vigilance over departments so as to keep them within their budget grants; also to see they do not get more funds than they are able to spend within a fiscal year; and that they surrender savings in good time before the close of the year. The processing, consideration and the formulation of budget estimates is the sole responsibility of the Finance Ministry. It exercises a general control over the whole business of financial administration of the Union Government. It makes proposals for raising funds by taxation and borrowings and other measures .to keep wheels of government moving, in short it controls the entire expenditure of the Government. However, it is increasingly being recognised that for both economy and efficiency, administrative departments must bear the ultimate responsibility in respect of financial administration.

Finally, the audit control is exercised by an independent authority, usually the Comptroller and Auditor General. Its primary capons ability is to ensure that the expenditure done by the executive agencies and departments is in accordance with the purpose laid down by the legislature and by the authorities competent to make it. In the context of democratic governments, audit is not just tolerate as necessary evil, but is looked upon as a valued ally which brings to notice procedural and technical irregularities and lapses on the part of individuals, or by departments as a whole-whether they be errors of judgement, of negligence, or acts and intents of dishonesty. The complementary roles of audit and administration are accepted as axiomatic, being essential for toning up the machinery of government.

The Mechanism and Nature of Financial Control in India

As already mentioned, the Ministry of Finance is the central control point concerning fiscal management of the entire administration. It acts as the financial control machinery of the Government and thus claims the right and also considers its duty to prune proposals emanating from Ministries and Departments, and tailor them to the requirements of the overall national financial policy.

The Organization of the Ministry of Finance: As a central financial agency of the Government, it has coordinating and advisory role in alt matters of fiscal policy, currency, coinage, foreign exchange an J framing of financial rules. It discharges these manifold functions through four major Departments. These are (as on 1 April 1974): Department of Revenue and Insurance, Department of Expenditure, Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Banking.

The Department ,of Revenue and Insurance is responsible for the administration of all direct and indirect taxes' The. Department has two autonomous Boards, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (dealing with Income and Wealth Taxes) and the Central Board of Excise and

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Customs. The chairman of these Boards, who are in the rank of Additional secretaries to the Government of India also serve as its advisers in respect of Taxation Proposals and fiscal policies. The Boards are responsible for the realisation of ail central revenues accruing to the Government They are also the highest appellate authority in respect of Taxation cases. The Insurance wing of the Department controls the Government's policies in Insurance Business .and oversees the working of various Insurance Corporations and Companies.

The Department of Expenditure, which is sub-divided into seven main divisions viz. (i) the Civil Expenditure Division, (ii) the Defence Expenditure Division, (iii) the Establishment Division, (iv) the Staff Inspection Unit, (v) the Cost Accounts Wing, (vi) the Plan Finance and civil the Bureau of Public Enterprises has the overall responsibility of scrutinising of Public expenditure schemes submitted by various administrative Ministries and Departments. The Establishment Division deals with general policies regarding expenditure of staff and administration of various financial rules and regulations relating to conditions of services of Central Government employees. The Bureau of Public Enterprises coordinates various activities of the Public Sector Undertakings in the Central Government and acts as a clearing House for a variety of their tasks. The Staff Inspection Unit carries out work studies in various government offices, trains officials in techniques of work study and fixes standards for work performance.

The Economic Affairs Department is the key unit of the Ministry of Finance. It is concerned with the preparation of the Central Budget of the Government, including supplementary excess grants. It also handles borrowing and fixation of market loans by the Central and State Governments and the administration of the Public Debt Act. It also deals with internal finances, economic advice, stock issues and liaison with the Reserve Bank of India. In the field of External Finance, the Department is responsible for the administration of the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, other than the enforcement work which is done by the Revenue and Insurance Departments, foreign exchange budgeting, control of financial exchange resources, foreign investment and import and export of gold and silver. In internal finance it looks after currency and coinage and questions related to the Security Press and the Mint.

The Department of Banking looks after all nationalized and non-nationalized Indian Banks, all foreign banks so far as their operations, in India are concerned. It also controls all matters relating to cooperative banking, all long-term financial institutions; chit funds, and other non-banking companies accepting deposits; and administration of all statutes, regulations and other laws relating to banking in India.

The Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs coordinates all the activities of the four Department and as such enjoys the status of the Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Finance.

The Nature of Control by the Ministry of Finance: The control by the Ministry of Finance generally exercised at three different stages: First at the- time of acceptance of the policies of the Ministries and Departments of the Government in principle; second, at the time of the acceptance of the provisions for expenditure in the budget estimates and third, at the time of sanctioning the increment of expenditure subject, however. to such powers as have been delegated to the administrative Ministries. The control at the first and third stages is time consuming and sometimes causes delays in the day lo day working of the administrative

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ministries, which tantamount to interference in their work. It has often been maintained by critics that the control of the Ministry of Finance is too rigid and detailed and is largely responsible for slowing down the pace of work and causing avoidable delay in the implementation of many project which demands speedy execution.

At the first stage of control the Ministry of Finance, theoretically speaking, is not concerned with the policies of the individual Ministries and Departments. It is generally admitted that they are free to formulate policies on their own and the Ministry of Finance cannot dictate any policies on its own initiative or interfere with the policies of the administrative Ministries. However, in practice, policies are often modified and/or changed by the Ministries on the insistence of the Ministry of Finance to conform to a particular overall financial pattern. To this extent the Ministry of Finance does exercise an indirect control in shaping and formulating the policies of the administrative Ministries.

It is at the second stage that control exercised by the Ministry of Finance is more comprehensive, detailed and effective. The discussion of this control mechanism involves a critical survey of the entire budgetary process.

The Budgetary Process

It is the duty of the Parliament to ensure that expenditure proposed by the Government is the minimum for the services to be rendered to the community, and furthermore to ensure that the estimates of expenditure are accurate and comprehensive. Under Article 112 of the Constitution, Government is required to submit to the Parliament an “Annual Financial Statement” in respect of each financial year It includes expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India as well as all other expenditure proposed by the Government. The heads of accounts of this statement are prescribed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India and other expenditure are shown separately. It is also a requirement under the Constitution that estimates should "distinguish expenditure on revenue account from other expenditure". Estimates are submitted to the Lok Sabha in the form of' demands-for-grants'. The Lok Sabha has the power "to assent, to refuse assent to any demand, or to assent to any demand subject to a reduction of the amount specified therein.

The estimates of expenditure together with the estimates of revenue accruing to the government is known as the "budget". The budget of the Government is its "financial blue print" for a specified period, generally a year from 1 April to 31 March. It is one of the chief instruments of financial control as well as of authorisation whereby the administrative departments are enabled to implement their respective projects and programmes. The budget is the most important annual agenda item of the Parliament. The budget is also an important political document which reflects the goals and aspirations of the political executive, its policies and Programmes of action, h serves a number of purposes, fiscal, financial and economic, administrative, managerial and developmental in terms of each state and the country as a whole. It sets out a Programmes of development and enables the adjustment of performance in relation to it. Hence the budgetary process has become a very important method o£ planning, implementing and the control implied in the whole procedure of governmental

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Preparation of the Budget Estimates-: Estimates are prepared by the individual Ministries and Departments in accordance with the norms and procedure prescribed by the Ministry of Finance; This is normally done in two parts. Part 1 consists of' Standing and Fluctuating Charges and Part II contains items or proposals for New Expenditure. The latter category includes the continuing charges also, until such time they are declared-^s permanent charges and are included in Part I. Standing Charges, include pay, travelling allowance, etc., Fluctuating Charges are those which vary from year to year e.g. the purchase of raw material etc. Extension of existing services and new services proposed to be started fall under New Expenditure. Part II estimates are sent to the Ministry of Finance earlier than the ones in Part I, because the demands for new services need a close scrutiny, as the Government has later to justify and seek validation by the Parliament.

Part I estimates are prepared on forms supplied by the Accounts Officer who fills in the actual of the past three years. The Ministry or Department of the office concerned then indicates the revised estimates for the current year and budget estimates for the next year. This gives the reviewing authorities and the Parliament a clear idea of the developmental policies of the Government and of the general trend of public expenditure. Estimates are supported by voluminous documents giving detailed facts and figures along with carefully prepared statements justifying the new expenditure. A copy is sent to the Accounts Officer, who after checking the facts and figures transmits the 'Charge Statement1 to the Ministry of Finance. Other copies go to the Departments where they are scrutinized and forwarded to the Finance Ministry with their respective recommendations. The Finance Ministry modifies some and endorses other proposals keeping in view, the overall financial policy of Government. Strict. rules are followed in the framing of estimates. They are further covered by appropriate sanctions, and the estimating authorities are required to exercise foresight and prudence in formulating them and to restrict expenditure to the minimum possible.

The revised arrangements for budgeting and financial control that were introduced with effect from 20 August 1958 provide that (he may scrutiny of the Finance Ministry in respect of any proposed expenditure be exercised before the budget is framed. Thus, the new emphasis is more on pre-budget scrutiny, especially of the fresh schemes which are proposed by the administrative Ministries. The Finance Ministry's control at this stage is akin to the control that the Treasury exercises in Great Britain. The officials of the Ministry have to consider budget proposals from a detached point of view. It is not their business to be obstructive or autocratic. They are expected to inquire and test the thoroughness and the ability with which the fresh schemes have been worked out in the light of questions such as: What is the real purpose of the scheme? Why has one method rather than another has been chosen? How will certain obvious difficulties be overcome? The officials really have to get inside the thoughts and plans of other Ministries and ask themselves whether it should be wise to approve the proposed expenditure as it stands? Or need any modification? Traditionally, this is known as the commonsense approach borne out of experience in detecting the flaws or weaknesses with which the fresh schemes may have been formulated.

But Departments are sometimes irritated by what they consider to be the cheeseparing

tactics of the Ministry of Finance, leading to delays in the final sanction of finances and thus adversely affecting work considered by them as urgent. Commenting on the relationship between the administrative Ministries and Finance Ministry, A. D. Gorwala once

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There are many bitter complaints, some of them perhaps rather one-sided, against what is termed the wooden ness and lack of discrimination of the Finance Ministry at the Centre. The Finance Ministry, it is said, centralises in itself the power of sanction, and even for small amounts of expenditure the administrative departments have to go to the Finance Ministry. Quite often, after many references to and fro, the administrative department drops the proposal, having come to the conclusion that the trouble in continuing to refer is greater than the object to be served by the expenditure.

Others think that the Finance Ministry is not fully equipped to make an it emitted check of technical projects, for it has neither the time, nor the necessary technical skill to do so. Besides it encourages departments not to be so careful of the budgetary aspects of schemes submitted to it. In 1956, Appleby observed that "the existing system of financial control has the character of vicious circle in which exclusive reliance on Finance has prevented the Programme Ministries from developing a competence in translation of technical schemes into sound and convincing budgetary and expenditure proposals". With big development projects delays means considerable waste of precious national resources due to mounting costs. Consequently some decentralization has now been attempted by delegation of certain financial powers to the administrative Ministries. But the final control rests with the Finance Ministry. This is, as it should be; Finance Ministry is the prudent housewife of the nation charged with the determination of the nation's income and expenditure.

After the estimation of expenditure, estimation of revenue is made by the Finance Ministry. The departments such as Income Tax, Central Excise, Customs play an important role in collecting the revenue and make forecast of expected revenue for the coming year. In the light of these forecast, the Finance Ministry makes proposals for variations in taxes. These proposals, until the placement before Parliament as bills, are kept top secret. Finally, the Annual Financial Statement, the Demands for Grants, and the Tax Bills are placed before the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister on the day he presents his budget and makes the budget speech on the last working day of February.

Budget through the Parliament: So far the budget in Parliament is concerned, once it is introduced by the Finance Minister in the form of proposals, usually on the last day of the month of February each year, the Parliament has two months period to consider both the Demands for Grants and the Finance Bill. However, before the close of fiscal year on 31 March, the vote on account is passed without discussion which contains approximately 1/12 of the total estimated expenditure for a smooth running of the state of affairs.

Though the Lok Sabha is most powerful in budgetary affairs, a copy of the proposed budget is simultaneously laid on the table of Rajya Sabha too. Money bills must always originate only in the Lok Sabha. However, they are transmitted to Rajya Sabha, which must return them within 14 days. The Rajya Sabha can propose amendments to the bills but the Lok Sabha is not bound to accept the proposal. Even if there is no response or the bill is rejected by the Rajya Sabha, the bill is placed before the President as if it has been passed by both the Houses. Thus, except delaying, the Rajya Sabha has no other powers over the money bill. Theoretically, the Lok Sabha is all powerful in financial sphere. But in practice, power of proposing expenditure and imposing taxes has been reserved to the Minister for, no grant can be proposed unless a minister demands it, and no tax can be imposed unless a Ministry initiates it. Therefore, in this sense, the House has the power only to reduce or

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During the presentation of the budget before parliament, the Finance Minister reviews the. general financial position of the government, makes indications of the economic policy and also defends the new proposals. He also gives figures of actual expenditures of the previous year and provides revised estimates for the current year. Along with the budget proposals other necessary documents are also presented to the parliament.

General discussion over the proposed budget takes place after 2-3 days of the proposition in both the Houses. The date and period for discussion are fixed by the Speaker of the Lower House and Chairman of the Upper House in their discretion. With a view to providing maximum participation in the budget discussion maximum 15 minutes time is allotted to each speaker. At the end of the debate the Finance Minister gives his reply.

When the General Discussion is over the Voting of Demands takes place for about 8 to 12 days. During this period, discussion on Demands for Grants are made on ministry-wise basis. Certain period is allotted to each ministry and all the ministries are put down for discussion. At the end of discussion the minister concern replies to the criticisms made. Amendments to the demands for grant arc made through the process called 'cut motions' such as token cut, an economy cut, and refusal of supply cut. There is no provision to make amendment to the cut motion. If the time allotted is over and some issue remains to get sanction, then the issues are kepi before the House to vote one by one. In this way au Appropriation Act is made which gives the legal authority for withdrawal of money out of government consolidated fund.

After the budget is passed by the both Houses of the Parliament, the Appropriation Bill and the Finance Bill are sent to the President for his signature, after which they become Acts and come into operation. Reviewing the Parliamentary control on budget, it may be mentioned that the control of the legislature on the budget is not very effective, primarily because of the strict party discipline prevailing in the House of the legislature, and also because many of the grants for many Ministries, gel passed without any adequate or with virtually no discussions in the House. There is, therefore, an urgent need for reforms in parliamentary procedures, if the parliamentary control over budget is to be made more effective.

The Expenditure Control

The control at the third stage is generally known as the expenditure control. The Rules of the Ministry of Finance provide that no department shall, without its previous concurrence, issue and orders which may:

(a) involve any abandonment of revenue or involve any expenditure for which no

provision has been made in Appropriation Act;

(b) involve any grant of land or assignment of revenue or concession, grant lease or

license of mineral or forests rights or a right to water, power, or any property or

privilege in respect of such concession ;

(c) relate to the number of grades of posts or to the strength of a service or to the pay

or allowances of Government servants or to any other conditions of their service

having financial implications or

(d) otherwise have a financial bearing whether involving expenditure or not.8

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It may perhaps be construed from the above restrictions that the Minister of Finance have virtually full authority in respect of all financial matters of the administrative Ministries. But it should be noticed that while the rules lay down general principles of restrictions over administrative Ministries, they also incorporate an important proviso enabling the Finance Ministry to issue such general or special orders as may delegate certain financial authority to administrative Ministries. What is in a way envisaged here is not only financial control, but more important financial delegation. An adequate delegation of financial power has been a major recommendation of the various reports on the Administrative System of India, right from Ayyangar's Report of 1949, to the Administrative Reforms Commission's Reports of 1967-68,

LESSON 12

Financial Administration: Performance Budgeting in India

R.B. Jain

Professor of politely Science

University of Delhi, Delhi'

In general terminology 'budget' is a statement of estimates of income and expenditures for the coming year. In a traditional type of budget priority has been given to the ongoing activities and the control of spending in the process of formulation and execution of the budget. Under the Indian budgetary system, the position till the late 1950 had been that the. executing agencies needed specific expenditure sanction from the ministry of Finance before they could implement a programme, even though budget provision had been made for it The Finance department as the Chief Custodian of Indian Finances, exercised centralised Financial control to ensure legality and accountability of the expenditures. As remarked by S.S. Viswanathan:

"The budgetary system in India as in many other countries has been designed and developed mainly to facilitate Financial and legal accountability of the executive to the legislature, and within the executive, observance of similar accountability on the part of each subordinate agency. The main objective is to ensure that funds are raised and money is spent by the executive in accordance with and within the limits of Legislative sanctions and authorisation."1 (S.S. Viswanathan: Performance budgeting in India,—"A review of developments, present status and prospects" The Indian Journal of Public Administration

April-June 1970, p. 180.)

In such-a situation the administrative and executing agencies could not participate in the process of Financial Control.

Such a system, introduced by the colonial government, worked very well because the functions of the government, were very much restricted. But as the functions of the government increased in the social and economic sphere, it was felt that the highly centralised system of financial control by the Finance Department was dilatory and therefore, inefficient in the discharge of government functions. So a decentralised budget with more emphasis on Programmes and activities was thought to be the need of the hour.

It was first in U.S.A. in 1949, that the first Hoover Commission used the term 'Performance Budgeting' to describe what had earlier been known as 'functional' or activity budgeting. After Six years in 1955, the 2nd Hoover Commission made greater use of the term Programme Budgeting. Both these terms, 'Performance Budgeting' and 'Programme budgeting' were used more or less in identical terms by the administrationists in the fifties., The basic idea was in changing the emphasis in budget, from expenditure to functions, programmes, activities and projects. According to M.J.K. Thavaraj:

“Performance budgeting-is greatly understood as a system of presentation of public expenditure in terms of functions, programmes, performance units viz. activities/projects etc. reflecting primarily the governmental output and its cost”,2 ( M.J.K. Thavaraj & K.B. lyer: Performance Budgeting (Published by Research publications in social science N. Delhi, 1972) p. 3.)

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The concepts of programme and performance budgeting lay greater emphasis on the economy and efficiency aspects of programme, planning and management. There has, how-ever, been no uniformity in the usage of these terminologies. According to Jesse Burkhead:

“There is no precise definition for 'performance budgeting'. It has come to mean something different in every jurisdiction which puts it into operation. In particular, there has been a tendency to make programme budget and performance budget synonymous terms and this contributed a good deal to the terminological confusion”. 3(Jesse Burkhead: Governmental Budgeting (New York, John Wiley 1956) p.

While this terminological confusion is there, in practical application, 'Performance Budgeting' is understood in reference to the reforms set in motion by the Hoover Commission and 'Programme budgeting', is used in conjunction with the Planning-programming in budgeting system. According to Professor K.L. Handa:

“Where as performance budgeting lay great emphasis on the technique of cost accounting and scientific management, programme budgeting is thought to derive its core ideas from economics, and system analysis. Under Performance budgeting, a budget is considered to be a work programme and a tool of management.” 4 (K.L. Handa: Programme and Performance Budgeting Uppal Publishes House-New Delhi, 1979,), p. 10. B 5)

According to Allen Schick:

"Whereas in Performance budgeting, works and activities are treated virtually as ends in themselves, in programme budgeting work and services are regarded as intermediate aspects the process of converting resources into outputs." 5(Allen Schick: The Road to PPB The Stages of Budget Reform, Public Administration Review, December, 1966 p. 251.)

In short we can conclude that the main stress in 'performance budgeting' is on 'activity' analysis and in programme budgeting on 'out-put' analysis. According to M.J.K. Thavaraj:

"The Programme budgeting system tends to highlight the need for clearly defined objectives, choice between alternative programmes based on their cost benefit implications, spelling out of the future cost repercussions of near term financial commitments etc. The key note of Performance budgeting, on the other hand, has been an improvement of internal management on the basis of the volume of work to be accomplished during a financial year and its cost." 6 (M.J.K. Thavaraj & K.B. Iyer Performance Budgeting (Published by Research Publications in Social Science, New Delhi 1972) p. 3.)

Professor K. L. Kanda has made the concept of Performance and Programme budgeting very clear by the following Diagram:

Vector I stands for the impute used which result in activities represented by Vector II. These activities out-put denoted by Vector III. The definition of performance budgeting

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comprise these three components namely: 'input-activity-output'. Vector IV in the diagram denotes the social state which means, "How much success has been there through these activities in the social state. This social state represents the ultimate end objective of the three preceding stages. In other words programme budgeting comprise all the four vectors namely; input-activity-output and social state, which is one step further than-performance budgeting". Performance budgeting has the limited objective of measuring the direct out-put resulting from the' "activities performed and the inputs used, while programme budgeting goes a step further by embodying a broader objective of measuring the social state resulting for the output produced.

According t-o Burkhead end Miner:

"Programme budgeting in its recent evolution has three partially separable objectives. The first is taxonomic—the classification of Government; activity by goals and objectives. The second is analytical—the comparison of costs with outcomes and the exploitation of alternative mean's of achieving outcomes. The third is protective—the long range planning of governmental Programmes." 8 (Jesse Burkhead and Jerry Miner: Public Expenditure (Chicago Aldive Atharta 1971)p. 174.)

To conclude we can say that programme budgeting is a very broad term while performance budgeting is a part of it.

Elements of Performance Budgeting

Performance budgeting offers great potentialities for management and may be usefully applied in India. So there is a need to delimitate several elements of Performance Budgeting

I. Formulation of Objectives: (1) According to the concept of performance budgeting, the annual budget is a plan of action for achieving, through various programmes, and activities, the clearly defined objectives of the organisation concerned. The objectives need to be framed in a way that they facilitate identification of Programmes and activities for their achievements. The objectives are required to be formulated in concrete and specific terms, they should not be vague at all. A round work programme for a specified time period should include for each activity a clear definition of objectives, the choice of basic methods for achieving the objectives, a forecasting of how much and what kind of works is to be done, when and at what cost. According to Catharine Secular Hudson, Executive budgets programming requires (lint individual agency programmes should be formulated and considered in terms of the government pi grammar is a whole and should be in accordance with the policies established by the executive.

(2) Programme/Classification Activity-- The second step is the classification structure in the budget so as to facilitate achievement of the objective. Programme/Activity classification should clearly explain the objectives to be accomplished through the expenditure of budgeted funds. Such a classification should be related to the needs of the level of management which would use it. Different levels of classification should be relevant for management and control purposes at various responsibility levels-the organizational hierarchy. As Professor Handa says,

For the top level management in an organisation concerned' with the construction and development of roads, the following desiccation may be more useful to serve the purpose

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Programme/Activity classification. (1) National High way, (2) Lateral -Roads, (3) Roads of economic or interstate importance, (4) Strategic Roads, (5) State High-ways, (6) Major district Roads, (7) Village roads.

Each one of these programmes may he split up in yet another classification to suit the purpose of efficient management and control. For example take the first programme i.e. National Highway which can be further classified in the following way: -

(1) Missing Links of Roads, (2) Improvement Roads (3) Widening of Roads (4) Construction of bridges, (5) By Passes etc. 9 (Handa: n.4,. p. 194-195.)

The third step towards performance budgeting is the installation of work measurement. It is however, recognised that their is no single yard-slick for measuring activity as for determining Performance standards. Different types of norms and standards have been suggested to be used depending on the nature of activity and their suitability to a particular situation. Some agencies may use the 'work-load' and unit cost data, others may use only the work-load data, still others may use only explanatory or descriptive material. According to K.L Handa:

"The crux of a scheme of performance budgeting is to ensure that activities are performed with maximum economy and efficiency. Efficiency of an operation may be measured in different ways. It may be measured with certain pre-determined norms and standards or by other ways mentioned above. Such standards must allow for deviations. After having allowed for such deviations, the variance between actual and standard performance would surest some corrective actions, thereby enhancing the value of budget-control." 10 (lbid p. 197.)

The fourth step along performance budgeting is the establishment of Record Keeping along financial lines." As ideal reporting system should cover the volume, quality time

expended and cost of each programme or activity. An efficient system of information and reporting presupposes any adequate and proper accounting system. According to M.J.K. Thavaraj:

"Basically there must be an integration of budgeting and accounting classification. Accrual accounting should be used whenever appreciate. But in view of the difficulties involved in determining costs and expenses in relation to charges in units and liabilities, the switch over to accrual accounting should be properly phased over a fairy large period." 11 (Thavaraj; n.2.,p.14.)

Ideally commercial accounting will be reliable and complete only when they are on a double entry basis and a balance sheet is prepared at the end of the year.

There should be a sound system of management accounting which would facilitate an efficient working of scheme of Performance Budget. It would also enable meaningful review and evaluation of performance. According to Professor Handa:

"Management accounting, therefore, in broad terms may be stated as that aspect of accounting which facilitates efficient and economic management of various tasks in the organization by providing the various levels of management with relevant and timely information. concerning their specific reeds." 12 (Handa, n.4., p. 20S.)

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An advisory committee has been appointed to consider and recommend management accounting concept to suit the requirements of different ministries/departments. In 1975, Government of India introduced a scheme of integrated financial advisor which was intended to Improve the competence of the departments in the field of financial management.

The next step in the programme budgeting is the decentralised responsibility structure. Performance budgeting is a technique which requires a management based or decentralised responsibility structure. .Performance budgeting can achieve results when the various levels 'f management in the organisation perform and accomplish their tasks. Their involvement in a meaning way in the formulation of the performance budgeting is calculated to inspire in its efficient implementation. Broad guide lines need to be framed at the top level. Within the frame-work of these guide-lines, detailed budget estimates are prepared at various responsibility levels and are suggested upwards. These suggestions are reviewed and aggregated upwards at each higher level.

When responsibility is decentralised, the next step is the delegation of financial

were down the line. Adequate delegations are necessary for an efficient discharge of

responsibilities at -various levels of management. This delegation of powers is very useful. This enables the top management to devote his time to the most important managerial responsibilities such as planning, policy-making, coordination, review and control. It reduces the time span of decision-making. It also brings about improvements in the operating procedure of administrator which in turn enhance the administrator which in turn enhances the administrative capacity available to the organization. Delegation also brings develops staff capabilities at different levels of organization. But in such a system it may be necessary to establish internal control by having a system of inspection, reports and reviews. In the Government of India, this delegation of powers started with the delegation scheme of August 1958. Two other schemes were introduced in this connection in April 1975 and January 1978.

The last step is—reporting and review of performance. The rational of such a reporting and review system is to influence and help the concerned responsibility levels to correct the faults before it is too late.

To conclude, in the words of M.J.K. Thavaraj, in the establishment of a performance budget system all these elements of improvement should move forward simultaneously. This is especially desired because all these elements stand together. It practice, however, no one aspect of performance budgeting should remain static merely because same other point is imperfect. For, improvement in one area stimulates and encourages other improvements and the interaction will finally determine the level of accomplishment.

Working in India

The system of budgeting and financial control as it was in-.the pre-independence period, continued in its broad frame-work even after independence. The short-comings of this highly centralised system also continued to be felt. Therefore, the view point, that the system needs decentralisation to facilitate efficiency and economy in government operation, gained strength.

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Soon after the Government of India launched upon planned development through successive Five Year Plans, beginning from 1950, the prevailing system of budgeting and financial control was found to be a major bottleneck to development administration. The tremendous increase is the number of governmental activities and the vast- expansion of governmental outlays could not be handled smoothly by a highly centralised system of functional administration. Considerations of efficiency and economy became very important in the planning period because of the massive expenditure involved in the programmes for socio-economic development of the country. So the need for modernising the budgetary system was keenly felt. As observed by Viswanathan

“It was becoming increasingly clear that in the context of a planned economy and the growing size, and the complexity of governmental activities, there is a need to reorientate our budgetary system to the new developmental responsibilities of management in ensuring fulfillment of plan objectives.”14

The traditional budget emphasised the financial aspects and did not interrelate financial outlays with physical targets and achievements. So it proved deficient as a tool of management and as an instrument for evaluating performance. As stated by the working group on performance budgeting :

“From the view point of the plan implementation our budgets have failed to provide an adequate links between the financial out-lays and physical targets, notwithstanding the growing amount of data now being supplied in the budget documents.”15

It was, therefore, felt that the system of budgeting should be such as could provide adequate information regarding the programmes and activities of Government as to how effectively and economically they are implemented and the results that flew from them indicating the relationship between inputs and outputs. A budget should provide clear information on what the government proposed to do, how much of it, at what cost and with what results.

It was in 1954 that a demand for the introduction of Performance budgeting in India was made for the first time. It happened during a debate in Lok-Sabha in the subject of Finance Ministry's control over expenditure. It got further support from the Estimates Committee which recommended :

“Performance-cum-programme system of budgeting would be ideal for a proper appreciation of the schemes and out lays included in the budget, espacially in the case of large scale developmental activities. Performance budgeting should be the goal which should be reached gradually and by programme stages without any serious budgeting dislocation. It is to, be hoped that the experiment towards performance budgeting on a selective basis in order to supplement the traditional budget contains concrete result of it at least in the case of selected ministeries and projects.”16

The Estimate Committee reiterated its recommendations in its 60th and 61st Report on Budgetary Reforms and asked the government to expedite the :

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“Introduction of performance budgeting so that the 1960-61 budget could be a performance budge partly if not wholly”.17

Again in its 73rd report on the preparation of budget estimate, the Committee stressed the need for the preparation of Performance-cum-programme statements the public industrial undertakings.18

For this purpose the Committee suggested to adopt the format in use in U.S.A. The Government followed the recommendations of the estimate Committee and issued a circular letter to the administrative ministries, requesting them to issue instructions to the public undertakings under their control, so as to help them prepare- performance-cum-programme statements, besides business type budgets.”

The Ministry of Finance invited Franks W. Krause of the united states Bureau of the Budget, requesting him to examine the question of introducing performance budgeting in India in 1964 Krause conducted a survey and made a case study of three governments departments and recommenced the adoption of a comprehensive and clearly phased plan of action to introduce performance budgeting in India. Moreover an expert Carl W. Tiller was invited by IIPA, who gave his views in a series of seminars which was attended by Senior Officers of financial and accounting back-ground.

The Administrative Reforms Commission constituted a ‘Working-Group’ on performance budgeting to study the adaptability of the techniques of Performance under Indian conditions. The working Group appreciated the need for --- performance budgeting in India and recommended its gradual adoption. The Administrative Reform Commission (ARC) also recommended its introduction in all the departments and organisation of the Government which are in direct charge of developmental programmes.29

The A.R.C. recommended that the performance budgeting world seek to achieve the following objectives .—

(a) To present more clearly the purpose and objectives for which the funds are

sought and to bring out the programmes and accomplishments in financial and physical terms.

(b) To help a better understanding and better review of the budget by the

Legislature.

(c) To improve the formulation of the budget, and to facilitate the process of decision-making at all levels of government.

(d) To enhance the accountability of the management and at the same time to

provide an additional tool to management control of financial operation and

(e) To render performance audit more powerful and effective.1

On the recommendation of the Commission the government of India took a decision that performance budgeting should be introduced in all the governmental departments in a gradual manner. Much has been achieved in this direction. Not only the central government but many state governments have also started preparing 'performance budgets' for their selected departments.

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Problems and Achievements:

According to Professor Handa,

Performance budgeting brings the financial and physical aspects together right from

the starting stage of a proposal to the final emergence-of it as a scheme So performance budgeting helps to bring about an organic integration of planning programming and budgeting helps to gear the process of decentralisation of authority in conformity with real responsibility and helps to improve public relations.22

There are certainty a few pitfalls and problems which confront attempts at introducing performance budgeting e.g. Functional classification is regarded as the cope-stone of performance budgeting. But the diverse world of reality does not always tend itself to neat identifying appropriate and adaptable of proper work units to measure such activities may be formidable espacially in areas such as projects design surveys research, foreign affairs etc. which defy standardization.23

Performance budget aids, but does not solve the greatest problem in budget decision making. It is because of the fact that the information collect may be insufficient and if the information is wrong it may lead to wrong decisions. Sometimes the classification developed for a project may be made much too broad to reveal the significant programmes and activities of the agencies and to serve as a firm basis for budgetary decision and management. Besides, performance budgeting may tend to encourage over decentralisation over-simplification of the appropriation structure and consideration of functional categories for purely budgetary purposes, thereby relating the important progammes and management consideration into the background. Despite these short-coming performance budgeting is bound to serve a very useful purpose in the context of planned economic development in a country like India.24

The Indian Experience:

As noted earlier, the objective of financial control in the context of planned economic development (with the consequent increase in the nature and magnitude of public outlays)25 is no longer to keep down the expenditure at the minimum practicable level alone or to secure false economies ; but to control and regulate the increasing public expenditure within the limits of available resources and at the same time to introduce an element of built-in-efficiency—to achieve greater results with the same outlay. More important than this is the necessity of scrutinizing the programmes in detail with a view to balance the costs and benefits ; to ensure adequacy of financial allocations for approved programmes and to relate expenditure to actual performance in physically terms. As there has been a tremendous increase in the developmental expenditure from year to year, it becomes necessary for the tax-payers to know whether adequate returns commensurate with the outlays and the objectives for which they had been sanctioned by the legislature are, in fact, being achieved or not. It is argued that the technique of Performance Budgeting would provide a shift in emphasis from procedures to performance and may be helpful in dovetailing the plan outlays with the annual budgetary estimates.

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The ARC Study Team was cautious in pointing out that despite the great potentialities of Performance Budgeting, it was not without its limitations. In its practical application it had restricted value as many governmental operations and activities (like law and order, diplomacy, and research) are not measurable in any precise manner. Further, it enables only quantitative and financial evaluation, of programmes and activities, and offers no qualitative evaluation. The success of such a technique depends upon well organized departments identifiable with definite programmes and activities. In actual practice a complete concurrence of functions, programmes and activities with organizational units is not easy to achieve. Thus it must be noted that while as a technique performance budgeting facilitates better programming, it is neither a substitute for good budgeting nor does it itself promote efficiency." 27 (These are Department of Communications, Ministry, of Health, Family Planning and Urban Development, Ministry of Transport and Shipping, and Ministry of Works,. Housing-and Supplies.)

Acting on its final recommendations, the Government has made an attempt to introduce the concept of performance-budgeting on an experimental measure in certain selected Departments.'-7 The conventional budget papers have also sought to be supplemented by performance type budgets for departments selected for the purpose. The objective of such measures is to prepare over-all financial plan of the Government, which may serve as an instrument of its. policies, and may at the same time indicate economic significance of the policies and programmes envisaged in the budget: It has, however, been criticized, that "such documents do not. indicate the standard of performance or the correlation between physical and financial aspects of a programme in all cases, and there is a room for legitimate doubt whether they serve any purpose except adding to the weight of budget document.' 28 (Sec The Hindustan Times, 7 August 1969, p. 13.)

Notwithstanding this criticism, the scheme of Performance Budgeting is now gaining grounds in the Government" of India. In 1969-70, the scheme was extended to five more Ministries/Departments and two more were covered in 1970-71. As noted earlier, the partial success that the scheme has so far received has presumably promoted the Government to propose its expansion to as many Departments as possible, However, there are many difficulties in the introduction of such a measure, Apart from the inadequacies of data regarding target,, norms and other relevant performance indicators, which are inherent in the first attempt of this-kind-there is a paucity of trained personnel to implement and work it, and to take the necessary follow up actions, and further of training and orienting the various top, middle and lower level officials in improving the administrative and financial systems.29 (See S. S. Viswanaihan, “Performance Budgeting in India—A Review of the Development, Present Status and prospects” in Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 16 (April-June 1970), pp. 188-219.)What has been accomplished so far has been the conversion of the existing Demands for Grants into the format of a performance budget with whatever data that is available. This does not amount to installing the technique in the real sense of the term. 30 (Ibid., p. 191.)

Another dimension of the problem that needs to be considered before the implementation of the! scheme is the receptivity with which the operating agencies view it. Do they .find it a useful exercise or merely: a ritualistic compliance with mandates emanating from higher sources ? In fact, it may be helpful to ascertain the actual use which the Ministry of Finance makes of performance budgets in evaluating the agency's estimates. The additional mass of budgetary materials, howsoever meritorious, may undermine its receptivity, this is only imposed upon administrators and legislators, and especially if they do not have a sense of participation and involvement in the implementation process. The U.S. experience with the PPBS has already demonstrated that efforts to effect government

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mental changes are prone to be abortive, if there is too great a divergence between what is proposed and the existing managerial attitudes and degree of sophistication. 31(Joseph Pois, "Some Observations on the Indian Experience with Performance Formance Budgeting; sponsored by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, 29-30 December 1972.) It is thus of urgent importance that (hose who are responsible in implementation of these technique! must themselves be convinced of its useful place in the budgetary system. Attitudes values and environmental factors would not only enter into the viability of performance budgeting, m the Indian setting but would also determine its success or failures Final it is also necessary that in the context of plan expenditure the implementation of this technique should also be supplemented with the adoption of a scheme of revolving budget and annual plan-budgets. Such steps would enable the Government to adjust and carry over annual plan deficiencies, if any. and would help achieve long-term plan objectives in a more rational manner.

Though a simultaneous movement embracing all the elements of Performance budgeting applicable to the central State, and local government is desirable, initial emphasis may be placed on me problem of beatification of programmes and evolution of suitable measure of work and cost in the central; government. This should be a part of covcrsion of plan with appropriate phasing over-time backed' 6% strong legislature and executives support/ AH the departments and agencies should be actively associated with the conversion process. The Ministry of Finance should organize the requisite staff orientation and training It is a new experiment in India and it needs to be employed very carefully and handled expertly. 32 (Hinda, op. cit., pp. 94-95.)

LESSON 13

Legislative Control on Indian Administration TRATlON

R.B. Jain

Professor of Political Science

University of Delhi,

Delhi.

The problem of ensuring administrative accountability to me legislature in a parliamentary system of government like that of India, is one, which is largely a matter of 'politics' and not of law'. Of the many functions of the legislatures, one of the most important is the "control and overview of administration. The "classical" model of legislative activity, which held that the legislatures were essentially involved in law-making has now been replaced with one which takes into account the role of the individual legislators. However, free the system, legislators operate under some constraints they will do so much and not more over each problem that-comes up and therefore, over the whole range of issues they will not be prepared to extend the involvement of the legislature beyond a given specific point which can be calculated. The executive has a large part to play in the determination of this point, for its influence is one of the constraints, but as participate, however, infrequently, in the total decision process and thus influence and control administrative policies and activities. 1 (For a detailed discussion of the emerging functions of legislatures and the increasing role of legislators in the executive decision-making process see Jean Blondel, Comparative Legislatures (Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Princeton, 1973), p. 15 ff. and Allan Kornberg and Lloyd Musolf of (eds.) Legislatures in Developmental Perspective (Durham, N.C., Duke University Press, 1970), and Allan Kornberg (ed.), Legislature's in Comparative Perspectives (New York, David Mc Kay C Inc., 1973).

The notion of Legislative control has been subject to two different interpretations. It

may mean a general political control or a detailed examination of governmental activities.2 General political control implies that the legislature has a right to express its agreement or disagreement with the way the_ government intends to orient or has oriented its activities. In the Westminister model of parliamentary government, such a control is secured through the continuous and collective responsibility of the Cabinet to the directly elected House of Parliament and its continuation in office so long as it commands the support of the majority in that house. The second interpretation involves the detailed examination of government activities which may cover both preliminary intervention, i.e, before a policy is adopted, and expost facto scrutiny, i.e.'. after that policy has been implemented. This is in accordance with what Professor Crick thinks; “the only meaning of parliamentary control worth 'considering and worth the House spending much of its time, on which do not threaten the parliamentary defeat of a Government, but which help to keep it responsive to the underlying currents and the more important drifts of public opinion. All others are purely antiquarian shuffllings.3 Such a meaning of control enables the Governments to govern in. the expectation they can serve out their statutory period of office, that they can plan—if they chose— at least that far ahead, but that everything they do may be exposed to the light of day and that every thing they say may be challenged in circumstances designed to make criticism as authoritative, informed and as public as possible.” 4 “Control means influence not direct power; advice, not command: criticism, not obstruction, scruting, no: initiation; and publicity, not secrecy. Here is a very realistic sense of parliamentary control which docs not affect any government.”5

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In the ever expanding areas of administration due to the phenomenal proliferation of. state activities in a modern democratic welfare state, parliamentary control has increasingly taken the form of ex post facto supervision and control. It is in this sense of control that we must now examine the main instruments through which Parliament in India attempts to exercise control over the Executive.

The Emergence of Political Parties

A preliminary comment about the role of political parties in the control mechanism will not be out of place. The emergence of political parties has provided a new dimension to the operation of modern political and governmental institutions. Since they are basic elements in the functioning of political systems, the party becomes a means of ensuring the domination of Parliament by Government, for the latter is controlled by the party leaders, whose subordinates are the Members in the Legislature who form the majority in Parliament. The internal hierarchy of the party in power and the control of the party leaders (in other words, the Cabinet) over the members of the majority party in the House tends to limit parliamentary control over the executive. Such control is sought to be exercised principally by the opposition, but the opposition being in a minority can only articulate its opposition and expose and embarass the government. Party discipline is so strong that given the majority of the party in power in the legislature, the Government can get through with practically anything it desires. Thus a vote of censure, or that of no-confidence is really a potent weapon. It might, therefore, be argued that parliamentary control over the executive has, for all practical purposes, come to mean control by political parties. Parliament at best exercises an indirect and limited control over the executive, i.e. through criticism and opposition.

THE CONTROL MECHANISM

Apart from the direct responsibility of the Ministers to the legislature enforced through pain of the defeat of the Government in the Lok Sabha, the control of Parliament over the executive can be studied under three categories: (a) General control over policies and action of the executive, (b) financial control and (c) control exercised by other committees on legislative and administrative matters. In the first category are the many devices like Question Hour and different types of motions available to the Member of Parliament to oversee the activities of the executive. The second type of control is exercised by the legislature through budget discussions and debates, and the important instrument of the financial committees. And in the third category fall other committees which keep a scrutiny of the processes of legislation and certain specialised administrative activities.

Vote of No-Confidence

The most important constitutional right in the hands of a member is to move a vote of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers. The only self-imposed restriction is that fifty members should support the motion. Members have not to give any reasons for moving the motion; there is no time limit for giving such a notice; no permission of anybody to move it is required. Once such a motion is, admitted, government has to find time early enough to have it debated. As the recent events in Lok Sabha have shown, the House has successfully established the right that until the "no-confidence motion" is disposed of, no substantive motion involving the approval of government policy should be admitted and debated in the

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House. During the debate on the motion of no-confidence, Members are at liberty to call in question any policy or act of government. They may list any or all the faults of government. The debate takes place for a reasonable duration of time in order to enable all the opposition Viewpoints to be stated. Government's supporters have to defend the government, and most Ministers whose policies or department acts are criticised take part in the debate. The Prime Minister winds up the debate on behalf of government.

When a 'no-confidence' motion is under discussion, it is primarily the government which has to struggle for its survival and the administrative apparatus is not directly affected. But as the administration is inextricably connected with the government, they have to supply material, facts and data to the government and strengthen the government's case in order to enable them to defend themselves and the administration. The government is not alone in this. They have the support of their party and may also get support from other apposition elements who are in agreement with their policy. Thus the division is along the party or political lines. Though on such a motion the result of the vote is. usually a foregone conclusion, the government has to show its ability on its own merits that it is pursuing the right policy and that it has implemented its policy reasonably satisfactorily. Much depends on the administrative machinery as to how they have served the government and how they have supplied the facts and arguments in support of government and how they supplied the facts and arguments in support of government's case. The administration is therefore, on a severe test at such a time, and its collective accountability through the government of the day is in no doubt, for a single fault in any part of the administration may damage the prestige of government and may even bring about its fail.6

There is an important difference between the procedures described above and those which will be discussed hereafter. In the former case, it is all the Members of the House, whether individually or collectively, irrespective of their party affiliations, who are interested in the scrutiny of administrative and executive acts and express themselves on the merits of the case without inhibition; but in the latter case the issue is between the Opposition and the Government Party and thus it assumes a political character. In the nature of things, such motions or matters are raised by the Members of the Opposition only. As the vote of the H6use is involved and the continued existence of the government is threatened, the supporters of government have to take the government line regardless of what their innermost feelings are and they have to exhibit combined strength on the floor of the House to defeat the Opposition. Administrative accountability through these processes is remote and indirect and gets blurred with political responsibility and philosophy of the party in power,

(a) GENERAL CONTROL OVER POLICIES AND ACTION OF GOVERNMENT

The general control of legislature over the policies and action of government is exercised mostly at the initiative of individual members of the Parliament. A member of Parliament has many opportunities to raise important political policy or administrative issues either requiring an answer from the government, or criticizing its activities generally. These could be achieved through Question Hour, Short-Notice Questions, Haif-an-Hour Discussions, Adjournment Motions and other types of Motions and Resolutions. Each of these devices calls for some explanation and discussion.

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The Question Hour: The first hour of every sitting of Lok Sabha is allowed for the asking and answering of Questions for information. Question Hour has come to occupy a valuable part of the daily proceedings of the House, Members, Ministers, visitors to the Lok Sabha, and the Press representatives, all of whom are present in maxima -ambers during the Question Hour, look forward to it with lively interest. Members a make use of the Question Hour to ask questions on all subject falling within the sphere of the Government of India. The Questions throw, as it were, a searchlight on the whole administration. Ministers, far from being annoyed, see in the Question Hour their daily opportunity to inform and to explain to the House and through it to the- country, their policies and how the administration has been functioning. The Speaker has divided Ministries into five groups so that a group of Ministries is allotted a particular day in a week for answering questions relating to them. Other Members may be permitted by the Speaker to ask supplementary questions.' Although a question is asked to seek information but behind it may be suggestion that things have gone wrong or administration has been amiss or there has been delay or the administrative action has not been consistent with the approved policy.

The Minister may be put to a gruelling test by means of supplementary questions (interpellations as they are called) which may be so framed as to expose the weakness of administration. Cabinet Ministers and Parliament Secretaries read out written answers and then face a barrage of supplementary questions arising from the main answers. There is incisive probing, but this verbal exercise is overdone, with the result that not more than half a dozen questions are thus handled daily. The answers to the remaining questions get into the official record and are also available to the press. Newspapers generally run a separate feature recording answers to questions since they provide information of public interest on matters of consequences.8 The questions also fulfil another need. The Minister gets to know how his department is handling the affairs and what impact his department has produced on the mind of the general public who, no doubt, inspire questions through their representative. Every Member considers this a valuable right and this is one of the surest and quickest ways of bringing administration to book for any lapse on their part. The impact of questions can be judged by the fact that in a session of six weeks as many as 15,000 questions may be asked in Lok Sabha, even when there is rationing of questions per Member. At present a Member cannot ask more than five questions, three of which may be for oral answers.9 The percentage of time spent in the Question Hour to the total time spent by the Lok Sabha in its sessions on all business during the second, third and fourth Lok Sabha comes to 15.1%, 15.1%, and 15.94% respectively. This is the third largest legislative activity after the legislation and budget discussion.

Short Notice Questions: In addition to the types of questions described above, a Short Notice Question can also be asked by Members. Where the news is disquieting, Parliament likes to be informed immediately of the facts. Of course, a Short Notice Question can be answered with the concurrence of the Executive and neither the Speaker nor Parliament has any means to compel the Minister to do so. In its own interest, however, the Executive feels bound to accept a Short Notice Question provided it has the information available or can get it quickly from its field offices. If the matter is urgent and of sufficient public importance, a Member can call the attention of the Minister to it and ask him to make a statement. Here the Minister has no choice except to ask for time to make a statement. Both the Member and the government ate at the mercy of the Speaker, whose

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decision whether a statement should be made or not is final. Both these procedures are available to Members who are interested in the matter and they are not subject to discussion or vote in the House. There may be implied criticism of the administration if things are not satisfactory, but this does not crystallise into any concrete censure or definite opinion of the House

Half-an-Hour Discussion -- As a further follow-up of important matters which have not been cleared by the answer to a question, a Member may demand half-an-hour discussion at the end of the day. Generally speaking, half-an-hour discussion are held frequently and they serve a useful purpose both from the standpoint of full scrutiny by Parliament and from the viewpoint of administration which has an opportunity to explain its case in more detail.

When a member feels that an answer to a Question, whether given orally or in writing leaves some points unexplained or gives scope for further clarification, he may table a notice for a half-an-hour discussion on the particular question. The Speaker has allotted three days in a week for such discussions. They take place at the end of the day. They are limited to half-an-hour. The Member has to specify in his notice the points on which he wants to have clarification. There are numerous notices for half-an-hour discussion for each allotted day and, in order to settle the one which should be taken up, a ballot is held and the Member who secures the first position is entitled to raise the discussion. When the discussion is taken up, the Member makes a short speech and the Minister replies to it. Not more than four Members who have intimated in advance and whose names are ballotted are permitted to ask a question each to which the Minister may give a reply. There is no motion before the House and consequently there is no voting.10 During the Third and Fourth Lok Sabha, the number of Half-an-Hour discussions raised was 109 and 183, on which a total of 164 hrs.-58 mts. (52 hrs.-17mts. and 111 hrs. -41 mts.) were spent constituting respectively, 1.4% and 3.7% of the total time of the parliamentary business taken by the two Lok Sabhas.

Answers to questions reveal at once how each department is functioning and its level of efficiency. To draft a parliamentary answer is an art. It must be precise, brief and accurate. It must reveal that administration has been prompt and that it has taken into consideration all aspects of the matter. The way the department or administration has briefed the Minister on the possible supplementaries also reflects the competence of the officers of the particular department. Thus the administration is on trial and they leave a mark both visible and invisible on the parliamentary scene. Even individual officers, though not mentioned by name, who have helped in the work of this sort behind the scenes seem to loom large before the parliamentary eye, and they create or destroy the image of administration both in parliamentary circle and outside. The departments which take this seriously, attend to their work with competence and earn a good name for themselves and above all for the Minister who is their mouthpiece and who can with the confidence of parliament behind him give better direction and secure quicker approval of the policies of the department by Parliament. A good deal, therefore, depends upon the administration and this is the first and everyday test which they have to pass through. As observed by S.L. Shakdher. the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha: "This is one of the most effective ways in which concurrent and continuous parliamentary scrutiny over the administration is conducted.”11

Adjournment Motions -- Whenever a Member of the Parliament is inclined to press a matter to a conclusion and wants to censure the government, he has a potent weapon in

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hands in the device of Adjournment Motion. It is “a motion for an adjournment of the business of the House for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance with the consent of the Speaker.”12 The rules relating to adjournment motions are strict and the members who give such a notice have to cross many hurdles. The matter must be definite, of sufficient public importance of recent occurrence, must interact the Central responsibility, involve failure of government and the facts must be agreed to by government and above all it must have the support of fifty members of the House The discussion usually lasts for not more than 2 ½ hours and in any case is to be concluded that day. It is because of these factors have combined to give this method of exercising control over the Executive so much importance and prestige.

It is to be noted that the. use of Adjournment Motion as a device for discussion of matters of urgent public importance has been very sparingly permitted during the post-Independence period since an Adjournment Motion amounts to a censure motion. For instance in the Third Lok Sabha, only 7 Adjournment Motions out of 776 were admitted and debated.11 During the span of Fourth Lok Sabha, notices of 1078 Adjournment Motions were received, of which 89 representing 8,5% of the total were brought before the House. Of these 12 were admitted and discussed, making an average of only one Adjournment Motion each session. Adjournment Motions have, therefore, been increasingly replaced by Half-an-Hour Discussions, Calling Attention Notices, and Discussions on Matters of Urgent Public Importance for Short Duration.

Calling Attention Notices -- Quite often the Question Hour is followed by even move lively proceedings. In this context, mention may be made of Calling Attention Notices, a concept of Indian origin. It is an innovation in modern parliamentary procedure and was introduced after Independence. Before this, there was considerable feeling that no precise procedure was available to a Member to raise, at short notice, an important matter. Since an adjournment motion was in the nature of a censure of the Government, its use for other purposes was deprecated.

Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha Procedures provides that a Member may call the attention of a Minister to any matter of urgent public importance and the Minister may make a brief statement or ask for time to make a statement at a later hoar or dale.

A Calling Attention Notice combines asking a question for answer with supplementaries and short comments in which all points of views are expressed concisely and precisely, and the Government has adequate opportunity to state its case. Sometimes it gives an opportunity to members to criticise the Government directly or indirectly to bring to the surface the failure or inadequate action of the Government on an important matter. The Speaker admits or selects a notice purely on the importance and urgency of the matter raised.14

The number of such calling attention notices during Second Lok Sabha has been 1947 out of which 301 were admitted and ministerial statements made on the floor of the House thereon. In the Third Lok Sabha, the number of such statements was 492, During the Fourth Lok Sabha a record number of 27,967 Calling Attention Notices were received, out of which 355 notices were admitted representing 15% of the total received. In response to the notices admitted, 354 statements were made before the House by the Ministers concerned.

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Discussion on Matters of Urgent Public Importance for Short Duration -- In order to provide opportunities to Members to discuss matters of importance, a convention was established in Lok Sabha in March 1953, whereby Members could raise discussions for short duration without a formal motion or vote thereon. This was later incorporated in the Rules of Procedure of the Business of Lok Sabha.

A member desirous of raising discussion on a matter of urgent public importance for short duration has to give notice in writing to the Secretary, specifying clearly and precisely the points on which he wishes the discussion to be raised. The notice is required to be accompanied by an explanatory note stating reasons for raising discussion on the matter in question and has to be supported by the signatures of at least two other members.” Only one matter can be raised for discussion in a notice.

The Speaker may call for such other information from the member who has given the notice and also from the Minister concerned, as he may consider necessary. If the Speaker, is satisfied that the matter sought to be raised in the House is of sufficient importance to be raised in the House at an early date, he admits the notice. In case an early opportunity is otherwise available for the discussion of the matter in question, the Speaker may disallow the notice.16

Notices are inadmisible, which seek to raise discussion on matters, which (a) are not' primarily the concern of the Government of India, (b) are based on vague and unsubstantial allegations (c) are hypothetical in nature (d) are premature and (e) which lack an element of urgency.17 The Speaker may allot two sittings in a week on which such, matters may be taken up for discussion and allow such time for discussion not exceeding one hour at or before the end of the sitting, as he may consider appropriate in the circumstances.18 Normally, discussion on matters of urgent public importance for short duration is taken up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In exceptional circumstances, it may, in addition or substitution, be taken up on any other day.

After a notice is admitted and a date fixed for discussion, the item is included in the; List of Business for that date in the name of the member who tables the notice, and who initiates the discussion and makes a short statement. Such of the members who have previously intimated their intention to the Speaker to take part in the discussion are also allowed to speak and thereafter the Minister concerned gives a brief reply.19 The member who has raised the discussion has no right to reply. There is no formal motion before the House nor is there any voting. The purpose of the discussion is that members who are in possession of some knowledge about the matter should apprise the House of it.

During the span of first ten sessions of the Fifth Lok Sabha (March 1971 to March 1974), 2182 notices of such Discussions were received out of which 51 were admitted and discussion were held on 50 of them. During the Third and Fourth Lok Sabha, the number .of hours spent on such discussions was 59 hrs. -13 mts. and 123 hrs.- 18 mts., constituting 1.6 and 4.8 per cent of the total time taken by the Lok Sabha respectively.

Other Types of Motions and Resolutions: Besides the Adjournment Motion, there are other types of motions to disapprove a particular policy or act of government. These may also involve political consideration or may be designed to call in question some administrative

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or executive act. In the latter case, the Minister has to defend the administration or take the blame for it. These motions are also in the nature of censure and have to be defended to save the life and prestige of the government.20

Among the devices adopted by the Lok Sabha for discussing non-financial matters, 'resolutions' occupy a prominent place. Any Member of the House can move resolutions on matters of general public interest. Resolution amy also be moved by Ministers.21 A resolution requires fifteen days' notice and its admissibility is determined by the Speaker.22 A resolution may be in the form of a declaration of opinion, or a recommendation, or an approval or disapproval of an ret or policy of Government or d. request for action. After a resolution has been moved, any member may seek an amendment to the resolution, Amendments normally require one days notice. In the Third Lok Sabha (1962-67), in all 97 Resolutions were discussed. Of these, 5 were Government Resolutions, 14 Statutory Resolutions and 78 Private Members' Resolutions. The range of subject matters was very wide from that of Chinese Aggression to Land Reforms.

(b) PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL OVER FINANCES

The most important scrutiny by Parliament concerns finances of the country. Administration comes under close scrutiny of Parliament when the budget is under discussion. Each Ministry, department, office and sub-office is on trial. They can be sanctioned money only after their activities during the previous year have been closely examined and discussed. There is no matter which cannot be raised during the debate. Questions of policy, economy, grievances, complaints, adequacy or inadequacy of projects, schemes and outlays can always be raised and the Minister has to give satisfactory reply before he may be let off.23

Administrative accountability in financial matter is also ensured through the instruments of the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings. The executive powers of these committees to collect information from departmental witnesses and the right of the Public Accounts Committee to be guided by the Comptroller and Auditor-General in us activities make them function as the eyes and ears of the legislature m financial and economic matters. This aspect of Parliament's control has already been discussed thoroughly in the preceding chapter and, therefore, needs no repetition at this place.24

(e) ROLE OF PARLIAMENTARY SCRUTINY COMMITTIEES OTHER THAN FINANCIAL

Apart from the financial committees of the Indian Parliament, there are other scrutiny committees to whom the administration is answerable. The most important of these are (i) Committee on Government Assurances, (ii) Parliamentary Select Committee on Legislation, (iii) Committee on subordinate; Legislation, (iv) Committee on Petitions and (v) Committee on Welfare of Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

(i) The Committee oh Government Assurances -- In its rules of procedures, the Lok Sabha has provided for a Standing Committee, called the Committee on Government Assurance. The Committee perform the usual and essential task of watching, on behalf of Lok Sabha the implementation of various promises and assurances given by Ministers on the

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floor of the House. The creation of this Committee on 1 December 1953 was infulfilment of a strongly felt need to devise some effective mechanism which would ensure that Government did not make use of such assurances for evading criticism by Members.25

The committee fulfill the need for watching the follow-up action with regard to the assurances, undertakings and promises given by the Ministers on the floor of the House. The Government departments have to be mindful that the undertakings given by their Ministers are fulfilled. The Committee scrutinizes them from time to time and reports on the extent to which they have been implemented. It may also comment in its report on whether such implementation has taken place within the minimum time needed for the purpose. The time limit fixed by the Committee for implementation of assurances is three months.

(ii) Parliamentary Select Committee on Legislation -- Legislation is the instrument fur the expression of public policies and in this process both the executive and the legislature play their respective roles. Since modern legislation often deals with complex social problems and requires expertise, this has resulted in the assumption of initiative by the executive. Legislation is the most important function of Parliament, but Parliament does not have enough time to go into the detailed aspects of legislation, nor does its size permit a thorough discussion of the various complex issues and the implications involved. The problem is sought to be met to some extent through the Parliamentary Select Committees and the device of Delegated Legislation.

The role of the Select Committees of the Parliament is important in the field of legislation in as much as they prepare the material upon which legislative, decisions are eventually based. A Select Committee is appointed by the House when emotion that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee is made.26 As a matter of policy the Select Committee on Bills represent important sections in the House and often include persons who have some special knowledge of or interest in the subject of the Bills. A Select Committee has the power to hear expert evidence an4 representative of social interest affected by the measures.27 Rules 304 and 305 require printed copies of the Report of a Select Committee together with the minutes of dissent, if any, to be presented before the House. Record of oral evidence tendered before a Select Committee is also printed and laid on the Table. Provision has also been made in the Rules for the appointment of Joint Committee . of Members from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for considering Bills which are of special importance. On such pieces of legislation, Joint Select Committees are generally appointed.

Each year on an average eight to ten Bills are referred to the Select Committee or Joint Select Committee. In 99 per cent cases amendments are made at the Committee stage, as in the case of the Delhi High Court Bill, 1965, and the Delhi Education Bill, 1964. In the case of the Judges Enquiry Bill, 1964, which was referred to a Joint Committee on the insistence of Dr. L.M. Singhvi and H.V. Kamath, the entire Bill was changed at the Committee stage.28 Thus the impact of these Committees primarily depends upon the. way the individual bills are discussed and the direction given by the members composing the Committees, but on the whole it can be said that such Committees have functioned effectively.29

(iii) The Committee on Petitions -- The Committee on Petitions is unique in the sense that it serves as a link between the aggrieved citizen, administration and Parliament. Any citizen, who feels that he has a grievance against the administration .which has not been

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redressed through other channels, can approach the Parliament directly. If his grievance of suggestion affects a matter of public importance, his petition is received by Parliament and sent to the Committee for examination and report. The Committee may call upon the concerned department of government to furnish the facts about the case and may hear the individual and the representative of the administration before coming to its conclusion. Whatever be its recommendations the administration has to give proper considerationto the matter. As observed by Shakdher, “Administrative accountability to Parliament thus brings in its fold administrative responses to the demands and grievances of citizens, and the committee's reactions thereto act as a soothing balm to the citizens and vindicate the right approach of the administration as the case may be.”30

The Committee on Petitions has played a vital role in securing redress of public grievances, whether contained in petitions presented to the House or in the representations relating to purely personal or individual cases. Nevertheless, the scope of its functions being circumscribed by the rules of procedures and directions issued by the Speaker there under, it cannot at present traverse beyond that, although it can be supplemented and the Committee be empowered to inaestigate into public complaints and grievances against maladministration of government departments.31 This can be adequately achieved if the scope of working of the, Committee on Petitions is enlarged and it is also vested with the functions similar to that of an Ombudsman—pending the establishment of such Institution by the Parliament as recommended by the Administrative Reforms Commission.32

(iv) Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: The

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes comprise more than 21 per cent of our population. Our Constitution-makers had envisaged the necessity of an independent machinery to continuously investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution and report to the President upon the working of these safeguards. Under Article 338 of the Constitution, a Special Officer (Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) has been appointed to perform this function. The first Commissioner was appointed in November 1950. Each year he submits an Annual Report of the work done by him in protecting the interests of these Communities, which is placed before the Parliament for its consideration.

The Informal Consultative Committees: Of the two great tasks of legislature in a parliamentary system of government—discussion of public affairs and inquest into the admiration—the latter has not yet got full scope in Indian context. Even-the former does not include the detailed examination that is necessary to make the discussions effective and fruitful. To realize the two objectives to a greater extent and degree than is obtainable in the open session of the legislature, the Committee system has been used to some advantage. For the inquest into administration we have the so-called Informal Consultative Committees for each of the important departments of administration. They are not Parliamentary committees. They are presided over by the respective ministers of the Government and there- is no nominee of the Speaker to hold the balance between ministers and the members.

These Committees are not in the nature of scrutiny committees and do not organise their work on these lines though the members would very much wish to devote more time to the “oversight of the administration” than listening to the exposition by ministers of the

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government policies. Besides, they are not even consultative committees in the sense that the government does not orient or formulate its policy after consultation with them. The constitutional responsibility of ministers to Parliament may prevent them from doing so, Ihey may at best be educative committees, but the members have so many other means of getting information that this type of committee system is not particularly of advantage to them. Hence, parliamentary scrutiny can be conducted only when the committees have their status and functions properly defined and they are. invested with parliamentary privileges which enable them to function on behalf of Parliament. If Parliament does not take some such steps immediately, it will be leaving a large area of the administration outside its supervision.33

Recently such Committees have been renamed as Consultative Committees. The dropping of the adjective 'Informal' employed earlier, it is felt, has increased the prestige of these committees, but it has not increased their power as a machinery for probing into the administration of the various departments. They are formed by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs after consultation with the parties; they arc summoned at the will and pleasure of the Minister concerned; the agenda is prepared by the Ministry and the meetings are few and do not last long enough to offer time and opportunities for deep and detailed scrutiny of the working of the departments. What is needed is a committee for each Ministry, representative of the legislature, lasting through it full term, so that the members would have him for specialisation in knowing the working of the department. The meetings should be held once a month and the agenda should be prepared on the basis of the suggestions of members. The official representatives of the department should be present at the meetings to answer enquiries and questions of the members. Besides, the meetings should last long enough to allow the agenda being completed.84 The Committees composed of members of various parties, tend somewhat to cool down party spirit, promote a strong corporate sense and help consideration of questions on their merits rather than on party lines. Such Committees can usefully examine how the departments have shown their performance within the resources available to them.35

The Effectiveness of Legislative Control

The effectiveness of the legislative control over administrative actions is determined by three important conditions. Firstly, as a matter of principle legislatures can be effective in its control over the executive only in proportion to the strength of the opposition which by virtue of its strength and appeal to the electorate, expects that some day it would have chance to form the Government, i.e., it should be “a cabinet of future”. In the Indian Parliamentary system, if the legislature has not quite succeeded in creating institutions and procedures for a more effective control over the executive, it was due partly to the dominating position of the Congress party in Parliament and the existence of an opposition, “which has been largely fragemented and frustrated and has lacked a strong and steady support structure”.36 Secondly, the effectiveness of such control also depends upon the strength and quality of public opinion. Representative legislatures backed by a strong public opinion controls the executive both through independent expression of opinion on public issues, backing or opposing the legislature in its attitude towards the executive, and also at the time of elections by choosing such people who would be honest and fearless in criticising governmental actions. Thirdly, the effectiveness of legislative control over the executive depends upon the devices and procedures instituted by the legislature in carrying out its functions to meet the changing needs of modern

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society. However, legislative procedures are only a means to an end. the end being responsible and democratic discussion of public issues in Parliament and the protection of the right of democratic and uninhibited debate. Care has thus to be taken to so develop these procedures as to exercise effective check and supervision over governmental actions, but not to stifle the initiative, flexibility and quickness of the executive for vital decisions.

The emergence of the Primer-Ministerial Government and a massive popular following for me leader of the nation and the government is slowly changing the complexion of the power structure in many parliamentary systems of government. India is no exception to this trend. In such a situation the strong executive must be matched with a strong legislature. But this is an aspect of the evolution of our democratic structure which has remained lopsided and weak. The character and strength of the opposition groups in the Indian Parliament and the State legislatures is such that they cannot provide a vigilant counter-weight to the powerful executive. This is particularly so because the opposition consists of diametrically opposite political trends. Some parties seek to build pressure on the Government to move rightward. On the other hand, some seek to exert pressure on the Government to move leftward. In such a context, the role of the Parliamentary Party in power assumes special significance. The parliamentary control is greatly weakened because of the inability of the opposition to present a concerted, effective and constructive challenge to the party in power.

Amidst these conflicting pulls, the prospects of Parliament exercising direct control over administration has continued to remain a mirage. Control of Parliament over the executive depends to a large extent on the organisational pattern of the majority party and the comparative strength of the ruling and opposition parties.37 It has to be kept in mind, however that Parliament's efficacy lies in its mastery of details and the vigilant attention it pays to aspects of implementation of policy. It has no voice in the laying down of policy, except in so far as its work is influenced by the majority party. But its control can be more .effective if the members are alert to the way the policies are initiated and implemented and demonstrate competence to understand the policy contents, and comment over them accordingly on the floor of the House.

Making Parliamentary Control Effective

In order that parliamentary control over the executive may be more effective, it has been suggested that all policies approved and laid down by Parliament should be stated in specific terms. At present government motions on policy matters are vague and too general. For instance. Parliament has never defined what our international policy is or should be, despite debating it in every session. What they have always approved is government policy in regard thereto. What is true of foreign policy is also true of governmental policies in other areas such as defence or food policies. The policy of Parliament at best ca» be gathered from the various speechees of its Members and Ministers from time to time. Speeches can never be precise. They are arguments, facts, opinions, intentions—all put together. No administration can be effectively called upon to account on this basis. It will always find an escape route in the speeches for what it has done or has failed to do. Parliament should never encourage omnibus motions such at “such and such policy or situation be taken into consideration and having considered it, the policy of government in regard thereto is approved.” What is passed by Parliament is this motion alone and not be government

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speeches which have been made during the course of the debate. It is because of the imprecise working of the Government resolutions that Parliament has been ineffective in enforcing what it wants and what it thinks it has accepted.38

Another suggestion for making parliamentary control more effective is to take away some of the most crucial but non-controversial issues from the purview of partisan debates on the floor of the Legislature. In other words, the Member of Parliament may be freed from their party affiliations, and be allowed a free vote according to their conscience. In recent times such freedom of voting has been allowed on many issues in the British House of Commons, like Britain's entry to the European Economic Community, Abortion Laws, Capital Punishment, Divorce, Censureship of Theatres etc.39 Such a step in the Indian Parliament may be more helpful, specially when there is a tendency to look everything through partisan eyes and many issues particularly relating to administrative and political corruption seem to get lost even when there is a general consensus to censure the concerned authorities amongst members of the ruling party and other opposition parties as a whole.

As the legislature cannot govern it devises instruments for controlling the executive. A problem constantly under consideration in Parliamentary democracies is the reform of legislative devices and instruments of control. Each device of control should occupy its proper place in the legislative mechanism, and preserve its identity. The suggestion of the appointment of 'Assessors' or 'Parliamentary Commissioners' to strengthen the system of Parliamentary control deserves great care and circumspection as they may tend to cause erosion of Cabinet responsibility and sense of leadership in the administrative branch. Parliamentary commissions, however, may be periodically appointed to assess the tools of parliamentary control and suggest improvements. A recent study has suggested the establishment of a permanent Bureau of Parliamentary control in the Parliament Secretariat. It is expected that this will facilitate a-continuous examination of the problem of ensuring legislative control. A fool-proof mechanism of control operated by intelligent Members animated by Parliamentary traditions is essential for ensuring administrative accountability to the legislature.40

Whatever be the other institutions or functionary units that may be developed for consolidating parliamentary control, in the final analysis, the above discussion clearly reveals that the oft-quoted excuse that Members of Parliament lack opportunities to supervise and control executive actions and policies has no justification. The Rules of Procedures provide for various effective techniques, but few of them are properly utilised. The Parliament spends a good deal of time in its sittings. The first Four Lok Sabhas sat for 3,784 Hrs, 3,651 Hrs, 3,733 Hrs. 3,029 Hrs and 24 Mts respectively with an average duration of per sitting amounting to 5 Hrs-25 Mts, 6 Hrs-26 Mts 6 Hrs-27 Mts, and 6 Hrs-15 Mts, respectively. The Fourth Lok Sabha actually sat for 469 days covering a period of 655 days out of a total span of 1382 days, which comes to a approximately l/3rd of the total time available to it. Spending of more time on parliamentary sittings may perhaps hamper, other multifarious activities of the individual members including a large number of hours which many of them spend in Parliamentary Committees and other Committees meetings. However, effective utilisation of the services, talents and interests of the individual members of the Parliament has so far not been made. The Opposition members and the back benchers have very often felt neglected. The greatest obstacle to an effective parliamentary control is perhaps the apathy or forced

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apathy shown by the majority of members towards making a constructive criticism and supervision of government policies. Seldom, if ever, the debates and discussions in the Parliament have shown a dispassionate analysis of government policies. Very often than not,, they are discussed and motivated, but not an easy one, is the change in the attitude of the individual member of Parliament, who should rise above the narrow partisan outlook and discuss the issue on merit.

Foot-Notes

1. For a detailed discussion of the emerging functions of legislatures and the increasing role of legislators in the executive decision-making process see Jean Blondel, Comparative Legislatures (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Princeton, 1973), p. 15 ff. and Allan Kornberg and Lloyd Musolf (eds.) Legislatures in Developmental Perspective (Durham, N.C., Duke

University Press, 1970), and Allan Kornberg (ed.), Legislatures in Comparative Perspectives (New York, David McKay C. Inc., 1973).

2. See Christian Dominice, “Parliament Role and Mission”, Parliamentary Studies (New Delhi), Vol. 10 (September 1966), p. 18.

3. Bernard Crick, The Reform of Parliament (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), p. 79.

4. Ibid., pp. 79-80.

5. This was pointed out by a study group in a memorandum submitted to the Select Committee on Procedure, See UK, Select Committee on Procedure, Fourth Report (London, 1965), p. 139.

6. S.L. Shakdher, “Administrative Accountability to Parliament”, Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 12 (July-September 1966), pp. 365-7.

7. S.L. Shakdher, “Question-Hour in the Lok Sabha”, The Parliamentarian (London) Vol.

50 July 1969, pp. 243-48.

8. Durga Das, “Parliament and the Press”, Journal of Parliamentary Information (New Delhi), Vol. 15 (April 1969), pp. 16-17.

9. Shakdher, n 7, p. 360.

10. Shakdher, n. 8.

11. Shakdher, n. 7, p. 361.

12. India, Lok Sabha, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha (New Delhi, Lok Sabha Secretariat, 1962), Chapter IX, Rules 56 to 63 lay down the method, restrictions and other conditions regarding the Adjournment Motion.

13. India, Lok Sabha, Third Lok Sabha (1962-67): A Souvenir (New Delhi, Lok Sabha, Secretariat, 1967) p. Appendices.

14. Durga Das n. 9, p. 17.

15. Rules of Procedure, p. 14, Rule 193.

16. Ibid., Rule 194.

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17. For specific instances of such notice being disallowed see M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdher,

Practice and Procedure of Parliament (Delhi, 1972), pp. 585-86.

18. Rules of Procedure, n. 14, Rule 194 (2).

19. Ibid., Rule 195.

20. Shakdher, n. 7, p. 366.

21. Rules of Procedure, n. 14 Rule 170-72.

22. Ibid., Rule 174.

23. Shakdher, n. 7, p. 362.

24. See “Controlling Finance : From Procedures to Performance”, supra pp. 278-312.

25. S.L. Shakdher, Committee on Government Assurances in Parliament of India, The

Parliamentarian (London), Vol. 55, no. 2 (April 1974\ pp. 72-77.

26. Rules of Procedure, n. 14, Rule 198.

27. Ibid., Rule 302.

28. See L.M. Singhvi, (ed.), Parliament and Administration in India (Delhi, 1972), p. 6.

29. See for a detailed analysis, B.B. Jena, Parliamentary Committees in India (Calcutta, 1966).

30. Shakdher, n. 7, pp. 363-5.

31. See R.K. Khadilkar, “Parliamentary Committees—Case for Wider Powers”, in Institute

of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies Parliamentary Committees in India (Delhi,

1973), pp. 12-13.

32. For a detailed discussion of the Institute of ‘Ombudsman’ in Indian context, see The

Ombudsam—A “Super-Administrator or a Grievance-Man”, Infra, pp. 359 ff.

33. Khadilkar, n. 45, p. 13 For a detailed discussion of the working of these committees see, S.R. Maheshwari, “Informal Consultative Committees of Parliament”, Journal of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, Vol. 2(1) (January-March 1968), pp. 27-53.

34. M. Ruthnaswamy, “Extension of the Committee System in Indian Legislatures”, Journal of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, Vol. 7 (January-March), pp. 50-52.

35. Shakdher; n. 7, p. 371.

36. Singhvi, n. 33, p. 30.

37. “Challenge to Parliamentary System”, Link (New Delhi), 15 September 1974, pp. 9-10.

38. Shakdher, n. 7, pp. 369-70.

39. For an analysis for such cases and the impact of free-vote on Legislative effectiveness see

Peter G. Riehards, Parliament and Conscience (London, 1970).

40. Nair, n. 43, p. 232.

LESSON 14

RI Rural Local Government in India: Panchayati Raj

—Dr. B.K. Sharma

Moti Lai Nehru College (Eve)

University of Delhi

The philosophy of development that emerged in India after independence emphasized the involvement of the members of the national community into a web of relationship and institutions that would enable them to actively participate in the process of decision making, affecting their welfare and progress. The move to diffuse power to grass root bodies was just initiated in 1952 through the programmes of community development projects. It may be mentioned that the community development projects which envisaged rural facilities including hospitals, agricultural extension service, centres for village crafts, cooperative units and many other things under a community project administrator met with only partial success in mobilising people's participation. The participation of the people in rural development has become, the corner stone of paochayatiraj system in India which was introduced in 1959 on the recommendation of the Balwantray Menu Committee.

The pancnayati raj system that succeeded the community development projects, was a three-tier system of rural local government These are as follows: —

(i) Panchayats,

(ii) Paachayat Samitis, and

(iii) Zila Parishad (with different nomenclatures in different states.)

It also acts at the agent of the State Government in the execution of programmes of rural development. Puchayati Raj has, thus, three roles to play (i) as a unit of rural local/government, (ii) as an testament of community development, and (iii) as an agency of the State Government. Within the broad structure of panchayati raj have emerged two 'models' to carry oat with effectiveness the two main functions of these institutions—to maintain direct contact with the people, cad to serve as the viable unit of administration: Rajasthan (Henceforth Rajasthan model)—the pioneer of panchayati Raj - has made the intermediate tier, panchayat samiti, the executive body—the pivot of the entire system with Zila Parishad functioning only as a coordinating end supervisory body. Other (with exception of Maharashtra and also Gujarat) have followed the Rajasthan ‘model’ with some inevitable local variations. The Maharashtra Committee on Democratic Decentralization (1961) opined: “the district body is the best operative unit of local administration as it alone will be capable of providing the requistique resources, necessary administrative and technical personnel and equipment required for a properly coordinated development of the district. In view of this, we conclude that if decentralization is to he reel tad effective, it would be imperative to establish a strong executive body

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at the district level.1 This is the Maharashtra model; It must also be noted that recently the Zila Parishad has been abolished in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa.

The Balvantray Mehta Report is an attempt on the science and-art of democratic decentralisation, dealing both with its theory and practice, with its basic postulates and institutional premises. The report has suggested the scheme of democratic decentralisation as a measure remedial to the failure of the community development movement, to evoke people's initiative and mobilise their voluntary and spontaneous participation.

The report did not merely embody the quintessence of the idea of democratic decentralisation, but also offered a blue print for parichayati raj which was to serve as the institutional framework of democratic deceutralisation in rural India subsequently. As already stated, they suggested a three-tier scheme with panchayats as the base, Panchayat Samitis as the intermediate tier and Zila Parishads at the apex- Details about a three tier scheme are as follows:

1. The Paachayat

The panchayat should be a directly elected institution with provision for the cooperation of two women members and one member each from the scheduled castes e id scheduled tribes. The panchayats would have two fold functions—one pertaining to civic amenities and the of the-relating to development. Under the first head, their compulsory functions would be (i) provision of water supply for domestic use, (ii) sanitation, (iii) maintenance of public streets drains, tanks, etc, (iv) lighting of the village streets, (v) land management, (vi) maintenance of records relating to cattle, (vii) relief of distress, (viii) maintenance of panchayat roads, culverts, bridges, drains etc., (ix) supervision of primary schools, (x) Welfare of backward classes and (xi) collection and maintenance of statistics. About the second, the report says: In addition it will act as the agent of panchayat samities in executing any schemes of development of other activities.

The report also dealt with the problem of the resources of the village panchayats which are necessarily inelastic and every effort should be made to assist them to increase them. The panchayats main resources should include: (i) property or house tax (ii) tax on market, bazars, haats etc, (iii) tax on carriages, carts, bicyciles, rickshaws, boats and pack animals (iv) octoroi or terminal tax, (v) conservancy tax, (vi) water rate (vii) highting rate, (viii) income from cattle ponds, (ix) fees to be charged for registration of animals sold within the local area, for the use of sarai, slaughter house, etc, and (x) grants from the panchayat Samiti.

2. The Panchayat Samiti:

The report suggested that the panchayat samiti which would form the most important unit in the three-tier scheme should have a jurisdiction co-extensive with a development block. Its members should be indirectly elected by the village panchayats together with two women members and one member each from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (in case their population exceeds 5 per cent of the total population) as co-opted members. Besides, number of scat ................
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