Question : “People’s participation is crucial to development administration.” Comment.
(2007)
Answer : The Development Administration (DA) aims upon the development of all sections of society in general and of weaker sections in particular. The People’s Participation (PP) plays an important role in this regard.
The essence of development administration is to bring about change through integrated, organized and properly directed governmental action. In the recent past the governments in most of the developing nations have shifted their focus on development by means of planned change and people’s participation. Furthermore, the growing welfare functions of the government have brought into limelight the limitations of the traditional theory of administration.
The people enjoys central place in the functioning of Development Administration. So to make the functioning of Development Administration smoother, it is necessary to gain people’s participation, as it brings about many advantages for administration:
So, the people’s participation holds the key for success of Development Administration. Development administration sets before them the goals of achieving modernization, industrialization, self-reliance, social justice and economic growth.
A different kind of development administration was thought of, which could fulfill these demands of Developing Countries.
Question : Do you agree with the view that development administration in recent years lost its impetus without making any significant intellectual breakthrough? Discuss.
(2006)
Answer : The development administration has the responsibility of changing a developing society in to the developed one. It is given the responsibility of enhancing the living standard of poor. The significance of development administration is so high that has become a separate discipline and a separate field of enquiry. For any discipline two things are important, firstly it should have a sound base in theory and intellectual innovation and second day it should have well defined field of enquiry with such roots in principles that can be validated empirically.
The development administration was started with a bang at a time when a huge number of countries got their independence from colonial rules. These countries did not have any well-established administrative set up were highly underdeveloped. Development administration gave them a hope to counter their miseries, which were the result of immense exploitation by colonial rulers. Till that time the development administration was thought to be the only answer to their problems. But as the era of globalisation arrived the technology advanced heavily. All these changes were thought to rapidify the progress or development.
But there was another thing that was ignored. Although newer means of development have been discovered by using the new technology, but at the front of intellectual growth the development administration suffered tremendously. There was no research or virtually very less research on improving the very foundation of development administration embedded in intellectual findings and innovation.
All this has resulted in the weakening of the development administration at its base which seems to be stagnated in recent past. When the development administration emerged as a field of enquiry within the public administration many models and theories were propounded. But now the momentum seems to be lost and development administration itself was not able to develop or in other words the development of the development administration has been halted due to the indifference shown by the scholars of this field. That’s why it is said that the development administration will disappear at the same rapid pace with which it emerged.
Development administration has helped many countries all over the world to stand on their feet and develop rapidly. It has transformed many developing countries into the developed one but when the question arises about its own development, we have no answer.
This is high time now to motivate young researcher for innovations in this field. In this way we will not only be saving and securing fast development of our countries and societies, but also we will be saving a beautiful subject or discipline from extinction.
Yes I agree that the development administration in recent years has lost the impetus without making any significant intellectual breakthrough which is not a good news for every one whether he is a public administrationist, a citizen, a student or any one else who is affected be public administration in any form.
Question : “Development administration is starved for theories which will guide the pooling of empirical knowledge, orient new research, and recommend administrative policy”. Explain.
(2005)
Answer : Development administration calls for some revolutionary changes in the attitudes, behaviour, orientation and outlook of public services at all levels of administration. Development administration is starved of theories, which will guide the pooling of empirical knowledge, orient new research and recommend administrative policy.
The attitude of development administration is positive rather than negative, persuasive rather than restrictive or authoritative. It encourages innovation and changes which is needed to accomplish development tasks. The characteristics of development administration may be identified by its change in orientation, result-orientation, commitment, client-orientation and temporal dimension.
The depersonalization of office is greatly dysfunctional to the emerging concept of the human relation oriented administration and harmful to the interests of a developing nation. The concept of impersonality may bring a rigid rule oriented approach which is the very opposite of commitment now regarded as an essential prerequisite for development administration. Rigid application of a strict division of labour may lead to redtapism shrinking of responsibility and delay in programme implementation so what is required is a flexible approach.
Question : Describe the changing profile of Development Administration and identify its effort towards peoples empowerment?
(2004)
Answer : Development administration, as has been made more many times, is not merely interested in economic growth. Rather its objective is economic growth with justice. It works for the purpose of a social orders based on the principles of equity, justice, and freedom, offering equal opportunities to all. The fact is that all major decisions regarding production, distribution, consumption and investment and all other important socio-economic relationships must be made by the agencies committed to social purposes”. It wools on the premise that wealth and income should be equitably distributed among various people of the society. The philosophy of development administration is that “the benefits of economic development must accrue more and more to the relatively less privileged classes of society and there should be progressive reduction of the concentration of income, wealth and economic power. However, the methods and approaches to bring about this changed process must be compatible and effective within the environment in which change must take place.
Institution-building : The tasks of development administration are not confirmed only to the formulation of plans, policies, programmes and projects, but it also includes creation of suitable institutions to accomplish the objectives of development. The term institution means planning, organising, implementing and evaluating, through well designed structures. In the words of Donald C. Store, “We use this term to identify the process involved in moving from an objective to be accomplished to the actual creation of the organisation, service system, new practices or relationships which evidence that change has actually taken place. This may be a school, a panchayat, a water distribution system, or any kind of organized efforts that requires acceptance and response”. A different set of organisational values and constructs are therefore necessary to tackle the tasks of development administration. In India, our experiments with development administration have been in the form of community development programme, panchayati raj institutions, anti-poverty programmes, district level and block level planning etc. In the process various institutions such as Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samites, Gram Panchayats, Municipal Corporations, District Rural Development Agencies, Rural Development Banks, State Planning Cells etc. have come up. These institutions are involved in development activities and so are the functionaries like the block development officer, village level workers etc.
Administrative Development: The administrative aspect of planning and development in terms of building up adequate administrative capacity and capability is another integral part of development administration. In order to make administration a perfect instrument of development the changes in structures, attitudes, skills and behaviour of administrative organizations are taken as us which. For these purposes, a proper arrangement for training of administrations engaged in the task of socio-economic and cultural transformation of the society is called for. In sum, it is concerned with waiting in administration. As sense of dynamism flexibility, democracy, responsiveness, imagination and innovativeness. It aims at creating a people centered administration replacing the colonial attitudes of authoritarianism and rigidity. The idea is to bring the administration closer to the people, to make the administration responsive to the people, and to make the people an integral part of administration. Another aspect of administrative development is related to simplification of procedures and techniques of work so as to make there comprehensible and accessible to the people who are mainly ignorant and illiterate. Administrative development aims at building a new generation of men and women trained and motivated to operate a modern society.
The concept of development administration is based on the premise that people have an immense capacity to contribute to development. That is why a renewed stress is laid on the need to involve people more actively in a stage of development planning implementation, controlling and evaluation. Participatory development implies development of the people by the people. The success of policies, programmes and projects depends to a larger degree on the success in obtaining more and more participation of the beneficiaries in development process.
Question : “Development administrator has two important aspects ‘two administration of development’ and ‘the development of administration’.
(2003)
Answer : Administration of Development: Development is integral to the anus and activities of the govt. especially in the developing countries because of paucity of resources, human and material in their countries, the need of making optimum utilization of available means and augmenting new means assures a great importance. Development administration thus becomes a means through which the government brings quantitative and qualitative and changes in an economy.
It is an effort at the synchronisation of changes in all spheres of development. Economic, political, social and cultural. Thus development is not only viewed in terns of growth process, but it includes a process of social change.
The state plays a leading role in bringing about development through its administrative system. In order to discharge this role it requires a distinct type of support by administration, which involves as has been observed by Swerdlew, special support by understanding of problems in the developing countries.
Harry J. Friedman development administrative means. The implementation of programme designed to bring about modernity. (Socio-economic progress and nation building).
Development of Administration: Development administration has to be efficient and effective. For that purpose it has to aim at enlargement of administrative capabilities and structural and behavioural change. It is this aspect of administrator that is called administrative development or development of administration. In simple terms, it means development of administrative system. Administrative health depends on introducing administrative rationalization and institution building.
Following aspect deals with development of Administrators:
Development of administration further means actual change in administration. The colonial administrative cultural is unsuitable to the changed socio-political ethos of the developing world. Our British legacy has adversely affected the administration. Police Act of 1861, cannot take us towards the path of change.
Question : “Development administration is concerned with maximizing innovation for development”. Discuss.
(2002)
Answer : Development is grounded in normative concepts — that development is desirable, that development can be planned, directed or controlled in some way by administrative systems, that improved in quality and quantity of societal products is desirable; that obstacles to development can be overcome and that macro problems handicapping societal progress can be solved.
Development Administration focuses on replacing/improvement the existing governing structures and norms with the ones that suit the changing political and social environment.In other words development administration is one that is dynamic and progressive in thought and action. It is interested in identifying and applying new structures, methods, procedures, techniques, policies, planning projects and programmes so that the objectives and goals of development are achieved with minimum possible resources and time. India for example, has experienced with many new institutions and procedures which can be termed as the hallmarks of development administration. Development programmes like TRYSEM, NREP, IRDP DWACRA etc. These programmes broadly aims at removal of unemployment, creation of jobs opportunities and reduction of poverty.
We have also established some development agencies like the District Rural Development Agency, District Planning Cells, State Planning Boards, Co-operatives etc. Thus development administration has to be innovative enough in order to realize the pre-determined objectives of development. In fact, innovative and creative administration leads to speedy realisation
of goals.
Question : “The doctrine of political neutrality and anonymity is no more relevant to modern civil service”. Comment.
(2002)
Answer : The neutrality role of civil services is in consonance with its instrumentality role. It is thus clear that if civil services have to perform, in the right spirit of their structural functional framework, they have to be “neutral” in their approach outlook and activities. No way should their political values affect their conduct and behaviour. Civil servant are the objective, dispassionate and non partisan band of professional who should do a job entrusted to them with clinical proficiency, efficiency and dedication. Once a policy has been decided and decision taken to implement the programme, all that civil servant should do is to try to use all the available resources in an optimum manner for the execution of the programme. In other words, the civil servant must not be allowed to, take political sides. The civil servants are the political agents but servants of the state. Political neutrality is sine qua non of civil servants, the civil service and party politics should be kept apart.
Again, the role anonymity requires that the minister has to answer for the actions of civil servant in the parliament. The civil servant thus is protected from criticism of parliament. A minister has to protect the civil servant who has executed his/her definite order. Minister is also responsible to the parliament for the wrong action of the civil servant. Thus the principle of anonymity goes hand in hand with the principle of ministerial responsibility. It means that the civil servant work behind the curtain, they cannot openly come out and play a predominant role in politics. They have to function in an environment of anonymity, this helps them in taking honest and objective decisions.
Question : “It is not weak but strong bureaucracy that creates concern in democracy.” Comment.
(1999)
Answer : A modern democracy cannot exist without a relatively powerful and independent bureaucracy. For democratic procedures to work properly, the modern state must have at its disposal an organization that will not only allocate the resources but will do so by non-partisan criteria. Failing this, the political democratic process would necessarily be based on an exchange of material benefits for political support. If this happens, it will lead to all sorts of political corruption which in turn, would make the electoral process a mere farce. Thus it is not the politicians but a body of independent and permanently appointed neutral persons i.e. a bureaucrat that is more suitable for allocating the state resources. Thus only a full-fledged politically independent strong bureaucracy can safeguard full-fledged democratic procedures. To the extent that bureaucracy takes part in the formulation of policy, at the higher level, it takes part in the allocation of resources. Therefore it takes part in the exercise of power and as such is engaged in politics. Hence also it is subject to the pressure of interest groups and must respond to or maneuver between such pressures.
This type of politicization is considered legitimate and even beneficial to democratic processes.
Question : What are the objectives of Development Administration? Also examine the demands? D.A. places on the structures and practice for administration.
(1998)
Answer : The essence of development administration is to bring about change through integrated, organized and properly directed governmental action. In the recent past the governments in most of the developing nations have shifted their focus on development by means of planned change and people’s participation. Furthermore, the growing welfare functions of the government have brought into limelight the limitations of the traditional theory of administration.
Following are the objectives of Development Administration:
Development administration sets before them the goals of achieving modernization, industrialization, self-reliance, social justice and economic growth. A different kind of development administration was thought of, which could fulfill these demands of Developing Countries.
Question : Development Administration is basically an “ action-oriented, goal-oriented administrative system”. Comment.
(1997)
Answer : Development is integral to aims and activities of the government especially in the developing countries. Because of paucity of resources, human and material in their countries, the need for making optimum utilization of available means and augmenting new means assumes a great importance.
The state plays a leading role in bringing about development through its administrative system. In order to discharge this role it requires a distinct type of support by administration which involves, special understanding of problems in the developing countries. These must be perceptible at different operative levels i.e., officialmust make enough different decisions, adopt enough different policies and engage in enough different activities to warrant the different designation of development administration. Thus development administration is simply action oriented. It is action-oriented and places the administration at the centre in order to facilitate the attainment of development objectives.
Similarly, Development Administration is also goal-oriented. Developing countries are facing the problem of poverty, squalor, injustice, unequal distribution of wealth, lopsided agricultural growth, and underdeveloped technology etc. These colossal issues need to be tackled systematically by fixation of priorities and goals. Development administration is the means through which the goals of development viz. social justice, modernization, industrialization and economic growth can be achieved.
Thus, Development Administration is basically an “action-oriented” and “goal-oriented” administrative system.
Question : “Committed bureaucracy is unsuitable in a parliamentary democracy”. Comment.
(1996)
Answer : Committed bureaucracy is one which is committed to the programmes of the party in power. Public servants are allowed to become members of political parties and participate in their meeting. Political parties interfere in appointments, transfers and promotion of public employees. In other words, public services are not free from ‘spoils system’. The public orientation towards bureaucracy is that of a corrupt civil service which toes the line or party in power. The top official show conformity or sub services to the politician in power. This is quite unsuitable in a parliamentary democracy where administration must be responsible to the elected representative of the people and not the party in power.
The concept of strict neutral bureaucracy has lost its validity and the involvement of bureaucracy in political arena is now widely accepted. The politicized bureaucracy is one which influences or is influenced by actions in the stream of the politics of the day. In a more extended form it may also be regarded as a type of bureaucracy which uses political parties in furtherance of their collective or individual objectives or which is used by political parties in achievement of part objectives.
Such an involvement could mean that bureaucracy promotes special interests of a political party at the expense of national objectives and this is opposed to the spirit of parliamentary democracy. In India neutral bureaucracy has not met the requirement of rapid socio-economic development and it is felt that India needs a committed bureaucracy to serve the developmental needs. Bureaucrats should keep aloof from partisan politics.
Question : How far is it true to state that the bureaucratic state began to displace the administrative stage, when the predominant function of the government changed from regulation to operation of business?
(1996)
Answer : The bureaucratic state began to displace the administrative stage, when the predominant function of government changed from regulation to operation of business. The new approaches to public institution underline the importance of “public policy” making implementation and management within the overarching framework of liberal democracy. It is being suggested that the complexities involved in policy making and implementation call for a “rethinking” about human motivation and efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector.
The question has been raised why the bureaucratic form of organization should have the monopoly to provide public goods and services. There are various option available for the delivery of public goods and services. There are various option available for the delivery of public goods and services, and society may benefit from the many suppliers’ syndrome. It is not necessary that government should always assume the role of a direct provider of goods and services; instead governments may operate indirectly, allowing non-government agencies to operate directly in a wide range of social activities. This has been forcefully argued by the public choice group.
Question : Outline the features of development administration and explain the reason for its marginal performan
(1995)
Answer : Following are the features of development administration:
Apart from above, participation-oriented administration, effective coordination are other features of development administration.
Bureaucracy is noted for its red-tapism and nepotism. It is essential that the defects bureaucracy are removed to make it capable for development administration.
Despite different attempts by government in several countries to improve management, the results achieved have been marginal.
