CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES IN COMPARATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

1 c There are a number of approaches, models and theories presently characterising the subject-area of Compa~ivePu blic Administration. Particularly after Second World War, a number of approaches have emerged in comparative administrative analys&. Much of this effort is based on an adaptation of the developments in comparative ant~opology, I comparative sociology and comparative politics. We will now study different approaches a in a nut-shell. 5.8.1 Bureaucratic Approach -an.fie~mosint fluential of the approaches is Max Weber's ideal-type buryucrati model. This of hierarchy,"specialisation, role-specificity, recruitment by by seniority-cum-merit, career development, &thing, discipline, % personal and official means, etc. The emphasis in the rnode1.i~o n ' \ 'I$e,re h e beea,a number of studies conducted in a comparative context employing the bureaucfqtic mod4 of Weber. Notable scholars in this area include Michael Crozier (on Fiance), %RoyL airdton the Soviet Union) and Monoe Berger (on Egypt). The methodological limifation of an ideal-type model and specific context of a legal-rational I authority system'$ses constraints in the application of Wdber's model to the eompr!tive , study of bureaucracies. Nvertheless, for an analysis of the bure,aucracies, of the deweloped countries, the model is still considered eminently useful. Dwight Waldo views Weber's ' burwucratic model a's a "paradigm" of Public Administration. . . a Particularly after Second World War, a number of apprdaches have emerged in- , comparative administrative analysis. Much of this effort is, based on an adaptation of the developments in comparative anthropology, comparative sociology .and comparative , politics. 5.8.2 Behavioural Approach The behavioural approach emphasises '"acts", rigorous scientific methods of data collection and analysis, quantification, experimentation, testing, verification and an , interdisciplinary orientation. It focuses on the analysis of human behaviour in., admin'istrative settings. 5.8.3 General Systems Approach Further, the general systems approach views an administrative system as a subsystenl of the society. It looks at various parts of an administrative system (formal organisation. informal organisation, roles, individuals) and examines the interlinkages among variou~ parts. Besides, the approach analyses the dynamic interactions between the administrative system and its external environment. 5.8.4 Eeologieal ~pproaelh One of the most pop* approaches in Comparative Public Administration is the ecological approach which has been stressed considerably by Fred Riggs. This approach examines the interactions between an administrative system and its external environment. Thus the impact of the political system, economic system, social system and the cultural system, on the structure and behaviour of the administrative syste& as well as the influence of the administrative system on these environmental structures is highlighted in the ecological approach. 5.8.5 Structural-Functional Approach A related approach, drawn mainly from Anthropalogy and Srxiology, is the structuralfuncti~ naal pproach. A structure, according to this approach, is a pattern of behaviour that has become a standard feature of a social system. Further, a function denotes the impact of a structure on another structure and the interrelationships among various structures. Fred Riggs has successfully applied the ecological and structural-functional approaches in his analysis of societies and their administrative systems. His typology of "agrariatransitia- industria" systems, developed in 1957, was superseded by the typology oS "fusedprismatic diffracted" societies that was constructed in 1959. For the, past thirty years or so, Rigg's model of prismatic society and its administrative system known as "sala" has ruled [he contemporary model-building scene in Comparative Public Administration. Despite criticisms and certain inherent methodological limitations, the prismatic-sala model has fascinated the students and practitioners of Public Administration in "developing" countries. A prismatic society, according to Riggs, is characterised by a growing degree of structural differentiation but not matched by an equal degree of integration (coordination). This integration lag is reflected in almost all aspects of the functioning of a prismatic society. A prismatic society and its 'sala' are characterised by 'heterogeneity', formalism and overlapping. Further,. overlapping has five dimensions: poly-communalism, polynormativism, bazaar-canteen model, authority versus control and nepotism. These features relate to the social, cultural, economic, political andladministrative systems of the prismatic society. The details of these characteristics are found in all important books on Public Administration. 5.8.6 ~ e v e l o ~meAnpt proach A very well-known conceptual approach in Comparative Public Administration is of 'Development Administration' which has been elaborately dealt with in a separate unit. This approach focuses on certain characteristics of a dynam~c adm~nrstrative system, e.g. goal-orientation, change-orientation, progressiveness, innovativeness, participation and responsiveness. Besides, the abovei there are a number of other lessiknown approaches to comparative administrative analysis. These include "information-energy' model of John Dorsey and decision-making model of 'Martin Landau. Nevertheless, other models have not been able to match the comprehensiveness and acceptability of Weber's bureaucragic model, Rigg's prismatic model and of course, the construct of Development Administration. It gppears that the experimentation phase in model-building in Comparative Public Administration is not vlgorous anymore. However, the enthusiasm for understanding the varieties of administrative patterns is alive in the scholarship of Public Administration. That is why, one can hope formewer dimensions of Comparative Public Administration emerging on the scene'in the'times to come check Your ~rogr;iB"4s Note : i) Use the space below for your answer. 'S , , Comparative Public Administration \ ii) Cheok your answer with those given at the end of the unit,' 47 L