การบริหารพัฒนาตอนที่สอง

อุปสรรคจากการบริหารงาน
         จัดบันทึกรายงานภายใน, การบริหารเป็นสิ่งที่บางครั้งก็จำได้มากหรือจำได้น้อย อย่างไรก็ตามสถาบันการฝึกอบรมมักสอนแนวคิดที่ล้ำหน้าและเทคนิคมักหยิบยืมมาจากประเทศที่ก้าวหน้าแล้ว โดยมีพื้นฐานปรัชญาการบริหาร,มนุษยสัมพันธ์, เทคโนโยลีคอมพิวเตอร์ เป็นต้น และหลีกเลี่ยงปัญหาและแนวทางแก้ไขปัญหา
          ข้อมูลสถิติเบื้องต้นมักไม่น่าเชื่อถือ, เป็นข้อมูลเป็นท่อน ๆ หรือไม่ปรากฎแหล่งข้อมูล  ตัวอย่างเช่น (1)ปากีสถานคำนวณผิดพลาดในอัตราการเกิดในช่วงแผนระยะแรก (2) ในลาตินอเมริกัน บริการการวางแผนการศึกษาได้นำเอาสถิติและข้อมูลกำลังคนกองโต  นอกจากนี้ข้อมูลมักไม่ได้เกี่ยวข้องกับการกำหนดเกี่ยวกับแผนต่าง ๆ ตามที่ฮอลตี้ คาร์เรียร์กล่าวว่า "แผนพัฒนาระดับชาตินำเสนอต่อคณะผู้เชี่ยวชาญของพันธมิตรเพือความก้าวหน้าได้แก่การวิเคราะห์ที่มิใช่อาชีพของการจ้างงานในส่วนท่ี่อุทิศตัวกับกำลังคน  และไม่มีแผนการศึกษาที่เกิดขึ้นบนพื้นฐานการพยากรณ์ความต้องการกำลังคน และการแปลเงื่อนไขของผลผลิตทางการศึกษา
           รัฐบาลอาจไม่สามารถรวบรวมรายได้จากภาษีที่ครบกำหนดชำระ อันเนื่องจากความไม่น่าเชื่อถือของการบริหารงานท้องถิ่น  ทัศนะที่รายได้ส่วนสุดท้ายลดลงของต้นทุนการจัดเก็บภาษีส่วนเพิ่มที่เป็นช่วงสั้นซึ่งบรรลุเป้าหมายได้เร็วขึ้น   ศาสตราจารย์เฟรด ริกส์ได้ประมาณการว่าในโคลัมเบีย ตัวอย่างเช่นการบริหารที่ดีและการบังคับใช้ตามกฎหมายที่ดีกว่าช่วยให้เกิดผลดีต่อภาษีของชาติโดยรวม

การบริหารการพัฒนา : ความยุ่งยากขององค์การและโครงสร้าง
            มีปัญหาที่เกี่ยวข้องกับสถานที่ของหน่วยงานการวางแผนส่วนกลางในโครงสร้างภาครัฐทั้งหมด การจัดเตรียมการวางแผนแต่ละอย่างเท่าที่เป็นไปได้มีสิ่งที่น่าอันตรายด้วยตัวของมันเอง  ความรับผิดชอบในการวางแผนทั้งหมดสามารถเน้นในกระทรวงการวางแผนในระดับคณะรัฐมนตรี หรือในกระทรวงชั้นสูงเหมือนกระทรวงการประสานงานในประเทศกรีซ   หน่วยวางแผนสามารถตั้งในกระทรวงการคลังหรือในกระทรวงกิจการเศรษฐกิจ  คณะกรรมการวางแผนอิสระสามารถตั้งขึ้นมาได้ เช่นในปากีสถาน  ที่ตั้งอยู่ในความรับผิดชอบของสำนักงานประธานาธิบดี  หรือคณะกรรมการอาจจะตั้งคณะกรรมการรัฐมนตรีที่ประกอบด้วยกระทรวงที่น่าสนใจ (ได้แก่การคลัง,กิจการเศรษฐกิจ,แรงงาน,การศึกษา,และเกษตร เป็นต้น
            ปัญหาที่สำคัญคือการประสานงาน  ในจาไมก้า กรมเคหะสถานกำลังวางแผนโครงการบ้านในทีดีนผืนเดียวกันซึ่งกระทรวงเกษตรกำลังเตรียมโครงการระบายน้ำท่วม   ในมาดากัสการ์กระทรวงทำหน้าที่บูรณะถนนไฮเวย์ภายหลังกระทรวงสื่อสารโทรคมนาคมได้วางสายโทรศัพท์ใต้ดินแล้วก่อนกระทรวงโทรคมนาคมจะวางสายเคเบิ้ล  การประสานงานอย่างน้อยที่สุดมีความสำคัญสองประการ คือการประสานงานของวัตถุประสงค์ของระดับกรมในสิ่งหนึ่งของทั้งหมด, แผนสมดุลย์ และการประสานงานของการวางแผน, การคลัง,และการดำเนินงาน   แหล่งปัญหาประการหนึ่งคือว่าความต้องการทั้งสองเป็นขอบเขตหลายอย่างที่ไม่สามารถเข้ากันได้  ตัวอย่างเช่นการเพิ่มอำนาจในการวางแผนในกระทรวงการคลังเอื้อให้มีการประสานงานของโครงการและการวางแผนงบประมาณ  แต่อยู่ภายใต้ความเสี่ยงในวัตถุประสงค์ของกรมในการพิจารณานโยบายการเงินที่ตัดทอนให้น้อยลง  โดยทั่วไป ที่ตั้งอยู่ในหน่วยการวางแผนทั้งหมดในกระทรวงที่ตราหุ้นด้วยกระทรวงอื่นๆ ที่ยุ่งยากมหาศาลในงานประสานงานระหว่างกระทรวง   หรือในทำนองเดียวกันยิ่งมีการวางแผนขอบเขตและตำแหน่งมากเท่าใด ยิ่งมีการแยกย้ายท่อาจมาจากหน่วยงานที่รับผิดชอบในการดำเนินงานที่มีรายละเอียด   หน่วยงานวางแผนที่ทำตัวลอยตัว   ในกระทรวงทั่วไปที่มีความเป็นอิสระอาจจะสามารถมทัศนะมองภาพรวม แต่อาจจะไม่มีพันธะยกเว้นวางไว้ในแผนพัฒนา    แผนที่แสดงผลที่เกิดขึ้นเชื่อว่าจะไม่ปรากฎถึงหน้าที่เลย

อุปสรรคการบริหาร
          จะไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับการวัดผล, การบังคับใช้, และกรรมวิธีดำเนินงาน (ในเชิงบริหารและการคลัง) จำเป็นสำหรับการติดตามผลงาน    ด้วยการประสานงานทีอ่อนแอด้วยกระทรวงที่น่าสนใจและหน่วยงานปฏิบัติการ   องคาพยพการวางแผนไม่สามารถนำกลไกการบริหารหรือประโยชน์ที่ได้จากความร่วมมือของหน่วยงาน  ด้วยเหตุผลที่ว่าแผนไม่อาจจะย้อนหลังขึ้นไปในแผนงานที่ออกแบบในเชิงปฏิบัติการ, เครื่องมืออาจจะไม่เป็นไปตามกำหนดการ,  หน่วยงานนอกที่ตั้งไม่อาจได้รับการคัดเลือก, การเงินไม่อาจจัดได้อย่างเต็มที่,  โครงการอาจจะไม่ได้มีการทดสอบอย่างพอเพียงสำหรับความยืดหยุ่นในการบริหารหรือในทางปฏิบัติหรือสิ่งที่เห็นได้ในเชิงเศรษฐกิจ

The super ministry seems subject to the same considerations as any independent
planning unit: the question is one of co-ordination of effective power.
This is more obvious in regard to a Cabinet Committee: what guarantee is
there that committee decisions will be binding on the m e m b e r s ? In fact the
problem of organizational structure is a residual one: the essential problem
of central planning is the mobilization of political power in the society, which
is a matter of leadership and co-operative action on the part of the people
who counto This can succeed (or fail) no matter what the location of the
planning unit in the formal organizational chart. (2) Unfortunately, one
observer states, most central planning commissions in the developing world
have little m o r e than an advisory capacity, i. e. influence but no power. (3)
Whatever the location of the central planning agency, the most frequent complaint
about organization is that of over-centralization. This embraces both
the failure to 'deconcentrate', i. e. to delegate powers to middle and lower
echelons at the centre, and the failure to 'devolve' powers to local administrators.
Headquarters (i. e. the people at the top and centre) often fail to
(1) Donald C. Stone, 'Tasks, Precedents, and Programs
for Education in Development Administration', paper submitted
to the Xlllth International Congress . . . July 196 5,
pp. 5ff, . . . See also Donald C. Stone, 'Government Machinery
Necessary for Development', in Martin Driesberg, ed,
Public Administration in Developing Countries, 1965, p. 57e
(2) Stephen K . Bailey, 'The Place and Functioning of a
Planning Agency within the Government Organization of
Developing Countries' (UN doc. E/Conf. 39/4/82 Nov.
1962), in United States Papers Prepared for the United
Nations Conference on the Application of Science and
Technology for the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas,
vol. VIII: : Organization, Planning and Programming for
Economic Development, p. 136«,
(3) William K . Kapp, 'Economic Development, National
Planning, and Public Administration' Kyklos, vol. XIII,
fase. 2 (1960), p. 179.
13
Development administration
make the responsibilities of these subordinate units clear or fail to delegate
authority at all. This ensures the continued incompetence of middle and lower
echelons and local administrators, while at the same time the bottleneck at
headquarters may give subordinate officials a de facto veto. Alternatively,
the reluctance to deconcentrate at the centre may arise from the insecurity of
high-level officials who, with little preparation, moved into top positions
immediately after independence, fear the advancement of younger men coming
from new training institutions. (1) Local administration often fails to attract
the best people, lacks an independent source of funds, deals with units too
small to be economically viable, or is generally mistrusted by the centre.
The result of all this is bottleneck and bureaucratic stagnation. Complicated
structures of approval and review at the top and centre lead to chronic delay
and diffusion (and evasion) of responsibility. New agencies are often set up
and superimposed on the structure in order to circumvent the congestion,
but this only aggravates the problem. Paperwork and red tape proliferate.
Local needs may be ignored. Senior administrative officials may be burdened
with routine tasks like hiring and firing. The lack of significant jobs away
from the centre only perpetuates the natural preference of functionaries for
the capital city. The result m a y be a proliferation of useless jobs at the centre;
ironically the central bureaucracy may be saturated with top-level people,
and unable to utilize their services fully.
The budget process can be a source of problems. Lack of co-ordination between
planning and financing has its own particular aspects: the budgetary
credits allotted to the plan may be insufficient, essential loan funds may be
unavailable, foreign exchange needed for equipment importation m a y be
denied, foreign aid programmes may be unco-ordinated with each other or
with the budget etc.
Moreover, the budget process, by its nature, tends to act as a restraint; its
officials are inclined to adjust programmes to available resources rather
than try to secure resources (e, g. by tax reform) for financing desirable programmes.
If the planning agency is politically out-weighed by the budget bureau,
or if the planning unit is part of the Ministry of Finance, the forces of restraint
may prevail. The budget itself should serve as a control on the quality of projects,
and as an authoritative commitment of funds. Too often, however,
premature and ill-conceived projects slip through and the budgets are subject
to endless approval. Year round ad hoc expenditure control is often resorted
to as a substitute for good budgeting, and this is a negation of programming
and planning.
(1) S.S. Richardson, 'Obstacles to the Development of
Administrative Training Programmes' paper submitted
to the XHIth International Congress . . .
14
Administrative obstacles
Political difficulties
The most frequent complaint in this regard is that of political interference with
administrative tasks. Political prestige motivates some projects. Political
pressure rather than merit, influences appointments and promotions.
Africanization (and its counterparts) m a y proceed too rapidly., and lower the
over-all level of competence. Officials abuse their positions because of political
influence - to accept bribes, to intimidate the public, to flout regulations,
or to ignore instructions. (In one country, a Prime Minister's directive to his
Ministers to submit an analysis and review of all departmental projects was
ignored. The Ministers' bases of support were their different political parties,
and they simply felt no need to obey the Prime Minister. ) (1) Politicians m ay
be attracted by the appearance of change, but unwilling to take the risks involved
in anything m o r e than rhetoric. Parliaments m a y exercise a negative
influence over the bureaucracy: parliamentary criticism m a y disrupt efficient
organization, or m a y be used by bureaucrats as an excuse for timidity. (2)
Political instability is another aspect of this problem. Frequent government
changes imply not only changes in policy, but also changes in administrative
personnel. Ministers of education m a y come and go rapidly. Disruption of
policy results either because the new Minister must learn from the beginning
what is going on, or because he insists on starting all over again from scratch
(the 'pseudo-creative response').
The vulnerability of developing administrations to political vicissitudes is due
to the fact that these bureaucracies are politically engaged themselves, to a
far greater degree than are their counterparts in advanced countries. That is,
the bureaucracy m a y be not merely an a rm of the executive, but the executive -
in-fact. It m a y be the only body in the society capable of formulating clear
social and political goals. If the legislature is feeble (as is often the case),
the bureaucracy m a y be the arena of political struggle among interest groups,
or m a y become an interest group itself, allying itself with the ruling oligarchy.
In fact (to look at this from another point of view), it is usually desired that
the bureaucracy go beyond its specialized mechanical functions and become an
active promoter of the political goal of change. The reasons for this phenomenon
of political engagement will emerge in the later discussion of developmentadministration
theory, but it should be evident already that its roots go deeper
than the venality of isolated individuals.
(1) Benjamin Higgins, 'General S u m m a r y of the Discussions',
in OECD Development Plans and Programs.
(2) See, for example, Paul H 0 Appleby, 'Re-examination of
India's Administrative System, with Special reference to
the administration of Government's industrial and
commercial enterprises, 19 59, p. 42„
15
Development administration
Cultural and attitude barriers
Because of the bureaucracy's significant political role in developing societies,
the bureaucracy's adjustment to the tasks of development is crucial. T he
ingrained conservatism of m o s t of these bureaucracies thus b e c o m e s a major
obstacle. Development requires an administration mobilized for transformation
not for m e r e 'administering'. But bureaucracies, like any established institutions,
tend to prefer stability and continuity; staff colleges tend to imbue a
code of behaviour that emphasizes rules and routines. Universities, though
m o r e autonomous than staff colleges m a y be even m o r e stubbornly resistant
to change in their approaches to training. (1)
Whatever the validity of generalizations about inherent conservatism, bureaucracies
in formerly colonial countries are likely to inherit a conservative
paternalistic orientation from their pre-independence days. Colonial administration
concerned itself with the status -quo-maintaining functions of collecting
revenue and preserving law and order.
Hidden under the wing of m o n a r c h y , cut off from the m a s s e s by differences of
origin and social status, colonial bureaucracy could afford to ignore public
opinion, and to govern m o r e by imposing than by winning over. This inherited
machinery and the people in it, natives and expatriates alike, cannot easily
shake off the old habits of operation and attitude. Nor can the public quickly
recover from their deeply ingrained mistrust of government and officials. T h e
transfer of sovereignty over the old machine is difficult enough: the m o m e n t
of independence m a y be the time w h e n the government can least afford the
interruption of government services that would result from a massive overhaul«,
Developing societies that have been independent for a long time also inherited
administrative systems oriented to static, pre-development tasks. But unlike
the formerly colonial countries they m a y not even have an efficient m e c h a n i sm
for collecting taxes5 preserving law and order, or providing basic services.
This is especially true of Latin A m e r i c a . (2)
(1) Donald C . Stone, speaking at Xlllth International
Congress . . . , 22 July 1965.
(2) Waterston, op. cit. , p. 309.
16
Administrative obstacles
The social status of the civil service, usually another part of the colonial
legacy, can be an important aspect of the bureaucracy's unsuitability for
change. Many countries, especially in Asia and Africa, have inherited the
European idea of the civil service as a privileged elite. For political and
other reasons, salaries and leave provisions geared to the living standards
of personnel from the metropolitan country are unlikely to be altered suddenly
when native personnel take over. Upper Volta, for example, has 11,000 civil
servants whose salaries total 13 per cent of the country's annual gross
domestic product. Another country gives tropical allowances to its own
nationals in the civil service because such allowances were formerly given
to civil servants who came from the metropolitan country. (1) The generous
leave provisions, (which m a y even allow teachers in government educational
institutions to take vacations during term-time) are wasteful when qualified
manpower is in short supply. Ostentatious living, often far beyond the means
of the individual officials (let alone that of the country), represents a typical
political and psychological response to independence and the 'nativization' of
the civil service.
On the other hand (for example, in India) an egalitarian and/or economizing
reaction to the privileged status of colonial civil servants has often reduced
salaries and emoluments to a point which undermines recruitment. The c o m plaint
is often heard that low salaries and prestige discourage the entrance
of talented people and weaken the morale and sense of responsibility of those
employed in the administration.
The elite and the underpaid (and the disadvantages of both) m a y coexist in the
same bureaucracy, for colonial regimes often encouraged the class stratification
of the indigenous personnel in the civil service. A native elite would float
near the top¿ and the middle and lower echelons would attract the less privileged.
It has been suggested, for example, that British rule strengthened the
caste system in India at least as m u c h as it weakened it. Not only were overall
Hindu loyalties weakened, but the rigidity, hierarchy, and impersonality
of bureaucracy were suited to, and consolidated, the social structure of a
caste society. (2)
(1) Ibid. , p. 310, p. 313.
(2) N . V . Sovani, 'Non-economic Aspects of India's
Economic Development', in Ralph Braibanti and
Joseph J. Spingler eds. Administration and Economic
Development in India.
17
Development administration
Such cultural factors can be among the most deep-rooted barriers to moderniza -
tion and they have their particularly administrative manifestations,, Plans m ay
fail to be implemented or to take root because the n ew institutions or patterns
of behaviour are incompatible with tradition» For example, mass education
violates the tenets of a caste system. Resistance to change will be formidable
whether the incompatibility is real or imagined« Moreover; the focus of
loyalties in most pre-modern societies is the family or extended family (tribe,
clan, etc. ) or class. If the commitment to the larger unit is weak, the motivation
of individuals in the administration is likely to be inconsistent with national
goals. For example, the extended family m a y be the source of finance for a
young m a n ' s higher education. The recipient, in turn, once in a good job, is
expected to support the education of relations and find them jobs. Such behaviour,
seen as nepotism and corruption in advanced societies, is seen as normal in
most developing societies. (1)
Less striking cultural influences affect the h u m a n relations of management.
A more authoritarian tradition than the U . S. is accustomed to undermines the
application of administrative principles that seem essential to Americans.
The 'participative' approach to management is likely to produce disappointing
results with workers who accept, and are accustomed to, closer supervision
and stricter pressure. But the authoritarian pattern suffers from the poor
feedback of information and criticism to supervisors. (2)
In general, personnel administration is supposed to ensure that the personal
motivation of employees is channeled in socially beneficial directions. But
the absence of uniform systems of examination, qualification, pay and classification,
the lack of opportunity for advancement, the lack of job security,
and continuity, and the absence of satisfactory retirement provisions, are all
likely pre-conditions for corruption.
(1) See Ronald Wraith and Edgar Simpkins, Corruption in
Developing Countries, 1963.
(2) William Foote Whyte and Lawrence K . Williams,
'Supervisory Leadership: A n International Comparison',
in Comité International de l'Organisation Scientifique
(CIOS), Xlllth International Management Congress,
Proceedings: H u m a n Progress through Better Management,
1963.
18
2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS
The theories or 'conceptual frameworks' of development administration vary
in their degrees of abstraction. But the aim of all of them is to illuminate
causes and interactions, and their basic 'variables' are precisely those factors
which the non-theorizing planner would recognize as his immediate obstacles.
As we have seen, these obstacles in administration are political, economic,
social, and cultural, as well as organizational in origin.
The recognition of this last fact is one sign of a revolution that has taken place
in the study of public administration since the war. Traditionally, this discipline
consisted mainly of a 'theory of organization', an approach which survives in
the study of business administration and management. Its model for public administration
was M a x Weber's ideal-type of bureaucracy: impersonal non-political,
rational, hierarchical, and organized according to technically specialized functions.
The process of government was seen as divided into two distinct phases, policydetermination
and policy-execution. Politics governed the first, and science
could govern the second. The bureaucratic machine, insulated from politics,
was an instrument for the execution of decisions, and its workings could be
explained by universal principles of good administration. Comparative study,
in this context, meant case studies focusing on administrative procedure and
organization, with the Western model in mind.
Post-war experience and scholarship have largely discredited this approach in
the American study of administration (1) (though in Europe the rules and prescriptions
approach still reigns: most European specialists in administration
are trained in law). World W a r II and post-war reconstruction brought American
scholars into greater contact with administrative systems of other countries.
The rise in world-wide technical assistance following President Truman's 'Point
Far' address in 1949, and the multiplication of government and foundation-sponsored
educational exchange programmes broadened the perspective of all fields of
American scholarship. The comparative approach came to dominate, and this led
inevitably to doubts about the adequacy of traditional concepts of public administration.
(2)
(1) Dwight Waldo, Comparative Public Administration:
Prologue, Problems, and Promise, Comparative Administration
Group (CAG) Papers in Comparative Public Administration,
Special Series, № 2 , 1964, pp. 3ff„
(2) Ferrel Heady, 'Recent Literature on Comparative
Administration', Administration Science Quarterly, vol. 5,
№ 2 , 1964 (June 1960),
19
Development administration
The functions and the problems of administration in developing countries were
seen to be radically different from those in industrialized Western countries«
The only approach which could explain the differences (as well as the similarities)
was one which took into account the m a n y and diverse origins of the problems
and the reasons for the differences in function.' Aspects which were
formerly parameters (unexamined environmental factors) were now seen as
variables (factors relevant to study). In other words, an inte rdi s с iplina ry
approach to the study of public administration was needed: political science,
economics, history, sociology, psychology, and anthropology were to be synthesized,,
In particular this meant that the study of government and administration
was to benefit from the insights of the rapidly developing 'behavioural sciences'.
The questions that comparative public administration then asked were: H o w do
differences in political, economic, social and cultural environment affect the
way administration is conducted? And how, in turn, does administrative action
affect the society in which it plays a part? The result was an ecology of public
administration, a study of the interrelation of administration and all the aspects
of environment.
This interrelation of administration and social setting was pointed out in 1947
by Robert A . Dahl in a famous article. (1) Dissatisfaction with the traditional
approach was also evident in two books on public administration about the
same time: Herbert Ae Simon's Administrative Behaviour: A Study of Decision-
Making Processes in Administrative Organization (1947) and Dwight Waldo's
The Administrative States: A Study of the Political Theory of American Public
Administration (1948). In general, these works criticized the current idea of
administration as a 'science', with Weberian normative premises lying behind
the 'scientific1 prescriptions.
In 19 52 the Public Administration Clearing House held a Conference on Comparative
Administration at Princeton, which spanned the Sayre-Kaufman Research
Outline. Professors Wallace S. Sayre and Herbert Kaufman drew up a background
paper on 'criteria of relevance', a set of concepts to serve as a frame
of reference for comparative study of administration. The paper discussed patterns
of organizational structure, internal procedures and controls, external influence
etc. , with a strong behavioural and ecological emphasis suited to cross-cultural
application. F r o m the perspective of today, the Sayre-Kaufman outline was only
a 'modified traditional' approach(2), although it served as the significant point
of departure for such other theorists as Fred Riggs of Indiana. Its continuity
with the older approaches lay in its attention to the traditional categories of
administrative anatomy and to the 'standard' functions of administrative activity.
(1) Robert A . Dahl, 'The Science of Public Administration:
Three Problems', Public Administration Review, vol. 7
winter 1947.
(2) Ferrel Heady, op. cit. ,
20
Conceptual frameworks
The more 'modern' literature is characterized by the decisive influence of
the behavioral sciences, especially sociology. This literature can be divided
into the 'Input-Output System' and the 'Bureaucratic System' approaches, (1)
The input-output system approach (sometimes referred to as 'input-conversionoutput'
system approach) presents a model of the role of a political system in
its society, and emphasizes the exchanges between the system and its environment.
In David Easton's formulation (2), the environment's inputs are demands
and supports, and the political system's outputs are decisions or policies»
By a process of feedback, the outputs affect the inputs, and the cycle of interaction
is complete, Administration fits into this scheme as an output function.
The same sort of approach is evident in Almond and Coleman's Politics of
Developing Areas, which borrows considerably from Talcott Parson's sociological
theory. The input functions in Almond's political system are: interest
articulation, interest aggregation, political communication, and political
socialization and recruitment, and the output functions are rule-making,
rule-application, and rule-adjudication. The output functions, of course,
correspond to the three branches of government, legislative, executive, and
judiciary, respectively.
John T . Dorsey of Vanderbilt University has developed an input-output scheme
focusing on the administrative system itself, and based on the concept of
'information-energy'. (3) Societies and organizations are seen as complex
information-processing and energy-converting systems. Information inputs
such as demands and intelligence are converted by the system into outputs,
which, for an administrative organization, might be regulations, or services
or goods for other systems in the larger environment. In general, high information
input, storage, and processing permits high energy output.
Less abstract and m o r e obviously relevant to our purposes is the 'Bureaucratic
System' approach, which seeks to classify bureaucracies according to 'type'.
Max Weber developed the classical ideal-typical model of bureaucracy, which
has long served as a universal framework in which to analyse 'administration'
wherever and whenever it occurs. (4) Some scholars have responded to the
(1) Ibid. , and Keith M . Henderson, Comparative Public
Administration; A n Essay, 1964.
(2) David East on, The Political System, 19 53.
(3) John T . Dorsey, 'An Information-Energy Model', in
F err el Heady and Sybil L . Stokes, Papers in Comparative
Public Administration, 1962.
(4) For a discussion of M a x "Weber's models., see Alfred
Diamant.. 'The Bureaucratic Model; M a x Weber Rejected,
Rediscovered, Reformed', in Heady and Stokes, op. cit. ,
21
Development administration
challenge of comparative study by building new bureaucratic models to replace
the somewhat culture-bound Weberian one. The most prominent of the modern
model-builders is Professor Fred Riggs of Indiana, whose writings dominate
the literature of comparative public administration.
Riggs feels that the Weberian model of bureaucracy as an efficient machine is
an inductive model drawn from the experience of Western industrial societies.
It is inductive because it focuses on administrative structures: the moving
parts, functionally specialized, fit together in a certain way. But study of
non-Western societies, turning m a n y parameters into variables, shows that
environment dictates the functions and structures in such a way that the machine
model m a y fit only one particular ecological context. The social functions of
administration in non-Western societies are fundamentally different. Riggs
therefore constructs deductive models illustrating the 'essential' relationships
of structures and functions. (1)
Riggs sees this approach as embodying three trends that have marked the
' n ew wave' in administrative scholarship. (2) The first trend is the shift from
normative to empirical studies, from the prescribing of 'ideal' or 'better'
patterns of administrative behaviour and structure (in terms of such criteria
as efficiency or 'public interest') to the description and analysis of the many
relevant phenomena. Second is the shift from idiographic to normathetic
approaches to comparative study, i. e. from the reportorial study of unique
cases to the quest for "generalizations, 'laws', hypotheses that assert regularities
of behaviour, correlations between variables . . . . . " (Ibid. , )„ The
third trend is, as w e have seen, from the non-ecological to the ecological
approaches. Riggs emphasizes that this means not m e r e recitation of the
facts of geography, history, social structure, etc., but analysis of patterns
of interaction between subject and environment.
Riggs reveals a grasp of the m a n y disciplines involved, and has developed
an experimental methodology for dealing with the m a n y variables of the
environment. His theory has undergone m a n y modifications, but his purpose
has consistently been to apply a set of theoretical models of societies to the
comparison of administrative forms. He has attempted to develop 'ideal types'
of society to replace the clumsy and normative Western-non-Western typologies,
and the structural functional methodology provides the key.
(1) See Fred W . Riggs, 'Models in the Comparative Study
of Public Administration', in Fred W . Riggs and Edward W 5
Weidner, Models and Priorities in the Comparative Study
of Public Administration, C A G Papers in Comparative
Public Administration, special series., № 1 , 1963.
(2) Fred W . Riggs, 'Trends in the Comparative Study of
Public Administration'. International Review of
Administrative Sciences, vol. XXVIII, № 1 (1962).
22
Conceptual frameworks
He postulates three distinct types of society, distinguished by what he calls
(using the methaphor of light) 'degrees' of diffraction which he feels are
potentially quantifiable. At one end of the scale, corresponding to the extreme
type of pre-modern society is the 'fused' model. The image is that of white
light undiffracted into the separate colours of the spectrum. In such a society
a single structure performs all the functions necessary for the survival of the
society. A tribal chief, for example, m a y perform a political, administrative,
judicial, educational, and religious role. At the other end of the scale is the
completely 'diffracted' model - the archetypical advanced society - in which
every societal function has a corresponding specialized structure* The modern
industrialized society thus has a wide range of social institutions, such as
political parties, legislatives, administrative offices, courts, trade unions*
markets, banks, churches and schools. In fact Riggs is inclined to define
development as the increasing differentiation of separate structures for the
wide variety of functions, for it is 'the only ubiquitous ingredient he can find
c o m m o n to economic, political, social, and administrative development'. (1)
In the middle of the scale is the most important of the models: the transitional
or 'prismatic' model (so called because a prism diffracts fused light). Most
developing countries correspond m o r e or less to this typea which is characterized
by the coexistence of traditional and modern forms as a result of incomplete
and uneven social change. It is this coexistence of the traditional and modern
that produces the seemingly paradoxical traits that confuse and frustrate
foreign observers.
Riggs's early work dealt mainly with the two polar opposites. They began as
'Agraria' and 'Industria', simplified pictures of actual cases, corresponding
roughly to traditional Siam and the U S A respectively (Asia is the developing
region Riggs is most familiar with). (2) 'Transitia' was later added, corresponding
roughly to modern Thailand and the Philippines. His later scheme
postulated the ideal types 'fused, prismatic, and diffracted'. (3) These models
were intended to be extreme typesa corresponding to no actual cases* but more
deductive and m o r e logically coherent.
(l)FredW. Riggs, Administration in Developing Countries:
The Theory of Prismatic Society, 1964, p. 419.
(2) See Fred W . Riggs, 'Agraria and Industria: Toward a
Typology of Comparative Administration'., in William J„
Siffin, ed. , Toward the Comparative Study of Public
Administration, 1959.
(3) The latter appears as 'refracted' in m a n y of his writings,
but he later corrected the metaphor, refraction refers to
the 'bending' of light.
23
Development administration
The later versions of the theory adopted the transitional or prismatic type as
the frame of reference, though the fused and diffracted models are referred to
for explanatory purposes. The peculiar features of the prismatic society result
from the fact that new, modern systems displaced, but did not replace the old.
Modern forms merely conceal older realities: modern-looking institutions and
patterns of behaviour are enmeshed in the remnants of the old system. The gap
between form and reality, between structure and effective behaviour, he calls
'formalism' - the characteristic feature of prismatic societies.
For those who like to see interrelations expressed diagram m at i с ally, he has
an elaborate 'equilibrium model' showing the administration in its environmental
setting: (1)
(1) Riggs, 'Agraria and Industria . . . . '.
24
Conceptual frameworks
He groups the determinant environmental factors under the headings shown in
the diagram, and explains their consequences for administration. For convenience,
we shall examine first his analysis of the two polar types, and then
go on to discuss his 'prismatic' model. Briefly 'Agraria' and 'Industria' (which
later became the 'pure types', fused and diffracted) differ in the following ways.
The economic foundation of Agraria is a self-contained subsistence-agricultural
economy, whereas the economy of Industria is marked by interdependence
and a market system. Agraria's economic structure has an essentially redistributive
role, while Industria 's is geared to rationalization and maximization.
This means, inter alia, that administration in Industria must be more
concerned with technical functions; human relationships in administration tend
to be more impersonal, and more concerned with policy than with posts.
In Agraria the social unit which is the medium for the advancement of its
members is the primary organization (family, extended family, clan, etc. , ),
while it is the secondary organization in Industria. The primary organization
is characterized by face-to-face relations, unspecialized goals, relative permanence,
limited size, and intimacy. The secondary organization is marked
by special purposes, distant communications, rules, barriers, and more
casual contact. A primary organization cannot promote a 'policy', however,
because its interests are local and particularistic, and its status-criteria
ascriptive. Secondary organizations, which dominate in Industria, are universalistic
and achievement-oriented. Therefore, in Agrarian administration,
the typical struggles are for place, and highly personal. In Industrian administration,
on the other hand, struggles for place depend on policy matters in
which the subjects compete through their specialized organizational roles.
The idealogy and value systems naturally reflect and reinforce the other
environmental factors. The ruling group in Agraria, whether aristocratic or
bureaucratic, constitutes a community sharing a body of beliefs, unlike
Industria, where the bureaucracy is segmented into occupational classes. In
Agraria, the source of the legitimacy of authority is sacral, supporting the
undifferentiated role of divine kingship. In Industria, the source of authority
is secular, and the political system fragmented. Agraria's administration
therefore emphasizes ritual and symbolic actions, while Industrian administration
emphasizes functional actions, efficient and effective means of achieving
ends which reflect the demands of other groups. The value system in Agraria
is corporative and communalistic, in Industria, individualistic. As a result,
government in Agraria cannot be divided between the 'political' and the
'administrative'. Rather it is composed of the higher levels of a stratified
society with differentiations to be made chiefly by rank or status rather than
by function. Industria's preference for rational (rather than ritual) means and
individualistic values reflects an idealogy of secular materialism and egalitarianism.
These are traits highly conducive to routinization, technical
25
Development administration
specialization, impersonalization, synchronization, etc. , which therefore
characterize Industrian bureaucracy but are inappropriate to Agrarian,
Industrian egalitarianism and technical specialization may be reflected in
such things as the blurring of superior-subordinate relationships, widespread
delegation and decentralization,, and the absence of an administrative elite
corps.
The communications network is another important aspect of environment.
In Agraria, where no mass media exists the population cannot be 'mobilized'
for mass communication or assimilated into a national community. Since
most of the population is inarticulate, the administration can ignore it, and
there is a virtual absence of communication between government and population.
Since Agrarian society is highly 'fused', there are none of the associational
interest groups that in Industria provide a link between officials and the publico
Nor is there the social integration (of classes, cultures, regions, etc. , ) that
facilitates communication between officials and public. Moreover the dominant
role of primary social organizations and the prevalence of non-functional
motivations in Agraria contribute to the fact that local administration is left
to itself. Only its loyalty is of concern to the centre, and there is no detailed
How of information between local administration and the centre.
The political system may be the aspect of environment of most significance
for our purposes. The major point here is something that has been referred
to earlier: the political role of the bureaucracy. In Industria, many social,
economic, and political groups compete, of which the bureaucracy is only one;
in Agraria the administration is only one of the roles played by the 'fused'
social organization. That is, as we have seen, the king or tribal chief plays
a political-administrative-economic-social-religious-educational role. Riggs
(as good a creator of metaphors as of models) suggests that the power arena
in Industria is a market, but in Agraria a stage. Partition of the 'administrative'
and the 'political' is possible only in the diffracted society where social roles
and structures are differentiated. In Agraria,, the theory suggests the
personalized^ non-functional5 irrational features of the bureaucracy are
inevitable.
There are hardly any examples in the modern world of a perfectly 'fused'
society, although planners will recognize many of the features of Agraria in
the foregoing summary. In a perfectly fused society, of course, there may be
nothing even resembling a bureaucracy, although Riggs speaks of bureaucracy
in his discussion of Agraria. He later replaced the Agraria-Industria model
with the fused-diffracted scheme, in order to make the polar extremes more
deductively pure, and then focused his analysis on the transitional 'prismatic'
type. As a country develops* both administration and society take on many
modern forms, but traditional, Agraria-like patterns of behaviour survive
beneath them. Paradoxes result from the mixture of diverse and incongruent
structures, practices, and orientations.
26
Conceptual frameworks
In the prismatic model, formal rules and prescriptions (modern) are mocked
by political, economic, social, and cultural realities (pre-modern). This is
'formalism1. New organizations appear, associational in form, but traditionallyparticularistic
in orientation. (He likens them to cliques, clubs, or sects, but
chooses to coin a new word, 'elects'. ) In the transition from a subsistence to a
market economy, paradoxical phenomena occur: the economy is actually a quasimarket
(the 'bazaar-canteen' model), characterized by price-indeterminacy
because of the fact that personal, social, and political considerations of the
participants impinge on economic behaviour. Commerce is likely to be carried
on by a low-status pariah entrepreneur group (such as the overseas Chinese in
Southeast Asia): balance of power, prestige, and solidarity factors make a
mockery of 'economic m a n ' . 'Competition' in the quasi-market is monopolistic
(the 'canteen'), and price changes reflect individual bargains (the 'bazaar').
These defects in the market impede economic rationalization and the collection
of revenue, which is one reason for the low official salaries. This, plus the
availability of bribes from pariah entrepreneurs seeking to escape discriminatory
laws, contributes to corruption in the administration. Particularistic 'elect'
loyalties give rise to nepotism and to favouritism in the allocation of government
services. In personnel management, a system of rank classification (as in
Thailand) or a heavy reliance upon formal educational credentials for civil
service eligibility (as in the Philippines) reflect 'attainment' norms - a compromise
between older ascriptive criteria and new achievement orientations. In
short, the administration is only on the surface a reasonable facsimile of a
modern efficient bureaucracy.. Instead of the ideal 'bureau', where administrative
efficiency and functional rationality are the main criteria, Riggs speaks of
the prismatic 'sala', where many non-administrative criteria enter.
The administrative consequence of this pervasive formalism in the environment
is that formal power is insufficient for effective control. And this is
not merely because of the lack of resources or the lack of technical skill -
the two difficulties which most foreign aid is designed to remedy. One would
guess that, the less diffracted the society, the more powerful the bureaucracy
within that society. In Agraria the bureaucracy is the top ruling group and has
no competitors; as the society develops and differentiated groups appear, the
bureaucracy still has a head start. Ironically, this unchallenged political
power is the source of its great political weakness.
The administration will be inevitably engaged in politics to the extent that it is
the only societal body capable of formulating goals. To the extent that the
society is 'fused', the administration will be, not a technically specialized
instrument for executing the society's chosen policies* but one embodiment
of the whole, fused, political-economic-social-cultural structure. Thus it is
impossible to separate the 'administrative' from the 'political' in the role of
the administration or of the people in it. Policies will be formulated through
internal wrangling inside the administration: this weakens the efficiency of the
administrative system and thereby its ability to influence the outside.
27
Development administration
This is due precisely to the weakness or absence of articulate, external,
autonomous, non-bureaucratic groups. The stronger these outside groups are,
the m o r e the administration is able to focus on administration, and the less
on politics. In a diffracted society it is the autonomous political bodies
(legislative, courts, parties) and economic and social interest groups that
direct, reward, and punish the implementers of policy. These pressures and
incentives mould bureaucratic motivation, and motivation is more important
than organizational charts or efficient filing systems. In fused and prismatic
societies, where these outside groups are non-existent or weak, the bureaucracy
is not given political direction from outside, and this is the major cause
of its inadequacy.
To take an actual example: m a n y developing countries seek to formulate labour
and social policy through tripartite collaboration between government, employers,
and labour. But labour, and often the employers as well, m a y be hard pressed
for representatives capable of participating in the formulation of national policy.
(ILO is seeking to respond to this need. ) (1)
The weakness or absence of autonomous power centres (parties or interest
groups) is the source of the feebleness of formal legislative institutions in
many developing countries. But bureaucracy suffers the most: when bureaucracy
is the dominant, rather than subordinate, organ of government, and lays
down its own terms for survival, its tendencies of conservatism, laziness,
insensitivity, corruption, political wrangling., procedural ritualism, and so
forth., go uncorrected. A s a result, the official will be incapable of moulding
the collective behaviour of the population as the citizen is as incapable of
shaping official policies. The only means of public 'control' will be simply a
negative response to bureaucratic action - inertia or avoidance. Yet these
weapons m a y be sufficient to render the administration impotent.
Riggs also extends his theory to offer an explanation for the extravagant elitism
that wastes resources and inhibits social change in m a n y developing countries, (2)
Most western societies were forced out of the traditional into the transitional
phase by internal dynamics and pressures. The elites that ruled were 'supporter'
(i. ee productive) elites, entrepreneurs who amassed wealth after sacrificing
consumption for investment. In most developing societies, on the other hand,
social change was forced by outside influences and pressures. Such societies,
on becoming independent, m a y not be able to diffract their own structures and
m a y be able to maintain their independence only by utilizing and extending the
basic inherited fused imperial structure. Therefore the colonial elites are replaced
by native ones.
(1) Aamir Ali, speaking at the Xlllth International Congress . . . ,
21 July 196 50
(2) Fred W . Riggs, ^Prismatic Society and Financial
Administration', Administrative Science Quarterly; vol. 5,
№1 (June 1960).
28
Conceptual frameworks
But where change is forced from outside, these may be merely elites of powerholders,
not of entrepreneurs» They will not sacrifice consumption for productive
purposes; their wealth will not be accompanied by the higher productivity
that can eventually narrow the gap between rich and poor. Riggs argues that in
such situations power comes increasingly to be held by an economically dependent
elite which consumes more wealth from the economy than it contributes by its
work. (For, as we have seen, the administrative contribution of this elite is an
empty, ineffectual form. ) The result he calls a 'dependency syndrome', a progressive
diminution of productivity, at the same time that the economy is becoming
more developed, i. e« interdependent„ Riggs here is borrowing Myrdal's law
of circular causation and pointing out that the environment is such that the harmful
'backwash' effects of development (e. g. parasitic elites) may overwhelm the
beneficial 'spread' effects (e. g. interdependence). Riggs seems acutely aware of
the fact that the process of change often makes some things worse rather than
better. This is one reason that he chooses to define 'development' itself in a
neutral sense, i. e. as differentiation of structures, and to call a benevolent upward
spiral 'positive development', and a downward spiral 'negative development'.
Riggs's analysis has implications also for the basic organizational question of
overcentralization. (1) W e saw that congestion at the top retards development,
and can see why many writers advocate increased delegation of responsibility
to subordinates and to local administration. Local self-government in its various
forms (community development, panchayati raj in India, etc. , ) is thus commonly
cited as the key to progress. While not denying that over-centralization and the
inadequacy of local government are obstacles to development, Riggs points out
that they are effects, as well as causes, of stagnation. Enlightened central
governments have often tried to delegate responsibility to the local level, and
with disastrous results. Local autonomy will contribute to progress only when
the ecology is already favourable, and will accentuate the difficulties when it is
not. (Myrdal's law of circular causation again. ) In the latter case, centralized
control, whatever its defects, may be a necessary counteracting power.
Local government is weak partly because of the inheritance of the imperial
central government. As a general rule, colonizing powers concentrated on national
and top provincial administration (although the British pattern of 'indirect rule'
left more leeway to local government than the French 'direct rule'). This centralizing
tendency is reinforced by the 'dependent' (parasitic) elites, who come to
power in the centre and seek to hold their power. But the 'supporter' (productive)
elites require strong central controls when they come to power, in order to launch
the beneficial 'spread' effects against the debilitating 'backwash' effects.
(1) Fred W 0 Riggs, 'Economic Development and Local
Administration: A Study in Circular Causation', Philippine
Journal of Public Administration, vol. 3, № 1 (January 19 59).
29
Development administration
Concentrating on developing local government is therefore hardly a panacea,
and no simple answer can be given to the recurrent question in the literature
of development administration: centralization or decentralization? One cannotbreak
at any one point into the vicious circle of mutually-reinforcing local
stagnation and local maladministration., but can only take steps to assist and
encourage local administration concurrently with steps to spur overall
development.
One might ask, finally., how does a modern socialist or communist society
with single party and planned economy fit into Riggs's model of 'development
as diffraction'? Indeed there is a tendency for students of comparative administration
to regard such societies as outside their field. (1) O n the face of it,
many socialist countries have achieved economic development and efficient
administration without some of the independent political and interest groups
that Riggs considers necessary» But his functional analysis clearly applies.
He notes that the Soviet Union, for example, is highly diffracted: specialization
of labour , and the existence of functionally specific institutions are
evident. (2) A n d if direction is not provided to the bureaucracy by private
associations, economic interest groups, and independent political parties, it
can still be provided by (a) a single party, which acts as a watchdog on the
bureaucracy at all levels; (b) a m a s s ideology, which legitimizes the single
party's power and m a y even affect bureaucratic motivation; and (c) the limited
autonomy of certain specialized representative groups, such as trade unions
and professional bodies. Thus in a thoroughly socialist state there exist the
non-bureaucratic bodies that keep the bureaucracy focused on administrative
rather than political tasks.
Although Riggs prefers democratic pluralism, it is not so m u c h authoritarianism
he worries about as it is the 'bureaucratic polity' - the state in which bureaucracy
dominates and is for that reason ineffectual. (3) Authoritarian regimes,
of the right or the left, civilian or military, m a y or m a y not be able to mobilize
their societies for developmentэ but effective administration requires the
separation of the 'administrative' from the 'political', and this requires the
emergence of n ew social and political institutions. This conclusion^ we shall
see, has important implications for programmes of technical assistance.
(1) Ferrel Heady, 'Comparative Public Administration;
Concerns and Priorities', in Heady and Stokes., op. cit. .
pp. 6-7.
(2) Riggs5 Administration in Developing Countries . . . ,
p. 10 4„
(3) Fred W . Riggs, 'Relearning an Old Lesson: The
Political Context of Development Administration,
'Public Administration Review, vol. X X V , № 1 (March 1965),
p. 79.
30
3 IMPLICATIONS F O R PLANNING
Critique of Riggs's Theoretical Model
Any theoretical model abstracts and generalizes, which is both a strength and
a weakness. On the one hand, as Karl Deutsch has written, " W e are using
models, willingly or not, wherever we are trying to think systematically about
anything at all". (1) Riggs has deliberately chosen a deductive model, fitting
variables together logically without regard to observed situations, in order to
illuminate essential relationships between administration and environment»
Moreover the model is admitted to be experimental, and this means that.its
hypotheses m a y naturally outrun the capacity to test them.
Nevertheless a reviewer has pointed out that certain of the linkages in Riggs's
model are tenuous. The correlations between specific administrative and
societal attributes are not always clearly causal. Riggs does not claim that
they all are, but it is hard to avoid the inference that they are supposed to
be. (2) Moreover it has been pointed out that the complexity of some of his
presentations makes them non-operational, i. e. not constructive. He is at
his most instructive and constructive when he applies his general theory to a
specific problem, for example, in his essays on local administration and
financial administration. (3)
The most controversial feature of Riggs's approach, however, is not its conceptualizing
or its complexity, but the attitude that seems to follow from the
concepts. The prospects for development seem decidedly grim when viewed
through the ecological frame of reference. The implication of his ecological
approach is that efficient administration is decidedly 'culture-bound'. Saul
Katz of Pittsburgh has written that"the quintessence of planning is modern
rationality". (4) The 'modern' in that statement is clearly a standard set by
(1) Karl Deutsch, 'On Communication Models in the Social
Sciences', Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 16 (Fall 19 52).
(2) Edgar L . Shor, 'Comparative Administration: Static Study
versus Dynamic Reform', Public Administration Review,
vol. XXII, № 3 (September 1962), p. 160.
(3) See Riggs, 'Economic Development and Local
Administration . . . l
s and also 'Prismatic Society and
Financial Administration', both cited above.
(4) Saul M . Katz, A Systems Approach to Development
Administration, (AG Papers in Comparative Public
Administration, Special Series, № 6 , 1965, p. 3).
31
Development administration
the experience of the Western industrial nations, and the ecological analysis
suggests that what we call 'rationality' is culture-bound as well. The picture
Riggs presents of the interrelation of administration and environment displays
cultural incompatibility., socio-cultural 'pre-conditions', and the dysfunctional
consequences of administrative borrowing from other cultures. Can it be that
•'modern rationality' in administration is simply not transferable to developing
societies?
What good is reforming the filing system, for example, if there exists no
effective demand for good written communications? If procedural ritualization
and internal bureaucratic divisiveness are rooted in the weakness of the political
system, how can they be remedied by technical means, or even by major
administrative reform? What effect on administrative performance can be expected
from training officials if the trainees' work is more a struggle for influence
in the bureaucratic arena than the implementation of policy? If the incentives for
efficient administration are those provided by outside political and interest
groups, and such groups do not exist, how will technical training of personnel
encourage the rise of such groups? In fact, the development of new institutions
and the separation of the 'administrative' and the political m a y be easier if the
bureaucracy is weak. In a 'bureaucratic polity', technical assistance to the
bureaucracy m a y merely aggrandize its political power and m a k e things worse,
since development in public administration takes place m o r e readily than
changes in the political system«, (1)
Riggs is not the only observer to reach pessimstic conclusions about administrative
aspects of development. A group of planners at an O E C D conference,
discussing political problems of bureaucracy, agreed that in situations of
political interference or instability, planning m a y be an academic exercise.
"in cases such as these nothing but a change of government,
which in some countries might require a revolution, could
pave the way for effective development. It was not feltj
however, (concluded the conference rapporteur) that the
planning of revolution as such belonged properly to the
curriculum of institutes of development planning. " (2)
(1) Riggs, 'Relearning an Old Lesson . . . ' , p. 79, and also
Fred W . Riggs., 'Bureaucrats and Political Development:
A Paradoxical View', in Joseph La Palombara, ed. ,
Bureaucracy and Political Development, 1963.
(2) Higgins, op. cit. ,
32
Implications for planning
Such resignation may not be warranted. W e noted earlier that the interdisciplinary
ecological approach is the characteristic feature of development
administration as a new departure, and that the justifying assumption of the
new study is that the traditional concepts of public administration are inadequate.
But there are other people interested in development administration
who reject this assumption, explicitly or implicitly, wholly or in part. As a
consequence, some of them are more inclined to see development administration
as merely an application of the field of public administration. More
importantly, however, they do not reach Riggs's pessimistic conclusions.
In 1961 the U . N . published A Handbook of Public Administration: Current
Concepts and Practice, with Special Reference to Developing Countries. This
was a monograph prepared by Herbert Emmerich, professor at the University
of Virginia and now President of the International Institute of Administrative
Sciences. Emmerich's Handbook recognizes the importance of ecology and
agrees that public administration must be considered as 'an integral part of
a nation's institutions'. But, in the words of a reviewer, 'the Handbook makes
the unmistakable assumption of cosmopolitan scope for precepts often indicated
as culture-bound'. (1) The Handbook explicitly claims only 'some degree of
worldwide and general validity' for the standard administrative prescriptions
it offers, but some of its specific recommendations clearly affirm the transcendent
relevance of traditional administrative principles. In a detailed
section on 'contemporary concepts and practice', Emmerich discusses:
organizational analysis; organizational structure; methods and material; the
career service; personnel administration; human relations, supervision and
training; decentralization, autonomous institutions and public enterprises;
budget and financial administration; research and planning; decision-making;
and public relations and reporting. The Handbook is a brief bible of administrative
principles and techniques, and should be useful to administrators and
planners.
Emmerich relies on the accommodation of the modern forms and the alien
settings to each other. He agrees that modernization of administration can be
carried through more easily if cultural symbols and customary decorum are
accommodated. But the necessity for change is assumed: 'progress there must
be'. (2) It is clear which side is expected to do most of the accommodating.
(1) Shor, op. cit. , p. 162.
(2) United Nations, Technical Assistance P r o g r a m,
A Handbook of Public Administration: Current Concepts
and Practice, with special reference to Developing
Countries, 1961, p. 12.
33
Development administration
What does experience, as opposed to theory, tell us about the transferability
of Western techniques? A n article by Henry Bush,, 'Transplanting Administrative
Techniques', reports on a project which sought to train Indonesian officials in
U . S, methods of public administration. The project covered a wide range of
techniques, from elementary office management to personnel and financial
administration. The results were encouraging» Not all techniques were equally
masterable (some things like public relations did not m a k e sense to the
Indonesians), but Bush calculates that 63 per cent of the interns successfully
comprehended or saw the applicability of U . S. techniques, (1)
Thus, not everything w e think of as good administration is irretrievably culture -
bound» In fact, if new nations are choosing development and modernization as
goals, they have already broken out of ecological bonds to a great extent« Riggs's
models, as a critic points out, are too static. His societal forces appear more
fixed than they really are, and the deterrents to reform m a y be m o r e transitory
than references to 'cultural barriers' connote. Forces for progress inhabit the
environment as well. (The numbers of trained people, and their influence, will
grow; specialization and professionalization will catch on in the civil service;
political elites can become more sensitive to the problems and to the need for
rational planning. ) A s this critic of Riggs points out,
" A n awareness of the relationship of administration to its
social setting is doubtless the beginning of wisdom. It ought
not to be regarded as the end of wisdom as well. " (2)
There is a third school of thought, which seems to be trying to occupy the
middle ground between Riggs and Emmerich. This movement, represented by
Edward W . Weidner of the East-West Centre at the University of Hawaii, is
called 'development administration' and is usually distinguished from Riggs's
'comparative public administration'. Where Riggs develops an ecological framework
for the purpose of comparative study, Weidner argues for a focus on the
process of development, for a study oriented to the question of how national
development can be accelerated by administrative means. Weidner's preoccupation
is with technical assistance for administrative reform» (3)
(1) Henry C . Bush, 'Transplanting Administrative Techniques',
in Gove Hambidge, ed. , Dynamics of Development: A n
International Development Reader, 1964.
(2) Shor, op. cit. , pp. 163-164.
(3) See Edward W . Weidner., Technical Assistance in Public
Administration Overseas: The Case for Development
Administration, 1964.
34
Implications for planning
Riggs feels that Weidner, like Emmerich, is tied to an implicit inductive model
of administrative functions derived from Western experience and therefore limited
to Western societies. Criticizing what he considers 'the faulty premises of
development administration', Riggs argues (as w e have seen) that administrative
reform m a y be self-defeating if the ecology is unfavourable for the growth of the
necessary outside institutions. (1) Advocates of 'development administration'
(Weidner, Dwight Waldo, Edgar Shor) reply that Riggs's deductive model has
misleading implications: excogitated variables which diverge from reality, while
useful for theory building, can distort estimates of the prospects for administrative
improvement. If Riggs's societies seem fixed, even in the transitional
stage, what is needed is a model of the process of change. (2)
Riggs does not m e a n his models to be static, he makes it clear that the transitional
model is not in equilibrium, because of the presence and conflict of progressive
and regressive forces. He applies Myrdal's dynamic law of circular causation
to show how these forces make the good better ('positive development') and the
bad worse ('negative development'). But all he can say about the direction of
change is that it all depends on which forces win out. (3)
He does not m e a n his ecological analysis to have these fatalistic implications,
for he specifies the influence of the subject on the environment as well as the
reverse. The less developed a system, he says, the m o r e it is determined by
its environment. The m o r e it develops, the m o r e it is capable of modifying its
environment. (4) But each situation looks curiously self-perpetuating. There is
nothing about the dynamics of turning the vicious circle into an upward spiral.
In this sense, Myrdal's 'dynamic' law is not a law of change, but one of selfperpetuation.
(1) Riggs, 'Relearning an Old Lesson . . . ' , pp. 77ff.
(2) Shor, op. cit. , p. 163; Waldo, op. cit. , pp. 2 7ff. ;
Edward W . Weidner, 'Development Administration: A N ew
Focus for Research', in Heady and Stokes, op. cit. , p. 104;
and Edward W e Weidner, 'The Search for Priorities in
Comparative Public Administration Research', in Riggs and
Weidner, op. cit. , p. 60.
(3) Riggs, 'Models in the Comparative Study . . . ' , p. 39;
'The actual course of change in a given society would
reflect the balance between these counterpoised forces'.
(4) Fred W . Riggs, The Ecology of Development, C AG
Occasional Paper, 1964, p. 3 5.
35
Development administration
In his latest book, Riggs agrees that "the gloomy view , . . seems to grow out
of the logic of the prismatic model". And he states his conclusion that the
possibility of reversing a downward spiral of strongly negative development
'seems unlikely', (1) Forces for progress exist in his model, but it still leads
him to point to the disadvantages of aiding them directly by administrative
reform. And after urging caution in regard to technical assistance in administration.,
he can offer no alternative answer to the question of how actually to
promote change, Edward Weidner argues that this question be the object, not
of resignation, but of the highest priority in scholarly research and technical
assistance, (2)
One can indeed accept the insights of the ecological approach without falling
into despair, (One might even ask how a thoroughly empirical analysis can
lead to 'gloom', ) The relativism of it should dispel some of the clouds. For
example, when speaking of the need for external groups as stimulants for
good administration, Riggs suggests, inter alia, that a developing political
party m a y require spoils because of the patterns of social behaviour at that
stage. Therefore, a bureaucracy based on 'merit' m a y aggrandize bureaucratic
power at the expense of political institutional development, (3) The sociologist
Bert Hoselitz admits that venality in a bureaucracy is tolerable (perhaps even
beneficial) if the primary need of the society is social integration not goalattainment,
(4) Another writer cites the example of urban politics in the 19th
century U S :
"it was precisely by corruption, kickbacks, and the distribution
of jobs that American urban bosses drew together
large numbers of diverse ethnic, religious, and nationality
groups into one political coalition of support, " (5)
(1) Riggs, Administration in Developing Countries „ , . ,
p. 40 4,
(2) Weidner, 'Development Administration: A N e w Focus „ „,
p„ 104; and Weidner, 'The Search for Priorities . . . ' , p, 60,
(3) See Joseph L a Palombara, 'An Overview of Bureaucracy
and Political Development', in L a Palombara, op, cit,,
(4) Bert F , Hoselitz, 'Levels of Economic Performance
and Bureaucratic Structures', in L a Palombara, op, cit, ,
(5) Howard Wriggins, 'Foreign Assistance and Political
Development', in Development of the Emerging Countries:
An Agenda for Research, the Brookings Institution, 1962,
p, 190,
36
Implications for planning
The pessimistic side of this is that these apparently irrational and destructive
behaviour patterns are deeply rooted; but the optimistic side is that classically
perfect bureaucracy is not necessarily a precondition for development. Such
phenomena as family obligations, personal favours, and spreading the work
m a y indeed m a k e sense within their setting, and be completely rational, not
only in terms of the self-interest of the individuals involved, but also in terms
of social values: Robert Presthus suggests a new ideal-type of 'welfare bureaucracy',
stressing co-operation, full employment, and fringe benefits, in contrast
to the Weberian ideal-type, which stresses skill, impartiality, predictability,
and achievement. (1)
Thus Edward Weidner asks, is it to be assumed that all administrative systems
will move along the single continuum implied in the agraria-trans itia-industria
scheme? He quotes Riggs's admission that
"The phrase 'transitional society' is somewhat misleading
because it fails to suggest strongly enough the distinctive
qualitative features of these societies. It also implies a
false teleology, a kind of determinism of industrialization.
In fact world industrialization raises problems which no contemporary
society can avoid confronting, but it seems quite
possible that some countries m a y enter a stage of relatively
permanent 'under-development' or 'transition'. " (2)
"Models", Weidner concludes, "must take into account important aspects of
reality", and one of these aspects of reality is that m a n y nations are seeking
development. They m a y be in 'permanent transition' in terms of Riggs's
teleology, but they are achieving varying degrees of success. (3)
The gap between Riggs and Weidner should not be exaggerated. Both see their
subject as a new departure in the study of public administration. To some
extent, Weidner's 'development administration' can be seen as a practiceoriented
version of the same study for which Riggs is the pre-eminent theorist.
(1) Robert V . Presthus, 'Weberian v. Welfare Bureaucracy
in Traditional Society', Administrative Science Quarterly,
vol.6, № 1 (June 1961).
(2) Fred W , Riggs, 'Bureaucracy in Transitional Societies:
Politics, Economic Development and Administration'.
Paper submitted to 1959 annual meeting of American Political
Science Association, quoted in Weidner, 'The Search for
Priorities . . . ' , p. 54.
(3) Weidner, 'The Search for Priorities . . . ' , p. 54, p. 60.
37
Development administration
Irving Swerdlow's book Development Administration: Concepts and Problems
(1963) is a collection of papers on the political, economic, cultural, sociological,
as well as organizational, problems of administration in developing
societies - precisely the elements that Riggs seeks to embrace in his theory.
In fact, it is hard to tell whether Swerdlow's use of the term 'development
administration' refers to Weidner's approach to the exclusion of Riggs's or
whether it is evidence of their common ground. Weidner himself appreciates
the need for theoretical models (especially simple and realistic ones), and
Riggs has shown that his theories can be made operational. For example,
Weidner praises the 'meaningful application' of the theories to the specific
problem of local administration in Riggs's article on 'Economic Development
and Local Administration: A Study in Circular Causation'. (1)
Dwight Waldo suggests that the focus on development can bring together the
comparative-theory model-builders, on the one side, and the universalprinciple
management technicians, on the other, thereby combining the insights
of the ecological perspective with the dynamism of administrative reform.
(2) Indeed, the Comparative Administration Group, which Riggs heads
and of which Emmerich is a member, has taken up Weidner's positive focus
on administration for development. (3) Waldo concludes,
"To focus on development would, hopefully, help in making
rational decisions on the type and level of rationality that
is possible in differing situations. If the study of Comparative
Public Administration has done nothing else, it has fully
demonstrated the relativity of administrative means of
administrative ends. Posing in one system of thought
customary administrative ideas and techniques, different
types of cultures, different levels of culture, different
objectives, and borrowing concepts from sociology and
anthropology - all this is to introduce 'relativity'. Its
introduction does not 'invalidate' what has preceded any
more than relativity invalidates classical physics, but it
does indicate limitations and open new worlds. " (4)
(1) Ibid. , p. 36.
(2) Waldo, op. cit. , pp. 2 7ff.
(3) See Development Administration: Report by a Special
Committee, CAG Occasional Paper, 1964.
(4) Waldo, op. cit. , p. 30.
38
Implications for planning
Lessons for Planners
The theories are important for our purposes not only because they are meant
to explain the causes of administrative problems, but also because certain
attitudes and strategies follow from their explanations. Obviously there are
grounds for both pessimism and optimism, and the theories, separately, tell
us what they are. The broader perspective that takes in the truths of all sides
inevitably presents the observer with a truism: don't expect too much, but
don't give up.
Beyond this, development administration offers two general lessons to planners.
It reminds us of the fundamental importance of 'planning the planning': no plan
should be written without a consideration of its administrative implications.
As with any other scarce resource involved in a plan, administrative capacity
must be evaluated, and priorities must be established for competing sectors
and projects within the limits imposed by the scarcity. The warning of development
administration - the lesson of the formidable array of administrative
obstacles - is that frustration awaits the plan which is too ambitious for its
administrative context. In short, these two general lessons are (a) plans are
not self-implementing, and (b) the condition of public administration determines
what kind of plan will work.
The question to ask is not, at what stage of development will sophisticated
over-all planning work? For if we postpone planning until that stage arrives,
it never will. Rather the question is, how can we tell what kind of plan is
feasible in particular administrative conditions? The literature of development
administration provides the foundation for an answer.
The specific technical functions of the administrative process, according to
the classical 'machine model', are: planning, organizing, staffing, directing,
co-ordinating, reporting, and budgeting (referred to as POSDCORB by students
of public administration). The obstacles of the kinds discussed earlier are met
as one moves through this process.
Foreknowledge of the administrative terrain should enable the planner to adjust
his plans and his ambitions accordingly. In 1951 the United Nations Technical
Assistance Administration published a document entitled Standards and Techniques
of Public Administration, with special reference to Technical Assistance for
Underdeveloped Countries ( S T / T A A / M / 1 ) . While its section on administrative
practice is less useful than Emmerich's United Nations paper of ten years later,
it contains a valuable 24-page 'Outline for a Survey of Administrative Conditions'.
This includes a listing of relevant environmental factors and, of greater importance,
a series of detailed questions to ask on several aspects of administration:
39
Development administration
governmental organization finance, personnel, planning, etc. For example;
"which part of the government has the main initiative in legislative and budgetary
action?" "To what extent does a change in the political composition of the
government affect the public service?" "To what extent do government employees
find it necessary to supplement their income? " "To what extent and how are local
plans and projects assimilated into regional and national schemes, and what
part do the lesser units play in the execution? "
Thus equipped with a m a p of the administrative terrain, the planner must consider
his tactics and strategy,, Colm and Geiger refer to three levels of
specificity in the planning process: plans, programmes, and projects. A plan
is a comprehensive development scheme for a country as a whole, perhaps
divided into sectors or regions. A programme is a more detailed determination
of specific objectives within a sector or a region, with a time schedule. And a
project is an individual component of a programme. (1)
Thus the level of sophistication of planning can be measured in terms of such
features as the number, complexity, length of time scale, and degree of coordination,
of individual projects. One could in principle measure administrative
conditions according to the feasible level of sophistication of planning, as
measured in each of these dimensions. The basic unit of planning would be the
simple, short, isolated, individual project. The absolute minimum point on the
multi-dimensional scale of feasibility would be a situation in which the simplest
short isolated project is unable to get off the ground. The point of minimum
success would be one at which such a project succeeds. As feasible level of
sophistication increased in each dimension, one would reach a stage at which
more than one of these succeeds, a stage at which one or more complex isolated
projects succeed, a stage at which co-ordinated projects succeed, a stage at
which longer-range projects succeed - and so on, up to the ultimate stage at
which comprehensive, co-ordinated, long-range planning is possible.
Each of the dimensions of feasible sophistication is a function of the administrative
ecology. A planner who knows what to look for in administration and
environment will be able to derive by common sense the logical consequences
for his planning. For example: if planning functions are shared among separate
ministries or agencies, and co-ordination is poor, then co-ordinated planning
is doomed to frustration. If lower-level and local personnel are poorly trained,
then no plan which assigns them complex technical tasks will be implemented.
(1) Gerhard Colm and Theodore Geiger, 'Country
Programming as a Guide to Development*, in Development
of the Emerging Countries . . .
40
Implications for planning
If elementary statistical data are unreliable or nonexistent, then the plan m ay
have to be drawn up even without precise knowledge of the needs or the consequences.
If political instability disrupts the continuity of policy, then the timescale
of planning should be shortened. If the bureaucracy is heavily involved
in politics, the planner must identify the centres of political power in the
society and in the administration and seek their commitment. If the processes
and criteria of decision-making are (or seem to us) irrational, then persuasion
of decision-makers must be cast in terms relevant to their motivation - even
appealing to the irrational] If the dominant social organization in most of the
country is the communal or tribal unit, then the plan ought to make use of this
unit rather than ignore it or try to overhaul the social structure.
The planner must obviously work with what is given. To the extent that the
administrative obstacles are present, the planner will have to restrict his
ambitions. Malcolm Rivkin has written an article entitled, 'Let's Think Small
for Development'. Frustration is inherent, he says, in the 'immodest approach'
of 'thinking big'. Specifically, we need what he calls "short-range 'operational'
projects that can be handled within current limits of personnel and resources".
A good example is the experience of Turkey's Department of Regional Planning.
Founded in 1956, it set for itself wide-ranging objectives. But in the first four
years several of the attempted studies were dropped because they became too
big, too amorphous, or just beyond the ability of the personnel to handle them.
After I960,, when outside advice was sought, the Department found greater
success by concentrating on specific jobs with specific goals which could be
realized in a relatively short time period. (1)
Colm and Geiger and Albert Waterston, have argued in favour of pragmatic
planning, as opposed to econometric planning. That is, plans logically deduced
from models by mathematical methods are less useful than plans which allow
for qualitative judgments in real life situations. (2) Waterston states that, in
Latin America, for example, the usefulness of mathematical growth models
and input-output tables is undermined by the huge gaps in available data, the
technical and political weakness of the planning organization, and the opposition
of entrenched groups in the government and society.
(1) Malcolm D . Rivkin, 'Let's Think Small for Development',
in Hambidge, op. cit. ,
(2) Colm and Geiger, op. cit. , Albert Waterston,
'Planning the Planning under the Alliance for Progress',
in Irving Swerdlow, ed. , Development Administration:
Concepts and Problems, 1963.
41
Development administration
All available quantitative information should certainly be used:, but Waterston
believes that "a few conversations with knowledgeable technicians should suffice
in most Latin American countries". It is not essential that input-output tables
be used, although it is important that an input-output approach be used. But
simple algebra may be more appropriate than cybernetics. (1)
These writers dispute the view that economic planning is valid only on the
basis of a detailed, comprehensive statistical system resting on complete
demographic, social, and economic data summarized in an aggregate series.
If the meaningful data are lacking, estimates and scanty information will have
to serve as the basis of planning, A country cannot wait until it has a comprehensive
statistical service. (2) In addition, complexity m a y alienate the officials
responsible for approval and implementation. Intelligibility is more important
for political and popular acceptance than mathematical sophistication.
Comprehensiveness may be less desirable than selectivity and immediate
availability. A pragmatically prepared plan takes less time to draw up than
a mathematically integrated one. "What is needed" Waterston quotes a planner
as saying, "is not so much short-term plans as plans prepared in a short
term". (3) Such a plan would inevitably be rough and imperfect, but all plans
need constant revision and refinement. Meanwhile the country would have, in
a short time, an improved frame of reference for its investment decisions.
Waterston also recommends that the time-scale of planning be short enough
for reasonably accurate projections and estimates, and long enough to cover
the gestation period of a sufficient number of related projects which give a
reasonably adequate indication of the over-all effect of the investment decisions.
(He suggests 4-5 year plans, rather than 10-year plans, with shorter,
'operational' plans each year. ) He warns, moreover, against basing plans on
"the unrealistic assumption that substantial improvements in public administration,
taxation, and agrarian conditions can be achieved in two or three
years". Good planning requires a 'proper skepticism'. (4)
(1) Waterston, "'Planning the Planning' . . . ", p . 150.
(2) Colm and Geiger, op. cit. ,
(3) Waterston, "'Planning the Planning' . . . ", p . 153.
(4) Ibid. , p. 150.
42
Implications for planning
In sum the ideal of planning is long-range, systematic, and knowledge-based:
but to the extent that administrative conditions m a k e these very qualities
unattainable^ planning will have to be short-range pragmatic, and perhaps even
improvised. A s environment and administration develop together, pragmatism
becomes less and less a virtue, and the m a n y facets of social activity can be
planned successfully in a more comprehensive and far-sighted way«,
The planning and administrative processes will eventually reach a 'take-off,
just as the economic system does. (1) Indeed the economic take-off m a y depend
on administrative development» (2) But the field of development administration
teaches us that the pre-conditions for take-off in administration are not merely
technical or organizational in nature. A s many writers point out^ the essential
pre-condition for effective administration is the mobilization of national political
power, the co-ordination of the energies of politicians, administrators, and
citizenso Take-off in political development can come either through the emergence
of democratic pluralistic politics or through an authoritarian leadership
committed to economic development. (3)
The contribution of development administration is to illuminate those conditions
which make it difficult for planning to be either long-range, systematic, or
knowledge-based«, That its literature seems filled with obstacles and caveats
is to be expected. But it leaves open the possibility that a planner who is aware
of the presence and causes of the administrative obstacles can avoid them, or
allow for them. His awareness increases his chances of success, as even
gloomy Fred Riggs insists. (4) Inevitably'his success will be limited, for we
have seen that the problems of administration are as deep-rooted as the
problems of the society as a whole.
(1) Philip H . Coombs, 'Some Reflections on Education
Planning in Latin America', in Lyons, op. cit. , p. 13.
(2) Stone, 'Government Machinery . . . ' , p. 53.
(3) William J. Siffin, 'Relations between Political and
Administrative Development: Some Questions and Answers'.
Paper delivered at 1963 annual meeting of the American
Political Science Association, pp. 15ff. , Fred W„ Riggs,
Administrative Development: Notes on an Elusive Concept
and the ' K E F - P R I * Model, C A G Occasional Paper, n. d. ,
pp. 70-71; Riggs, 'Bureaucrats and Political Development . . . ' ,
p. 122.
(4) Riggs, Administration in Developing Countries . . . ,
Chapter 13.
43
SELECTED AND ANNOTATED
BI BLIOGRAPHY
I. Development Administration
A. Books by Riggs and Weidner
1 RIGGS, Frederick W . , 'Public Administration: A Neglected Factor in
Economic Development', The Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, vol. 30 5 (May 19 56).
An exposition of administrative weaknesses and of the motivational and
cultural factors which lie at the heart of them.
2 RIGGSj Frederick W . , 'Agraria and Industria: Toward a Typology of
Comparative Administration', in Siffin, William J. , ed. , Toward the
Comparative Study of Public Administration, 19 59.
The beginnings of a theory: an equilibrium model of the inter-relationships
of administration, politics, economics, social structure, and
ideology.
3 RIGGS, Frederick W e , 'Economic Development and Local
Administration: A Study in Circular Causation', The Philippine Journal
of Public Administration, vol. 3, № 1 (January 1959).
Poor local administration is an effect as well as a cause of economic
stagnation. Increased autonomy would reinforce whichever tendency,
progressive or regressive, dominates.
4 RIGGS, Frederick W . , 'An Ecological Approach: The Sala Model', in
Heady and Stokes eds. , Papers in Comparative Public Administration^
1960.
The problem of non-administrative criteria entering into administrative
decision-making in new bureaucracies, making for irrationality and
inefficiency.
45
Development administration
5 RIGGS, Frederick W„ , 'Prismatic Society and Financial Administration',
Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 5, № 1 (June I960),
The problem of elites society,, the dependency syndrome, and the consequences
for economy and administration.
6 RIGGS, Frederick W . , The Ecology of Public Administration, 1961,
A scheme of administrative models corresponding to traditional agricultural,
modern industrial, and transitional societies,,
7 RIGGS, Frederick W , , 'Trends in the Comparative Study of Public
Administration', International Review of Administrative Science, vol. 28
№1 (1962).
A history of the 'development administration movement',
8 RIGGS, Frederick W . , 'Bureaucrats and Political Development:
A Paradoxical View', in La Palombara, Joseph, ed. Bureaucracy and
Political Development, 1963.
Premature or too rapid expansion of the bureaucracy, when political
development lags behind, tends to inhibit the development of effective
politics«, Political institutions have a better chance to grow if bureaucracy
is weak,
9 RIGGS, Frederick W . , Administration in Developing Countries: Theory of
the Prismatic Society, 1964.
A collection of related essays constituting the latest and most thorough
exposition of the general theory»
10 RIGGS, Frederick W . , The Ecology of Development, prepared for the Indian
Institute of Public Administration to be used in a volume commemorating the
late Paul Appleby, September 1964,
General discussion of environmental factors in development: geography,
demography, sociology, etc.
46
Bibliography
11 RIGGS, Frederick W . , 'Relearning an Old Lesson: The Political Context of
Development Administration', Public Administration Review, vol. XXV, № 1
(March 1965).
The bureaucratic polity (where the hierarchy is dominant and other groups
are weak), and Woodrow Wilson's reminder that political development
(democratic reform) is a pre-condition of good administration.
12 RIGGS, Frederick W . , Administrative Development: Notes on an Elusive
Concept and the 'KEF-PRF Model, CAG Occasional Paper, n. d.
Seeks to define 'administrative' and 'development', and offers a complicated
mathematical model. He inclines toward the view that the best definition of
'development' is 'differentiation of structure'*
13 RIGGS, Frederick W . , and WEIDNER, Edward W . , Models and Priorities
in the Comparative Study of Public Administration, CAG Paper, 1963
A paper by Riggs on the general usefulness of model-building as a tool of
research, and a paper by Weidner discussing the priorities for research
(he advocates more model-building like Riggs's).
14 WEIDNER, Edward W . , 'Development Administration: A New Focus for
Research', in Heady and Stokes, op. cit. , 1960.
Discusses the meaning of development administration, the limitations of
existing models, and the need for further research and emphasis on
development.
15 WEIDNER, Edward W . , Technical Assistance in Public Administration
Overseas: The Case for Development Administration, 1964,
Describes the goals, agencies, and personnel of major programmes and
their impact on educational and governmental institutions, and suggests how
technical assistance can better serve the needs of development administration.
Argues for emphasis on development, rather than on norms of
administrative efficiency.
47
Development administration
В. Collections
16 HEADY, Ferrel, and STOKES, Sybil, eds0 , Papers in Comparative Public
Administration, I960.
A collection of hypotheses and models designed to illuminate similarities
and differences in the governmental processes of different types of
advanced and developing countries,
17 KRIESBERG, Martin, ed. , Public Administration in Developing Countries
(Proceedings of an international conference held in Bogotá, Colombia,
April 15-21, 1963, under the auspices of the Advanced School of Public
Administration), the Brookings Institution, 1965.
Good collection of papers on Factors Affecting Public Administration in
Developing Countries; The Organization of Government for Development;
Establishment of a Civil Service and Career Service, and Education,
Training, and Research in Public Administration.
18 SIFFIN, William J., ed. Toward the Comparative Study of Public
Administration, 1959.
An introductory paper by Siffin, arguing the value of comparative study,
a paper by Riggs, and a series of country studies, covering Turkey,
EgyP"^ Bolivia, Thailand, the Philippines, and France»
19 SWERDLOW, Irving, ed„ , Development Administration: Concepts and
Problems, 1963.
A good collection of papers on separate facets of development administration:
governmental structure, organization and methods, political context, culture,
motivation, and economic problems«, Contributors include Lucien W . Pye,
Paul Meadows, Merle Fainsod, Jay B. Westcott, Everett E. Hagen, and
Albert Waterston.
48
Bibliography
С, Discussions of the Field
20 Development Administration: Report by a Special Committee, CAG
Occasional Paper, June 1964.
Discusses the 'Needs and Opportunities in Public Administration as a
Professional Field Relevant for Development Overseas, with Special
Reference to: Research, Graduate and Professional Education, Training,
Overseas Operations, Central Services'. The Committee includes Riggs,
Weidner, Heady, Caldwell, et al. (Testifies to the fact that the focus on
development can bring together men of different points of view. )
21 BROWN, David S. , Concepts and Strategies of Public Administration:
Technical Assistance: 1945-1963, CAG Occasional Paper, 1964.
An excellent study of assumptions underlying US AID in administration^
and of various strategies and tactics of technical assistance, based on
the author's access to AID files.
22 HEADY, Ferrel, 'Recent Literature on Comparative Public Administration',
Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 5^ №1 (June 1960).
Discusses the various approaches to the study of public administration in
developing countries, including theoretical models and comparative
studies.
23 SHOR, Edgar L. > 'Comparative Administration: Static Study Versus
Dynamic Reform', Public Administration Review, vol.22, № 3 (September
1962).
Review of Riggs's Ecology of Administration and U . N. 1961 Handbook.
Criticizes Riggs's model for being too static in its description of cultural
factors and therefore too pessimistic about change.
24 WALDO, Dwight, Comparative Public Administration: Prologue, Problems^
and Promise, CAG Paper, 1964.
The best and most comprehensive history and discussion of comparative
administration and development administration literature.
49
Development administration
IL Politics and Sociology
25 ALMOND, Gabriel A , , and COLEMAN, JamesSSJ edstJ The Politics of
Developing Areas, I960«,
A system for a behavioral-functional approach to comparative politics, and
a series of applications of the system to various regions of the world,
26 DEUTSCH, Karl, and FOLTZ, William J.", eds, , Nation-Building, 1963«
A collection of papers on 'nation-building', and its political, economic,
social, and cultural implications and requirements.
27 LA PALOMBARA, Joseph, ed. , Bureaucracy and Political Development,
1963.
An excellent collection of papers by La Palombara, Riggs, S. N . Eisenstadt,
Bert Hoselitz, Ralph Braibanti, Joseph Spengler, Merle Fainsod, et al. ,
including theoretical analyses and case studies.
III. Public Administration
A. Discussions of Administrative Obstacles
28 EMMERICH, Herbert, 'Some Administrative Obstacles to Development',
Егора Review, vol. II, № 1 (June 1962).
Good summary of various problems of administration.
29 INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT,
Summary and Major Findings and Recommendations of Twelve Survey
Missions, 1957.
Includes a section on public administration.
30 STONE, Donald C. , 'Government Machinery Necessary for Development',
in Martin Kreisberg, ed. , Public Administration in Developing Countries,
Brookings Institution, 196 5.
50
Bibliography
Good survey of government's role in development and of administrative
obstacles in planning,, financing, and implementation.
WATERSTON, Albert, 'Administrative Obstacles to Planning', Economía
Latinoamericana, vol. 1, № 3 (July 1964).
Excellent discussion of administrative obstacles and suggestions for dealing
with them.
WATERSTON, Albert, 'Planning the Planning Under the Alliance for Progress'
in Swerdlow, ed. , Development Administration: Concepts and Problems, 1963,
Administrative problems in Latin America. First order of business is not
short-term plans or long-term plans but 'planning the planning'. Recommends
'pragmatic planning'.
B. Guides to Administrative Techniques
UNITED NATIONS, Technical Assistance Administration, Special Committee
on Public Administrative Problems, Standards and Techniques of Public
Administration, with Special Reference to Technical Assistance for Underdeveloped
Countries, 1951.
Intended as 'a guide for surveying the status of the public administration of an
underdeveloped country; for identifying the steps which can be taken by a
newly organized country in establishing its administration; and for determining
the measures which might be considered by an older and more established
country in endeavouring to improve its administrative system'. Part II as 'An
Outline for a Survey of Administrative Conditions'.
UNITED NATIONS, Technical Assistance Program, A Handbook of Public
Administration: Current Concepts and Practice, with Special Reference to
Developing Countries, 1961.
Written by Herbert Emmerich, this is a more thorough exposition of standard
administrative doctrine than the 1951 publication. The study seeks to show the
relation between the public service and the national environment, to set forth
essential elements of good administration, and to help administrators to overcome
obstacles and administer improvement.
51
Development administration
UNITED NATIONS, Meeting of Experts on Administrative Aspects of National
Development Planning (Paris, 8-19 June 1964), Report of Preliminary Study . . .
by Professors François Perroux and Michel Debeauvais, 'Administrative
Aspects of Planning in Developing Countries',
The study deals with the organization, formulation, and execution of planning,
proposing a general framework for consideration of the administrative
problems involved in planning. It also proposes an analytical method, emphasizing
functions, structures, and procedures.
UNITED NATIONS, Meeting of Experts on Administrative Aspects of National
Development Planning (Paris, 8-19 June 1964), Supplementary Report
(by Perroux and Debeauvais), 'Administrative Aspects of Social Planning'.
Discussion of the machinery and the problems involved in preparation and
execution of plans. Recommends the participation of interested groups in the
process of social planning, though arguing that a balance must be found between
this and efficiency. (This United Nations Conference produced additional literature
of value, including case studies on administrative aspects of planning in
Israel, Nigeria, the Sudan, India, Mali, Malaysia, Mexico, Ghana, and
Colombia, and papers on trade, agriculture, and urban planning. )
UNITED STATES (AID), Papers Prepared for the United Nations Conference
on the Application of Science and Technology for the Benefit of the Less
Developed Areas, vol. VIII: Organization, Planning, and Programming for
Economic Development, 1962.
Contains useful articles by Stephen K. Bailey (on the place and functioning of
a central planning agency), Edward S. Mason (on centralization-vsdecentralization),
and Kenneth Hansen (on planning as a continuing process).
WALINSKY, Louis J. , The Planning and Execution of Economic Development;
A Non-Technical Guide for Policy Makers and Administrators, 1963.
Elementary survey of aspects of planning and tasks of administration, but,
unfortunately, hardly any discussion of the obstacles that make these especially
difficult in developing countries.
KATZ, S. M . , and ESMAN, M . J. , and SCHAEFFER, W . G. , Administrative
Criteria for National Development Plans: A Checklist, 1962.
Survey of administrative needs of planning.
52
Bibliography
С, Case Studies
40 ADU, A . L . , The Civil Service in New African States.
An excellent description of African administrations and their problems«,
41 APPLEBY, Paul H . , Re-examination of India's Administrative System,
with Special Reference to Administration of Government's Industrial and
Commercial Enterprises, 1959.
One of a series of Appleby's frank and perceptive assessments of Indian
administration. Good coverage of structural and political problems.
42 BRAIBANTI, Ralph, and SPENGLER, Joseph J, , eds. , Administration
and Economic Development in India.
A good collection of papers on many aspects of the subject, administrative,
economic, political, cultural, etc.
43 WATERSTON, Albert, Planning in Pakistan, 1963.
Waterston, a member of the Development Advisory Service of IBRD, has
written a great deal about administration and planning on the basis of his
experience in many countries. See also his Planning in Morocco (1962),
Planning in Yugoslavia (1962), and (co-authored) Economic Development
of Mexico.
IV. Miscellaneous Topics
44 ALDERFER, Harold A . , Local Government in Developing Countries, 1964»
A thorough treatment of the history and problems of local government in the
developing world, with coverage of many specific countries, by one who emphasizes
the importance of local government as a key to sound administration.
Discusses English, French, Soviet and 'traditional' patterns of local government.
45 WRAITH, Ronald, and SIMPKINS, Edgar, Corruption in Developing Countries,
1963.
53
Development administration
An illuminating and occasionally frightening survey of the manifestations and
causes of corruption in many new nations» The authors argue, however, that
it is unfair to judge these situations by 'contemporary British standards';
they point out the deep sociological roots of corruption and also the developments
that m a y cure it in the long run. The best work on the subject.
V. Documentation and Bibliographies
46 CALDWELL, Lynton K. , Documentary Sources for the Comparative Study
of Development Administration (CAG Occasional Paper), 1964.
47 SPITZ, Allen A . , and W E I D N E R , Edward W . , compilers, Development
Administration: A n Annotated Bibliography, 1963.
48 UNITED STATES (AID), Publications and Technical Services, Development
Administration and Assistance: A n Annotated Bibliography, July 1963«,
49 HEADY, Ferrel, and STOKES, Sybil L . , eds. , Comparative Public
Administration: A Selective Annotated Bibliography, 2nd. , I960«
VI. Periodicals
A. Most important
50 Administrative Science Quarterly, published at Cornell University.
(Currently edited by Robert Presthus, it seems to feature the 'behavioral
sciences' approach. )
51 International Review of Administrative Sciences, Journal of the International
Institute of Administrative Sciences, Brussels. (Contributions by many
European and American writers. )
52 Public Administration Review, Journal of the American Society for Public
Administration (CASPA). (Frequent contributions by comparative administration
group people. )
54
Bibliography
В . Others
53 Civilizations, Journal of the Institut International des civilisations différentes.
(Occasional articles on public administration.)
54 Indian Journal of Public Administration. (Frequent contributions by major
writers in the field.)
55 Philippine Journal of Public Administration. (Frequent contributions by
major writers. )
56 Promotions, a French journal published by the Ecole nationale d'administration
and the centre des hautes études administratives.
57 Public Administration, Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Administration,
London.
58 Tiers-Monde, Journal of the Institut d'étude du développement économique
et social de l'université de Paris.
55
LIST OF INSTITUTIONS, PEOPLE,
AND SPECIALITIES
A. The 'Big Two'
INDIANA UNIVERSITY, Internationa i Development Research Centre
RIGGS, Fred W . , Professor of Government, also Chairman of the
Comparative Administration Group (CAG), which has its headquarters
at Indiana, (CAG is development administration's splinter group within
the American Society for Public Administration, ) - Interdisciplinary,
'ecological', theoretical study of comparative public administration,
SIFFIN, William J. , - a member of the 'Riggs school'.
CALDWELL, Lynton K. , Professor of Government and Director of
Institute of Training for Public Service - comparative and development
administration, manpower training, bibliographies of the field; current
focus - science, technology, and public policy»
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
BAILEY, Stephen Ke , Dean - Government organization.
APPLEBY, Paul, Dean emeritus - public administration, especially
India (former personal advisor to Nehru, writer of a series of studies
of Indian administration)» (deceased)
SWERDLOW, Irving, Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Faculty
Committee for the Center for Overseas Operations - economics and public
administration.
ADAMS.«, Donald K. s - comparative education,
WESTCOTT5 Jay B . , Professor of Political Science - public administration.
56
List of institutions, people
and specialities
MEADOWS, Paul, Chairman of the Department of Sociology and
Anthropology - sociology and psychology (e. g. co-author of Selected
Abstracts in Development Administration: Field Reports of Directed
Social Change)»
B, Other Important Centres
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
WALDO, Dwight, Director, Institute of Government Studies - public
administration (author of classic text, The Administrative State, 1948)„
LEPAWSKY, Alfred, - administration, manpower training.
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
SHOR, Edgar L. , - administration, Southeast Asia.
RUDOLPH, Lloyd, - comparative administration, South Asia.
HOSELITZ, Bert F. , - sociology.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
SAYRE, Wallace S. , Chairman, Department of Government -
comparative administration theory (pioneer, with Kaufman of Yale, in
'behavioral1 approach, 19 53 Research Design).
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
PRESTHUS, Robert V. , Professor of Public Administration, Graduate
School of Business and Public Administration, editor of Administrative
Science Quarterly - business administration, and 'behavioral science'
approach as well.
DUKE UNIVERSITY
BRAIBANTI, Ralph, Programme in Comparative Studies in Southern Asia -
Indian administration.
57
Development administration
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
BROWN, David S. , Professor of Public Administration - technical
assistance in administration,
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
CURLE, Adam, - educational planning«,
FAINSOD, Merle, Department of Government - administrative management
MONTGOMERY, John D. , Graduate School of Public Administration -
foreign aid.
HAVERFORD COLLEGE
DIAMANT, Alfred, Department of Political Science - comparative politics,
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, East-West Centre
WEIDNER, Edward W t J Vice-Chancellor - development administration
theory¿ technical assistance in administration overseas.
HEBREW UNIVERSITY, JERUSALEM
DROR, Yehezkel, Department of Political Science - behavioral sciences,
'decision-making' approach»
EISENSTADT, Samuel N . , - sociology, politics«
INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
WATERSTON, Albert, Development Advisory Service - administration of
planning (author of case studies).
58
List of institutions, people
and specialities
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
Centre for International Studies
HAGEN, Everett E. , Professor of Economics - economics of development
also psychology.
PYE, Lucian W . , Chairman of Department of Political Science and
Senior Staff Member CIS - politics (especially Southeast Asia),
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
HEADY, Ferrel, Director, Institute of Public Administration -
comparative administration theory,,
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
THURBER, Clarence E. , Institute of Public Administration - administrative
training.
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, Graduate School of Public and
International Affairs
STONE, Donald C. , Dean - public administration, urban administration,
education.
KATZ, Saul M . , Associate Professor Economic and Social Development
and Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics - development
administration theory ('systems approach').
ESMAN, Milton, Head of Economic and Social Development Department -
politics (experience with AID, Southeast Asia)«,
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
REINING Jr. , Henry, Dean and Professor of Public Administration -
universities' role in technical assistance and administrative training.
59
Development administration
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
DORSEY Jr. , John T. , Department of Political Science - comparative
politics. Latin America^ 'information-energy' theory.
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
EMMERICH, Herbert, Professor (and President of the International
Institute of Administrative Sciences) - public administration (also
business, housing, foreign aid). Author of 1961 U . N . Handbook on
Standard Administrative Concepts and Practice.
YALE UNIVERSITY
KAUFMAN, Herbert, Department of Political Science - comparative
administration theory (Sayre-Kaufman Research Design 19 53),
behavioral-science approach.
LA PALOMBARA, Joseph, Department of Political Science - comparative
political institutions and behaviour, comparative administration, and
research concepts and methods.
60