Issues in Public Administration

1. Issues in Public Administration “Organization and its Principles” MPA 509

2. Agenda • Preview of Last Lecture • Organization and its Principles • Meaning and Nature of Organization • Five Important Features of Organization • Functions of Organization • Span of Control • Factors which influence the Span of control • Quote of the Day

3. Meaning and Nature of Organization • Meaning Organization is prior to all administration. The term organization is used in three different contexts-The act of designing the structure, both designing and building; the structure; the administrative structure itself.

4. Organization • But others do not accept this engineering view or approach to the concept of organization. • They say organization not only consists of a structure, It also embraces human beings. • Our society is an organized society. • We are born and brought up in an organization. • Organization is nothing but a co-operative effort to achieve the goals. • Organization is as old as human society itself.

5. The word organization springs from organism which means a structure with parts or components. • When two or more people join hands to achieve a common goal there arises the need for an organization.

6. Organization • Common goal is an essence of an organization. • Modern society is a complex structure. • The people who work together is known as organization. • It is a forum of every human association for the attainment of a common goal. Weber defined organization as a corporate group. Its orders are enforced by the specific individuals. • The focus is on legitimate integration of parts.

7. Organization • Grouping is given top priority. • The individuals to whom the functions are entrusted come later. • Organizations are social units, human groupings deliberately constructed or reconstructed to seek specific objectives or goals or sub-goals. • Organizations are social institutions. They are natural communities. • They are called as social systems.

8. Organization • Just as biological structures are composed of all parts in an organic whole so are organizations composed of human beings. • It refers to the complete body with all its co-related functions. • It is an interaction and inter-relationship of people to achieve some goals.

9. Characteristics • Five important Features of Organizations. • Memberships • Consciously Purposive • Formal Structure • Elusive • Corporate Status

10. Memberships • It comprises a group of persons. • Membership may be voluntary or involuntary. • Belongingness is an important criteria so membership as such is an important feature of an organization.

11. Consciously Purposive • They are seems to be consciously purposive i.e., they do something positive for their members. • It is a purposive creation. • That is, all organisations have some objectives or set of objectives.

12. Formal Structure • A third and very important feature of organization is the structure. • It refers to the functions in an organisation.

13. Elusive • It means ideology or a set of ideas. That ideology affects their life and structure. Political and religious organizations fall in this category. • But administrative and economic organizations such as public bureaucracies and business organizations are ideologically neutral as far as their internal affairs are concerned. • However, all organizational life implies some reasonable value system.

14. Corporate Status • The last, ultimate and final feature of an organisation, may be described as its corporate statues. • Organizations always have legal status, legally established. • Thus, they can be treated as legal and social bodies or entities.

15. Nature of Organization • Organization as Machine • Organization as Structure • Organization as a Process • Organization as a Need and Responses • Organization as a Society • Organization as a System

16. Principles of Organization • Principles are the basic doctrines of the organization. Every organization needs to be based on certain principles. • Many dismiss these principles as myths or sayings or proverbs or precepts. • Then which principles to follow? No principles are accurate, definite and precise. • But many regard these principles as necessary to the achievement of the goals of public administration. • Now what are these goals-public welfare, social security, full employ­ment, social welfare etc.

17. Principles • The end of Public administration is maximum common good or public welfare at minimum cost. • The principles of public administration are not like the laws of physical sciences inflexible or invariable in their operation. • But on the other hand they are flexible and dynamic.

18. Hierarchy • Hierarchy is a principle which is quite fundamental to any organization. • Hierarchy means the rule or the control of the higher over the lower. It also means graded organizations. • In an organization there are people who occupy different positions and have been given power and authority. • In an organization all are not equal. • On the one hand are those who give orders and commands on the other are those who are expected to obey commands issued to them.

19. Hierarchy • Thus, whole system is based on the principle of high and low, the officer and the subordinate. • The rule through proper channel occupies upper place in hierarchy. • In every large scale organisation there are few who command and there are others, who are commanded.

20. Hierarchy • Thus, it creates the superior and the subordinate relationships. • In hierarchy the authority, the command and the control flows from the top to the bottom-slowly, gradually or step-by­ step. • The structure of an army is the best example of a hierarchy. • All large scale organisations follows the same pattern.

21. Hierarchy • Hierarchy is a universal phenomena. Every person or position in the hierarchy finds its appropriate place. • The lines of authority and responsibility flow along the path of hierarchy.

22. Hierarchy • Every organisation looks like a triangle in its structure. • A paramidical structure is sharp at the top and broad at the bottom. • Every organisation is like a ladder. • A person desirous of going to the roof will have to climb all the steps of the ladder, if he misses any step in the middle, he is likely to fall down. • Similarly, in the organisation there are various levels. Hierarchy in other words is also called as a scalar process which means ladder with several steps.

23. Hierarchy • In organizations every thing must move through proper channel. • For example, the secretary of the department will have to deal with the joint secretary, joint-secretary, in turn shall, deal with the deputy secretary. • Deputy-secretary shall, in turn deal with Assistant Secretary who further shall, deal with the under-secretary, the under-secretary shall, in turn deal with the section officer-who in turn, shall deal with the assistants, clerks etc.

24. Functions of Hierarchy • The functions of the hierarchy are numerous. • (1) It is a channel of command. • (2) It is a channel of communication down ward and upward-along with information, advice, specific instructions, warnings etc. • (3) It is the channel for the delegation of authority. • (4) It is a channel of internal control. • (5) It is the means of clarifying responsibilities and defining relations.

25. Span of Control • The second principle of the organization is the principle of span of control. • It refers to the number of subordinates, a supervisor can supervise effectively. • By span of control we mean the number of subordinates an officer can effectively supervise. • The span of control is the limit of attention or the scope of attention which one superior officer can pay towards his subordinates. It is the optimum limit of attention.

26. Span of Control • There is a great deal of disagreement among the writers on the administration about the exact limit of the span of control. • The experts are sharply divided over the views regarding the span of control. One school of thought holds the view that eight to ten subordinates can be supervised by one superior officer.

27. Span of Control • Other school holds the view that four to six subordinates can be supervised by one superior officer. Still others restrict it to 20 and so on. • There is no unanimity or oneness of opinion as regards to the exact number. • But the main idea behind this problem is the effectiveness of supervision. • The supervision has both qualitative and quantitative aspects. Hence, quality is to be accompanied by quantity is an important factor.

28. Span of Control • In an organisation a superior officer is expected to exercise control over subordinates. • The number of subordinates to be supervised differs from one organisation to another organisation.

29. Factors which influence the span of control • Nature of Work • Leadership • Age of the Agency • Location of Organizational Units • Span of Control under Revision • Unity of Command • Unity • Diversity of Command • Morale • Communication and Its Principles

30. Quote of Day • Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent. Martin Luther King, Jr.

31. References • 1. L.D. White, fntmduction to the Study of Public Administration, • 1955, p. 41. 2. Appleby, P.H., -Policy and Administration, the University of • Alabama Press, Alabama, 1949, pp. 72-73. The various parts operating in the organisation are having • legitimate or legal sanction. Authority is the base of legitimacy. 3. Dimock, M.E. and Dimock, e.O., Public Administration, Rinehart • and Co., New York, 1959, p. 110. Organisation always works on the basis of some doctrines • or principles or values. Efficiency is an important value in organisation.