Why is Administrative Reforms (AR) needed?
·
Technological change
·
Advances in industrialisation
·
Growth in the number and complexity of
governmental activities
·
Changes in social, political and economic
spheres of life
·
All above have created extraordinary strains on
the traditional machinery of the government
·
Obsolescence of institutions, roles, procedures
and processes in the government
What are ways through which AR are done?
·
There are three forms
·
Traditional Approach: let the problem arise and
then place a competent person to solve it. Aka Management process
·
Committee Process: appoint ad hoc committee.
Like the Hoover Commission in US and ARC in India
·
Setting up O&M units
What are the types of reforms?
·
Macro or micro (affecting the entire
administration or a part of it)
·
Procedural reform
·
Behavioural reform
Functions of O&M office
·
To assist line officials to improve management
·
Help reduce costs, save manpower, simplify
procedures, save materials, speed operations, improve organisation
·
Chief functions are
o
Comprehensive reviews of departments
o
Planning new activities
o
Research in O&M techniques
o
Training O&M officials and employees
o
Co-ordinating the work of different O&M
units in government
o
Undertaking ad hoc assignments to investigate
and help solve particular problems
o
Analysing organisation methods and procedures
o
Developing management policies, handbook and
other guidelines
·
How?
o
Research and Development
o
Training
o
Investigation
o
Co-ordination of management improvement
programme
o
Information
o
Publication
Nature of O&M
·
O&M unit alone should not be responsible for
effecting improvements in administration. It cannot be a substitute for
management improvement. Efficiency specialists have an important place in
government, but not efficiency engineer will ever solve the principal problems
of government
·
O&M is primarily a service function
·
The role of O&M units is essentially
advisory. It has therefore a line and staff function. Decisions should not be
forced upon the department
·
O&M should be recognized as a work
improvement study and not a fault-finding mission. O&M man should not
assume a superior position of a fault-finder or a critic
·
It should not be presented as something too
mysterious and technical
Advantages of O&M
·
It provides a machinery for a constant attempt
to improve the public administration
·
It helps keep both the structure of government
offices and the procedure adopted by them up-to-date in tune with the changing
circumstances. Reduce time lag.
·
Help to accumulate a wealth of experience which
can be drawn upon whenever required
·
A separate O&M department is needed because
o
Time: Senior officials of an agency of
government often have little time to examine the problems of organisation and
methods
o
Independence: Line officials lack the necessary
perspective to look at problems of organisation and of office procedure
o
Experience: The fact that the O&M work is
undertaken by a body of officials, who specialize in this work, is the essence
of this system.
O&M Techniques
·
Management or Organisation Survey
·
Inspections
·
Work Measurement
·
Work Simplification
·
Automation
·
Forms Control
·
Filing System
E-governance
·
The use of IT in governance is aimed at having
SMART – Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent – government.
Arora and Goyal
AR
·
Involves enhancement in the capacity of an administrative
system to achieve its assigned goals.
Why AR
·
Only an administrative system that revitalises
itself constantly can respond to the changing socio-economic environment
Some important committees on AR
·
US: Haldane, Brownlow, First Hoover, Second Hoover,
Fulton
·
India: ARC 1 (1966-70), ARC 2 (2007-)
o
1947: Secretariat Reorganisation Committee (GS
Bajapai)
o
1948: Economy Committee (Kasturbhai Lalbhai)
o
1949: N Gopalswamy Ayyangar Committee
(recommended O&M)
o
1951: Planning Commission Report
o
1953: Appleby Report (Public Administration in
India: Report of a Survey). Based on his report
§
Indian Institute of Public Administration was
set up
§
O&M Division was set up in the Cabinet
Secretariat
o
1954: Ashok Chanda (recommended more AI
services)
o
1956: Second Appleby Report ( Re-examination of
India’s Administrative System with Special Reference to Administration of
Government Industrial and Commercial Enterprises)
o
1957: Balwant Rai Mehta Coommittee Report
(introduction of the Panchayati Raj system)
o
1964: Santhanam Committee Report
§
Strengthen vigilance organisations
§
Adoption of a code of conduct for civil servants
o
1966: ARC 1 (Morarji Desai/K Hanumanthaiya) <
Presented 20 reports between 1966-1970> Major recommendations
§
Appointment of Lokpal and Lok Ayuktas
§
Creation of full fledged department of personnel
§
Performance budgeting
§
Unified grading pay structure
§
Introduction of specialists into senior and
middle management positions
o
1973: 3rd Pay Commission
o
1975: Kothari Committee on Recruitment Policy
and Selection Methods
§
System of single examination for All-India
Services was introduced
o
1978: Committee on Panchayati Raj Institutions
(Ashok Mehta)
§
Recommended setting up of Mandal Panchayats
o
1977-80: National Police Commission
o
1988: Sarkaria Commission
§
Creation of inter-state councils
o
1989: Satish Chandra Committee on the
Recruitment Policy and Selection Methods
for All-India and Central Services
|
AR in India
·
Ancient Times: Mauryas and Guptas.
Dharmashastra, Arthashastra and Thirukkural
·
Medieval Times: Mughals
·
British
o
Creation of Civil Services (Cornwallis)
o
Creation of Supreme Court and reforms in
judiciary
o
Creation of central secretariat
o
Departmentalisation and consolidation of
district administration under the Collector
o
Urban local govt
o
Rule of Law
o
Institutionalisation of impersonal government
o
Police system
o
Establishment of Public Service Commission
o
Personnel Administration
·
Committees during British
o
Committee on ICS (1854)
o
Public Service Commission (1886-87)
o
Royal Commission on Decentralisation (1907-09)
o
Royal Commission on Public Service in India
(1912-15)
o
Tottenham Committee (1945)
o
First Pay Commission (1946)
·
After Independence
o
More than 600 committees (Centre + State)
o
Kerala ARC (1958), Andhra Pradesh Reforms
Enquiry Committee (1960), Rajasthan ARC (1963), WB ARC (1963)
o
Experts like Paul Appleby and Nicholas Kaldor
have also written about AR in India
Major Concerns in Administration
·
Efficiency and Economy
·
Specialisation
o
Role of the specialist has been increasing
slowly
·
Effective Coordination
·
Administration and development of public
personnel
·
Integrity in public service
·
Responsiveness and Public Accountability
·
Decentralisation and Democratisation
·
Updating administrative technology
·
Challenges
·
Political resistance. Measures involving
devolution of power face a lot of resistance
·
At times, the govt that passed the reforms is
different from the one implementing it. This may lead to improper
implementation
·
Vested interests
·
Public apathy or antipathy
·
Administrative inexperience
·
Imposition from above
·
Ambiguity about implications
·
Inflexibility
·
Adhocism
·
Individualisation in place of
institutionalisation
Success of AR will depend on
·
Need of the system and its beneficiaries
·
Public support and a feeling of sharing of
reform-goals
·
Timeliness
·
Effective source of initiation
·
Political will
·
Administrative entrepreneurship
·
Participation of key actors in the strategies
for implementation
·
Pragmatism and flexibility
·
Effective reward and punishment system
·
Continuing evaluation and appraisal
·
Institutionalisation of reforms
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