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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION: THE NEXUS

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 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION: THE
NEXUS
Johnson Olawale BAMIGBOSE
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State
Abstract
There is no doubt the fact that Public Administration and Development Administration emerged
as the precipices toward addressing developmental and governance challenges. Although, public
administration serves as the platform upon which development administration rests. Hence, there
is symbiotic relationship between the two with the former as the parent of the latter. This paper
therefore interrogated the nexus between the two and the extent to which one serves as the
structure for the other. The paper brought to limelight the similarities and divergences between
the two and concluded that public administration serves as the template and strategy upon which
development administration lies towards actualizing its objectives of accelerating developmental
agenda in the developing countries of the world.
Keywords: Administration, Development, Public Administration and Development
Administration

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Introduction
There is symbiotic relationship between Public Administration and Development Administration.
The relationship actually lies on the anticipated outcome of the two. Although, Public
Administration as an art/study precedes Development Administration but in spite of the
divergent time of their arrival, they both complement each other.

Etymologically, Public Administration emerged in 1930s as a scientific discipline having

Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Management as parents, although Public
Administration as an art or activity of government is as old as political society, it has been co-
existing with the political systems to accomplish the objectives set by the political decision
makers. Old empires like Egypt, Greece, Babylon, Rome, Oyo empire just to mention a few
developed important administrative systems. Ancient empires used administration to develop and
operate their empires. In modern age, it also became the dominant factor of life.

In another development, Development Administration emerged in 1950s and it was coined by

Indian Scholar Goswani in 1955 (Dwivedi and Jain, 1985). It later popularized by scholars like
Fred W. Riggs, Edward W. Weidner, Joseph La Palombara, Albert Waterson etc. Weidner was
the first who introduced the concept of Development Administration. Two remarkable
phenomena constitute the triggering tendency of Development Administration as historicized by
Weidner, to him, the outcome of an evolving trend of scientific management which started at the
turn of the century with the attendant administrative reform movement. The dominant concern in
such reform efforts has been the “means” of administering in the “best” possible manner. In this
process, the analysis of ends or goals was not given equal attention. There was under-emphasis
on the study of goals. Public Administration had glorified means and forgotten the ends. Then,
Development Administration was therefore introduced to fill the gap created in terms of the
“ends” left by Public Administration.

The second stream is the trend towards nationalizing and government interventionism which
emerged as a consequence of the great depression of late 1920s and early 1930s, World War II,
post-war reconstructions and other developments after the war. This has advertently declared this
model as one of crisis management and reconstruction administration (Dwivedi and Jain, 1985).

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In a true sense of it, the basic theoretical escapade of Development Administration lies on the
precursor that Public Administration has a very decisive role to play in the effort to ensure and
assure Structural transformation of any society. The traditional roles associated with Public
Administration is then one part that will be quite slow in promoting development, then the need
to employ dynamism and innovativeness in development syndrome becomes the center of
argument which development administration surface to achieve.

It is based on the above premise, that this work intends to interrogate the synergy between Public
Administration and Development Administration in an effort to provide detailed explanation as
to the two sides of the same coin in contemporary global setting. This becomes apposite to
examine the relationship for they are both concerned with effective and efficient utilization of
both human and material resources to bring about development of the nation. Thus, there is every
tendency to mistake one for the other due to the similar functions they perform. The paper is
segmented into six segments including the introduction, conceptual discuss of the key concepts,
similarities between public administration and development administration, dichotomy between
public administration and development, the nexus between the two and conclusion.

Conceptual Discuss

This is very imperative in social science as it helps to clarify and make conspicuous key words or
concepts as used in the context of the entire work

Public Administration

Public Administration is a subfield of political science, though it has started getting special
treatment as a specialized academic field. It is a scientific discipline which deals with the
machinery and procedures of government activities. It is important to point out that public
administration (with small/lower case ‘p’ and ‘a’) is as old as the society and the state
themselves. It has evolved as the agency of state administration\management. As noted earlier,
Public Administration as a discipline emerged recently and born in United States. Woodrow
Wilson (a former US President) is regarded as the father of the discipline. He advocated for a
science of administration and then emphasized the need for a separate study of Public
Administration and made a distinction between politics and administration (Wilson, 1887).
Relatedly, Frank Goodnow in his book titled Politics and Administration (1900) distinguished

3
the divergent functions of politics and administration. To him, ‘politics has to do with politics or
expression of the state will’ while ‘administration has to do with the execution of these policies’.
Goodnow came to be regarded, as the father of American Public Administration. Wilson (1941)
declared that Public Administration is detailed and systematic application of law. Every
particular application of law is an act of administration. Merson cited in Laxmicanth (2013)
complimentarily avers that administrator gets things done, and just as the science of politics is an
enquiry into the best means whereby the will of the people may be organized for the formulation
of policy, so the science of public administration is an enquiry as to how policies may best be
carried into operation.

In both theory and practice, Hague (2010) posited that, the landscape of public administration
has fundamentally changed in recent years in terms of unprecedented shifts in its ideological
underpinning, structural configuration and normative inclination largely based on market-driven
assumptions or principles. Denhardt (1992) defined public administration as the management of
change in pursuit of publicly defined societal values. It can be viewed as the platform or
parameter of actualizing the set values of the society. It is the custodian of society’s uniqueness
and identity. A breakdown of administration will definitely necessitate the failure of our
civilization.

Thus, all the activities that have to do with planning, directing, coordinating and controlling of
collective will of the people which is holistically reflected in public policy constitute the realm of
public administration. Paul Pigors in Laxmicanth (2013) put this straight when he submitted that
the main purpose of administration is to preserve the status quo in the society. It (Administration)
ensures the continuance of the existing order with a minimum of effort and risk. Its fundamental
aim is to carry on rather than to venture new and untried paths. Administrators are essentially the
guardians of tradition. Public administration is the administration in the public sector. It is the
administration by the state. It is the governmental administration. It is the administration by
public authorities. Public authorities are authorities which administer according to the rules of
public administration. Public Administration is therefore the study of administration, descriptive,
theoretical and normative. (Ridley in Laxmicanth 2013).

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It is within this paper that public administration denotes the generation of purposive public action
whose success depends on reconciling the competing demands of administrative operations,
democratic governance and public solving. The end product of public administration is the
actualization of defined objectives e.g.; economy, politics, tourism, health, security, sports,
education etc. by public authorities towards ensuring societal growth and development which is
the focus of Development Administration. This becomes the definition adopted by this paper.

Development Administration

Development Administration emerged as a response to challenges of development characterized

with Third World countries. It emphasized the adoption of multifaceted approach to the
conundrum of development in a number of ways. Development Administration departs from the
hitherto view that development should be in terms of economic end alone. Edward Weidner cited
in Heady and Stokes (ed) (1962) defined Development Administration as an action-oriented,
goal oriented administrative system. Weidner further viewed development administration in
government as the process of guiding an organization toward the achievement of progressive
political, economic and social objectives that are authoritatively determined in one manner or
another. To Merle Fainsod (1962), development administration is a carrier of innovating values.
It embraces the array of new functions assumed by developing countries embarking on the path
of modernization and industrialization. It involves the establishment of machinery for planning
economic growth and mobilizing and allocating resources to expand national income.

In his own view, Riggs refers development administration to both administrative and
governmental reform. Arora (1979) scholarly avers that development administration has been
used in two inter-related senses. First, it refers to the administration of development programmes,
to the methods used by large scale organization, notably governments to implement policies and
plans designed to meet their developmental objectives. Second, it, by implication, rather than
directly, involves the strengthening of administrative capabilities. These two aspects of
development administration i.e. the administration of development and development of
administration are intertwined in most definitions of the term.

In contemporary time, development administration is concerned with the formulation and

implementation of the four p’s – plans, policies, programmes and projects (Sharma, Sadana and

5
Kaur, 2012). Stones (1966) gives a wholistic explanation of development administration. To him,
development administration is concerned with achieving national development. The goals,
values, and strategies of change may vary but there are always generic processes through which
agreement on goals is reached and plans, policies, programmes and projects are formulated and
implemented. This paper adopts that development administration is the art of designing strategies
and procedures, which is faithfully implemented and will bring about much desired development,
growth and increase the welfare of the citizenry.

Characteristics of Development Administration

Mohit Bhattacharya (1979) identifies the following as the attributes of development

administration.

1. Change Orientation: The distinctive feature of development administration is its central

concern with socio- economic change. It is this special orientation which distinguishes it
from regulatory or traditional administration which is basically concern with maintenance
of status quo.
2. Result Orientation: Development administration has to do with result or outcome since
changes have to be brought rapidly and within a definite time schedule. Its performance
is directly related to productivity e.g. increase in per capita income etc.
3. Commitment: In development administration, the organizational role is committed to
socio-economic change and concern for completing time bound programmes.
4. Client Orientation: It has to be positive oriented towards satisfying the needs of the
people in specific target groups.
5. Temporal Dimension: Since socio-economic changes have to be brought as quickly as
possible, time assumes considerable importance in development administration. All
development programmes are prepared for a certain time frame and must be completed
within that.

Similarities between Public Administration and Development Administration

i. Both are concerned with effective and efficient utilization of human and material
resources towards achieving a specific objective.
ii. Both are concerned with similar goal of providing for citizenry in a given state.

6
 iii. Both focus on ensuring the provision of basic necessities of life.
iv. Both engage in formulation and implementation of strategies and procedures towards
socio-economic transformation of the entire society.
v. The crux of both public administration and development administration is societal
change.
vi. Both engage multidisciplinary approach in bringing the most desired growth and overall
development.
vii. Both are aspects of a more generic concept of administration.

Dichotomy between Public Administration and Development Administration

i. Public administration is the management of governmental activity while Development

administration is a deliberate and conscious effort geared towards actualizing accelerated
development.
ii. Public administration administers various institutions of government while development
administration focuses on development of man.
iii. Public administration is structured to maintain the already established protocol or status
quo while development administration thrives on discretion and innovation towards
improving the welfare of the citizens.
iv. Development administration emerged to fill the gap of addressing the problem of
development which public administration failed to tackle.
v. Public administration is purely traditional and normative in its approach while
development administration employs scientific approach as situation demands.
vi. Public administration tends to be universal in its application while development
administration is particularistic focusing mainly on the developing countries namely
Asia, Africa and Latin America.
vii. Public administration relies heavily on governmental programmes and policies whereas
development administration solely pursues developmental objectives.
viii. Public administration tends towards routinization of governmental activities while
development administration adopts ingenuity towards realizing further development.
ix. Public administration is rigid while development administration is flexible.

7
Interrogating the Nexus between Public Administration and Development Administration

As noted above, Public Administration and Development Administration are related in some
instances and divergent in others. In spite of these differentiated thoughts, it can be argued that
the two has similar objectives, although the latter relies on the former to actualize its objectives.
Obikeze and Anthony (2004) argued that the idea of development administration is the most
appropriate ways of passing from one administration which is essentially traditional in its
functions to an administration which is able and especially geared to development. Development
administration therefore needs structure (public administration) and each country should provide
itself with such structure and make it work, often using advanced technique or advanced
management methods which should correspond with the environment.

Development administration is the utilization of public administration as a parameter in effecting

change in the society reflecting the socio-cultural conditions, including a sustained effort to
initiate and further training for managerial and other staff, and to introduce specialized
education. Obiajulu et al (2004) therefore submits that development administration conjures the
notion that public administration can be used to initiate and execute such projects as schools,
roads, wells, electricity, health centres, hospitals and improvement of the general welfare and
well-being of the people. It is making administration to be development-oriented instead of being
rigid to rules and obedience to status quo.

In synopsis, development administration is therefore the systematic and organized use of a well-
designed, articulate and deliberate administrative strategy (public administrative system) to
effect positive changes to the poor state of man, holistic transformation of the developing society
or states and possible advancement of the economic condition of individual.

Concluding Remark

This paper attempted an overview of the nexus between public administration and development
administration. It historicized and provided deeper understanding of both public administration
and development administration, the similarities and dichotomies were examined in the course of
the work. The paper thereby interrogated the nexus between the two and concluded that public
administration serves as the template and strategy upon which development administration lies
towards actualizing its objectives of accelerating developmental agenda in the developing

8
countries of the world. The work reveals that public administration emerged as an instrument of
the state for securing public interest which is also the fulcrum of development administration. It
can be concluded that public administrative system of any country goes a long way to bring
about the socio-economic, political and cultural transformation championed by development
administrative school of thought in any clime.

9
Reference

Arora, R. K. (1979). Comparative Public Administration: An Ecological Perspective, Associated

Publishing House, New Delhi.

Bhattacharya, M. (1979). Bureaucracy and Development Administration: Uppal Publishing

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Denhardt, R. B. (1992). Public Administration Theory: The State of the Discipline in Lynn N. B.
and Wildavsky, A. (edited by): Public Administration: The State of the Discipline;
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Dwivedi, O. P. and Jain, R. B. (1985). India’s Administrative State: Gitanjali Publishing House,
New Delhi.

Fainsod, M. (1963). The Structure of Development Administration, in Development

Administration: Concept and Problems edited by Irving Swardow; Syracuse University
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Hague, M. S. (2010). Rethinking Development Administration and Remembering Fred W.

Riggs. International Review of Administrative Sciences 76(4) 767773.

Laxmicanth, M. (2013). Public Administration: For State Civil Services and other Competitive
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Obikeze, O. S. and Anthony, O. E. (2004). Public Administration in Nigeria: A Developmental

Approach; Bookpoint Ltd, Onitsha, Nigeria.

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Sharma, M. P, Sadana, B. L. and Kaur, H. (2012). Public Administration in Theory and Practice,
Kitab Mahal Publishing, New Delhi.

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