Public Management and Administration - Owen E.hughes

attack on public bureaucracy occurred in those countries with a strong
ideological motivation – the United Kingdom in the Thatcher era, the United
States in the Reagan era – there have been effects in other countries as well.
Whether this is due to the influence of the Right, or of public choice economic
theory, is an open question. Perhaps more important has been the realization
that the traditional theories of public administration no longer worked and
were, accordingly, no longer relevant to the governing of society.
Conclusion
The Traditional Model of Public Administration 43
The traditional model of administration was an outstanding success and widely
emulated by governments all round the world. As both theory and practice, it
had its good points. Compared to earlier forms that were rife with corruption,
it was more efficient and the idea of a professional service was a great improvement
on a personal or amateur one. It is argued here, however, that the problems
of the model are now such that it can be regarded as obsolescent if not
obsolete.
Traditional bureaucracy developed at a particular point of industrial development;
its systems and technology were suited to an earlier age. If public servants
are considered to be automatons responding to simple stimuli, who
cannot be trusted with the scope or responsibility to make decisions and for
whom every conceivable contingency must be set out in operating manuals,
then the traditional model of administration may be appropriate. However, formal
systems of hierarchy are no longer regarded as working very well in the
private or public sectors. The traditional model was a great reform in its day,
but the world has moved on.
The theoretical pillars of public administration are no longer seen as adequate
to analyse the reality of government. The theory of political control was
always problematic. Administration means following the instructions of others
and, therefore, necessitates an orderly method of giving and receiving instructions.
The theory of public administration required a clear separation between
those who give instructions and those who carry them out. This was never realistic
and became less so with the increase in scale and scope of public services.
The other main pillar – the theory of bureaucracy – is no longer considered
a particularly efficient or effective form of organization. Bureaucratic organization
is no longer seen as the last word in organizational theory or practice.
It is not the single best way of organizing and its undesirable aspects –
concentration of power, reduction of freedom, usurpation of political will –
may be thought worse than its desirable features. The traditional model of
public administration has increasingly been superseded. While a new model is
not fully in place, clearly there is now a greater focus on results rather than
process, on responsibility rather than its evasion, and on management rather
than administration.