Schools and Institutes of Public Administration
| Published date | 01 September 1971 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002085237103700311 |
| Date | 01 September 1971 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
SCHOOLS
AND
INSTITUTES
OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
DEVELOPMENT
ADMINISTRATION
*
The
popularity
of
new
words
in
academic
and
governmental
circles
is
well
known,
and
&dquo; development
administration &dquo;
is
not
exempt
from
this
phenomenon.
Everything
begins
to
be
called
by
new
names
so
as
to at
least
give
the
hope
or
flavor
of
a
new
idea,
approach,
or
ways
of
solving
old
problems.
Let
us
clarify
a
bit!
l
Maintenance
And
Change
In
any
organization,
two
functions
are
usually
carried
out:
(1)
the &dquo; maintenance &dquo;
function
and
(2)
the
&dquo;
change
&dquo;
function.
By
the
first
is
meant
the
activities
necessary
for
the
smooth
workings
of
the
organizational
ma-
chinery.
Examples
include
the
procedures
for
recruitment,
placement,
and
promotion
of
per-
sonnel
or
the
procedures
for
the
preparation,
implementation,
and
review
of
budgets.
This
function
has
both
historically
and
accurately
been
described
as
&dquo; public
administration
&dquo;.
The
&dquo;
change &dquo;
function
indicates
the
ac-
tivities
necessary
to
stimulate
new
or
different
ideas,
policies,
or
procedures.
The
emphasis
is
upon
the
process
of
change
rather
than
upon
the
substance
of
that
which
is
changed.
So
instead
of
viewing
personnel
or
budgeting
pro-
cedures
as
an
end
in
themselves,
they
would
be
seen
as
methods
for
increasing
awareness
of
organizational
problems,
the
development
of
alternative
suggestions
for
problem-solving,
and
the
testing
and
evaluation
of
the
various
methods
used
to
stimulate
the
desired
change.
This
is
one
definition
of
what
can
be
called
&dquo; development
administration &dquo;,
and
the
em-
phasis
is
placed
upon
the
methods
of
stimulating
change
rather
than
upon
the
policy
or
ad-
ministrative
goals
that
are
being
sought.
Goal
Setting
Instead
of
abstractly
defining
the
new
goals
or
policies,
development
administration
keeps
the &dquo; ultimate &dquo;
goals
extremely
flexible
so
that
they
are
evolved
with
the
maximum
parti-
cipation
and
involvement
of
those
concerned.
Interim
goals
are
emphasized
instead
of
final
objectives,
and
the
process
of
decision-making
is
frequently
examined
to
assure
clarity
of
communication,
realistic &dquo;
feedbacks &dquo;
on
as-
pects
of the
organizational
operations,
and
the
initiation
of
corrective
actions.
All
the
factors
in
the
situation
are
treated
as
part
of the
decision-making
process,
including
the
atti-
tudinal
and
motivational.
To
the
fullest
extent
possible,
the
behavioral
component
is
exam-
ined
along
with
other
facts
in
the
situation.
On
many
of
these
points,
the
more
traditional
public
administrator
takes
the
opposite
point
of
view
and
acts
accordingly.
Thus
development
administration
gives
its
attention
to
the
process
of
change,
the
seeking
of
interim
goals,
and
the
maximization
of
all
effective
forms
of
communication
irrespective
of
status,
authority,
or
formal
structure.
Individual
Aspects
Of
Change
When
an
effective
administrator
has
a
chance
to
reflect
on
the
essence
of
his
job,
his
capa-
city
to
stimulate
change
is
his
biggest
concern
and
his
most
important
activity.
However,
the
various
ways
of
going
about
it
are
submerged
by
folklore,
tradition,
and
his
own
experiences
and
hesitations.
It
necessarily
involves
a
realistic
appraisal
of
his
own
personal
and
professional
capacity
for
the
change
role
since
he
cannot
expect
that
changes
are
needed
only
for
somebody
else.
The
essential
questions
for
him
to
examine
are
his
own
behavior,
his
ability
to
receive
realistic
feedback,
and
his
willingness
to
alter
his
behavior
as
the
result.
If
he
is
too
concerned
with
his
status,
authority,
or
power,
his
capacity
of
stimulating
change
within
himself,
in
others,
and
in
his
organiza-
tion
will
be
inhibited.
The
Stimulator
of
Change
The
stimulation
of
change
is
not
a
segmental
process
but
one
that
should
consider
the
interaction
of
change
upon
the
individual,
groups,
and
environmental
factors
of
social
(*)
Contributed
by
Mr.
A.
Gaylord
Obem.
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