Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer-1
Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer
(Public Administration Paper I / Chapter: Organisations)
Question : "Boards and Commissions have their obvious advantages ,yet due caution must be excercised in setting up bodies headed plural chief executives. comment" (15 Marks/250 words)
Model Answer :
If administrative authority within a department is vested in a single individual, it is called a ‘bureau ‘ system. It is this system which is usually followed in government departments. If administrative authority within a department is vested in a plural body, it is called a ‘Board’ or ‘Commission’ system.
Board and Commissions has it‘s own obvious advantages but also need cautions
like plural headship leads to confusion of responsibility. When a number of
persons are responsible for a decision, none shoulders the
responsibility, if something goes wrong. Everybody’s responsibility is nobody’s
responsibility. This lead to negligence and inefficiency.
The Board system of headship created weak executive and hence is not conductive to good and prompt work. It is time-consuming to take joint decision on matters which need immediate action.
The system also leads to a lack of proper direction and control. When decisions are taken late, their execution is delayed further and even when steps have been taken to execute a decision, nobody puts his heart into it and therefore, the rank and file often find themselves in dismay when proper direction does not come forth from above in time.
The danger here is that if the board members do not see eye to eye with each other and if the chairman is not able to effectively coordinate the functions of the members, there will be chaos in the operations of the departments. Therefore, great care has to be exercised in the selection of the members and the chairman of these boards, so caution must be exercised in setting up bodies headed plural chief executives. (Total Words- 268)
(Linkages : Boards, Commissions, advantages, plural chief executive,)