Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer - 47
Public Administration Mains 2017 : Model Question and Answer
(Public Administration Paper I / Chapter: Administrative Behaviour)
(Important) Question :
Simon's decision making appears as the core field of public administration but
his logical positivist underpinning is problematic. Examine the statement.)
Model Answer :
Simon considered decision making as central to the administration and delve enthusiastically into how decisions can be made more effectively.Simon considered organisation as structure of decision makers . He elaborated constituent steps in analysing problem and taking effective decisions. Simon explains that decision making means making choice from available alternatives. Such choice is based on facts and values. Simon also explore decision making on plane of rationality. Simon's administrative man is an optimizer of given resources through making satisficing decisions. Simon's criteria of an efficient administrator depends upon efficient decision making which refers to producing largest result for given resources.
The conclusion of Simon's theory is that decision making is the most important part of administration. However Simon's theory is criticised for over-emphasizing the process of decision making by putting other factors responsible for efficient functioning of an organisation at the back. These factors include ecology, society, human behavior ,informal associations and interpersonal relations to name a few. These factors also play a critical role in shaping up an organisation to meet its goals other that decision making.
It is equally important to take various ecological and behavioural factors into consideration to highlight how an administrator can mould them or advantage from them for the benefit of the organisation.
Simon’s positivist approach emphasized the politics – administration dichotomy in different disguise. Simon recognized that often facts visible in value disguise and values visible in facts disguise and hence great effort was to minimize the role of subjective facts and to go with a more objective approach to Decision making. (Total Words- 259)
(Linkages : Herbert Simon and Decision Making Theory, Herbert Simon and Logical Positivism, Logical Positivism and Politics Administration Dichotomy)