Public Administration Mains 2017 : Solved Paper Question Paper-1 (Question-7)
Public Administration Mains 2017 : Solved Paper Question Paper-1 (Question-7)
(Section B)
Q7(a) “The Riggsian models of Fused –Prismatic-Diffracted Societies and their administrative systems have been inspired by Max Weber’s typology of Traditional Charismatic Legal-Rational Authorities .” Analyze( 20 marks) (Comparative Public Administration)
ANSWER:
Fred Riggs developed the “Fused-Prismatic-Diffracted” model to explain the
differences between underdeveloped-developing-developed societies and their
corresponding stage of development vis-a-vis their administrative structure and
ethos. His ecological approach emphasizes the interaction between institutions
and their contextual factors such as social structure, tradition and culture.
This classification was inspired by the Max Weber’s typology of Traditional
Charismatic Legal-Rational Authorities.
Charismatic: By virtue of possession of charisma or an exceptional quality, a
hero or a leader casts a spell over his followers, who accept his domination
because of their faith in the person.
Traditional: The legitimation in this form comes from the belief in the goodness
of the past, in the appropriateness of traditional ways of doing things.
Legal: Legitimation of legal type of domination is based on the belief in the
rightness of law.
Riggs introduced a new model for studying the bureaucracy in the Third World
transitional, developing countries and argued that the Weberian model is not
suitable for studying the administration in such countries. The Riggsian model
called the “sala--prismatic” model of bureaucracy recognizes both administrative
rationality and non-administrative considerations. This model is typical for
developing countries having factors such family, kinship and caste
considerations, community feeling, nepotism, corruption, which play important
role in administrative recruitment, administrative functions and
decision-making. This model is, however, considered too broad, too
over-generalized and abstract.
(b) “Bureaucracy has inbuilt limitations to act as the prime catalyst to multi-faceted development in a democratic country”. Analyze this statement with appropriate examples ( 15 marks) (Development Dynamics)
ANSWER:
The bureaucracy and Development have been famous and complex terms and growth of
sound Bureaucracy has been considered unavoidable for development. With end of
colonialism and imperialism, there has been a constant change in the priority
areas of government. Though the developing countries rely upon bureaucracy for
their developmental requirements, the bureaucrats themselves owe their way of
functioning to the imperialist requirements where people were subjugated to
serve the interests of government in power.
After the countries gained independence, under planning raj, the attitude of
those who were required to act as change agents did not change in a similar
manner. This resulted in a slow pace of development. The reasons for such
sub-optimal performance of bureaucrats are manifold like power-conflicts within
as well as outside the bureaucratic arena, bribery, corruption, and nepotism
play a significant role in deterring the system to function well but any effort
to curb the menace will not succeed unless the bureaucracy itself is receptive
to proposed changes.