Gist of Important Articles from IIPA Journal: Efficiency in Administration: Measures Required to Enhance Efficiency in Administration R.D. Sharma
Gist of Important Articles from IIPA Journal
Efficiency in Administration: Measures Required to Enhance Efficiency in Administration R.D. Sharma
Introduction
Efficiency is a goal as well as a value of any administrative organisation. Organisations whose goals-achieving capacity nears hundred or littleness, can be conveniently termed as efficient. Efficiency is both a characteristic as well as a value or even an ideal to be achieved by an organisation. Those public services and organisations may be bureaucratic one, are bound to be efficient which according to Max Weber are recruited on the basis of ideal-type-model.
Efficiency is a criterion of administrative evaluation. It is essentially criterion of making rational choices. Leonard D. White had used criterion of efficiency in defining public administration.
Any attempt to probe efficiency-an important area of public services, is fraught with innumerable difficulties because the genere of political representative of modern Indian and even the main-mandarins are less enthusiastic towards improving efficiency of the civil services and devise, seriously implement methods of increase it.
Efficiency has been central objective of governmental reform. The reform movement in public administration had emphasised that efficiency had something to do with the effective allocation and control of government expenditures.
Efficiency and Individual Motives: Barnard defines efficiency as “satisfaction of individual motives”. He says it is personal in character. Yet, efficiency scores of all the individual administrators taken together would inform us about efficiency level of the whole group of bureaucrats or civil servants. The efficiency of an organisation is measured in the amount of resources used to produce a unit of out-put. To Herbert A. Simon “efficiency is attainment of maximum values with limited means."
Efficiency in Administration: Efficiency in an administrative system is a value, a goal or a criterion to assess the system. An efficient civil service is quintessence of any government. It lends credence: viability and plausibility to the government of the day.
It is believed that efficiency in governmental administration is hard to define. Efficiency or inefficiency, is often said when agreement or disagreement with particular values is really meant.
Technical Efficiency: It measures the physical wise of resource inputs in relation to physical output. The physical use of resources helps in the preparation of utilisation of resources and level of growth and development. Economic Efficiency: It measures the cost of using inputs in relation to value of outputs. It is the central concern of public administration. In public sector organisations at local level it is difficult to define and measure efficiency.
Extent of Efficiency in Indian Civil Services: Lord Morley in 1909 had advocated “efficiency” in administration in these words “better government of India depends on efficiency and that efficiency is infact the end of our rule in India”.
Mr. A.D. Gorewala in his report submitted in 1951 to the Indian Planning Commission had admitted that efficiency is undoubtedly impaired.
The Indian Planning Commission, from the very beginning, was concerned about efficient administration when it asked its Deputy Chairman Mr. V.T, Krishnamachari to study the problems of higher civil service of India (AP 1962), In 1967, too, the ARC in its Report on Centre-State Relations has mentioned that efficiency suffers due to frequent interference by the political executive in the implementation of developmental work for their personal and political ends.
Prof, C.P. Bhambhri, too, had mentioned that working efficiently Was a “trait” of IAS, in the slates that they may be deputed to the Centre. The National Development Council had constituted, before the start of Second Five Year, Plan (1956) a Committee on Plan Projects, “to promote the development of suitable machinery for continuous efficiency audit in individual projects”.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, in his Independence Day address from Red Fort (August 15, 2006) had mentioned about “shortage of highly skilled and qualified employees” in government which is likely to adversely effect efficiency of civil services.
In the same, he indirectly admitted that the present rate of growth of economy of the country which stands at eight per cent was never witnessed by India before.
FINDING OF PEFORMS-COMMITTEES — UK-USA
In UK Northcote-Trevelyan Report (1853) was presented to British Parliament with a view “to secure the highest practicable degree of, efficiency, combined with a careful attention to economy”. Sir Charles Trevelyan was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. It was believed that, “the inefficiency of the British Civil service was thoroughly exposed during the war of American Independence”. Gladstone as Chancellor of Exchequer on November 23,1883 had mentioned “the best mode of maintaining the efficiency of an office” as one of the term of reference of the committee. The main recommendation of the Northcote - Trevelyan Committee was recruitment through competitive examinations and promotion be made on the basis of merit. The Play Fair Commission UK 1874-75 recommended grading to services.
MacDonnell Commission (1912-1915) made two main recommendations: (i) organisation of civil service and (ii) recruitment to professional posts. The Tomlin Commission (1929·31) of UK submitted it report in 1931 in which it recommended reforms which were initiated by Northcote-Trevelyan Committee. The Falton Committee (1966) suggested that Home Civil Service did not keep pace with changing tasks. Fulton Committee found British Civil Service deficient in six main respects;
(a) philosophy of amateur was dominant;
(b) system of classes seriously Impeded its work;
(c) secialist classes do not get full responsibility;
(d) very few civil servants were skilled managers;
(e) least contact between services and community;
(f) personnel management and career planning were out of date.
The Hoover Commission of USA was charged with studying the efficiency of the federal government. In administration, the word efficiency, in ultimate analysis, would mean “economy”. Like efficiency of a steamturbine-is the ratio of useful energy output to energy input.” Commission of Economy and Efficiency (1912) consisted of five members presided by Frederick Cleaveland of New York Bureau of Municipal Research.
Efficiency as a Concept: Eighth Five Year Plan 1992-1997 "While efficiency during implementation ‘and construction of projects lies in minimizing the time and cost over-runs and. completion of projects as per specifications, the efficiency of operation related to the achievement of physical targets of production of goods and services of quality with minimum cost operation”. (Operational Efficiency)
PERMANENT MEASURE TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY
1. Make Administrative process scientific.
2. Make recruitment’s to IAS more rational and scientific.
3. Make public services technically more sound,
4. Teach more papers on Science of Public Administration.
5. Introduce in Indian Administrative Process work-Standardisation, fix
responsibility of each and every performer and introduce system of punitive
action even against IAS in case of lack of performance.
6. Accountability of IAS: make all IAS Officers accountable for work. Institute
cases against erring, IAS before an Accountability Commission of State and
Union, consisting of three members from amongst a pool of retired civil servants
including its Chairman. It would require passing of legislation. The verdict and
decisions of Accountability Commissions be challengeable in only High Coutts and
Supreme Court of India. Establish an “Efficiency, Evaluation Unit” in India in
PMO by introducing Rayner Plan for India.
7. Start Schools of Administrative Excellence where Science of Public
Administration should be taught under the patronage of State and Union
government.
8. Make Public Administration as one of the compulsory papers in preliminary
examinations of State and Union Public Service Commissions.
9. Add two new papers on “Budgeting, Accounting and Audit Administrator” and
“Public Personnel Administration” in training courses of probationers at L.B.S.
National Academy of Administration Massourie.
10. Specialism: Make Indian Administrative Services more speciallised i.e.,
introduce in-service Training Programmes to turn them into specialist.