THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

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1 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION A HOLISTIC APPROACH JSH Gildenhuys SUB Hamburg A/ AN INTRODUCTION FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS SUN PRESS

2 CONTENTS PREFACE PARTI l INTRODUCTION 7 The logic of knowledge progression 10 The holistic principle 10 The normative principle 14 The generic principle 15 A multidisciplinary approach 15 Possible examination questions 17 Chapter One: THE PUBLIC 19 INTRODUCTION 19 THE INDIVIDUAL 20 Citizenship 20 Refugees and asylum seekers 21 INDIVIDUALISM 21 COMMUNITIES 22 COMMUNALISM 25 AFRICAN COMMUNALISM 28 INTEREST GROUPS 31 The nature of the 'public interest' 32 POLITICAL PARTIES 33 Political parties in democracies 34 Two-party systems 34 Multiparty systems 35 One-party dictatorships 35 OTHER INTEREST GROUPS 37 ECONOMIC ORGANISATIONS 38 Trade and labour unions 39 Professional Institutes 42 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ORGANISATIONS 43 Religious and language organisations 44 Private sport organisations 45 Private welfare organisations 46 NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS 46 The four types of NGOs 47 The operational strategies of NGOs 48 Some serious questions about NGOs 50

3 SUMMARY 51 Possible examination questions 55 Chapter Two: PUBLIC NEEDS 57 INTRODUCTION 57 SOCIAL NEEDS 60 Need for education and training 60 Need for health care 61 Need for leisure, relaxation and sport 62 Cultural needs 64 Language needs 65 Religious needs 66 The need for art 68 POLITICAL NEEDS 69 ECONOMIC NEEDS 71 Household needs 71 Needs of the primary production industry 72 Needs of the manufacturing industry 72 Needs for the construction and building industry 72 Needs of the wholesale and retail business 72 Needs of the services industry 73 The general need for economic infrastructure 73 The need for government protection 74 SECURITY AND SAFETY NEEDS 74 SUMMARY 75 Possible examination questions 78 Chapter Three: PUBLIC VALUE SYSTEMS 81. INTRODUCTION 81 CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES 83 The rule of law 83 Separation of constitutional powers 84 Constitutional checks and balances 85 Civil rights 86 Civil rights as ends 86 Civil rights as means 87 The human source of values 87 The primacy of the individual 87 The best test of truth 88 Individual human rights 88 Natural and positive human rights 88 Rights and obligations 89 Equity and justice 89

4 Equality and inequality 91 Natural inequality 91 Moral or political inequality 92 Civil liberties 93 Civil obligations and civil obedience 93 PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 94 Authority and power 94 Devolution of authority and autonomy 95 Delegation of functional and decision making authority 96 The purpose of delegation 96 The need for delegation 96 The meaning of delegation 97 The alter ego rule 99 The rule delegatus non potest delegare 99 Types of delegation 99 The mandate or command 100 The ministerium 100 Deconcentration 100 Decentralisation 100 Distinction between deconcentration and decentralisation 102 ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES 102 Economic freedom 103 Private ownership of property 103 Free production process 104 Privatisation, deregulation and small business 104 Less licensing 104 International economics 105 POLITICAL PRINCIPLES 105 Direct participation and the will of the people 105 Participation through representation 106 Responsibility and accountability of political representatives 106 Government close to the people 106 Open-system approach 106 Global politics 107 SOCIAL PRINCIPLES 107 Non-racialism and non-sexism 107 Nationalism and solidarity 108 Inclusiveness 108 Civic pride, civic responsibility and civic obedience 109 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES 109 Organisational development 109 Open-systems approach 110 Value-oriented public management 110 Responsiveness 110

5 Public participation in decision-making 111 Free choice of public services 111 Responsibility for programme effectiveness 111 Social equity 111 Corporate management 112 Economy, efficiency, and effectiveness 112 Flexibility and management of change 113 Sustainability and consistency 113 Accountability, responsibility, and transparency 113 SUMMARY 113 Possible examination questions 118 Chapter Four: GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS 121 INTRODUCTION 121 THE JUDICIAL AUTHORITY 122 Origin and nature of justice 122 The naturalistic approach 122 The positivistic approach 123 THE LAW 123 Sources of law 123 Informal sources of law 123 Formal sources of law 124 Constitutions 124 Statutes 125 Regulations and proclamations 125 Judicial precedents 125 Treaties and accords 125 Codification 126 Types of law 126 Civil and criminal law 126 Domestic and international law 126 Approaches to the application of law 127 Roman-Germanic legal culture 127 Common law legal culture 127 Natural legal culture 127 Socialist legal culture 128 THE JUDICIARY 128 Appointment and dismissal of judges 128 Nomination of judges 128 Election of judges 129 Functions of the judiciary 130 Applying the law 130 Revision of legislation 130 Commissions of inquiry 131 Independence of the judiciary 131

6 THE LEGISLATURE 132 Structure of the legislature 133 The bicameral system 133 The unicameral system 134 Representation 135 Geographical representation 135 Proportional representation 136 The Hare system 136 The list system 137 The party list 137 Controversy over the proportional system 137 Functional representation 139 Representatives 139 Qualifications 140 Disqualifications 140 Role of elected representatives 140 Power-authority relationship between voters and the legislature 141 Meaning of power 141 Meaning of authority 141 Voters and the legislature 141 Organised interest groups and the legislature 142 Role of the legislature 143 THE EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY 145 Nature and function of the modern executive authority 145 Types of executive leadership 146 Inheritance 146 Elected heads of state 147 Indirect election 147 Nominated heads of state 147 The structure and organisation of the executive authority 148 Parliamentary or cabinet system of executive authority 148 Advantages of the cabinet system 150 Disadvantages of the cabinet system 150 The extra-parliamentary system of executive authority 151 The basic characteristics of the presidential system 151 Advantages of the presidential system 152 Disadvantages of the presidential system 152 THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 153 Portfolios and government departments 154 The public service 154 Public administration in civic cultures 154 Merit system in the public service 155 The spoils system in the public service 155 Public administration in classic cultures (bureaucracy) 156

7 PARASTATALS 156 Creation of parastatals 157 Government investment in the economy 157 Government as a political agent 158 Government as a political-economic agent 158 Government as economic entrepreneur 158 Classification of parastatals 159 Public business and industrial enterprises 159 Regulatory bodies 161 Benefactor agencies 162 Advisory and investigating organisations 162 Judicial bodies 163 Localised and co-ordinating government bodies 163 Educational and research bodies 163 Founding parastatals 163 The founding act 164 The appointment of a managing body 164 Provision of capital 164 Control of parastatals 165 SUMMARY 166 Possible examination questions 169 Chapter Five: THE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS 173 INTRODUCTION 173 DECISION MAKING 174 The decision making process 174 Personal qualities for decision making 176 Decision making power 177 Preconditions for successful delegation of decision making power 177 Principles for delegation of decision making power 179 What should be delegated? 180 The high or legislative level 181 The middle or executive level 181 The lower or administrative level 181 Control over delegated decision making power 183 POLICY MAKING 186 Policy analysis 187 Policy levels 188 Political party level 188 The legislative level 188 The executive level 189 The administrative level 189 The policy making process 190 Initiation phase 190

8 Research and analysis phase 191 The policy formulation phase 193 The policy approval phase 193 The implementation phase 194 PROGRAMMING 194 ORGANISING 197 Organising principles 198 Process of structuring the organisation 199 Delegation of operational authority 200 CO-ORDINATING 201 The need for co-ordination 202 Horizontal co-ordination 202 The macro-level 202 The micro-level 203 Vertical co-ordination 203 COMMUNICATION 204 Formal channels of communication 204 The internal communication process 204 Barriers to effective communication 205 Importance of feedback 206 Informal communication - the grapevine 207 Positive informal communication 208 Communication methods 208 Verbal communication 208 Written commumcation 208 Audio-visual communication 209 Public communication 209 First level of contact 210 Second level of contact 210 CONTROL 210 The purpose of control 211 The framework for control 212 The control process 213 The need for a comprehensive control system 216 Input control 216 Output control 216 PLANNING 217 Approaches to planning 219 Statist approach to planning 220 Democratic approach to planning 220 Planning styles 220 The imperative style 220 The indicative style 221 The planning process 221

9 EXERTING LEADERSHIP 222 Requirements for constructive leadership 223 The leader 223 The leadership team 228 The organisational factors affecting leadership 229 Methodology of leadership 231 Leadership styles 231 SUMMARY 233 Possible examination questions 238 PART II Chapter Six: PUBLIC RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 243 INTRODUCTION 243 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 244 The need for money 244 Authority to impose tax and allocate funds 244 Imposition of tax 245 Government revenue 246 Tax rates 248 Characteristics of taxation 248 Ethics and taxation 249 Horizontal equity 250 Vertical equity 250 Ability-to-pay principle 250 The benefit-received principle 251 Income taxation 251 Defining income 252 The Haig-Simons definition 252 The production-flow concept 253 Taxable net income 253 Deductions 253 Exemptions 254 Goals of income taxation 255 Personal income tax 256 Corporate income tax 256 Tax base of corporate taxation 257 Classical system 257 Imputation system 258 Two-rate system 258 Integrated system 258 Wealth taxation 258 Goals of wealth taxation 259 Property tax 260 Consumption taxation 262

10 User charges and consumer tariffs 264 Government expenditure 264 Government budgets 265 Features of a budget 266 Functions of a public budget 268 The budget as a policy statement 269 Redistribution-of-wealth function 270 Economic regulation function 273 The budget as an operating programme 276 The budget as a source of information 279 The budget as an integrating and co-ordinating instrument 280 The budget as a control instrument 281 PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 283 Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action 283 Ethics and personnel management 286 The meaning of ethics 286 Metaethics 287 Normative ethics 287 Religious ethics 287 Social ethics 287 Personal ethics 288 Professional ethics 288 What ethics is not about 288 The importance of ethics to public administrators 290 Professionalism 292 Requirements and characteristics of professionalism 293 Requirements 293 Characteristics 293 Tenets of professionalism 294 Roles of public administrators 295 Role of politics in public administration 295 Responsibility of public administrators 295 The value base of public administration 296 Professional administration and efficiency 296 Professional administration and democracy 297 Public service systems and models 297 Criteria for an acceptable public service 297 Alternative systems and models 298 The autocratic system 299 The democratic system 299 The spoils system 299 British example 299 American example 299 American reforms 300 The merit system 301 The closed career system 301

11 The open competitive system 302 Public management models 301 Political activist model 302 Non-militant political activists 303 Militant political activists 303 The scientific bureaucratic model 304 Professional public manager model 305 Leading and motivating personnel 306 Motivation 307 Goal achievement 307 Some early motivation theories 308 Maslow's needs hierarchy theory 308 McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y 308 McClelland's achievement, affiliations and power motives 309 Herzberg's motivation hygiene theory 310 Vroom' s expectancy theory 311 Rational motivation 313 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 314 The need for information 314 Social information 314 Political information 315 Economic information 316 Safety and security information 319 Collecting information 320 Information processing and interpretation 321 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT 322 Procurement of stock 322 Centralised purchasing 323 Joint purchasing 324 Tenders and tender procedures 325 Calling for tenders and contracting 325 Opening and awarding of tenders 326 Acquisition and storage of stock 327 Issuing of stock 327 Record keeping and control 328 Stocktaking 328 MANAGEMENT OF ACCOMMODATION 329 Policy choice for providing accommodation 329 Financing 329 Maintenance and risk management 330 Responsible organisation 330 Control of government property 330 SUMMARY 331 Possible examination questions 336

12 Chapter Seven: GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS 341 INTRODUCTION 341 The nature of government functions 342 Types of government functions 343 Line functions 343 Order and protection functions ' 343 Social welfare functions 344 Economic welfare functions 345 Staff functions 346 Financial function 346 Personnel function 347 Office and secretarial function 347 Legal advisory function 347 Organisation and work-study function 347 Procurement function 347 Accounting and auditing function 347 SUMMARY 348 Possible examination questions 349 Chapter Eight: PUBLIC SERVICES 350 INTRODUCTION 350 Nature of public services 350 Collective services 351 Particular services 352 Quasi-collective services 352 NATIONALISATION VERSUS PRIVATISATION 354 Nationalisation 354 Arguments in favour of nationalisation 355 Monopoly control 355 Economic planning and development 355 Power and influence 356 Defence and military strategy 356 Efficiency and effectiveness 357 Arguments against nationalisation 357 Anti-government monopoly 357 Centralisation 357 Inefficiency and ineffectiveness 358 Interfering with private rights 358 Privatisation 359 Strategy for privatisation 359 Role of government in a free-market system 360 Services suitable for privatisation 360 Ways and means of privatisation 361 Denationalisation 361 Depoliticising 362

13 Withdrawal or suspension 362 Outsourcing 362 Deregulation 362 Obstacles in the way of privatisation 363 SUMMARY 364 Possible examination questions 367 Chapter Nine: GOVERNMENT GOALS AND OBJECTTVES 369 INTRODUCTION 369 ORIGINAL GOALS 370 The origin and meaning of laissez-faire 370 Laissez-faire as an ideology 371 Goals of the laissez-faire system 371 SOCIAL WELFARE GOALS 372 Meaning of socialism 372 Socialism as an ideology 372 Social welfare state 374 Meaning of the social welfare state 374 Social welfare state as an ideology 375 Objectives of the social welfare state 376 ECONOMIC WELFARE GOALS 377 Economic welfare state 378 Meaning of the economic welfare state 379 Economic welfare state as an ideology 379 Objectives of the economic welfare state 380 GOALS OF THE MODERN CIVILISED STATE 381 A good quality of life for all 383 SUMMARY 383 Possible examination questions 385 Chapter Ten: INDIVIDUAL SATISFACTION AND FEEDBACK 387 INTRODUCTION 387 Satisfaction of individual needs 387 Serving the individual 387 Service-delivery principles 389 Consultation 389 Service standards 390 Access 390 Courtesy 390 Information 390 Correcting mistakes and redressing failures 391 The feedback loop 391 Ways and problems of communicating dissatisfaction 391

14 Oral complaints 391 Written complaints 392 Letters to the news media 392 Lodging complaints through political representatives 392 Lodging complaints through interest groups or NGOs 393 Complaints to an ombudsman 393 Approaching the courts 393 The need for proactive administration 394 SUMMARY 394 Possible examination questions 396 EPILOGUE 397 BIBLIOGRAPHY 399 INDEX 408 FIGURES Figure 1: The holistic approach 12 Figure 2: The holistic approach 16 Figure 3: Needs hierarchy for developing societies 58 Figure 4: Needs hierarchy for affluent societies 59 Figure 5: The administrative or lower level 183 Figure 6: The political-economic spectrum 219 Figure 7: Classification of property 261 Figure 8: The elements of job analysis 284

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION A HOLISTIC APPROACH JSH Gildenhuys AN INTRODUCTION FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS SUN PRESS is a division of AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, Stellenbosch University s new publishing