M.A. (Public Administration) MPA. Assignments (For M.A. 1 st Year Courses)

Transcription

1 MPA M.A. (Public Administration) MPA Assignments (For M.A. 1 st Year Courses) For July 2017 and January 2018 Sessions School of Social Sciences Indira Gandhi National Open University Maidan Garhi, New Delhi

2 Dear Student, M.A. 1 st Year (Public Administration) As a requirement of the Programme, you will have to do one Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) for each course. Before you attempt the assignments, please read the instructions carefully provided in the Programme Guide. It is important that you answer the TMA questions in your own words. Your answers should be within the approximate range of the word-limit set for each question. Remember, writing answers to assignment questions will improve your writing skills and prepare you for the term-end examination. You are to submit the assignments to the Coordinator of your Study Centre. You must obtain a receipt from the Study Centre for the assignments submitted and retain it with you. It is desirable to keep with you a photocopy of the assignments submitted by you. Once evaluated, the Study Centre will return the assignments to you. Please insist on this. The Study Centre will send the marks to the SE Division at IGNOU, New Delhi. Submission: Note: This booklet contains Assignments of all the four courses offered in M.A. 1 st year. You are requested to submit the same within the below mentioned stipulated time for being eligible to appear in the term-end examination. Assignment Number Date of Submission Whom to send Tutor Marked Assignment March 31, 2018 for To (TMA) of July 2017 Session The Coordinator of the MPA-011, MPA-012, September 30, 2018 Study Centre allotted to you MPA-013, and MPA-014 for January 2018 Session 2

3 MPA-011: STATE, SOCIETY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (TMA) Course Code: MPA-011 Assignment Code: MPA-11/Asst/TMA/ Marks: 100 This assignment consists of Sections I and II. There are five questions in each section. You have to answer a total of five questions in about 500 words each. It is necessary to attempt at least two questions from each section. Each question carries 20 marks. SECTION - I 1) Examine the Gandhian perspective of State. 20 2) Discuss the role of State in globalisation context. 20 3) Describe the concept and role of social equity in public administration. 20 4) A new dimension to governmental transparency has been added through the Right to Information Act Elaborate. 20 5) Describe the approaches to engendering public administration and development. 20 SECTION - II 6) Bring out the role of bureaucracy in policy implementation. 20 7) Write a note on conflict management at micro and macro levels. 20 8) Examine the different challenges to civil society. 20 9) Discuss the characteristics and significance of good governance ) Analyse the obstacles to ethical accountability. 20 4

4 BY RAASHID - SARFARAZ KHAN MPA ( ) STATE,SOCIETY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION NOTE: DEAR STUDENT THESE ANSWERS ARE PREPARED BY PRIVATE TUTORS FOR HELP OF STUDENTS. WE DO NOT CLAIM 100% ACCURACY OF THESE ANSWERS OF THE QUESTIONS OF ASSIGNMENTS.ANY OMISSION OF ERROR IS HIGHLY REGRETTED THOUGH EVERY CARE HAS BEEN TAKEN WHILE PREPARING THESE ANSWERS OF ASSIGNMENT STUDENTS SHOULD TAKE GUIDANCE OF YOUR OWN TEACHER OR READ STUDY MATERIAL PROVIDED BY IGNOU. SECTION -I Q2. DISCUSS THE ROLE OF STATE IN GLOBALISATION CONNECT. Ans. DEFINING THE STATE: The State has been considered as a problematic institution. The theorists are unable to decide when States first arose or what States actually are. The trajectory of the State Involves a long and chequered journey from tribal communities-city communities-city states of Greece and Rome-feudal societies Absolutist Sovereign States to Fascist States- Communist States and Welfare States. Some define the State in terms of morality, while others see it as an instrument of exploitation. Some regard it simply as an aspect of society, still others as a synonym for government. The State has even been viewed as a unique and separate association, which stands apart from social institutions. There are also metaphysical and quasi-religious interpretations of the State. Some point toward the legitimacy of the State, while some to the character of power it enjoys. Yet, we must define the State in order to grapple with its so-called problematique. If politics is all about who gets what, when and how, then the State becomes the executive agency for the same. In simplistic terms, the State could be defined in terms of its most basic features of territoriality,

5 population, government and sovereignty. For a better comprehension, all these elements need to be analysed in the present context of globalisation. We will discuss these later in this Section. ROLE OF STATE IN THE GLOBALISATION CONTEXT: We can thus infer from the preceding discussion on the State that, during the last decade or so, its nature has changed beyond recognition, as a result of metamorphic changes in the economic and political spheres. Internationalisation of trade, technological revolution, microeconomic analysis, standardisation of world security systems and redefinition of cross border problems have eroded the significance of barriers, implicit, as many scholars put it, in distance and time. The whole world appears to have come under the so-called tutelage of the Washington Consensus propagated by the IMF and the World Bank. Globalisation process though has its positives, which cannot be overlooked. Globalisation has shrunk spaces by forging new connections through Information Technology revolution. States within developing countries can now act as independent entities and pursue their agendas; the international bodies have brought to light the much-sidelined issues of human rights, gender, sustainable development that touch a chord with the disadvantaged, poor and weaker sections. State capacity is a necessary condition to use the opportunities provided by globalisation to work in these areas and to protect and promote the interests of vulnerable sections of society. The State can play a critical role in alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, promoting human security, and ensuring social equity and ethics. The OECD s studies indicate that freer and more open market economies can bring both economic and social benefits to countries at all levels of development. Among the potential benefits are: Greater freedom of choice for individuals to obtain goods and services and engage in specialisation and exchange Comparative advantages in world trade Higher incomes to those employed in jobs for international markets Lower prices and greater availability of goods and services Opportunities to diversify risks Access to capital at lower costs More efficient and productive allocation of resources Inward transfer of knowledge and know-how The debate on whether globalisation positively affects the State s capacity to provide goods and services or not would continue. What needs to be kept in view is that globalisation requires the State to improve its capacity to deal with greater openness, but it does not seem to understand its fundamental national and international roles.

6 Q3. DESCRIBE THE CONCEPT AND ROLE OF SOCIAL EQUITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. Ans. CONCEPT OF SOCIAL EQUITY: Managing diversities and respecting cultural identities are the major challenges for India and other countries as well. No country is entirely homogeneous. Nearly 200 countries of the world have some 5,000 ethnic groups. Two thirds have at least one substantial minority, either an ethnic or a religious group consisting of at least 10 percent of the population. Cultural liberty is vital for maintaining social harmony. Therefore, the State should work out appropriate ways and means to manage it. The present era of globalisation has been criticised as culturally homogenising because communication and information technology, economic integration and trade flows have been continually shrinking the world and changing the landscape of cultural diversity. In addition, the spread of democracy, accent on human rights and new global networks have given the people the necessary means to mobilise around a cause, insist on a response and strive to achieve it. In this scenario, social equity cannot be actualised unless the State and its citizens respect diversity and maintain unity through common bonds of humanity. The process of development and change brings the question of what is social equity to the forefront. George Frederickson (1987) defines it as "The need or requirement to deliver public services fairly or equitably... to connote the value of fairness in the use of administrative discretion...and government programmes designed to help the minorities, women, poor, or others who may have limited political power." Other scholars define social equity as a principle that each citizen has a right to equal treatment by the political system. George Frederickson (ibid.) argues that the criteria for judging the worth of public administration should not be limited to efficiency and economy but should also include social equity. If public administration focuses only on neutrality in policy making and efficiency and economy in carrying out the will of the legislature, social equity concerns are bound to be ignored. Social equity also competes with the values of neutrality, economy and efficiency. ROLE OF SOCIAL EQUITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: Social equity began as a challenge to the adequacy of concepts of efficiency and economy as guiding principles for public administration. In time, social equity has taken on a broader meaning. Social equity is a phrase that comprehends an array of value preferences, organisational design preferences, and management style preferences. Social equity perspective emphasises and includes equality in government services; responsibility for decisions and programme implementation for public managers; change in public management perspective towards responsiveness to the needs of citizens rather than the needs of public organisations; a transformative approach to the study of public administration that is interdisciplinary, applied, problem-solving as well as theoretically sound. The development of the concept of social equity was followed by a burgeoning literature on the subject. Philosophically, the views ranged from social equity as providing the proper normative basis for New Public Administration, on the one hand, to social equity

7 as an attempt by some to smuggle in the notion of popular sovereignty, on the other. Researchers, especially in the public policy fields, began to analyse the variations in the distribution of public service in terms of income, race and neighbourhood, and eventually gender. Political parties are compelled to utilise their machineries cautiously, and responsively whereas the weaker sections of the society have been given a chance to fully participate in decision making process at the rural level. The latest data with regards to the panchayat elections show that representation of weaker sections in rural governance is increasing. An important contributory factor that has led to increased citizens participation is the perceived failure of bureaucracy to meet policy needs, especially in the rural areas. Another assertion is that rural people now know more about policy needs at the grassroots level than the professional administrators do. SOCIAL EQUITY IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT: The human development issue is also closely related to the issue of gender development. The well being of a society depends on the well being of its women. This close relationship can be gauged by looking at the very high human development indicators from the states of Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu where a general improvement in the health of women has improved the health of both the male and female child. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines human development as A process of enlarging people s choices. The most critical of these wide ranging choices are to live a long and healthy life, to be educated and have an access to resources needed for a decent standard of living. Additional choices include political freedom, guaranteed human rights and personal self-respect. India has a well-developed statistical system for collecting the data on the various aspects of economy, polity, environment and available resources, etc. This system includes governmental and non-governmental institutions like National Population Census, National Family and Health Survey, National Sample Survey etc. We also have Human Development Report at the national level published every year by the states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh for their own use. The information generally collected is mainly connected to infant mortality and child mortality rates, nutrition,human Development Index (HDI) and per capita district-wise domestic production, literacy rate, achievement and improvement indices for literacy, district-wise classification of village amenities, etc. In india there are many issues responsible for social inequity such as, GENDER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ETHNICITY HUMAN RIGHTS POVERTY

8 SECTION-II Q6. BRING OUT THE ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY IN POLICY IMPLEMENTATION. Ans. ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY IN POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: Public policies are made, implemented and evaluated by public officials and by governmental institutions duly authorised or specifically established to do so. The relationship between the policy makers (the legislature or the ministers), and policy implementers (the bureaucrats as well as governmental and non-governmental institutions) is likely to affect policy implementation. The institutions established specifically for policy implementation, for example state departments, the courts and quasi-autonomous (or parastatal) institutions, have through their executive activities,a greater or lesser degree of direct contact with public. Policy implementation involves a number of steps. The very first is to study and understand the policy statement and determine whether the executors should go ahead with implementation as prescribed. This entails several pertinent queries such as would the support staff and resources be adequate enough, would the staff be able to perform their tasks effectively, what additional resources and information would be required and what criteria would be adopted to evaluate and assess the policy outcomes. Implementation should be a fact-finding as well as a problem-tracing exercise. Though the bureaucrats are assigned the task of implementation, the political executive controls the process through control over policy finances. The bureaucrats play a dual role of performing the output functions of executing policies and programmes and also the input functions, which relate not only to policy making but also influencing public attitude towards the government. The important duties of the bureaucrats are to: (i) Execute policies and orders, as prescribed by the government, (ii) Maintain and keep in order the overall administrative apparatus which lies within its official charge, and (iii) Give advice to the political executive regarding rules of procedure, regulation etc. The public policy, owing to a lack of time, information or expertise, is sometimes framed in general terms. the executive institutions are therefore responsible fo supplying the details pertaining to policy execution, with the result that the administrative process can be regarded as an extension of the legislative process, and as such puts bureaucrats at the centre of the arena. The problems that could be encountered in policy implementation, the resources that would be needed for execution, the work mechanism and nature of policy execution and agencies to be involved in are some pertinent issues that are decided during the policy making phase itself by the ministers and bureaucrats. Public policy legislation becomes significant only when efficiently implemented, usually by the bureaucrat. His actions or inactions can, therefore, seriously make or impede the success of a particular policy. Successful implementation of policy depends on the insight of the official and whether he identifies himself with the policy aims of the legislator. In fact, he is supposed to

9 do nothing that could prove to be embarrassing to the minister, but has to treat the aims of the policy as his very own and work towards achieving them. The bureaucrats decisions pertaining to policy implementation are limited to decisions that correspond to the political policy of the government of the day. The decisions of the bureaucrats should, if possible, be those decisions, which the minister would have taken if he were personally implementing the policy. In other words, the bureaucrat is expected to implement policy with the same goodwill of the minister and is to render services in order to provide products to the public irrespective of personal prejudice or bias. Since the bureaucrat always executes his tasks in a political milieu, all his decisions are a mixture of political and administrative considerations, the bureaucrats cannot dissociate themselves from the political ideology of the government of the day; neither can they dissociate themselves from the policies embodied in legislation. Q8. EXAMINE THE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES TO CIVIL SOCIETY. Ans EVoLUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY: Right from times of scholars like Aristotle and Cicero, until the appearance of John Locke and others on the political scene in the 17th century, the term civil society was used interchangeably with political society and the State. The self-conscious and self- confident bourgeois class was known as civil society. To these classical philosophers, as has been pointed out, To be a member of a civil society was to be a citizen a member of the State (Karlson, 2002). Originally, civil society is a European phenomenon. The earliest development of civil society as a non-political identity is associated with complex social and economic forces at work in the 18th century, as the power devolved from monarchs to popular assemblies. The philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment first articulated the idea of civil society. These philosophers were able to bring out the universality of civil society as a solution to the particularity of the market sphere that was increasingly responsible for redefining the then estates system of feudal society (Baker, 2002). CHALLENGES BEFORE CIVIL SOCIETY: Civil society by itself therefore, observes Neera Chandhoke, has no teleological virtue, unless it is accompanied both by an interrogation of the sphere of civil society itself and a project for democratising civil society And a call for rolling back the State has no particular virtue, unless it is accompanied by a determination that the oppressions of civil society will be dismantled. The ability of civil society to prevent the State from exercising absolute control is an essential but not a sufficient condition for democracy. The existence of civil society as a sphere of participation, deliberation, dialogue and contestation is no indication of the capacities of individuals to participate in all these activities. Critics have even pointed out the various limitations of the idea of social capital in explaining State-society interactions in the context of developing countries. It has been felt that there are a few potential problems associated with the development of civil society institutions that would nurture social capital. Looking at the State-civil society institutions develop in an authoritarian environment and what the State can do in enabling the growth and expansion of those institutions, the emphasis is on the recursive cycles of interaction between the

10 State and civil society actors. Putnam's Work is derived from the historical experience of Italy that suggests that a country s stock of social capital is inherited. Social capital with Putnam s framework thus cannot be accumulated. The developments in administration such as Public Choice approach and now the New Public Management (NPM) make an endeavour to provide alternatives to bureaucratic hegemony. But while the Public Choice perspective seeks to reduce individuals to utility maximisers and focuses on individual interest, it does not provide the mechanism for arriving at a collective general interest. The NPM, on the other hand, treats the citizens as mere clients and consumers. The Pluralistic, Communitarian, New Public Administration and Network Agency perspectives give due regard to community, non-bureaucratic institutions and values, but do not attempt to develop the idea of autonomous, self-reflective, humane and conscientious civil society with an accent on genuine public interest. Q9. DISCUSS THE CHARACTERISTICS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE. Ans. CONCEPT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE: The concept of governance, which assumed significance since 1989 with the advocacy by the World Bank, is considered by some as not a new term. Pierre and Peters (2000) consider that the term was first used in France in the 14th century where it meant a seat of government. The World Bank is said to have reinvented it, in a different context, as a new approach to development. Globalisation has resulted in generation of global pressures exerted by institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the form of economic reforms programmes to be adhered to, especially by the developing countries. The aid given to these countries is accompanied by certain market-oriented reforms. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE: Good governance relates to enhancing the quality of governance through empowerment, participation, accountability, equity and justice. Without transparent and accountable institutions and the capacity to develop the policies and laws to enable a country to manage its markets and its political life in an open but just way, development is not sustainable (Brown, 2000). Researchers, policy makers, international institutions have attempted to conceptualise the concept of governance and identify its basic characteristics. These include: Participation: This is considered to be the core of Good Governance. Governments aiming to ensure the requisite freedom to the citizens in order to participate in the decision-making process, articulate and represent their interests, which get reflected in policies and

11 programmes. Rule of Law: Governance does not imply arbitrary use of authority. Any type of governance to be effective needs to be supplemented by a fair legal framework. This should be supported by appropriate enforcement machinery, independent judiciary, which instills confidence in the people. Transparency: This is based on the premise of free flow of information and its accessibility to those affected by the decisions taken in the governance process. People, especially shall be in a position to understand as well as monitor governmental and other sectors activities, on the basis of information that is accessible to them within reasonable limits. Responsiveness: The earlier governance mechanisms lacked in their approach of bringing all the stakeholders in their ambit. In the present times, the emphasis is more on institutions being responsive to the needs of all those who are going to be affected by their actions. Equity: Since governance structures and mechanisms aim at participation, they have to promote equity. A society s well-being and development depends on ensuring that all the members have a stake and role in it and are not excluded from the mainstream activities. Effectiveness and Efficiency: Good Governance and, NPM need to aim at effectiveness and efficiency in usage of resources inconsonance with the societal needs and demands. Result-orientation needs to be the key concern. Accountability: This occupies a central place in Good Governance. The norm of accountability has to ensure answerability as well as proper enforcement of correct procedure in case of violation of certain laid down norms. Not only the public institutions, but also the private sector and the civil society organisations need to be accountable to the public at large and to the other related institutions and stakeholders. In a UNDP Workshop on Governance for Sustainable Human Development, (1994) certain characteristics of Good Governance were identified. These include: Participation Responsiveness to people Development of resources and methods of governance Mobilisation of resources for social purposes Operation by Rule of Law Enabling and Facilitative Environment Regulation rather than Control Service-orientation Sustainability Acceptability to people Promotion of equity and equality Promotion of gender balance Accountability (Sobhan, 1998, paraphrased)bovaird and Loeffler (2003) postulate ten characteristics of Good Governance which have recurred frequently both in the literature and in the political and practitioner debates on the subject. These include: Citizens engagement Transparency

12 Accountability The equalities agenda and social inclusion (gender, ethnicity, age, religion, etc.) Ethical and honest behaviour Equity (fair procedures and due process) Ability to compete in a global environment Ability to work effectively in a partnership Sustainability; and Respect for the Rule of Law SIGNIFICANCE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE: Good governance aims at achieving much more than efficient management of economic and financial resources or public services. It is a broad reform strategy to make government more open, responsive, accountable, democratic, as well as strengthen institutions of civil society and regulate private sector. Good Governance is a combination of efficiency concerns of public management and accountability concerns of governance. Good Governance as a prerequisite for promoting people-centred development is assuming importance. Good Governance aims at: Improving the quality of life of citizens Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of administration Establishing the legitimacy and credibility of institutions Securing freedom of information and expression Providing citizen-friendly and citizen-caring administration Ensuring accountability Using Information Technology-based services to improve citizen-government interface Improving/enhancing the productivity of employees; Promoting organisational pluralism State, market and civil society organisations for governance. BEST OF LUCK RAASHID-SARFARAZ PUB-AD - STUDENT CONTACT ME ON:-rashidsarfaraz786@gmail.com