Approaches of Comparative Public Administration

kWhat do you mean by CPA?Discuss the approaches of CPA.
Introduction A comparison of administrative systems has had a long tradition. But a focus on this aspect of administrative studies is about forty years old. Only after the Second World War and with the emergence of new nations in Asia and Africa, a vigorous interest in comparative studies of Public Administration has evolved. Comparative Public Administration, in simple terms, refers to a comparative study of government administrative systems functioning in different countries of the world. Now we are going to discuss the meaning of comparative public administration and the conceptual approaches of comparative public administration.
Comparative Public Administration (CPA) Comparative public administration is defined as the study of administrative systems in a comparative fashion or the study of public administration in other countries. Another definition for "comparative public administration" is the "quest for patterns and regularities in administrative action and behavior". There have been several issues which have hampered the development of comparative public administration, including: the major differences between Western countries and developing countries; the lack of curriculum on this subfield in public administration programs; and the lack of success in developing theoretical models which can be scientifically tested. According to Jreisat CPA is the comparative study of institutions, process, and behaviors in many contexts. Context or environment in comparative analysis generally refers to all external influences that affect management, such as societal values, norms, religion, political culture, and economy. In sum CPA cannot be disentangle from politics. Politics is a key intervening variable. Thus, cross comparison of different political structure become essential to advance the knowledge and practice of PA.
Approaches of CPA There are a number of approaches, models and theories presently characterizing the subject-area of Comparative Public Administration. Particularly after Second World War, a number of approaches have emerged in comparative administrative analysis. Much of this effort is based on
an adaptation of the developments in comparative anthropology, comparative sociology and comparative politics. There are some approaches of comparative public administration. These are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Bureaucratic Approach Behavioural Approach General Systems Approach Ecological Approach Structural-Functional Approach Development Approach
We will now discuss the different approaches in a nut-shell.
Bureaucratic Approach The most influential of the approaches is Max Weber's ideal-type bureaucratic model. This has structural characteristics of hierarchy, specialization,role-specificity, recruitment by merit, promotion by seniority-cum-merit, career development, &thing, discipline, separation between personnel and official means, etc. The emphasis in the rnode1 is on rationality and efficiency. There have been a number of studies conducted in a comparative context employing the bureaucratic model of Weber. Notable scholars in this area include Michael Crozier (on France), Roy Laird (on the Soviet Union) and Morroe Berger (on Egypt). The methodological limitation of an ideal-type model and specific context of a legal-rational authority system poses constraints in the application of Webbers model to the comparative study of bureaucracies. Nevertheless, for an analysis of the bureaucracies, of the developed countries, the model is still considered eminently useful. Dwight Waldo views Weber's 'bureaucratic model as a "paradigm" of Public Administration. Behavioural Approach The behavioural approach emphasizes '"acts", rigorous scientific methods of data collection and analysis, quantification, experimentation, testing, verification and an, interdisciplinary orientation. It focuses on the analysis of human behaviour in administrative settings. General Systems Approach Further, the general systems approach views an administrative system as a subsystem of the society. It looks at various parts of an administrative system (formal organization. informal organization, roles, and individuals) and examines the inter-linkages among various parts. Besides, the approach analyses the dynamic interactions between the administrative system and its external environment.
Ecological Approach One of the most popular approaches in Comparative Public Administration is the ecological approach which has been stressed considerably by Fred Riggs. This approach examines the interactions between an administrative system and its external environment. Thus the impact of the political system, economic system, social system and the cultural system, on the structure and behaviour of the administrative system as well as the influence of the administrative system on these environmental structures is highlighted in the ecological approach. Structural-Functional Approach A related approach, drawn mainly from Anthropology and Sociology, is the structural functional approach. A structure, according to this approach, is a pattern of behaviour that has become a standard feature of a social system. Further, a function denotes the impact of a structure on another structure and the interrelationships among various structures. Fred Riggs has successfully applied the ecological and structural-functional approaches in his analysis of societies and their administrative systems. His typology of "agraria-transitiaindustria" systems, developed in 1957, was superseded by the typology of "fused-prismaticdiffracted" societies that was constructed in 1959. A prismatic society, according to Riggs, is characterized by a growing degree of structural differentiation but not matched by an equal degree of integration (coordination).This integration lag is reflected in almost all aspects of the functioning of a prismatic society. Development Approach A very well-known conceptual approach in Comparative Public Administration is of Development Administration' which has been elaborately dealt with in a separate unit. This approach focuses on certain characteristics of a dynamic administrative system, e.g. goalorientation, change-orientation, progressiveness, innovativeness, participation and responsiveness. Conclusion Finally we can say that the above approaches of Comparative Public Administration are important. Besides these, there are some other approaches like Traditional Approach, information-energy model of John Dorsey and decision-making model of Martin Landau.

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kWhat do you mean by CPA?Discuss the approaches of CPA.

We will now discuss the different approaches in a nut-shell.

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