Understanding Public Administration: Politics, Management, and

Development

Dr Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi

 The Issues

• What is Public Administration?

– Public Administration as a field of study (academic discipline) and practice
– Nature and scope of public administration
– Is public administration an art or a science

• What is Public Administration/ Public Management?

– Any differences

• Public Administration and Development

– Any linkages?

7/6/2023 2
 Introduction

• Public Administration as a discipline and practice has evolved over the years to attain
its current “scientific” status.

• Different scholars from various disciplines have contributed, impacted and shaped the
discipline over time.

• Academic disciplines such as philosophy, economics, law, political science, history,

engineering, and social work have all influenced PA.

7/6/2023 3
 Nature & Scope of PA
• Public Administration covers a very wide range of issues which makes it difficult to
find a single worldwide accepted, definition for it.

• Dwight Waldo “no single, and authoritative definition of public administration is

possible”.
• This is due to its eclectic nature –
• It has a broad scope and so debatable

• The definitions are often skewed depending on who does it – sociologist, economist,
psychologist, and political scientist.

• To properly understand PA therefore implies that one has to view it from different
perspectives.

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 What is PA?

• PA is a systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use of resources aimed at

making those things happen which we want to happen and simultaneously preventing
developments that fail to square with our intentions (Fritz Morstein Marx 1946)

• Public Administration is “the art and science of management applied to the affairs of
the state” (Waldo 1967)

• Is PA a science or an art?

7/6/2023 5
• In his book ‘The Study of Administration’, Woodrow Wilson called Public
Administration a ‘Science of Administration
• Gullick and Urwick -‘Papers on the science of administration’.

• PA as a Science
– Has its own body of knowledge
– Has its own principles and theories for understanding phenomena.
– PA phenomena can be studied with a scientific approach. a science although it does not have the
precision and universality of scientific laws.

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• As an Art

– PA is an art which is learned by practical application of knowledge

– It requires practice and experience over time to make sound decisions for the state

– Requires a combination of different approaches, methods and techniques to manage the affairs of
the state.

– PA is both a science and an art

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 Public Administration System
• All governments create public administration (PA) systems that are competent and
efficient in delivering public services

• PA systems are the means, processes and institutions and actors by which the vision,
goals and objectives of government are actualized.

• The PA system of a country comprises all the institutions such as the bureaucracy,
ministries, state enterprises; the various employees, for example civil and public
servants; and the modus operandi by which government programs are achieved.

• While some PA systems have been effective in delivering on the goals of government,
others have been ineffective (refer to WGI data)

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 The Relationship between Administration and Politics

• The relationship between administration and politics has remained an important

question since the emergence of public administration as a field of study in the late
1880s.
• However, the relationship was formally articulated by Wilson (1887) in what is
referred to as the politics-administration dichotomy.
• Politics sets the goals and administration determines the means for achieving the
goals
• Politics and administration should work in isolation without endangering or
interfering with each other; from separation, through partnership to complementarity.

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 Public Administration and Management

• There is a close relationship between Public Administration and Management

• Theoretically, it can be said that both are different terms, but practically, they are
more or less same

• Public administration focuses on producing public policies and coordinating public

programs.

• The scope, focus and functions of Public Administration is captured as POSDCORB

thus; planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting public
resources.

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 Public Administration and Management

• Management on the other hand is a systematic way of organizing human and material
resources within an organization.
• Public management is a sub-discipline of public administration, and it involves
conducting managerial activities in public organizations.
• Management is an activity of business and exists at the functional level, whereas
administration is a high-level activity.
• In PA, this reflects the blending of traditional/orthodox PA and new public
management approaches in the field

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 Similarities between Public Administration and
Management
• Both public administration and public management are concerned with public policy
and how it can be used to improve societal conditions.

• Both are involved in the adoption and implementation of public policy.

• They both use the same essential professional skills, including knowledge of public
finance, leadership abilities, interpersonal communication skills, and strategic
thinking.

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 Key Difference(s)

• The underlying difference between both fields lies in the core of administration and
management.

• Management is concerned with planning and taking action, while administration

relates to the application of policies that dictate how management personnel should
act.

• Management is a sub discipline of administration, thus administration is above

management

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 Public Administration and Development

• Developmental states rely on the creation of effective public administration systems

that will lead to transformations in society.

• The changing definitions of development; economic development, basic needs

approach, human rights and to development as the capability of human actors to
achieve their valued functioning.

• Development is conceived in terms of the “capability that a person has to lead the
kind of life that he or she has reason to value”

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 Public Administration and Development

• The public administration system is the means through which the goals of
development are realized.

• Public Administration determines and implements the laws that can either promote or
hinder development.

• By its processes and activities, Public Administration serves as the pivot of every
country's development. Compare Japan and Ghana along their PA systems and levels
of development.

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Foundational Theories in PA

Lecturer: Dr Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi

Email: [email protected]

1
Scientific Management Theory (Fredric
Winslow Taylor 1856-1915)
 Father of the scientific management movement.
 Taylor observed that workers purposely operated well below
their capacity; a phenomenon he termed soldering
 The causes of soldering include;
 Workers believed that if they were productive, only few of them will be
needed; jobs will be eliminated
 Non incentive wage systems; workers received the same wage regardless of
their productivity.
 Workers wasted their efforts by relying on rule of thumb methods (a general
principle that gives practical instructions for accomplishing tasks) rather than
optimal work methods.

2
Introduction

 To address these challenges, Taylor put forward scientific

management theory to analyze and synthesize workflow.
 Also referred to as Taylorism, scientific management is simply
the scientific study of the selection and sequential
development of workers to ensure optimum productivity.
 Scientific management means knowing exactly what you want
men to do and ensuring that they do it in the best and cheapest
ways.
 It assumes that scientifically, there is one best way to
accomplish tasks.

3
Introduction

 Scientific management seeks the perfect standardization of

work processes and workers 'skills

 It is concerned with the systematic analysis of human

behavior at work place.

 It takes a mechanistic view of the organization; likens

organization to a machine

 Its main objective is to improve economic efficiency

particularly labour productivity.

4
4 Principles of Scientific Management

 Replace rule of thumb work methods with methods based on

scientific study of tasks

 Scientifically select, train and develop each worker rather than

passively leaving them to train themselves.

 Cooperate with workers to ensure that developed methods are

followed.

 Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers so

that managers apply scientific management planning
techniques.
5
Implications of Scientific Management for
PA/HRM
 Hitherto to Taylor’s work, it was taken for granted that anybody could do
anything. Scientific management highlighted the importance of recruiting
the right personnel and training them

 Scientific management emphasizes work analysis and personality tests to

determine suitable candidates for jobs; candidates eliminated based on their
competence evaluations

 Taylor’s theory form the basis of personnel selection as one of the most
important functions of personnel management.

 The theory underscores harmony between labour and management as vital

for productivity.

6
Weaknesses

 Over-emphasized productivity and relegated the human factor

and needs to the background.

 It also focused on work productivity at the plant level and did

not give enough attention to the interactions and exchange
between the organization and the surrounding community.

 Excessively mechanistic

7
The theory of Bureaucracy
 The theory of bureaucracy is credited to German sociologist
(Max Weber) (1864–1920)

 Weber wrote at the turn of the twentieth century, when

Germany was undergoing its industrial revolution.

 He therefore developed the principles of bureaucracy to help

Germany manage its growing industrial enterprises at a time
when it was striving to become a world power.

8
 Bureaucracy made up of two Latin, and Greek words:
bureau meaning “desk in office” and cracy, meaning
“rule”

 Bureaucracy is translated as a formal system of

organization and administration designed to ensure
efficiency and effectiveness.

9
Basis of Weber’s theory of bureaucracy

 Weber distinguishes between 3 types of rule:

 traditional rule

 charismatic rule

 rational rule

 Underlying all of these types of rule is an element of

domination

10
Weber’s concept of domination

 According to Weber, domination is defined as the tendency for

people to voluntarily accept and obey instructions.
 It is the obedience and voluntary surrender of one’s will power
to accept instructions
 It refers to the probability that certain specific commands will
be obeyed by a group of persons; the claim to legitimacy.
 However, domination does not always imply any form of
obedience of exercising influence and authority.
 There must be a minimum of voluntary compliance and an
interest to obey

11
Types of Authority

 The above grounds for domination further translate into three

types of authority, and these are tied to domination.
 Traditional authority: rests on an established belief in the sanctity of
immemorial tradition and the legitimacy of those exercising authority
under them.

 Charismatic authority: rests on devotion to the exceptional sanctity,

heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the
normative patterns or ordeals revealed or ordained by him.

 Rational authority: rests on the belief of the legality of rules and the
right of those in authority to exercise those rules and commands.

12
Types of Authority

 Each authority has its own administrative structure

 But only the traditional and legal rational are stable enough to
provide a firm foundation for a permanent administrative
structure.
 According to Weber, Charismatic authority is temporal and
unstable and traditional structures were gradually giving way
to rational-legal structures.
 Therefore, Weber decided to use the legal rational authority
and legal-rational domination to propound the theory of
bureaucracy.

13
Principles of bureaucracy

 In a bureaucracy, a manager’s formal authority derives from the position

he or she holds in the organization.
 Authority is the power to hold people accountable for their actions and
to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources.
 Authority gives managers the right to direct and control their
subordinates’ behavior to achieve organizational goals.
 In a bureaucratic system, obedience is owed to a manager, not because
of any personal qualities that he or she might possess— such as
personality, wealth, or social status—but because the manager occupies
a position that is associated with a certain level of authority and
responsibility.

14
 In a bureaucracy, people should occupy positions because of
their performance, not because of their social standing or
personal contacts.

 In reality however, some organizations and industries are still

affected by social networks in which personal contacts and
relations, not job-related skills, influence hiring and
promotional decisions.

15
 The extent of each position, formal authority and task
responsibilities, and its relationship to other positions in an
organization, should be clearly specified.

 When the tasks and authority associated with various positions in the
organization are clearly specified, managers and workers know what is
expected of them and what to expect from each other.

 Moreover, an organization can hold all its employees strictly

accountable for their actions when each person is completely familiar
with his or her responsibilities.

16
 For authority to be exercised effectively in an organization,
positions should be arranged hierarchically, so employees
know whom to report to and who reports to them.
 Managers must create an organizational hierarchy of authority that
makes it clear who reports to whom and to whom managers and
workers should go if conflicts or problems arise.

 Through the hierarchical structure, managers at high levels are able to

hold subordinates accountable for their actions.

17
 Managers must create a well-defined system of rules, standard
operating procedures, and norms so to effectively control
behavior within an organization.
 Rules are formal written instructions that specify actions to be taken
under different circumstances to achieve specific goals.
 Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are specific sets of written
instructions about how to perform a certain aspect of a task.
 For example, a rule might state that at the end of the workday
employees are to leave their machines in good order, and a set of SOPs
then specifies exactly how they should do so, itemizing which machine
parts must be oiled or replaced.

18
Core features of Bureaucracy

 The most important characteristic of bureaucracy is the

existence of a system of control based on rational rules. The
rules are meant to regulate the organization towards achieving
maximum efficiency:
 Specialized division of labour
 Hierarchy of authority- formal hierarchical structure
 Standardized and Codified norms and protocol
 Technical competence - functional specialties
 Purposely impersonal – equal treatment based on rules
 Recruitment, promotion and transfer based on achievement

19
Implications (Benefits of Bureaucracy)

 Order:
 Bureaucracy ensures that, everyone’s position and task is clearly spelt-
out. there will be no conflicting roles and chaos in organizations.
 Predictability:
 Given that the way tasks are to be carried out are clearly defined in the
rules and SOP’s, outcomes are predictable because the same method is
employed every day.
 Stability:
 Bureaucracy leads to order in organizations and this leads to stability in
organizations as everyone goes about their duties as expected of them.

20
Implications (cont’d)

 Professionalism:
 Specialized skills are required to perform specific duties because task
are divided based on specialization so skilled personnel are required to
carry out tasks.

 Standardization:
 Because there is a laid down procedure as to how a particular task is to
be performed, the results is the same irrespective of the person carrying
out the task.

21
Weaknesses

 When managers rely too much on rules to solve problems and

not enough on their own skills and judgment, their behavior
becomes inflexible (bureaucrats become rigid and insensitive)

 Sometimes, managers allow rules and SOPs—“bureaucratic

red tape”—to become so cumbersome that decision making
becomes slow and inefficient and organizations are unable to
change.

22
 According to Robert Merton, bureaucracy can have both
functional and dysfunctional effects.

 when procedures and rules become ends in themselves,

rather than means, then a kind of “goal displacement”
occurs.

 The instrumental and formalistic aspect of the bureaucratic

rules can become more important than the substantive one

23
New Public Management (NPM)

 The NPM emerged in the 1980s in an attempt to make the

public sector more businesslike and to improve efficiency of
PA
 NPM involves the adoption of market based and private sector
managerial principles into the public sector.
 NPM is to produce governments that work better but cost less
 It emphasizes the centrality of citizens who were the recipient
of the services or customers to the public sector.

24
New Public Management

• As a new model of public sector reforms, NPM seeks to

address the ineffectiveness and inadequacies of the public
sector through administrative restructuring.

• The model is different from traditional public administration in

several ways.
• For example, in terms of organizing government, NPM calls for a
breakdown of the uniform mode of operation of the old public
administration into semi-autonomous units.
• In terms of management, NPM adopts private sector management style
as opposed to the standardized established procedures of the old PA.

25
Key objective of NPM

 NPM sought to address one key question:

 how to implement policies, programs and projects, using the market-

type mechanisms, so that the institutions of state could achieve the
desired results

 This was in the context of ineffective, inefficient and poor

service delivery of public services

26
New Public Management

• Overall, NPM emphasizes productivity, accountability and

efficient resource allocation, with incentives and rewards,
linked to performance.

• It also advocates a shift to contracting out to the private

agencies through open tendering processes, all with the view to
cutting down costs of doing government business

• Key proponents-Pollitt (1990), Hood (1991), Hoggett (1991),

Osborne and Gaebler (1992)

27
Key Principles of NPM

 Hood (1991) identified seven doctrinal components of NPM:

 “hands on” professional management in the public sector
 explicit standards and measures of performance, which were later
defined as performance indicators
 greater emphasis on output control
 a shift to the disaggregation of units
 a shift to greater competition
 private sector styles of management practice
 greater discipline and prudence in resource use

28
New Public Management

 Under NPM, PA systems had to undergo complete

“reengineering and reinventing”.

 Reengineering implied a fundamental rethinking and radical

change of processes (Hammer & Champy 1993) and
improvement (and, if necessary, overhaul) of PA systems.

 Under reinventing, there was the adoption of business model

prescriptions for government, and also using private sector
innovation, organizational ideas and resources to improve the
public sector (Osborne & Gaebler, 1992).

29
Structural changes under NPM

 Retrenchment or downsizing the public sector organizations

 Merging or splitting of departments to improve coordination or

to sharpen focus and encourage specialization.

 Privatization

 Decentralization

30
Process changes under NPM

 Private sector styles of management practice

 Hands-on professional management

 The use of market-type mechanisms

 Liberalization

 Modernization of services delivery mechanisms (e.g.

introduction of the e-government,

31
Relevance of NPM to Public
Administration
 Accountability of public servants

 Efficiency, effectiveness and economy

 Control of corruption

 Responsiveness, reliability in public services

 Improved public services

32
Weaknesses of NPM

 Reduces welfare at the expense of profit and performance.

 Disperses accountability between Government and private
interests. This increases corruption, ghost names, inflation of
government projects mismanagement and lack of
accountability.
 Contracting out especially to private persons is dangerous and
leads to self-interested actions.
 NPM weakens government’s collective interest and public
service values, personal responsibility and professionalism”

33
 Public Administration System in Ghana
(Organizational Framework of Public Administration in Ghana)

Dr Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi

 Introduction

• PA systems are the institutions, actors, processes and means by which the vision,
goals and objectives of government are actualized.

• Ghana’s PA system comprises all the institutions such as the bureaucracy, ministries,
state enterprises; the various employees, for example civil and public servants; and
the modus operandi by which government programs are achieved.

• Ghana’s PA system has undergone several changes over the years; from precolonial
times to the current era.

7/7/2023 2
 Historical Context: PA System in pre-colonial era
• Before Britain colonized the Gold Coast, there existed many traditional states (native states)
recognized by European merchants and governments as sovereign states

• The native people of the Gold Coast were governed by their political heads generally called
Chiefs

• The political system of rule by chiefs in the native states is referred to as ‘Chieftaincy
Administration’. Thus, Public Administration in the pre-colonial era was Chieftaincy
Administration.

• Paramount Chiefs of Native States had Executive, Legislative and Judiciary authority of
Public Administration.
• This changed from the 7th of May 1821, when Britain passed a law to create colonial
territories of rule in Ghana (then known as Gold Coast)
•7/7/2023 3
 Public Administration in Ghana: 1843-1956
• Under British colonial rule, the Executive, the Legislative, the Judiciary, and the Civil
Service branches of public administration established were dominated by British
Officers.

• It was until the Burns Constitutional reforms of 1946 that Native educated elites were
admitted into the Executive Council of Government.

• However, at the local level of society, the British empowered the Chiefs to rule over
local communities through an accountable system of local government thus indirect
rule through Native Authorities

7/7/2023 4
 Public Administration in Ghana: 1843-1956

• The reluctance of the British to use military force to supersede the chieftaincy
institutions of the existing Native States led to a negotiated political settlement over
the creation of a colonial state in which British officers and chiefs shared sovereign
state authority over territorial administration.

• Chiefs and non-chief native educated elites were gradually incorporated into the
national Executive and Legislative branches of state administration; but the Chiefs
were gradually kicked out after internal self-government

• Chieftaincy institutions were transformed into a system of local government until

they were gradually kicked out after 1951.

5
 Ghana PA system after Independence

• After gaining political independence in 1957, Ghana begun the process of building a
post-colonial Public Administration system.

• The structure of Ghana’s Public Administration system changed after the chiefs and
British colonial officials handed over the executive reigns of Government to non-
chief educated elites

– “This is a critical time for the Gold Coast…the Gold Coast is about to make a great constitutional advance.
The world...is asking whether the people of the Gold Coast have the capacity and the determination to
shoulder their new responsibilities and undertake their complex task of building up and carrying on a good
government under a new constitution.” (Governor Sir Charles Arden Clarke, 1949-1957, Speech in
Legislative Council, 19 January 1950)

7/7/2023 6
 Ghana’s PA system after Independence
• Since 1957, the organizational structure of Public Administration in Ghana has not
changed much.

• However, the Executive branch has taken diverse shapes under eleven (11) Civilian
Governments and six (6) Military Governments

• In the period immediately after independence in 1957 to the mid 1970s, the Civil
Service of Ghana’s Public Administration system was described as “the finest, most
relevant and performance-oriented institution in Africa”, but in the post-1970s it has
been described as “a moribund paper-pushing institution” (Ayee, 2001:2)

7/7/2023 7
 Actors/Institutions of Ghana’s PA system under the 4th
Republic
• Ghana’s current PA system is rooted in the 1992 constitution
• Article 11 of the constitution lists the hierarchy and sources of law that govern
Public Administration in Ghana as follows:
• The 1992 constitution
• Enactments made by or under the authority of Parliament
• Any Orders, Rules and Regulations made by any person or authority under a power
conferred by this constitution
• Subsidiary legislation comprises: Constitutional instruments, Legislative instruments,
Executive instruments, instruments of a judicial character, bye laws, notices, and statutes,
existing law, and common law.
• The Common law: Comprising the rules of law generally known as the common law,
doctrine of equity, and the rules of customary law
7/7/2023 8
 Current structure of Ghana’s PA system

• The Constitution defines the overall structure of Ghana’s PA system as possessing the
ff. features:
– An elected President for a maximum tenure of two terms of four years per term.
– A four-year term national legislature
– An independent judiciary.
– A professional and impartial social services institutions/ SOE’s
– Independent constitutional bodies
– Sixteen Regional Coordinating Councils to represent the interests of the central government in the
regions.
– Two hundred and sixty local government units of elected and appointed members spread across all
the sixteen administrative regions.

7/7/2023 9
 The Public Services of Ghana
• The public service of Ghana refers to the totality of organizational processes and
human resources employed by the state to transact the business of governance

• Article 190 (1) of the of the 1992 Constitution states that the public services of
Ghana shall include:
• The Civil Service The Audit Service
• The Education Service The Health Service
• The Statistical Service The National Fire Service
• Ghana Revenue Authority The Police Service
• The Legal Service
• Public Corporations and Services established by the Constitution and Parliament

7/7/2023 10
 Organizational Structure of Public
Administration in Ghana under the 4th Republic
.
The President
(Executive)

The Judiciary: A Parliament National House

hierarchy of Courts (Legislature) of Chiefs

Semi-autonomous Sector Ministries (Interior, Local

Agencies (e.g. EC, Gov’t, Agriculture, Finance, etc.)
CHRAJ, NDPC,
Audit Service) 16 Regional
16 Regional Coordinating Houses of Chiefs
Councils

170 District Assemblies 173 Traditional

Councils of Chiefs
7/7/2023 11
 Public Sector Ministries
• The ministry is the highest organization for the respective sectors for which they are
created to serve (e.g. agriculture, finance).

• The fourth republic of Ghana started with 27 Ministries, but many of them have been
re-organized and new ones created (How many now?)

• The political head of a Ministry is the Minister and the bureaucratic head is called the
Chief Director, both appointed by the President

7/7/2023 12
 Public Sector Ministries
• A sector ministry is organized into four main divisions
• General Administration and Finance Division
• Planning, Budgeting, Co-ordination, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division
• Training and Human Resources Development Division
• Research, Statistics, Public Relations and Information Division

• The ministry performs the following general functions:

• Initiate and formulate policies
• Undertake development planning
• Co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of the sector

7/7/2023 13
 The Regional Coordinating Council

• The Regional Coordinating Council is the highest level of Local Government in

Ghana and are established in each of the 16 regions.
• Composition:
• The RCC comprises the Regional Minister (the chairperson), his deputies,
• The Presiding Member of each District Assembly (DA) and the Chief Executive of
each district in the region
• Two chiefs from the regional house of chiefs
• Regional heads of decentralized departments, who have no voting rights (LG Act 462
of 1993).

7/7/2023 14
 Functions of the RCC

• As a coordinating rather than political or policy-making body, the RCC is to:

– Monitor, coordinate and evaluate the performance of the DAs in the region

– Monitor the use of all monies allocated to the DAs by any agency of the Central Government

– Review and coordinate public service generally in the region

– Resolve any conflict between a District Assembly and an agency of Central Government, public
corporation, statutory body, Non-governmental Organizations and individuals,

7/7/2023 15
 Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies (MMDAs)

• Below the Regional Coordinating Council, are Metropolitan, Municipal and District
Assemblies (MMDA’s).

• These assemblies are the fulcrum of governance and development at the local level.

• Metropolitan or Municipal or District Assemblies are categorized on the basis of

demographic conditions and settlement characteristics.
– A Metropolitan Assembly is a LG. unit or areas with population over 250,000

– A Municipal Assembly is a one town assembly with population over 95,000

–
– A District Assembly is a group settlement with a minimum population of 75,000 and a maximum
of 95,000.

7/7/2023 16
 Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies (MMDAs

• As the demographic and settlement characteristics change, the President is

empowered to make appropriate changes.

• Currently there are 260 local authorities, made up of 6 Metropolitan, 109 Municipal,
and 145 District Assemblies.

• Functions of MMDA’s
– They perform deliberative, legislative as well as executive functions.
– They are constituted as the planning authority for the district
– they have the responsibility to bring about integration of political, administrative and development
support to achieve an equitable allocation of power, wealth and geographically-dispersed
development in Ghana.
7/7/2023 17
7/7/2023 18
• Numerous Commissions and Committees of enquiry have been established at
different times to investigate the problemsaffecting effective and efficient
Public Administration in Ghana.

• Many reforms have also been implemented aimed at strengtheningthe public

service to deliver efficient and effective services to thepeople

• It seems that the post-1970s Public Administration system is yet to return to its
best days in the late colonial era and thepost-colonial period prior to the 1970s

• There is the need for more research to understand thereasons for, and solutions
to, the decay of Ghana’s post-colonial Public Administration system

7/7/2023 19
 Trial Questions

• Outline the key actors and institutions in Ghana current PA

system and discuss the functions of any two of them

• Do an appraisal of Ghana’s PA system to determine whether it

is capable of delivering development to Ghana.

• Why is chieftaincy an important institution in Ghana’s PA

system?
7/7/2023 20
DECENTRALIZATION
DR EMMANUEL KOFI AYISI
 • Introduction
• What is Decentralization?
• Decentralization forms/types
OUTLINE • The Rationale for Decentralization
• Overview of Ghana’s Decentralization
• Benefits
• Challenges of Decentralization in Ghana
Introduction
Defining Decentralization
Defining Decentralization
Defining Decentralization
 • In general, decentralization can be defined “as a

Yussof mechanism or procedure or a tool to share power and

divide responsibilities among the central and the local
political and administrative units with the objectives of

et.al, empowering locals and enhancing the living standards

and conditions of all segment of public through
providing better public service delivery and other

2016) supportive arrangements and to fulfill the interests and

needs of different groups, living within the local political
and administrative units or areas.”
 All these three definitions
suggest that, decentralization
involves:

In order to realize some

To subnational governments desired goals or outcomes
The transfer of power, From national or central
and non-governmental including efficiency,
responsibilities, functions, etc. government.
organizations. accountability, national
cohesion, and accountability.
Types of Decentralization

There is the need to distinguish between the different forms of

decentralization, because they have different features, policy
implications, and conditions for success.

• Rondinelli (1981) distinguishes between three degrees of

decentralization: deconcentration, delegation and devolution.
De-concentration

• Also known as bureaucratic, administrative or institutional

decentralization, deconcentration involves the full or partial transfer of
any array of functional responsibilities to the local level institutions such
as health care service, the operation of schools, the buildings and
maintenance of roads and garbage collection.
• Deconcentration thus involves the sharing of responsibilities and
authorities between the headquarters and the field offices.
• Opportunities for staff to exercise substantial local discretion in
decision-making are not possible.
Delegation

The transfer of services and

responsibilities from central
government agencies to specialized
organizations with some degree of
operating autonomy.

Delegation
Under delegation, subnational
governments rather than branches of
central government are responsible
for delivering certain services, subject
to some supervision by the central
government.
Devolution
Also known as political or democratic decentralization
Devolution
devolution is the ultimate/extreme form of political
decentralization.
It refers to a situation in which the central government
transfers authority and responsibilities for decision-making,
finance and management to subnational government.
Devolved assemblies are usually created in response to
increasing centrifugal tensions within a state, and as an
attempt to conciliate growing regional, and sometimes
nationalist pressures.
 Decentralization
• It is viewed as a mechanism to enhance democracy
in the form of and good governance. Decentralization enhances local
devolution has transparency and accountability.
been advanced • It gives the masses opportunities to participate in
matters that affect their sociopolitical and economic
on various lives.
grounds, a few of • It brings services closer to the people; it is a means of
delivering better services.
which are stated • It is a means of making better use of scarce resources
here.
Types of Decentralization

• FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION
Transfer of power and responsibility to raise financing locally or transferred from
the central government– as well as the authority to make decisions about
expenditures.

Fiscal Decentralisation may include:

• Formulas for transferring revenue to LG’s;

• Legally empowering LG’s to collect and retain some taxes, fees, charges etc;

• Legally empowering LG’s to prepare their own budgets and disburse funds
• Fiscal decentralization can take many forms, including:
• Self-financing or cost recovery through user charges

• Co-financing or co-production arrangements through which the users participate in providing services and
infrastructure through monetary or labor contributions

• Expansion of local revenues through property or sales taxes, or indirect charges;

• Intergovernmental transfers that shift general revenues from taxes collected by the central government to
local governments for general or specific uses;

• Authorization of municipal borrowing and the mobilization of either national or local government resources
through loan guarantees.

• In Ghana, although LG units have the legal authority to impose taxes, the tax base is so
weak that they always depend on central government subsidies.
Political Decentralization

• Decision-making power and authority given to citizens or their elected

representatives to make decisions for themselves.

• It implies the selection of representatives from local electoral jurisdictions to take

decisions on behalf of the local people.

• Political decentralization often requires constitutional or statutory reforms,

creation of local political units, and the encouragement of effective public
interest groups
Administrative Decentralization

• Transfer of public service delivery functions from central government to local governments, field
offices of MDAs, etc
Overview of Ghana’s Decentralization Policy
(Legal and Policy framework)
• The legal/policy framework of Ghana’s decentralization include PNDC law 207
1992 Constitution, LG Act 462 and the Local Governance Act 936 of 2016.

• The main objective is to promote democracy, participation, and development and

to devolve more power and resources to the regions and districts.

• Article 35(6d) enjoins the state to take appropriate measures to;

• “make democracy a reality by decentralizing the administrative and financial
machinery of government to the regions and districts and by affording all possible
opportunities to the people to participate in decision-making at every level in
national life and in government”
Overview of Ghana’s Decentralization Policy
• Re-demarcation of administrative jurisdictions (metropolitan areas, municipalities and districts)

• Establishment of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies

• Establishment of sub-district structures: Town/Area Councils, Unit Committees

• Restructuring of resource allocation & resource sharing b/n central & LG’s eg DACF, land rates and minerals royalties, grants,
transfers, and external credits to local governments

• Designating MLGRD as the agency responsible for implementation of the decentralization policy

• Establishment of NDPC to co-ordinate decentralized development planning

• Establishment of structures and mechanisms to enhance probity, accountability and transparency in public administration at all
levels of government
Institutional framework

• The institutional framework of decentralized local governance includes;

• Regional Coordinating Councils (RCC) 16 of them currently; to monitor and coordinate
activities of the District Assemblies
• Four-tier metropolitan assembly
• Three-tier Municipal and District Assembly (MMDAs). The assemblies are political, legislative,
executive, administrative, planning, and taxing authorities in charge of local development)

• Sub district structures (Town/Area Councils) and Units Committees.

• Two-thirds of District Assemblies members are elected on universal adult suffrage

while one-third is appointed by the President in consultation with traditional
authorities
Basis for Demarcation/categorization

• Population

• Geographical contiguity

• Economic viability

• Despite this, districts have rather been created for political reasons
Benefits of Decentralization

• Improved delivery of basic services for citizens at the local level

• Through engagement of user groups more citizens’ participation in delivery
and quality of service;
• Better administration suited to the locality; users’ monitoring of services
• Contribution to developing the local economy
• Engagement of local people as service-providers; opportunities to raise revenues to
delivery high quality services; contribution to the economy;
• Framework for effective local level democracy
• local leaders engage with marginalized groups and promote accountability, inclusion
and participation, the representation of citizens.
• A robust local governance strengthening linkages between local
stakeholders in pursuit of the common services and priorities with sharing
of roles, responsibilities and risks.
Political benefits
• Increase political stability and national unity by giving groups in different parts of
the country the ability to participate more directly in decision making.
• Increases their local commitment to maintaining the political system
• National government policies can be effectively brought down to the local level,
especially the rural areas through which they will understand government plans
and support it
• It ensures greater representation of various political, religious, ethnic and tribal
groups in development decision-making that will lead to greater equity in the
allocation of government resources
• It serves as training ground for future political leaders
Economic benefits
• The planning of development taking into cognizance local needs
• Mobilization of local resources for development programs, especially labour
therefore reduces cost
• The people are motivated to work harder
• Development of local capabilities to take over functions initially performed by
central government
• It reduces cost and ensures efficiency as the economy and government grows,
this leads to increases in the number of public goods and services that can be
produced at lower cost.
Administrative benefits
• Officials are able to aggregate and tailor development plans to the needs of the people on local
basis throughout the country.

• The reassignment of government officials to local levels, increases their sensitivity to local needs.

• Development of greater administrative capability among local governments officers who have the
opportunity to develop their managerial and technical skills.

• It provides a structure through which the activities of training central government ministries,
departments or agencies involved in development could be co-coordinated more effectively.

• It ensures that flexible and creative administrative innovations can easily be tested and new
policies experienced.
Challenges of Decentralization in Ghana
• Administrative decentralization which involves the inter-service and inter-sectoral
collaboration and cooperation and the integration of some central line ministries,
departments, and agencies has not happened as envisaged because the key
ministries of education and health are yet to be integrated under the
Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies.
Challenges of Decentralization
• Fiscal decentralization has been limited. For instance, the discretion of the
Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies to use proceeds from the
District Assemblies Common Fund is undermined by Section 126(3) of the Local
Governance Act, Act 936 of 2016 which stipulates that “The Minister (responsible
for Local Government and Rural Development) shall, in consultation with the
Minister responsible for Finance, determine the category of expenditure of the
approved development budget of District Assemblies that must in each year be
received by the District Assemblies from the District Assemblies Common Fund”.
Non-functional sub-district structures

• The sub-district structures (Urban/zonal/Town/Area Councils and the Unit

Committees) are either nonfunctional or dysfunctional largely because of a lack
of both human and logistical resources.

• Ayee (2017) observes that their mandates have been taken over by non-
governmental organizations and civil society organizations and therefore they are
irrelevant
Inadequate/low quality of human resources
in the local areas
• The quality of some of the human resources of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District
Assemblies is weak.

• Poor performance of some MMDCE’s and members of Assemblies, who have exhibited
limited knowledge and information about “local government best practices”.

• The criteria for selecting both MMDCEs and members of Assemblies have been
questioned as a result of the performance of some of them

• There is the need to reduce the effects of extreme partisanship in appointing only party
members to the position of MMDCE’s and 30 percent membership of assemblies by
ensuring that even if that is done, some competence and diligence will be introduced into
the process
Conflicts between MP’s and MMDCE’s

• Ghana’s decentralization experience has been characterized by frosty relations

between some MP’s and MMDCE’s because of the latter’s ambition to become
future Members of Parliament

• MMDCE’s lack tenure of office due to the President’s power of dismissal at any
time. Some of them therefore scheme to dislodge MP’s.

• This situation has led to insecurity and conflicts. The constant tension and conflict
between MP’s and MMDCE’s are diversionary and, in some cases, have led to
institutional paralysis and development at the local level.
Centralizing elements

• The constitutional rules for decentralization vests unfettered power in

the President
• appointment of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (Article 242)
• creation of new districts (Section 1(2) of Act 936,
• appointment of 30% of the members of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies
(Article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 5(1d) of Act 936)
• appointment of the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (Article 252 (4) of
the 1992 Constitution).
• The President has the power to dissolve defaulting or non-performing DAs without consulting
the electorate.
• The appointment of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives
and 30% Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assembly members have tended
to undermine accountability as these officials are more accountable to the
President who appointed them, than to the local people.
• All by-laws are approved by the Minister of LGRD.

• The minister of LGRD has power to issue guidelines, in respect of fees to be

charged by the DAs for the service and facilities provided, licenses and permits
issued/rates levied.

• According to Section 88 of Act 462, the DAs require central government

guarantee to raise loans in excess of 25,000 cedis.

• These undermine the effectiveness of DAs to discharge their functions as the

highest political authority in the district.
Conclusion

There is incomplete political, administrative, fiscal, and economic

decentralization, sometimes leading to recentralization.
 Public Policy:
Nature, basic conceptions, definitions and
meaning.

Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi (PhD)

Background to Public Policies

• What are some of the major

developmental challenges facing
this country, Africa and the world
as a whole?

• In which ways do these challenges

affect your life?

• How can these challenges be

addressed?
Background to Public Policies

An important means for addressing societal challenges at the

national, continental and global levels is through the formulation and
implementation of public policies
Public Policy

• Public policies are governments responses to public problems.

• They are important to address the increasing and complex challenges facing
countries (e.g. poverty, domestic and international security, unemployment,
climate change).

• As the fundamental activity of government, public policies are the means by

which governments establish the framework within which citizens function,
which societal goals to pursue and how to (best) pursue them.

• The SDG’s are a classic example of public policies at the global level
What is Public Policy?

• “whatever governments choose to do or not to do” Dye (1972:2)

• “a purposive course of action followed by an actor or a set of actors in

dealing with a problem or matter of public concern” (Anderson, 1984).

• “a set of interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors

concerning the selection of goals and the means of achieving them within a
specified situation where those decisions should, in principle, be within the
power of those actors to achieve” (Jenkins 1978)
Nature and basic features of public policy

They are deliberate plan of action to guide decisions and achieve rational
outcome(s).
As opposed to private policies, public policies relate to issues of the general
public or a section of them.
They are choices of government to do something or to do nothing about an issue
(non-decisions of government are also public policy)
They are made or determined by government and politicians.
Decisions and actions of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), pressure
groups, individuals, among others may influence the decision of government, but
do not constitute public policy.
Public policy is influenced by varied stakeholders and interests and they are
characterized by bargaining and negotiation.
Some public policies in Ghana

• Free senior high school policy

• National Health Insurance Policy
• FCUBE
• National Nutrition Policy
• Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy
(GPRS) I & II
• Bus Rapid Transport (BRT)
• Discuss their rationale, objectives,
impact and challenges
Determinants of Public Policy

Several factors determine why governments adopt certain policies or do what they
do.
• The role of political ideology in shaping public policies
 Public policies in China and those in the USA
 Public policies in Ghana under the CPP and the PP
• Policy contexts both domestic and international
• Available resources
• Political calculus/implications
Questions for discussion

• What are public policies?

• What factors determine the adoption of public policies in Ghana?
• Discuss with appropriate examples, how politics influences the
adoption and implementation of public policies in Ghana
Readings

• Howlett, Michael, Ramesh, M., Perl, Anthony. (2009). Studying Public

Policy – Policy Cycles & Policy Subsystems. Toronto: Oxford University
Press
• Birkland, T. A. (2011). An introduction to the policy process: Theories,
concepts and models of public policy making. Third edition.
Routledge. Chapter 3, (pp. 58-91)
Types of Public Policies

Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi (PhD)

Introduction

• Public policies can be categorized according to two important factors:

 The goals and objectives that they seek to achieve

 The specific sections or target group of the population that they seek to influence

• These two factors determine the kind of response to policies and the kind of
politics that will surround it.

• The nature or type of policy determines the politics around it; “Polices determine
Politics” (Lowi 1964).
Distributive Policies

• These are the most common forms of governmental actions to solve public problems.

• They involve government efforts to allocate benefits to particular sections of the

population.

• They are used to provide tangible government benefits in the form of subsidies, cash,
kind, tax advantages, grants, low cost loans, franchises and licenses to persons, groups
and corporate entities.

• They aim at promoting activities that are desirable and beneficial to society as a whole
but would not be undertaken without government intervention or assistance.

• The assistance is to induce individuals and groups to undertake a required activity.

Distributive Policies

• The current fertilizer subsidy of fifty percent given to farmers under the planting
for food program in Ghana is a typical example of distributive policies.

• Grants for research to universities and private laboratories

• Cash payments for purchase of agricultural crops to support prices

• Direct loans for various aspects of farm improvement such as the purchase of
equipment or soil and water conservation
Redistributive policies

• These are policies and programs intended to readjust the allocation of resources,
wealth, property, rights or some other value among social classes or racial groups
in society.
• The need for redistribution is based on the perception that there are those
already well-endowed and therefore the need to redistribute resources to ensure
social and economic equality
• Thus, such policies and programs transfer the valued items to one group at the
expense of another distinct group.
• Examples of such policies in Ghana are the school feeding program and the
National Health Insurance Scheme.
Protective regulatory policy

• These are policies formulated and enforced to regulate behaviour of individuals, groups
and entities.

• The goal is to help protect society from perceived or potential harm by societal forces or
to correct market failures

• Policy makers use empirical evidence to argue their case out and may use coercion to get
people to comply with protective regulatory policies.

• Typical examples are policies on pollution control and clean air, environmental health and
forests, illegal mining, smoking and food safety.
• Operation Vanguard, a joint military-police task force to ensure maximum compliance.
Competitive regulatory policies

• These are policies which have the intent of limiting the provision of specific goods and
services to only one or a few designated deliverers chosen from a large number of
competitors.

• The regulated goods and services are thought to be important enough to the public good
to require public governmental intervention for one or both of two reasons:
 the good or service being allocated is scarce, for example, the finite limit of radio or
television channels;
 the public has a stake in the manner in which the good or service is provided. For example
localities needed to be guaranteed they would receive some rail freight service.

• They are competitive because although there are many potential providers, only one can
be chosen at any given time. An example is regulation of the airspace by the NCA.
Material and Symbolic Policies

• Policies can also be categorized according to the effect they have on the
population.

• Material policies provide tangible resources or substantive power to

beneficiaries, or thy impose real advantage on those affected by the policy.

• Examples are policies on minimum wage, and income support like the LEAP
Material and Symbolic Policies

• Symbolic policies tend to have no tangible effect on people and typically involve
little or no money.

• They only reflect social values and are meant to uphold state principles.

• An example is the policy to be on our feet when the national anthem is being
played.
Conclusion

• Classifying public policies helps us to understand their goals and objectives as

well as their impact on the target population.

• It is also useful in understanding how public policies turn out particularly during
implementation.

• The nature of policy activities particularly during implementation will vary

according to the policy types.
Trial Question

With appropriate examples, discuss the four main types of public

policies according to Ripley and Franklin (1986).
Stages of public policy making
(The Policy Cycle)

Kofi Ayisi (PhD)

Introduction

• The policy making process is viewed as sequential, evolving along five delineated
stages.

• It is also seen as a deliberative cycle, with specific activities at each stage of the
process.

• It is a dynamic ongoing process, with various actors, institutions and interests

• Thus, the process responds to demands made by various forces and stakeholders
Stages of the policy making process

• Howlett and Ramesh identify five main stages of the policy making process. These
are;

 agenda setting

 policy formulation

 adoption (or decision making)

 implementation

 evaluation
Agenda setting

• What is an agenda?
 It is a list or outline of things to be considered or done.

 It is a collection of problems; understandings of causes solutions, and other elements of public

problems that come to the attention of members of the public and their governmental officials.
• An agenda can be a list of bills that are before the legislature

• Agenda setting
 Agenda setting is the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public
and elite attention.
Agenda setting

• The list of subjects or problems to which governmental officials, and people

outside of government closely associated with those officials, are paying some
serious attention at any given time.

• Out of the set of all conceivable subjects or problems to which officials could be
paying attention, they do in fact seriously attend to some rather than others.

• So the agenda-setting process narrows this set of conceivable 'subjects to the set
that actually becomes the focus of attention. (Kingdon,1984: 3-4)
Levels of Agenda

• Policy Universe
 This is the largest level of the agenda. It comprises the list of all the possible ideas that could
ever be advanced in any society.

• Systemic Agenda
 Any issue, problem or idea that could possibly be considered by participants in the policy
process, provided that the idea does not fall outside well-established social, political,
ideological, and legal norms.

 all issues that are commonly perceived by members of the political community as meriting
public attention and as involving matters within the legitimate jurisdiction of existing
governmental authority
Levels of Agenda

• Institutional agenda
 If a problem or idea is successfully elevated from the systemic agenda, it moves to the
institutional agenda
 This is a list of items clearly up for the active and serious consideration of authoritative
decision makers
 The list of issues that is being currently considered by a governmental institution, such as an
agency, legislature, or court.

• Decision agenda
 The agenda that contains items that are about to be acted upon by a governmental body, such
as bills, court cases, or regulations.
Levels of Agenda
The agenda setting process
• The first step in the agenda setting stage is to structure the problem
 This involves not only recognizing that an issue exists, but also studying the problem and its causes
in detail.
 It also involves determining how aware the public is of the issue which is mostly a social problem,
deciding who will participate in fixing it, and considering what means are available to accomplish
the solution.

• This helps policy makers to gauge which policy changes, if any, are needed to address the
identified. The agenda, therefore, means “which problems have a better chance of being
addressed”.

• The agenda can be set by the public, interest groups, government officials and the media
• Television and radio networks, play a major role in agenda setting.By deciding what will
be news, the media set the agenda for political discussion
Activities at the agenda-setting stage

• Lobbying

• Groups seeking policy change seek to advance issues closer to the decision agenda

• Groups that oppose change seek to block issues from advancing on the agenda

• Policy Advocacy

• Groups go public with a problem by using symbols and images to induce greater media and
public sympathy for their cause; take advantage of policy windows.
Stages of public policy making
(The Policy Cycle)
Kofi Ayisi (PhD)
Policy Formulation

• After deciding on an issue/problem, public policy is formulated or developed.

• Policy formulation is the development of policy alternatives for dealing with

problems on the agenda.

• It involves assessing possible solutions to policy problems or exploring the

various options available for addressing a problem.
Policy Formulation

• This stage is typically marked by discussions and debate between government

officials and bureaucracies (ministries), interest groups, policy think tanks, and
individual citizens (actors).

• They discuss policy alternatives to identify potential obstacles, to suggest

alternative solutions, set clear goals and the steps need to be taken to achieve them

• At this stage, alternative policy solutions are compared and a decision made about
what sort of solution will be supported.
Policy Formulation

• The resulting policy must be acceptable to both the legislators and the public; the
process of building support for policies is called policy legitimization

• Policy legitimization makes it easy for policies to be implemented successfully.

• This stage often requires negotiations, bargaining and compromises before the policy can
be developed.
Decision stage

• This is when a policy proposal is chosen out of the many options on the table.

• The process is very much the same as agenda setting and formulation stages.

• Policy makers decide on which policy option will best address the public problem
at last cost and greatest efficiency.

• The main actors here are the president, cabinet and other authoritative actors.
Decision stage

“Decision making depends on the situations in which policy makers

work. Pressed for quick recommendations, they cannot begin long
studies. Faced with organizational rivalries, competition and turf
struggles, they may justifiably be less than candid about their plans.
What is reasonable to do depends on the context one is in, in ordinary
life no less than in public administration” (Forester 1984:23)
Policy Implementation

• It is the process of “translating policy decisions into action” (Howlett et al. 2009)

• “It is a process of interaction between the setting of goals and actions geared
towards achieving them” (Pressman & Wildavsky 1984).

• “Policy implementation encompasses those actions by public and private

individuals (groups) that are directed at the achievement of objectives set forth in
prior policy decisions” (Van Meter & Van Horn, 1975)
Policy Implementation

• This is the stage where funds (budgets) for executing the policy are provided, the
requisite personnel assigned and rules of procedure developed and followed.

• It comprises all the means for carrying out goals of a policy.

• Key actors at the policy implementation stage include government officials, street-
level bureaucrats, non-governmental actors and the citizenry
Challenges of Policy Implementation
• Gaps in policy goals and objectives and reality on the ground( policy may not be well formulated)

• Inadequate financial resources and personnel to implement the policy

• Lack of administrative capability to achieve the desired policy goals.

• Lack of cooperation among implementing agencies

• Lack of support from the legislative, executive and judicial wings of government as well as being
actively supported by organized constituency groups.

• Corruption and inefficiency.

Policy Evaluation

• After a policy has been put into effect, three is th need to assesses the extent to which the
policy is working.

• Policy evaluation is the stage at which it is determined how a public policy has actually
fared in action; with judgments made about policy success or failure.

• It assesses the effectiveness of a policy in terms of its perceived intentions and results
(Gerson 1997:120)

• Policy evaluation involves politicians and bureaucrats dealing with a policy in question;
other non state actors like think tanks, and the public when they vote in elections.
Types of policy evaluation

Policy evaluations can be classified into three broad categories-

Administrative evaluation
• usually undertaken within the government by specialist agencies to determine whether government services
are being delivered efficiently, while achieving 'value for money’ and within the principles of justice and
democracy.
• Concerned with budgets, priorities, efficiencies, and expenditures.
• It is intended to ensure that policies are accomplishing their expected goals at the least possible cost and
with the least possible burden on individual citizens.
Types of policy evaluation
Judicial evaluation
• This is concerned with the legal issues relating to the manner in which government programs are implemented.
• This type of evaluations are carried out by the judiciary and are concerned with possible conflicts between government
actions and constitutional provisions or established standards of administrative conduct and 'individual rights.

 Political evaluation
• Political evaluation is undertaken by just about everyone with any interest in political life .

• They are usually not systematic nor technical; are inherently partisan, one-sided, and biased.
• This is because such actors bring a specific ideological and fixed perspective or 'frame' to the evaluation
process
• Political evaluations simply attempt to label a policy a success or failure, followed by demand for
continuation or change.

The three types of evaluation differ in the way they are conducted, the actors they involve and their effects.
Three main outcomes of policy evaluation

First, a policy can be judged successful and continued in its present form.

Second, a policy can be judged lacking in some areas and efforts are made, for its
reform.

Third, a policy can be judged a complete failure (or success), and it can be
terminated.

• The outcomes of policy evaluation provide feedback to some other stage of the
policy process; in most cases to the agenda-setting stage, making the process
cyclical.
Challenges of Evaluation

• Public policies may be vague and ambitious and potentially

contradictory.

• Policy success or failure is relative and may be interpreted differently

by different policy actors.

• Program outputs and impacts may vary over time.

PAHS 318 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
GROUP 14

ETHICS & PUBLIC

SECTOR MANAGEMENT

1
 OBJECTIVES

• Definition Of Ethics.

• Sources Of Public Sector Ethics.

• Role Of Ethics In Public Sector

Management.

• Limitations Of Ethics As A Tool

For Managing The Public Sector. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

2
What are Ethics?
Ethics is an important facet of both business and public administration.

Ethics may be regarded as the standards of behavior that determine how

individuals ought to behave in whatever situation they find themselves.

However, ethics is not the same as morality or religion, neither is it

strictly about the law or following orders.

Ethics requires upholding moral virtues especially those that are

universally acceptable.

Examples of ethics include; integrity, selflessness, honesty, loyalty,

respect etc.
3
 Difference between Ethics and
Morality
Ethics and morals relate to ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ conduct. While
they are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different.

Ethics refer to standards provided by external sources eg

codes of conduct in the work place or principles in religion
whereas Morals refers to an individual’s own principles
regarding right and wrong.

4
In public service, ethical behavior is essential to ensure
that decisions are made in the best interest of the public. It
is important for public servant to maintain high ethical
standards in order to build trust with the public and to
ensure that public service is delivered effectively and
efficiently.

5
What Is Public Sector Ethics?

Public sector ethics refers to the application of ethical

principles and values in the context of public
administration, governance, and the delivery of public
services. It focuses on the moral obligations and
responsibilities of public sector officials, employees, and
organizations in serving the public interest and upholding
the principles of good governance.

6
Public sector ethics involves the following key aspects:

1. Integrity : Integrity refers to the quality of being honest, ethical, and

having strong moral principles.

2.Accountability: Accountability means being answerable for one's actions,

decisions, and responsibilities. It involves acknowledging and accepting the
consequences of one's choices and actions, whether they are positive or
negative.

3.Impartiality and fairness: Impartiality refers to the quality of being

unbiased and neutral, without favoring any particular side or party.
4.Respect: Public servants should treat colleagues and the public with
respect.
7
Sources of Public Sector Ethics
1.Government Regulations: This is considered the most primary
source of Public sector ethics. These regulations establish the legal
framework for maintaining ethical standards in the public sector.

2. Professional Codes of Conduct: This is another important source

of Public sector ethics. This is established by professional
organization and it outlines the ethical responsibilities of public sector
employees. Theses codes of Conduct outlines principles such as
Integrity, accountability and transparency.
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3.Public expectations of ethical behavior: Public sector employees are
responsible for serving the interest of the public and are therefore held in
high ethical standards. Citizens expect public sector employees to act with
integrity, fairness and honesty when making decisions that affect the
public. These expectations help to strengthen the importance of ethical
behavior in the public sector.

4.Institutional Culture: Most institutions have values and norms they

uphold such as accountability, fairness and transparency that employees
have to live by in order to ensure a safe space for the environment and the
individuals as well. It refers to the shared values, beliefs and practices in an
institution that shapes the behavior of an individual in an organization.
These can help prevent conflict of interest, corruption and other
unethical practices
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5.International legislation: A large number of international
organizations have developed codes of ethics for politicians and
public sector workers of each state who is a member of such
organization and this is done through international conventions

Reference.
Inge Amundsen2009

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 Roles Of Ethics In Public Sector Management
Ethics are essential in the public sector management because they
guide officials to make decisions that are just and fair to all citizens.

1. Encouraging fairness and justice: Ethics in the public sector

ensures that public officials make decisions that are fair and just to
all citizens regardless of their social status or political affiliation.
Public resources and opportunities are distributed equitably.

2. Promoting accountability and transparency: The role of ethics

is to ensure that public officials are held accountable for their actions
and decisions. It also ensures that public officials are transparent in
their dealings.
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3. Ensuring compliance with the law: Ethics help to ensure
that public officials comply with the law and adhere to ethical
standards. This includes ensuring that public officials do not
engage in corrupt practices and that they are transparent in
their dealings as well as acting in the interest of the people.

4. Promoting public interest: Another role ethics play in the

public sector is to help to ensure that public officials act in the
best interests of the public rather than their own interest, and
also ensure public officials engage with stakeholders and take
into account their needs and concerns.

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 Limitations of Ethics In Public Sector Management

1. Conflict of values/Interests : When the values or interest of public sector

managers differ from that of the general public, their decision-making process may
be biased towards their personal agenda rather than considering the public good.

2. Excessive Pressure to achieve results: When faced with excessive pressure,

managers may resort to unethical practices or shortcuts to meet demanding targets.
These constraints may create challenges in adhering to ethical principles, as
difficult trade-offs and compromises may be necessary to meet competing
demands.

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3. Complexity of Structure/ System: The intricate and multifaceted nature of
the public sector organizations, their bureaucratic structures and the systems in
which they operate present challenges when it comes to upholding ethics in the
public sector management. This makes the tendency of ignoring some of the
protocols or by pass the system in the process of carrying out their duties very
high.

4. Political Interference: In the implementation of public policy, public sector

managers faces significant pressure from politicians. Such interferences are
usually unethical and serves the interest of politicians rather than the interest of
society and this forces public sector managers to be unethical in their
operations.

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5. Lack of Law Enforcement Mechanisms: When there is no clear
system to check unethical behaviour of public sector managers, or the
punishments given to people who engage in unethical practices are not
severe, then there will be an increase in unethical practices in the public
sector.

6. Difference In Stakeholders Interests: While achieving results and

demonstrating effectiveness are important aspects of public sector
management, they are often driven by external stakeholders such as
politicians, interest groups, or the public to meet certain targets or
deliver specific outcomes. In a situation where the interest of these
stakeholders are different, public sector managers are likely to side with
one of the stakeholders which will benefit them, and this undermines the
integrity and ethics.
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CONCLUSION
Ethics are the universally accepted principles of what is right and what is
wrong. In the implementation of pubic policy, Public Administrators are to
use ethics as a tool in the implementation process to ensure good governance.
However, they sometimes face challenges that prevent them from acting
ethically. To effectively manage the public sector, it is important to
complement ethics with other tools and approaches, such as legal
frameworks, accountability mechanisms, transparency measures, and
stakeholder engagement. These additional tools can help address the
limitations of ethics and create a more comprehensive and robust system for
managing public sector organizations.

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