Chapter 7-7.1 Comparative Public Administration

7.1 Comparative Public Administartion

• Comparative Public Administartion is a full fledged subfield administration which essentially is based on idea of open system just as there is an environment within which an organisation functions , 
• similarly Administration of any Administrative unit say of a country or a city also has its ecology suprasystem.
• As a result it becomes crucial as well as beneficial that two different Administrative units are compared with ref. to their ecologies so that similarity and differences can be understood and accordingly informed choices can be made regarding what comparative lessons can be drawn.
• While at the same time what precautions need to be taken regarding context sensitivity.

         

Comparison -

• 2 Admtv units
• Their Ecology
• Similarity and differences

Informed Choices

• Comparative lessons /Learning
• Context sensitivity.

• The core idea in CPA is that through comparison an attempt is made to understand what can be applied across ecology and what cannot be.
• More specifically comparison will answer Questions as what can be adopted or at least adapted by another unit but what cannot be replicated and must be rejected.
• The theory, model, policy for reform which has worked successfully for one admin. unit may not automatically be successful in another Admin unit because of contextual or ecological differences.

WHAT CAN BE/SHOULD-

• ADOPTED (IN TOTO)
• ADAPTED(AFTER CHANGES)
• REJECTED(DOESN'T APPLY)

Thus the core idea in CPA is two fold

1.Being open to learning 

2.Being context sensitive and understanding your own ecological context.

DEFINITIONS OF CPA

1.ROBERT JACKSON- 

"CPA is that facet of study of public admin. which is concerned with making a rigorous cross-cultural comparison of structure and process of administration of public affair."

2.EDWARD SCHILIS

"An Analysis is considered comparative if through it different societies are systematically comapared so that their identity and uniqueness can be studied disclosed and examined "

3.By COMPARATIVE ADMINISTARTIVE GROUP-(CAG)

"CPA  is a theory of PA as applied to diverse cultural and national settings and the body of factual data by which it can be examined and tested"

CPA=theroy building and then theroy testing

CAG was set up by American society of Public administration (ASPA) for supporting and developing comparative researches in P.A. and this abstract definition of CPA by CAG is essentially hinting that the twin process of Theory Testing and Theory Building.

Thus CPA can be described as a subfield of PA which seeks to make PA a more cross-cultural discipline whereas traditionally it has been culture-bound.

tpa->culture-bound
cpa->cross-cultural.
validate science->reliable body of language.

OBJECTIVE/FEATURES OF CPA-

From the foregoing discussion , it can be understood that CPA means tha carrying out cross cultural comparison and testing the validity certain theories /ideas of PA.

The objective is to challenge the myth of universality and to guard against an administraive monoculture.

Traditionally there has been a tendency to hurriedly proclaim any idea as a universal best practice without even necessiating validity in a variety of ecological conditioning factors.

1.ETZIONI AND DUBLOW

In this context Etzioni and Bublow had following observation -"The CPA helps in overcoming the natural inclination to view the world through egocentric and ethnocentric lenses.

• Through this observation Etzioni and Dublow are pointing at the widespread tendency among classical administartive thinkers to hurriedly propound their theories as the best and as universally applicable .
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• This was a reflection of their ego-centric approach wherein they regarded their prescription as ideal and genric application , nomatter what is specific ecological features in the admin units where they were to be used.
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• For example-Taylor , Fayol , Gullick and Urwick , Weber each termed this theory as the best and universally applicable.
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• Gullick and Urwick went to the extent of saying-"Administration is Administartion, Principle is principle"ie..Administartive requirement are same everywhere therefore same principles are universally the best.
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• Further the ethnocentric tendency also prevailed wherein thinkers and researchers belonging to particlular ethniity /nationality would tend to use a criteria specific to their ethnicity or nationality for comparing , evaluating or recommending startegies to others.
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• The ethnocentric bias typically meant that slef styled western experts (like USA and multilateral Agencies dominated by it like IMF , World Bank ) tend to promote and even forcibly impose a certain brand of administartive models and policy prescriptions to all other nations.
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• Administartive models and policy prescriptions to all other nations , irrespective of contextual differences and uniqueness.
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• As a result an aministrative monoculture was being promoted specially in the initial year of post world war II period.
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• Thus According to Etzioni And Dublow , in TPA egocentric and ethnocentric tendencies meant some parochial theories were being proposed as universal even without mecessary validation.
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• Any challenge was neither considered necessary nor practical.
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• CPA highlights the fact that the world is hetrogenous not homogenous and therefore whats required is administartive poly-culture ie.. plural theories as per contextual needs rather than blindly relying on monoculture.. iee.. the so called universal theories were actually not universal.

Thus two goals of CPA are- 

1.accepting and respecting the difference.
2.seeking a more genuine and truly generic science of administration.

At the same time the two anti goals of CPA are
1.Monoculturalism
2. Parochialism

2.ROBERT JACKSON

One of the main contributors in CPA Robert Jackson has discussed following four Aspects of CPA -

1.Systematic comparative Analysis ie..Learning the results and accumulating the empirical findings, through cross cultural exploration of theories and practices.

2.To explore Administrative patterns ie..once comparisons are carried out they are bound to be certain noticeble patterns ie.. some factors which will enable informed choices.

3.seeking a genric Hypotheisis ie a genuine conclusion can be drawn/ derieved from patterns which emerged through rigourous comparison. In other words through theory testing, a better theory can be built.

4.Seeking a science of administration

Robert jackson made the following observation 

• " A science of PA is worth seeking , even if its not fully achieveable." 

• What Jackson is analysing here is the most crucial Goal of CPA that it seeks a true science of Public Administartion ie.. a body of knoweldge which will indeed reliable or will have a better chance of reliability because its based on rigourous comparative validation or testing.

• The veiled(hidden) reference is to the TPA or so called classical science of administration Jackson is suggesting how that so called science was actually a hurried or pseudo science because anything and everything was being procliamed as universally applicable science without even testing across ecologies.

In this context,its pertinent to recall Robert Dahl, He observed-

"The claim to science will sound hollow till the time so called universal theories and principles are tested in a variety of 

• cross cultural , 
• historic , 
• Socio Ecological 
• Economic and
• Political Context."

Through comparative Testing across ecology, better knoweldge is gained about administrative patterns and about what may work and what may not work in diverse setting thus a  more valid science or a better genuine science like maths /physics because it deals with human beings.

Thus ,a perfect Administrative science or a fully genric set of principles may not be possible isobecause of tremendous diversity and tremendous dynamism but a better science of administration is definately possible and worth seeking via comparative testing /learning and accomodating pattern in a more informed way/manner.

3.ROBERT GLOBEIWESKY 

An Administrative commentator RG has observed the following four areas of CPA emphasis 

1.

• An Emphasis that org must be viewed as embedded in its specific cultural and political setting idea any administrative org or admtv system doesn't exist in a vaccum rather it exist as a part or subsystem of the ecology of that country of admin unit.
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• This Ecology has specific features determined by history , geography, resource endowment, economy, stage of economic developmen Nature of polity, features of society and socio demographic features. 
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• Therefore and adminisration is conditioned by its ecology, we can neither understand administartion Administartion in isolation of its ecology nor transplant it from one ecology to another with same results;

2. 

•  An emphasis that principal of administartion are seriously inadequate ie..not much reliance can be placed on so called universal principles because they were presumed correct and proposed as universal even without any testing across ecology. 

• CPA has the features objective to expose the inadequacy of so called universal principles principles by highlighting the reality that ecological features and situation in different ecologies are different and therefore rigid principles will be inadequate.

3.

• An emphasis that study and practice of administartion is pervasively/widely value loaded. 

• This statement takes forward the features of ecological supra system conditioning the administartive sub system. 

• Every Ecology or country may have different values.

• Therefore it becomes imperative for public administartion to try and acheive those specific values as enshrined in national policy of constitution.

Therefore PA cant hav value neutral stand as dichotomy theory would have emphasised.

4.An emphasis that every discipline has a pure part and an applied part ie..like any other discipline .

PA also has theory ie a pure part ie..Ecology decides the practical/ Applied part and therefore if at all a conflict arises between the theory being used the practical Requirements of ecology or the people, then the practical requirement should govern PA.

In other words theory must be aligned to practice.

4.FERREL HEADY

Ferrel Heady has given a set of five motivating concerns behind CPA 

1.to search for a theory ie.. building of a more valid theory

2.An urge for practical Applications so as to be able to undertstand and resolve specific problems of underdeveloped and developing countries.

3.The incidental contribution to wider field of comparative politics because  political system of different countries significantly influence their administartive system.

4.To support administartion law related interest  because Administrative policy inseparably related.

5.Comprative analysis of on going Administrative problems ie learning about Administrative Problems.

5.FW RIGGS 

• FW Riggs is regarded as father of CPA has identified three characteristics trends created by CPA namely a move from normative to empirical, ideographic to nomothetic, and non-ecological to ecological.

• FW Riggs have noticed that traditionally public administartion supported a normative approach, most of the theories or public administration prescribe the norms ie..certain universal principles as to how organisation should have administered.

• As a result these prescritive model didn't accomodate the actual contextual conditions. They believed that one best method or a universal principle or prescription can be the norm for good administration.

• However, CPA started emphasizing the ecological realities of a given administrative context.

• Thus a trend towards empirical or descriptive studies was initiated by CPA.

• Descriptive model will study empirical or observed reality and will focus on "WHAT IS" rather than "WHAT SHOULD BE".

• Thus a Trend towards more open system Approach -realistic and pragmatic has been the objective of CPA.

• According to Riggs Ideographic Studies are those which involve a culture bound approach or an approach fixated on a particular Ideology. Such an approach tend to be parochial , egocentric and ethnocentric and therefore tends to percieve or visualise the whole world from the reference point of a single Ideology.

• As a result it recommends Identical approach or Administrative momo-culture because it cannot tolerate or accept a contrarian Approach.

• Nomothetic studies on the other hand adopt an approach which accepts and respects diversity and seeks to explore plural context specific solutions instead of singular ethnocentric solutions;

• Nomothetic theories have great tolerance for cross cultural and cross contextual hetrogeneity and accordingly and administrative poly-culture is attempted in CPA instead of monoculture pushed by TPA.

• Finally Riggs have observed that TPA were non ecological in so far as they dindn't consider ecology as significant ;Their theories and administrative recommendations were believed to be universally valid irrespective of ecological diversity.

• Thus, TPA's belief was that -Ecology doesn't matter to sound administartion.
• Good principles are universally good and contextual variations aren't required.

• The CPA challenge this notion and started a trend towards ecological studies where in ecology would be considered most crucial behaviour affecting Administration.

• As a supra system, ecology will  independently dictate terms and administration will have to accomodate and response to such ecological challenge.