Evolution of public administration and Bangladesh

Globalization and diversification of services in public sector have brought about striking changes in public administration in the twenty first century. As modern civilization is expanding problems are rising inside and outside public administration posing wider complications for state mechanism. At the same time people's expectations from civil administration are also increasing.

Different initiatives and reforms by states and rational guidelines from the international stakeholders have transformed the visage of administration of the current era. Sociologist Warren Bennis precisely predicted that administration and bureaucracy are formulated on the basis of requisites of prevailing times, conventions and heritage. Simultaneously, bureaucratic features and administrative tenets are restructured as time goes on.

How Civil Administration Evolved
England introduced its own bureaucracy at the end of 19th century which was influenced by the ideology promulgated by Max Weber. Its organizational structure was based on merit and it was centrally controlled. Political neutrality and competence were the essential qualities of bureaucrats and administrative and constitutional codes were sacrosanct to them. The administrative functions of former British colonies and Commonwealth member states were founded in light of the same principles.

According to Max Weber military forces, law and order management and balance between power and politics had to be preserved through bureaucracy in what he called an "Empire State".  Critics often say that the colonial and old-fashioned administrative approach has lost its efficiency to serve people. Keeping this point in view New Public Management (NPM) was introduced during the 80s of last century as a result of endeavors for administrative reforms globally. NPM aimed to upgrade the professionalism and capability of civil administration in the middle of competition instigated by market economy.

It also targeted to reduce the size of civil administration by adopting the policies of curtailing expenditures and promoting the use of outsourcing. NPM emphasized on innovations and gradual administrative advancement too. NPM was followed by several developing nations besides prosperous countries like the United States of America, United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries.

However, precarious management of private sector, weakening of democratic accountability and not being able to transform citizens' demands into public sector's main objective are underlined as some of the limitations of NPM. The idea of "Whole of Government" emerged after the drawbacks of NPM were identified at the beginning of 21st century. The norm of New Public Governance or NPG placed citizens in the hub of policymaking and service delivery systems. Putting people in the center of all administrative activities was the principal goal of NPG.

At the same time New Public Service or NPS laid highest emphasis on citizens, communities and civic society for establishing effective civil administration. Democratic civil administration regards citizens as the most vital factors for smooth materialization of governance. People are not just clients or customers like archaic bureaucratic perceptions. Under this management the government is expected to be open to all, accountable, sensible and dedicated to serve all citizens equally and competently. Civil administration also aims to make citizens aware of their own responsibilities and to build up a cooperative alliance between people and civil organizations.

Bangladesh Perspectives
Coming back to the context of Bangladesh, civil administration in this country evolved with influence from the administrative policies which were exercised by the colonial British government during the previous centuries. Initiatives were taken to make civil administration people-oriented and suitable for an independent state following the liberation of Bangladesh under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his directives on administrative reforms.

Bangabandhu said on 1st February 1972 while addressing a conference of government officials, "My dear government employees, you will have to dedicate yourselves for the service of people and place national interest on top of everything else. From now on you will have to change your past bureaucratic mindset and consider yourselves as service providers to the country's citizens." These instructions from Bangabandhu vividly portrayed the outline of civil administration in Bangladesh.

Changes in civil administration globally during the end of last century influenced Bangladesh's public administration too. Former American President Bill Clinton set up National Performance Review Taskforce in 1993 under the supervision of former American vice president Al Gore to reform civil administration in the United States by utilizing the dictums of market economy.

That taskforce suggested creating a government that works better and costs less. To implement this suggestion from the taskforce, US administration terminated 2, 52, 000 employees, relaxed a lot of government regulations and constituted a department for stipulating customer service standard. In the same way in 1996 World Bank suggested Bangladesh to go for broader privatization and to reduce the size of civil administration in its report titled, "Government That Works: Reforming the Public Sector." Department for International Development or DFID also stated reports on Bangladesh's civil administration in 1993 and 2000 titled "Towards Better Government in Bangladesh" and "Public Administration Reform Commission (PARC)" respectively.

A training program titled "Managing At The Top" or MATT was carried out by Bangladesh government and DFID to improve the professional skills of government employees of Bangladesh. A quality enhancement program "Performance Improvement Plan" was introduced under MATT.

Formulation of "Citizen Charter" is another reconstructive measure by Bangladesh government for speeding up administrative reforms. "Citizen Charter" was circulated throughout all government offices in 2007 to ensure fast and improved services for people. Another "Citizen Charter" was launched in 2010 with cooperation from UNDP under Civil Service Change Management Project. All government offices are under obligations to serve people according to Citizen Charter and citizens come to know about their rights and privileges in details by taking a look at Citizen Charter.

Innovative approaches to the provisions of public services are now part of our country's civil administrative culture. Civil administration of Bangladesh is devoted to facilitate providing services to the people in a hassle-free, convenient and faster way. A department called "Governance Innovation Unit" has been set up in Prime Minister's Office to enable innovative measures at the field level and this work has been institutionalized under the monitoring of Cabinet Division.

Inclusion of people in government programs has been extended by changes of political values, socio-economic development and public awareness. Several beneficial policies including development strategies for women empowerment and enhancement of education are being expedited through the participation of civil society, NGOs and social platforms. Professional skills of government employees are being expanded by obtaining higher qualifications and attending advanced trainings in reputed foreign universities.

Government employees of our country are also getting familiar with the administrative systems of other countries in this way. Such participation in trainings and workshops in foreign institutions is also helpful for widening the mindset of government officials for conferring better services to the people.

Conclusion
A lot of modulations and transformations have taken place in administrative activities worldwide in course of time. Civil administration in our country at present is much more efficient, consolidated and coordinated than any other previous periods. In Bangladesh under the ongoing circumstances transparency and openness are much higher as a result of expansion of education, spread of internet and availability of social networks.

The working procedure of our government has gone through positive changes and it has also initiated modernized democratic views. Involvement of people in policymaking and implementation of policies is a new dimension in the present Bangladesh. The integrated successful breakthroughs of the government and the country's people have placed us on the highway of prosperity and this forward march will continue until we reach our ultimate goal. Considering our mental posture, the government's commitments, patronage from government organizations and our firm determination the existing time belongs to us, it belongs to Bangladesh.


The writer is Senior Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh