QUESTION 1

An era of Change

"There has been a revolution in the management of the public sectors of complex countries. The traditional model of public administration that predominated for most of the twentieth century has changed since the mid-1980s to flexible market-based form of public management. This is not basically a matter of reform or a minor change in management style, but a change in the function of government in society and the relationship between Government and citizenry. Traditional public administration has been discredited theoretically and practically, and adoption of new forms of public management means the emergence of a new paradigm in the public sector.

This new concept poses a direct challenge to several of what had previously been regarded as fundamental principles of established public administration. The first of these was that of bureaucracy, those governments have to organize themselves according to the hierarchical, bureaucratic principles most clearly enunciated in the classic analysis of bureaucracy by the German Sociologist Max Weber.

(a) What is bureaucracy?

(b) List the salient features of a bureaucratic organization.

(c) What are several potential benefits of bureaucracy?

(d) What are keys criticisms levelled against bureaucratic organisations?

(e) List down major emerging issues that influence the performance of bureaucratic organisations.

QUESTION 2

(a) What are dominating themes underlying the Civil Service reforms in the Commonwealth countries?

(b) List down solution strategies to adopt for Reforms in the Civil Service.

QUESTION 3

(i) What are the major problems associated with public enterprises?

(ii) Why there is require controlling public enterprises?

(ii) How this control is being exercised?

QUESTION 4

What is similarity and difference between management of the public sector and that of the private sector? You are advice to show your answer by examples.