POLI 213 INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Lecturer: Dr. Emmanuel Debrah, Contact Information: edebrah@ug.edu.gh

Principles of Administration (part 2) SESSION FOUR

Session Overview In this section, we explore the importance of human factor in the attainment of organizational efficiency. It begins by examining the Hawthorne experiment which Elton Mayo undertook in order to understand human interactions and their effect on organizational function. In the 1930s and later 1990s, public administration underwent a radical change from being a principle-based to one that focused attention on ethics, morality and business (embraced private sector behavior/culture).

Session outline Important topics to be covered in this session are: Topic one: Human relations principles Topic two: New public administration Topic three: New public management

Human Relation Principles Topic one

The Hawthorne Experiment From 1927 to 1932, Elton Mayo led a group of Harvard scholars to carry out an experiment in the Western Electrics Company in Hawthorne near Chicago, USA. The purposes of the study were to: Examine how physical work conditions affect the productivity of factory employees. Determine the effect of changing conditions on the efficiency and output of workers as a group. Examine the role of fatigue and monotony on group productivity.

The Hawthorne Experiment In the experiment, the researchers segregated a group of six women who were assembling telephone relays and placed them in a test-room for a period of two years. The researchers observed the responses of the women to various changes in their working conditions. The researchers introduced working conditions into the activities of the women such as shorter hours of work, varied rest pauses and refreshments.

The Hawthorne Experiment It was discovered that output increased significantly anytime a change was introduced in the work conditions. Conclusions production does not depend on work conditions, change in production is due to attention and recognition. worker-management conflict occurs primarily as a result of emotional attitudes of workers rather than difficulties they experience in work condition, or inadequate remuneration.

Principles of Human Relations Theory It emphasized the effect of social needs and informal groups on the level of productivity. It views workers as social beings whose social life must be understood. Work is a group activity. Small informal groups are found to be exceedingly significant in the functioning of organizations. Social rewards and sanctions are the strongest motivators on the job.

Importance of Human Relations theory It showed that human beings are complex and influential input into organizational performance. It led to the understanding that informal groups are critical to workers’ inspiration. It highlighted the importance of workers communication in an organization.

Criticism against Human Relations it is criticized for failing to recognize the inevitability of competition and conflict between workers and management based on class difference. it overemphasized the importance of people and the kind of interaction that should define the relationship between management and workers to the neglect of structure as the basis of organizations. it neglected the role of the formal system and procedures in achieving organizational efficiency.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS Examine Elton Mayo’s Human Relations Principles in contemporary Ghanaian public sector. The Human Relations Principles are as relevant to contemporary Ghanaian public organizations as they were in the industrial countries in the 1930s’. Discuss.

The NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TOPIC TWO

What is the New Public Administration? NPA refers to moving from the techniques of administration and emphasizing values, ethics, and morals as means of dealing with societal problems. It emphasizes the capacity of the public administrative system to effect social change and insists that public administration should be sensitive towards the goals of social service and welfare.

The goals of the New Public Administration Do away with bureaucratic/hierarchical structures. Make public administration a democratic form of organization. human beings are not static factor of production, and so cannot be treated as machines in organizations. Draws attention to the central role of personnel and values and ethics. Encourage innovation and change in the operations of public administration.

criticisms against the New Public Administration While moving public administration from principles to moral goals of administration, it has been criticized. nothing significant changed the status and face of public administration. Some scholars have described NPA as an ‘illusion of paradigm shift’ because it held a simplistic view of public administration.

The New Public Management Third topic

What is the New Public Management? In the advent of liberalization, privatization and the dominating influence of market economy in the 1990s, some scholars advocated changes in the administration of public organizations public administration should be market-based or what became known as ‘entrepreneurial government’. This means that the public sphere should be managed as it is in the private sector.

What is the New Public Management? It was argued that public administration should focus on management in order to make its operations decisive and proactive. It seeks to make public administration, effective, action-oriented, practice-oriented and the focus of public administration is to enhance efficient management of public organizations.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS Outline and discuss the salient components of the New Public Administration. To what extent has the New Public Management paradigm transformed the landscape of public administration?

reference Osborne, D and Gaebler, T. (1993). Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector. New York: Penguin Books.