THE ENVIRONMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (DPA540)

The Environment of Public Administration

Too much concern for the fundamental and process-oriented principles and too little attention paid to the milieu or the environment within which the principles are to apply could be a public administration shortcoming. More so in transitional societies undergoing the process of change and development. The set of traditional principles of POSDCORB were viable and relevant during the time Gulick and Urwick coined the acronym for an American society not as complex as it is today. Presently, even in our country, the effectiveness of a system or of a process should be measured in terms of what it can do to improve the lives of people and secure for them at least a minimum “quality of life.”

Management and administrative principles should be contextualized in terms of utilization and pragmatic value to its client society. More so because of the pre-occupations and problems of development societies are different from those of developed societies, hence the transfer of administrative models and in-built practices and procedures form other countries should be done selectively. Donald E. Stokes, citing American experience in international administration, point out that one of its shortcomings is the “intensive drive to raise the level of development administration in Third World countries by implanting budgeting systems, personnel management and planning, and other practices without adequate studies on how the culture and structures of the client society could affect the performance of these principles and the response of the societies being assisted.

2.1 Culture and Administration

          Culture is the composite or learned behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, ideas, and values held by a particular society. Some of these values and traits are widely shared by particular specific groups. These values have political significance even if they do not directly involve political matters. Those who have political values comprise the political culture of societies and significantly influence politics and administrations. Since every culture has its own standards, its patterns and traits should be viewed in terms of significance in the society of which these are parts. Their impact upon the matter of governing should correspondingly be evaluated to determine their influence upon decision making.

          A responsive public administration needs to address and adjust to the type and level of development of society. A developing nation, like ours, undergoing the modernization process and bent on using the software technology of developed countries may encounter difficulties because the push of innovation is resisted by the pull of time- honored tradition. For example, economic aid assistance and development projects funded by foreign sources may not always be welcome because of doubts about the sincerity of donors and commitment and motivation which underlie assistance programs of political benefactors. This is the typical sentiment of peoples overwhelmed by the surging tide of nationalism. In a situation such as this, the following options may be adopted: (1) The recipient society accepts the innovations for change or restructuring including the conditionalities imposed, welcome foreign aid and funding, and adjust its policies and programs, to the agreed-upon arrangements just like any client would. (2) The patron state studies the culture of the prospective client and based on its findings, constructs an aid and assistance program which takes into account traditional norms and operating procedures. (3) If the modernization drive is strong, the traditional society retains the underlying elements of its institutions and practices and gradually institute reforms and changes whenever these are perceived necessary for relativity requires interpretation of modernization based not necessarily on western paradigms, but in terms of the “satisfying model” indigenously perceived.

          The raises the issue of whether the exiting culture should be modified or the foreign assistance agenda should be restructured to accommodate the domestic cultural environment.

          Viewed through the prism of Filipino a political culture characterized by strong-family linkages, an accepted rural-urban dichotomy, the pronounced disparity of income and wealth, unemployment, almost complete reliance upon the government for the dispensation of essential services, there is a need to modify the features of the indigenous culture. Strong family ties can breed nepotism; unemployment and low income open up avenues for grafts and corruption; complete reliance on government results to parasitism and dependency which destroys individual initiatives and self-reliance. These are features of our culture which stand in the way of development and should, therefore, be changed. Change to be effective, must consider not only the local environment but also strive to do away with those rigid psycho-social attitudes and break down resistance to worthwhile innovations.

          If satisfying local needs enjoy the highest priority in development assistance then foreign aid policy and the mechanisms for its implementation must be designed to fit into the local set-up. The administrative structure must consider the political culture of those who are to implement them. Some of the agencies directly involved in these activities are the Philippine Aid Program (PAP), Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the ECONOMIC Support Fund of the United States.

          One government service activity which illustrates the relationship between culture and administration in public health. In administering this service, the Department of Health, especially in rural areas, must recognize the role of traditional habit. Even in the advent of medical science, people especially in the rural areas, continue to patronize “hilots”, “herbolarios” or quacks and spiritual healers who practice medicine without a license from the government medical board. Even if such practice is illegal, patients run to them, maybe, because they are within easy reach; charge less or perhaps by force of habit. Whatever be the reason, health care administration is involved regardless of patients’ preferences to minister to their health problems and needs. While the practice of the profession is regulated by law through board examinations, yet the force of law cannot always compel people to submit themselves to licensed practitioners. In a traditional culture where society has shown tolerance, the licensed practitioner should devise a way of making people accept modern medicine by intermingling it with crude/primitive medicine which makes sense to rural folks. It is hoped that gradually modern medicine will find acceptance with the masses. Popular acceptance of government health programs depends so much upon an understanding of the social organization of the family, or of the advantages of having fewer children. These are matters which administrators of health program should zero on.

          The dilemma of the medical the practitioner finds a parallel in the young graduate of a College of Agriculture. He returns to his home province with the thought of helping rural farmers increase their yield. He introduces seed selection, irrigation, determine the crops appropriate to be planted. These efforts give him frustrations because of the stubbornness of the tradition-bound local farmers impervious to change their ways of farming in favor of the modern. These two situational cases show how difficult it is to change people’s orientations and the problem of choosing the administrative strategy that will convince them to adopt modern medicine and modern farming.

2.2 Public Administration as an Environment of Public Administration

Integration of cultural communities is a program put under the responsibility of the Commission on National Integration. The government desired to have the cultural communities assimilated into the mainstream of the culture of the majority. An administrative policy which seeks to achieve integration is fraught with problems. The cultural minorities want to maintain their cultural identity; on the other hand, integration is seen as a vehicle for achieving national solidarity. There is, therefore, an apparent conflict between the twin aspirations. The government policy of forced assimilation may even become counter-productive because it violates a fundamental right to one’s individual or group identity, hence the advocacy of cultural autonomy. But the extreme pursuit of this could result in fragmentation. Perhaps the framers of the Constitution of 1987 envisioned that granting regional autonomy to Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera peoples will be the compromise solution.

Administration of a program or project is by itself an environmental factor. The success of a program depends upon the proper organization of the administrative units and utilization of resources, without which there could be defeat or failure of the program. Efficiency is related to the administrative environment. It is said that industrialized societies create the need for establishing target goals, setting deadlines and preparing time schedules. These may not be urgently required in agricultural societies will an imprecise philosophy of time and an erratic concept of time management. In societies with high unemployment rates, there is intense competition for government jobs; influence peddling abounds; the merit system is overlooked in societies where manpower is not fully nor almost fully utilized; jockeying for government positions is a problem. These vacancies are a result of public administration programs is effective, and then there is a healthy public administration of such programs makes for an undesirable public administration environment.

2.3 Demographic and Public Administration

          The relation of population to public administration generally involves the implications and effects of size, density, composition, distribution, and movement of people. Growth of population creates increased pressure for the delivery of essential services like water supply, garbage collection, peace and order, and health and welfare. Unregulated population movement into Metropolitan Manila and other urban centers of the country starting in the 1960s has accelerated to a much faster pace bringing different kinds of problems may beyond the capacity of government to cope with. People are attracted to the cities because the rural setting does not hold much promise to them. Job opportunities in the countryside are less, if not absent; the better educational facilities are generally in urban centers. Certain, the prospects of making life better is in the city. The peace and order situation in the province gives greater push toward the urban communities.

          Public administration is challenged to expand its service. The Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System have to expand its water facilities, construct additional reservoirs and pumping stations, lay more pipelines and employ more men to maintain such facilities. The same goes for Philippine Long Distance Company for postal services. More puericulture centers, medical clinics, and hospitals have to be put up. Population increase brings about shelter problems as human density gives way to squatting, as escalating real estate values force rentals to rise. Take the case of Metro Manila as an example. Utility for energy, transportation, the telephone has to grow with the exploding population.

          As of September 1, 1995, the National Capital Region had a total population of 9,454,040. This represented a population increase of 3,528,156 over the 1980 census figure of 5,925,884 or an average of 235,210.4 yearly. The total land area inhabited by 9,454,040 is only 636 square kilometers, thus yielding a population density of 14,864.84 as 1995. These high population density problems of overcrowding, shelter, water supply, sewerage, health care, transport and traffic, employment, environment protection, and preservation, to mention a few. This situation pressures the government to institute coping mechanisms and adjust administrative policies and performance standards to the phenomenal population increase.

          Population distribution by age group can help explain the relation between demography and administration. In a study conducted by Leighton in a War Relocation  Authority in Poston, Arizona, it was found out that conflict is bound to develop between the older generation and the younger generation of Japanese-Americans in the camp. Said conflict was due to apparent lack of the consensus among the project administrators resulting in lack of coordination and disarticulation within the administrative structure of the center- a conflict between the “people-minded” staff administrators who regarded the internee-evacuees as people and the “stereo-type-minded line administrators who regarded the internee-evacuees as Japanese.

          The findings convincingly show the importance of adjusting administrative undertakings to the belief systems of peoples being supervised and adapting these to the customs and practices of different generations of Japanese- American. In other words, the collective efforts of administrators and administered should mutually be pooled together. The attitudes and perceptions of the young are different from those of the old. Playgrounds and gymnastic facilities are needed by the young just as much as homes for the aged and the firm are for those past retirement ages. Policies to insulate the young against the debilitating effects of drugs are as important as hospitalization benefits and old-age pension plans are to the superannuated. These realities require different approaches. Public administration should therefore be able to visualize need variations and choose the appropriate mechanisms to solve said problems.

                   Ethnics grouping also challenge public administration. The presence of minority groups with ethnic peculiarities requires the government to contextualize policies by considering the relativity of cultures and sub-cultures of its population component. Policy differentiation, while justifiable, opens itself to the charge of discrimination especially when the expectations of minority groups are not served. The creation of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (R.A. 6734) August 1, 1989, and the Southern Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) by E.O 371, October 1996, was envisioned to solve this problem by the target minority groups are not enthusiastic about nor receptive to this arrangement. The same sentiment is also expressed by the target beneficiaries of R.A 6766, October 23, 1989, an Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region. There is a dearth of studies on the role and influence of minority groups in The Philippines and their implications upon administration; nonetheless, minority groups have to be considered in formulating and in implementing policy.

2.4 Ideology and Administration

          Ideology may be defined as a belief system. The belief system, when viewed from a political actors-individuals, groups, social classes, government, and the entire nation. Angus Campbell, et. al., in their book entitles The American Voter, regard ideology as an elaborate, close-woven and face-ranging structure of attitude. As a component of the environment of society, it has implications upon the politics and the administration of public affairs. Government is what people decide to make, as their hopes and aspirations help in constructing a vision of it.

          If the tradition of individualism is considered as the primary ideological element of American society, in like manner paternalism is to Filipino society. If the American colonial government is equated with British rule and executive power with the British Crown, Philippine government is equated with Spanish colonial rule and executive power with the Spanish governor-general. The parallelism ends here. American individualism has been influential in the drafting of colonial communities against the excesses of government. After all, the primary reason why the colonists left Europe was their desire to set up government by their own design- that is- a federal structure.

          In our case, the autonomous barangays gave way to the centralizing pressure exerted by the colonial governors to hasten the subjugation of the remaining areas resisting foreign rule, in the name of peace and order through the establishment of a strong central authority as an instrument for unity and integration, hence a unitary structure. Immersion in this form of governance developed a paternalistic attitude of reliance and dependency upon government as a dispenser of privilege and favor. The philosophy of public administration, therefore, developed along this channel.

          The nature of the political system can pre-determine structure and policy. In a parliamentary model where there is a fusion of legislative and executive powers, it is the cabinet, headed by the prime minister, which provides leadership and defines governmental policy. Because the members of the cabinet are also members of the law-making body, it is to be expected that cabinet policy proposals will easily get the imprimatur of parliament as in the case of England. Short of this, the cabinet members tender their resignation because a failure of parliament to endorse cabinet proposal is an index of lack of confidence in the administration of government, there is little opportunity for the minority to obstruct executive policy. There are less horse-trading and concessional bargaining which deviate from cabinet policy direction. In the presidential model like ours, leadership is diffused. There are issues which lie within the parameters of legislative jurisdiction. This situation arises as a consequence of the separation of governmental powers which, in a way, has its own merit, but could result in a weak, if not divided, leadership, which invites intervention by interest groups in policymaking. More than power diffusion, there is the problem of coordination of functions of the two governmental branches. The presidential system breeds rivalry and competition for power primary which can make it difficult for the chief administrator to effectively control subordinates the way a business executive does.

          In a unitary governmental structure, the executive is regarded as the administrator-at-large. In the Philippines, the president exercises supervisory powers over local governmental units, and control over departments, bureaus, and offices. This constitutional provision affirms the centralized character of governance; where the peripheral units are regarded as extensions of the administrative personality of the government at the center and exercise those powers which the center authorizes them to perform. Whatever be the ideology, for purposes of administering the observation of Justice George A. Malcolm is worth keeping in mind. “A trait of the Filipinos generally recognized is that the yield their truest loyalty when there is at the head of affairs one man is supreme power.

          In federalism, whether of the polyethnic or monoethnic type, there are two sets of government, one to take responsibility for national affairs and the other to take charge of local affairs. Each exercises powers and performs functions which fall within its sphere of jurisdiction as the basic laws provide. The enumerated powers belong to the federal government and residual powers to the state governments as currently practiced in the United States. One easily sees the centralization of powers in unitary systems and power decentralization in federal models.

2.5 Social and Physical Technology

          Technology generally perceived as the sum total of all mechanisms and methodologies employed to ensure convenience and comfort of man and of society. It includes the social devices and physical inventions of man. Discoveries and scientific advances influence and transform the social environment and procedure impacts on public management. The human contrivance which we call government is an example of a social invention which has transformed social life. Like a business corporation, the behavior of this leviathan affects individual and group behavior implications on people’s lives like increase in power rates, import levy, and control, subsidy schemes, regulation of population growth or value-added tax, to mention a few.

          Similar, corporate business influences production lines and volume, quality of merchandise, supply, and demand variables giving rise to problems of enforcing government rules and regulations. These will require the government to institute control measures over their operations to protect the general public interest. Monitoring business activities, seeing to it that nationalistic economic thrusts are worked out; lending operations of banks and other financial institutions- these are all regulated by the state notwithstanding the free enterprise economy enshrined in the constitution. Government is drawn into decision-making roles affecting corporate activities.

          Another social invention is the labor union. Labor unions are a strong cluster by themselves especially in asserting demands for viable compensation packages and more liberal fringe benefits. If negotiation with management fails to achieve a compromise formula, labor generally turns to the government with mass action like street parades, sit-down strikes and other anomic activities to dramatize the failure of the government to implement policies to protect their interest and welfare. The left of center labor organization Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) with its progressive policy orientation has shown the capability to muster sufficient force to articulate demands through mass action. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) takes a moderate stance on issues like increase of the price of gas, wage hikes to counter adverse effects of inflation upon labor’s purchasing power. While Article XIII, Section 3 of the constitution guarantees worker’s right to strike and to participate in policy-decision making affecting their rights and benefits, it is possible that the assertion of this constitutional right could be arbitrary. The state also guarantees the right to enterprises to expand and grow. This will require financial reserves for the capital build-up and a reasonable and fair return on investments. Conflicts are therefore bound to arise in t relations between labor and management which will compel the government to intervene either as a mediator in the name of industrial peace. Consequently, the government engages in rule-making and rule implementation by defining to a certain extent the allowable activities and options both of business and labor groups.
          The church as a social institution has a tremendous impact on society. We are aware of the strength of the Catholic Church and the Iglesia ni Kristo (INK) in Philippine politics, policy formulation and implementation. It is said that the Catholic Church is a single-entity pressure group which accounts for the failure of Congress to deliberate and pass divorce bill. The INK is a religious group capable of throwing its weight to ensure either defeat or victory of a political candidate. The two above-mentioned groups are the most influential social interventions in the Philippines and because of their political an administrative power leverages, they are considered as extra-constitutional instruments of rule. While they are not part of the formal legal and constitutional apparatus of governance, yet they wield considerable pressure upon administration. They are capable of establishing alliances with administrative bodies and win the sympathy of legislators to effectively influence the courses of policy.

          The most recent social invention is technical assistance. Historically, nation-states have some form of contacts and encounters. The less-developed countries (LDC’s) avail of the generosity of “big brother” extending loan facilities and assistance schemes of sorts. These have expanded to include cultural exchange, technology transfer, skills swapping, expertise sharing, and scientific consultations. Beneficiary Third World societies may, however, manifest a mixed attitude vis a vis technical assistance, maintaining that while the aid is welcome the politics of the donor countries could be suspicious. Management of assistance programs should not fail to recognize this problem.

          Technological advances have cluttered the organizational landscape as shown by widespread automation. The use of the products of technology, like the computer, has affected office work. The computer and other electronic gadgets have replaced conventional records- keeping and retrieval systems and procedures; modified accounting procedures; reduced man-hour needed to accomplish a job or a routine task. On the other hand, it can displace workers. Manpower expended to perform a job per given time can be done by machine in a much shorter period. Skill levels need upgrading to qualify workers to operate office machines. There is less need for men as machines and robots take over their functions. Administrative entities have to be restructured. With computer’s help supervisors oversee the work of a larger number of subordinates which may even justify decentralization of function and responsibility in organizations. While this is not primarily a Philippine administrative phenomenon, it is a development worth looking forward to as this will raise the question as to what government should do to soften the impact of technology on employment.

          The communications revolution gives an added responsibility to the government. The age of doms and satellite beaming of news and events require the government to put on rules regulating the activities of radio and television paraphernalia including assignment of frequencies to prevent broadcast jamming and airwaves pirating. The effects of all these upon personal contact and memorandum writing should be considered.

The transportation problem merits special concern especially in Metro Manila and Cebu City where the streets have not been designed to accommodate the traffic volume of today’s road. There is a need to improve the mass transit system as the government faces the dilemma of the light railway transit (LRT) versus highway fly-overs. It has to provide a system of moving more commuters in the shortest time possible especially rush hours; minimize road accidents as more vehicles are put into the streets without withdrawal formula for the dilapidated and the over-aged vehicles; protect residents from the hazards resulting from toxic emissions of poorly-maintained transport units. The advent of jet planes necessitates an extension of airport runways upgrading of loading and unloading bays, flight supervision and monitoring. These are managerial and regulatory responsibilities which have to be addressed.

Our government has responded to these concerns to a limited extent as financial viability would allow. Joint ventures by local companies and foreign counterparts have been encouraged to expedite the much-needed infrastructure building in the name of development. But foreign inventor entry has cornered the loan facilities of the banking institutions leaving the local construction companies a small percentage of the available loan portfolios.

The “build, operate, transfer” (BOT) scheme was adopted by the government as the answer to the lack of funds for infrastructure projects. Today, ongoing projects include LRT line II from Divisoria passing through C.M. Recto Street, Magsaysay Boulevard to Aurora Boulevard all the way to Marikina City to Caniogan, Pasig City. LRT line III from North EDSA to Pasay City is now operational. These projects are consortium-funded and contracted during the Ramos administration and are being completed during the Estrada administration. The same BOT arrangement applies to the skyway over a portion of Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX) undertaken by Citra, an Indonesian construction company. When completed, it will link SLEX with the North Diversion Expressway to Central Luzon. These projects will considerably cut travel time. But fare affordably has become an issue for commuters as well as motorists because of high charges for their use. BOT companies maintain that the planned rate charges will shorten the recovery period of the construction cost after which the government will take over the operation.

Commuters and motorists contend that the rates are expensive not only for the low-income group but also for the medium income earners. Upgrading of airport facilities has high priority in the government agenda. Centennial Terminal II demonstrates government commitment to make out airport facilities meet international standards. Terminal III which is under construction will further ease off passenger congestion and make arrivals and departures more orderly and friendly. Lined up for construction are the extension of LRT line I from Pasay City to Dasmarinas, Cavite; completion of the coastal road to reach Cavity City; rehabilitation of the Philippines National Railway System from Tuluban Station in Divisoria to Northern Luzon, to link to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Clarkfield Ecozone.

2.6 Politics and Administration- An Interrelationship

          There are different ways of looking at the relationship between politics and administration. Exponents of the traditional school, like Frank Goodnow and Woodrow Wilson contends that the two terms represent two district functions of government, with politics referring to formulating policies as expressions of the collective will of society and administration referring to carrying out or implementing that collective will. This view flows from a strict construction of separation of powers, the legislature as the medium of state will and the executive as an implementer, hence politics-administration dichotomy. Apparently, this locus-centered distinction could result in “islands of separateness” as though each conducts its business without regard for the other. It regards conflict as the key to understanding the pattern of relations between the two branches of government. It believes that conflict explains the political role of administrators as it construes politics as conflict resolution process where wealth, status, skills, legitimacy, and authority are taken as sources of power which, when exercised, brings about desired outcomes. Separating administrative activity from political activity finds strong proponents especially in corrupt and graft-ridden societies so that one organ will serve as a check on the excesses of the other, a condition which conveniently justifies the perception that administrative questions are not political questions; that law-making is not law-enforcement.

          A serious look at political and administrative relations show that distinctions could not be absolute and exclusive, because in the long run, policy questions become administrative questions and administrative issues are bound to affect political issues. As a matter of fact, critics as administration-politics dichotomy brand this perception highly idealistic and naïve and therefore impractical.

          The American public administration experience in managing the New Deal the program under the Roosevelt administration points to the impracticality of separating politics and administration since the two are linked to each other; the administrator participating in policy-making as an organizational politician. As a matter of fact, some believe that the political nature of public administration can even be more important than a scientific analysis of administrative structures. By the middle of the 1940s, politics-administration dichotomy gradually gave way to inter-relationship as role differentiation became dysfunctional. The reconciliation was not without a struggle as the criterion of rational efficiency and satisfaction of public wants. If the worth of public administration is to be measured in terms of its ability to solve problems, to negotiate compromises, build consensus, engage in trade-offs for growth and development, comfort the destitute and the needy, then administrative management techniques and expertise must relate to the political process. This is what we call interaction and inter-relationship of politics and administration mutually reinforcing each other.

          Using the 3 E’s- economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, like performance standards, the bottom-line criterion, which justifies an activity if it shows a profit, is a typical business orientation but does not augur well for the government since the profit motive is not its raison d’etre. Both efficiency and effectiveness of public administration should be socially and humanely interpreted and qualitatively evaluated. It has less need for quantitative and mechanical criteria; cost efficiency principle may even be, at times, a doubtful criterion. Projects need to be reviewed in terms of financial costs that these may entail and without the use of control mechanisms and system capability to exact obedience and compliance to institutional orders or commands.

Public- Private Partnership

          One significant phenomenon prognosticated by Dwight Waldo in the 1960s was the emergence of a “grey area” characterized by the mingling of private and public categories and their roles. The complexities of modern society are primarily responsible for this development and trend. Even in the Philippines today, there has been shaped up new thinking that delivery of essential services like health care, shelter programs, community aid, and rehabilitation, and energy conservation, are collectively undertakings to be jointly performed by government agencies and non-government organizations (NGO’s). While there is the problem of establishing the areas of concern for public and private enterprises engaged in similar efforts, what is more, important is that clientele-servicing orientation is worked out through organization networking. Under the Aquino administration and successor regimes of Ramos and Estrada non-governmental organizations are partners of government agencies in rehabilitation work, especially in the calamity-stricken areas. some donor countries have made it a condition to their grants that they are implemented by NGO’s instead of government agencies. Foreign funding of projects has been channeled directly to the NGOs in the hope that the funds will be less vulnerable to the bureaucratic vice of fund transfer and diversion. Local NGO’s have been very active in development work in Third World countries. They have taken interest in reform issues like land distribution, debt reduction and greater mass participation in decision-making.

          Interdependency of the public sector and the private sector is inevitable in society and more so in the developing countries. The effectiveness of the private sector is dependent upon the efficient operations of the public sector. When government requirements for the conduct of business and service delivery by the non-governmental organizations entails minimum cost and less delay, transactions will be for policymakers and implementers to enter into partnerships and joint ventures with private enterprises to solve socio-economic problems and fast-track development provided final decisions continue to be vested in the public sector government.