Question : “Not to be comparative is to be naively parochial” (Riggs). Comment.
(2007)
Answer : Comparative public administration is the first major development in the post war evolution of public administration. It aims at the development of a more scientific public administration by building and strengthening theory in public administration. The quest for theory building in administrative studies with special focus on study of newly emerged third world countries was the hallmark of Riggsian studies.
For Riggs, any study of Public Studies cannot be confined to any particular society or culture. ....
Question : Explain the meaning, significance, and models of comparative Public Administration.
(2004)
Answer : Comparative public administration is the first major development in the post war evolution of public administration. It aims at the development of a more scientific public administration by building and strengthening theory in public administration.
Comparative public administration stands for cross-cultural and cross-national public administration. It has two basic motivational concerns: (1) Theory building and (ii) administrative problems of the developing countries. Ferrell Heady describes the period of the late 1960’s as the heyday of the ....
Question : How did Fred W. Riggs conceptualise the interaction between the administrative system & their environment?
(2002)
Answer : Administration does not function in isolation from its environment. It influences it and is influenced by it. The understanding of the dynamics of this process of interaction between the two is necessary for the understanding of the administration. The approach adopted is known as the ecological approach. This approach was purely developed by F.W. Riggs.
Riggs analysed the relationship between administrations and economic, social, political, technological and communication factor in a larger perspective. To understand the ....
Question : Critically comment on Riggsian Prismatic Sala model of administration of developing societies. To what extent Indian Administrative system exhibits prismatic characteristics.
(2001)
Answer : F.W. Riggs has given Prismatic Sala model; he is very interested in the Administrative System of developing third world countries especially after colonialism. So, he has given Prismatic Sala model. Prismatic Stands for developing countries according to his model and Sala stands for Administrative Subsystem of developing countries.
Riggs views Administrative System or subsystem of whole system of social unit, like political subsystem, economic subsystem. He also holds view that these subsystems influence each other in ....
Question : “Political environment conditions administrative system”. – (F.W. Riggs).
(2000)
Answer : This statement of F.W. Riggs was given taken into account the ecological aspect of an organisation, which include political environment as well.
F. W. Riggs in his Administration Model gave various characteristics of various societies, which termed Fused, Prismatic and Diffracted.
Riggs selected imperial China and pre-revolutionary sequence Thailand as examples of to represent his concept of fused society. In such Society the royal family plays a very important role in the administration of the country.
In Prismatic ....
Question : Critically examine the approach and methodology adopted by F. W. Riggs in his study of prismatic and sala societies. What is valid-content of Raj Krishna’s criticism of refraction?
(2000)
Answer : In the field of discipline of public administration Riggs contribution is very significant. He has given a very comprehensive theoretical contribution in the development of discipline of public administration. Especially his contribution toward comparative public administration and development administration.
He viewed public administration is influenced by its environment and in return environment is also influenced by public administration. Now to understand public administration he has given certain approach to study the whole aspect of public administration, ....
Question : Critically comment on the function of administrative capabilities with reference to developing countries.
(1999)
Answer : The developing and developed countries are two broad regions at mesa scale, in public administration for the study of administrative system. The comparative public administration movement, led to a study of the administrative system of many developing countries and studies revealed that the administrative system, which these countries had, were not suited to the task of economic and social development upon which they had started. When the pace of development did not come up to ....
Question : “Instead of looking inward in their own values and requirements, the Asian countries looked outward.” Comment.
(1999)
Answer : Public administration owes its present status mostly due to contributions from writers and thinkers of USA or Europe. Their thoughts were influenced by their experience in their countries. Public administration as it was cultural specific and its orientation was towards the culture of the west.
When development assistance was given to countries in Asia through UN, it was felt that a modern public administration was necessary to efficiently utilize the financial aid. The techniques of public ....
Question : What according to Riggs, are the three important characteristic features of the prismatic society?
(1996)
Answer : The three important characteristic features of the prismatic society are ‘formalism’, ‘heterogeneity’ and ‘overlapping’.
Formalism: It implies the extent to which a discrepancy exists between the prescriptive and descriptive, between formal and effective power, between the impression given by constitution, law and regulation, organization charts and statistics and actual practices and facts of government and society. The greater the discrepancy between the formal and effective, the more formalistic is a system.
A prismatic society is characterized by ....
Question : Riggs’ key concepts have alerted the researcher that Weberian bureaucracy might not be entirely predictive of behaviour in most Third World Countries.
(1995)
Answer : Riggs’ ecological approach to the public administration was initiated by J.M. Gaus, Robert A. Dahl and Merton long before Fred Riggs. But it was Riggs who made a significant contribution to its approach. This type – approach relating toadministration with different environment sought many unanswered questions especially about Weberian’s bureaucracy and its applicability in the developing countries.
A number of critics like Peter Blau believed that Weberian model of bureaucracy cannot be applied to administrations of ....
Question : “A major problem with comparative public administration is that it has been behavioural”. Comment.
(1995)
Answer : Comparative public administration has been described as the theory of public administration applied to diverse cultures and national setting and the body of factual data by which it can be examined and tested. F. W. Riggs opines that the term ‘Comparative’ should be used, only for empirical, nomothetic studies.
The basic contribution of the comparative study is that it has helped eliminate the narrowness of provincialism and regionalism of the subject of public administration. It has ....
