• 2) State the main idea of the text.

• 3) Write an annotation to the texts “Classical Principles of Public Administration” and “Modern Principles of Public Administration.”

5.11 Importance of human relations

• 1) Read the title of the text and say whether it is connected with the previous and the following texts.

In the 1930s the Hawthorne research, involving the workers and management of an industrial plant near Chicago, the USA, proved the importance of social or informal organization, good communications, individual and group behaviour, and attitudes (as different from aptitudes) to productivity.

Awareness of the importance of human relations influ­enced the conduct of public administration. Many principles of administration (hierarchy, directive leadership, set duties, treatment of employees as impersonal “units” of production, and monetary incentives) were reviewed.

By the late 1930s the human relations approach had developed into a concept known as “organization development.” Its primary goal was to change the attitudes, values, and structures of organizations so that they could meet new demands. Trained consultants, usually from outside the organization, interviewed senior and junior staff, and conducted sensitivity training and confrontation meetings. Unlike the earlier rationalistic approach, organization development stressed the identification of personal goals with organizational goals, the “self-actualization” of workers and managers, effective interpersonal communication, and broad participation in decision making. Its direct use within governmental agencies was limited and was not always successful, but it had a considerable indirect influence upon administrators.

Another modern movement in public administration was the greater participation of citizens in government. It was stimulated during the 1950s and ’60s by a growing feeling that governments were not responding to the needs of their citizens, particularly of minority groups and the poor. A variety of experiments to involve citizens or their representatives in making governmental decisions was begun in the 1960s. These involved the delegation of decision-making from central to local offices and, at the local level, the sharing of authority with citizen groups.

• 2) Determine which problems are discussed in the text.

• 3) Is the text information up-to-date or out-of-date?

• 4) Support or decline the modern movements in public administration covered in this text. Give your own examples.

5.12 INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

• 1) Why does the study at the State and Municipal Administration Department attract you? How long have you been studying at this Department? Are you satisfied with the study process? What skills have you gained / lost during your studies?

• 2) Read out the facts from the text that relate to the title of the text.

Until World War II there was relatively little exchange among nations of ideas about public administration. In 1910, however, a professional organization, which eventually became the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (HAS), was established. At first its membership consisted principally of scholars and practitioners of administrative law in the countries of continental Europe. By the late 1980s the HAS had a membership from some 70 countries. Its congresses covered all aspects of the field of public administration.

Since World War II international interest in administrative systems has grown, precipitated by the necessity of cooperation during the war, by the formation of international organizations, by the occupation of conquered nations and the administration of economic recovery programs for Europe and the Far East, and by aid programs for developing countries. One by-product of aid programs was a renewed appreciation of how important effective administration is to national development. It also became apparent how parochial and culture-bound styles of public administration often remained within individual countries.

Another effect of this international communication and sharing of experiences was the realization that government was no longer merely the keeper of the peace and the provider of basic services. In the postindustrial era government became a principal innovator, a determinant of social and economic priorities, and an entrepreneur on a major scale. On virtually every significant problem – from unemployment to clean air – people asked the government for solutions or assistance. The tasks of planning, organizing, coordinating, managing, and evaluating modern government likewise became impressively important.

European universities traditionally produced administrative lawyers for their governments, but legal skills alone were hardly adequate for handling contemporary problems. U.S. universities began graduate programs in the early years of the 20^th century, and by the late 1980s there were more than 300 university programs in public administration.

Training programs have particularly increased since World War II, many of them with government help. Some are attached to universities. In establishing the Ecole Nationale d’Administration as one of its civil service reforms of 1946-1947, France provided an extensive course for recruits to the higher civil service.

In 1969 Britain established a Civil Service College under the new Civil Service Department. In the United States the government established a variety of educational and training programs during the 1960s, including the Federal Executive Institute and the Executive Seminar Centers. Many less-advanced countries have since established centres for the training of public administrators.