CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Bureaucracy had its origin in the
industrialized world and was transferred to the less developed Nations of the
world. Therefore, Bureaucracy implies an organization characterized by rules,
procedure, impersonal relations, elaborate and fairly rigid hierarchy of authority,
responsibility and relationships. To achieve control and co-ordination in a
large organization demands that bureaucracy principles be enthroned.
1.2
STATEMENT
OF PROBLEM
1.3
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
1.5
HYPOTHESIS
1.6
SCOPE
AND LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
1.7
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
1.8
OPERATIONALIZATION
OF CONCEPTS
Bureaucracy is expected to function
within specific norm of rationality; this marked a shift from over reliance on
the primary relations and cultural values of the non-industrialized Nations.
In developing Nations like Nigeria,
bureaucracy has come to be basically linked with unnecessary red-tapism and
inefficiency. This stigma has undermines the functionality of bureaucracy in
the third world countries. This has equally created doubts in the mind of many
whether it is actually suitable for large organizations like the civil service.
Administration is all about carrying out activities to achieve public goal; and
achievement of public goal rest on proper control and co-ordination which
enhances administrative efficiency that involves competing successfully large
and complicated task that no one individual could accomplish alone. Therefore,
bureaucracy instills efficient and effective way of management organization in
large scale.
Civil service of Enugu State was
established in 1991 as an off-shoot of the old Anambra State with the purpose
of assisting the executive perform its function, since its inception this
organization in spite of the reforms it has undergone has performed abysmally
very low.
Thinking about efficiency in the
civil service we should know that, it is far more direct and simple to evaluate
and determine in commercial organization where the criterion of efficiency is
largely guided by the profit objectives. In public administration, the values
which public serve to realize are difficult to quantify in concrete terms. In
spite of the difficulty, the public administrator must still apply the criterion
of efficiency to his work.
Finally, the resources, which are
inputs available to the public administration are strictly limited and are made
available to him after much priming. It is generally agreed that the public
service should be efficient as well as effective. Infact, many people would
like to see public service adopt the principles and practices of business
management which are regarded far more efficient than those of the public or
civil service. No doubt, it is now generally recognized that public
administration in order to serve the needs of modern times, must adopt some of
the modern management principles and techniques.
1.2
STATEMENT
OF PROBLEM
The greatest problem confronting
present day public service is the inability of the service to perform
efficiently. More so, our public administration environment exhibits signs of
inefficiency and poverty, infact this has hindered our development. The civil
service in Nigeria is generally criticized, among others for being too
bureaucratic, too conservative and there are conduct derived from colonial
based civil service which was designed just to make law and order. Further to
this, inadequate co-ordination, communication gap, over centralization of
decision making, non- application of reforms reports has married the efficiency
and effectiveness of Enugu State Civil Service.
Therefore, the researcher will pose
the following questions:
1.
Is
bureaucracy is Enugu State Civil Service in variant with the ideal type
bureaucracy?
2.
Is bureaucratic inefficiency in Enugu State
Civil Service rooted in the elements of its variation with the ideal type
(Weberian) bureaucracy?
3.
Do the rigid
bureaucracy structures hinder the public bureaucracy from rendering efficient
and effective services delivery in Nigeria?
4.
To what
extent have the several reforms in Enugu State civil service yielded positive
result?
1.3
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
1.
To find out
the underlying characters that makes bureaucracy in Enugu State to be in
variant with the (Weberian) ideal type of bureaucracy.
2.
To unearth
the factors that has caused the non-performance of Enugu State Civil Service.
3.
To identity
those human an structural factors that lessens competitive anxieties and
enhance administrative efficiency
4.
To suggest
and recommend the possible ways of resuscitating Enugu State civil service.
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The findings of this research will
be useful in redirecting management attention to some of the rigid features of
bureaucratic organization with a view to correct the anomalies.
The recommendation of this study
will contribute to existing literatures in the area of bureaucracies and its
development in general, and will also help to minimize the numerous problems
which create the gap between policy formulation and implementation and a guide
to policy markers particularly with regards to reforms in bureaucratic
organizations.
Furthermore, the study would reveal
in a great detail, practical strategies and steps that would ensure the
improvement of the Enugu State Civil Service even in the face of the numerous
administrative bottlenecks.
1.5
HYPOTHESIS
From the foregoing, the researcher
hypothesizes the following.
1.
Hi:
Several bureaucratic reforms in Enugu State Civil Service have yielded positive
results.
2.
H0:
Several bureaucratic reforms in Enugu State Civil Service have not yielded
positive results.
3.
Hi:
The rigid bureaucratic structure enables the public bureaucracy render
efficient and effective service delivery in Nigeria.
4.
Ho:
The rigid bureaucratic structures do not enable the public bureaucracy render
efficient and effective Service delivery in Nigeria.
1.6
SCOPE
AND LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
This work is centered on bureaucracy
and problem inefficiency in Nigeria Civil Service, with particular reference to
Enugu State Civil Service. (1999-2007)
This study had suffered some
constraints before its completion.
Indeed, most of the places where the
researcher presented research request letter was unanswered and some delayed.
And compared with the fact that the researcher has only few months to complete
or finish the research work, coupled with limited financial resources.
This and other problems consumed
much time and as well limited the extent of the research.
1.7
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
In recent years, there have been a
growing number of theories purporting to explain bureaucratic inefficiency in
the Nigeria Civil Service, for the purpose of this study and organizational convenience;
we shall be guided by the ecological theory and the view of one of its chiefs
proponent Fred Riggs, the leader of the Comparative Administration Group (CAG).
Riggs, (1964) asserts that: “the
administrative institutions in the developing States are weak because of the
ecological constraints that impinge on them.” After his elaborate study of the
administration of the developing states, he observed first hand, the practices
in the various countries’ administration. Riggs also argues that “these
constraints prevent administrative institutions of the developing States from
taking the form of the model or ideal administrative institutions found in the
developed States.
One of the theories grouped under
Riggs ecological school is the prismatic theory upon which lies the major
premise of bureaucratic inefficiency in the Nigeria Civil Service. Here Riggs
dwells on poly normativism describing the administrative institutions of
developing States as “Sala” bureaucracy that lies between the “paria” and the
“office”. Riggs further explained that the inefficiency of the “Sala” or rather
the administrative institution of developing countries is reinforced by the
price indeterminacy of the bazaar canteen, through paria entrepreneurship and
intrusive access of the elite by the agglomeration of values, strategic
spending and learning as instrument of elite recruitment, poly-communalism and
poly normativism
Ezeali and Edeh (2007) affirmed that
Riggs, concluded that the result of the “bazzar canteen” are inefficiency and
ineffectiveness, which the “Sala models” is associated with; the transitional
society or prismatic society is characterized by inefficiency in rule
application, institutionalized corruption, nepotism in recruitment lack of
division of labour, unequal distribution of service, wide gap between formal
expectation and actual behaviour and bureaucratic enclaves dominated by motives
of self protection.
A clear observation and study of the
environment in which the Civil Service operate in Nigeria would reveal that it
is very much characterized with the features of the prismatic society. It is
observed that the distinguishing characteristics of the “Sala” bureaucracy
accounts for its dismal weakness in the inter-penetration of the elements of
tradition and modernity. In plain language this tradition according to Okpata (2004)
involves communal bonds, based upon diffuse emotional identification and
attachment among individuals of which the family and the neigbourhood group may
serve as an example.
This is equally noticeable in the
Nigeria civil service. More so, according to Okpata, (2004), Forces ranging
from the following weaken bureaucracy in the Nigerian public administration,
there are lack of patriotism, corruption, Ghost workers syndrome, Appointment
of unqualified and in experienced officials, Bribery. Lack of proper
maintenance of men and material political intrusion.
Conclusively, the above constitutes
the environment in which the Nigeria civil service operates and which have
equally hindered development. Thus, the need to identify and provide for more
efficient ways of handling the civil service becomes imperative.
1.8
OPERATIONALIZATION
OF CONCEPTS
BUREAUCRACY
This is all those large sale formal
organization, such as civil service, the police, academic institutions that
uses a system of authority, men, material, office and method of structures
within them to carry out their programmes and achieve their goals.
CIVIL SERVICE
Is the entire organization of
employees of various ranks, talent and training who are in the service of
government on permanent basis.
INEFFICIENCY
This refers to disequilibrium, whereby
less result of output are produced irrespective of the huge inputs or
resources.