INTRODUCTION

Development has to be holistic having its bearings on the polity and society. Each nation
attempts to be on the path of development irrespective of the fact whether the nation is
developed, underdeveloped, or developing. In order to know clearly about development
administration, which is innovative, achievement oriented, and dynamic, it becomes
important to be conversant with the concept of development because the meaning of
“development” has a distinctive understanding in the literature on development
administration.
THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT
Dictionary meaning of “development.” is teleological, that is, goal-focused. Development as
the process is generally referred to as an attempt leading to growth into higher, fuller, and
mature conditions. In contemporary parlance, development is interpreted to be a process of
desirable changes in the achievement of a multiplicity of goals. For a political scientist,
political development involves increase in the levels of political participation, greater
progressivism and rationality in the legislative process, more progressive and effective
judicial system and more effective political and administrative executive. It also assumes a
mature media, independent election machinery, dynamic political parties and enlightened
pressure groups. To an economist, on the other hand, development means a higher level of
economic development and a greater concern for economic justice. Further, a sociologist
looks at development as a process involving greater stratification of structures and a more
forward-looking educational, health and other societal systems. Thus, the term development
has a common philosophy despite variegated foci of contents. Students of development
administration view development as the dynamic change of a society from one state of being
to another without positing a final mature condition. Development has been viewed as “state
of mind, a tendency, a direction. Rather than a fixed goal, it is rate of change in a particular
direction” (Riggs, 1970). Development is further seen as “an aspect of change that is
desirable, broadly predicted or planned, or at least influenced by governmental action”
(Montgomery, 1966). Moreover, development can be measured in terms of “performance”
and output or in regard to “justice” and equality (Riggs, 1970). These different interpretations
suggest that the concept of development, at least as it is found in the literature on
development administration, is quite broad, value-based, and even elusive.
Fred Riggs has defined development as “a process of increasing autonomy
(discretion) of social systems, made possible by rising level of diffraction” (Ibid).
“Discretion,” Riggs has observed, “is the ability to choose among alternatives, while

1
‘diffraction’ refers to the degree of differentiation and integration in the social system” (Ibid).
Riggs has considered diffraction as “the necessary and perhaps the sufficient condition for
development, that is, for increased
discretion” (Ibid).
The emphasis on “discretion” has enabled Riggs to view development as involving
“the increased ability of human societies to shape their physical, human, and cultural
environments” (Riggs, 1970). A developed system, then, is capable of changing its
environment to a greater degree than an “underdeveloped” system (Ibid). Such capability
may or may not be used to increase output, that is, a developed system could even have a low
rate of output or growth (Ibid), although in empirical situations such a case might occur only
rarely. Likewise, a change in environment, such as a technological innovation or foreign aid,
liberalisation, globalisation or a change in climate might bring increase in output or growth of
a system, even though the level of “discretion” of the system did not rise. In other words,
there could be cases of “growth” without “development” (Ibid).
A social system, in the process of increasing its “discretion,” develops
interdependence with other social systems, which are members of its “nexus” or role-set. The
system is required to coordinate its actions with the other members of its role-set. Such
interdependence of a system with other members of its role set has been termed by Riggs as
“heterogeny,” while the independence of a system in relation to other systems in its role-set is
termed by him as “autogency” Riggs has observed that development involves an increase in
the degree of “discretion” of a social system, but a decrease in the degree of its “autogeny”
(Ibid). This analytical bifurcation of the environment of a social system into something like
the distant and the proximate environment would be difficult to operationalize, owing to the
problem of defining the boundary of each in empirical situations. Despite such a problem,
Riggs’s attempt is an important step in the direction of conceptualisation of development, and
it probably has relevance to all types of social systems.
The Concept of Development Administration
The Comparative Administration Group, in the early sixties, has had an overriding interest in
the area of development administration (Esman, 1970). Nimrod Raphaeli has discerned two
major “motivational concerns” in the literature in comparative public administration: (1)
theory-construction and (2) development administration. These two concerns are intertwined.
Much theorising in comparative public administration has been related to development, while
work in development administration has been concerned with, and contributes to, theory
(Raphaeli, 1967). Thus, the development of theory and theory of development administration

2
has moved together. This is understandable, since the field of comparative public
administration is primarily concerned with the comparison of administrative systems of
different nations at varying stages of development. It has been recognised that because of its
central concern, the study of development administration could be the meeting ground for
almost all the approaches in comparative public administration (Heaphey, 1968). This could
be so, especially when the concept of development administration is considered broadly and
not just restricted to the focus on what are popularly called “developing” nations.
Interestingly, development administration can also be a meeting ground for portions of
comparative public administration and the so-called “New” (American) Public
Administration (Marini, 1971) that includes considerable elements of action and goal
orientation.
In the literature, the term “development administration’ has been used in two
interrelate senses. First, it “refers to the administration of development programs, to the
methods used by large-scale organisations, notably governments, to implement policies and
plans designed to meet their developmental objectives (Riggs, 1970). Second, it, “by
implication, rather than directly, involves the strengthening of administrative capabilities”
(Ibid). These two aspects of development administration, that is, the administration of
development and the development of administration are intertwined in most definitions of the
term. Edward Weidner has viewed development administration in government as “the
processes of guiding an organisation toward the achievement of progressive political,
economic, and social objectives that are authoritatively determined in one manner or another.
Jose Abueva (Weidner, 1970), Inayatullah (Ibid), B.S. Khanna (Ibid) and Hahn-Been Lee
Ibid have taken similar views. The major thrust of most of these definitions of development
administration has been an “action-oriented, goal-oriented administrative system” (Ibid).
Students of development administration have recognised that the administration of
development and development of administration are functionally interrelated to each other.
As Riggs has argued: The reciprocal relatedness of these two sides (of development
administration) involves a chicken and egg type of causation. Administration cannot normally
be improved very much without changes in the environmental constraints (the infrastructure)
that hamper its effectiveness; and the environment itself cannot be changed unless the
administration of development programs is strengthened (Riggs, 1970). Thus, in the study of
development, governmental “capacity” must be taken into account. Generally, research on
development administration considers the administrative system and changes within it as
independent variables, while the developmental goals are treated as dependent variables

3
(Weidner, 1970). Such a view has been emphasised by scholars like Fred Riggs, Edward
Weidner, Joseph La Palombara, and Martin Landau. Increasing the administrative capability
to achieve developmental goals in an “efficient” manner is associated with the concept of
planned development, which is based on the desire to achieve particular results within a given
period of time and with minimum of cost. Today, development administration is concerned
with the formulation and implementation of the four p’s – plans, policies, programmes, and
projects (Stone, 1967).
Associated developmental models have an underlying assumption that “there are
noticeable differences between the states of a system at different time series; that the
succession of these states implies the system is heading somewhere; and that there are orderly
processes which explain how the system gets from its present state. (To wherever) it is going”
(Chin, 1961). A detailed analysis of the models given by Weidner and Riggs is contained in
Unit 2. Such directional change has been emphasised by several students as the main thrust of
development administration. A scholar has identified that development administration has an
“administration of planned change” (Panandiker, 1964).
However, not all planning may be developmental, and not all development
administration may be planned. Likewise, planned directional growth and “system change”
may or may not move together (Weidner, op. cit). The conceptualisation of development
administration involves, as is observed by Saul Katz, problems associated with the
construction of any goal—oriented model (Riggs, 1970). It is common knowledge that goal
identification is “never simple, and in complex developmental change situations it can be
very elusive and difficult. Formal and informal, stated and unstated, intended and unintended,
planned and not planned—and goals of whom – these are a few of the dimensions that need
to be taken into account (Weidner, op. cit). Lack of clarity on important aspects of goal-
orientation sometimes causes confusion about the true nature of “development”
administration.
ATTRIBUTES OF DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Let us now look at the essential characteristics of development administration as reflected in
the literature on this theme.
Change-Orientation
Development Administration is change-oriented administration. Change involves the
movement of system or a structure from one point to another. The reverse of ‘change’ could
be status quo or inertia. Thus, a development administrative system would be dynamic and
not ‘static’. There is an in-built philosophy of development administration that values change.

4
The change is a strategy for increasing the coping ability of an administrative system in
relation to its external environment as well as a mechanism to activate its internal structures.
Lately, in the context of a New World Economic order involving globalisation and
liberalisation, governance systems are expected to be transformational in character.
Goal-Orientation
As we have pointed out above. Development administration, as defined by Weidner, is a
‘goal-oriented’ administration. One might ask a simple question: Is an administrative system
not necessarily goal-oriented? Do we not define administration as a collective human activity
that is designed to achieve certain specific goals? Yes, it is true that all administrative
systems per se are goal oriented. Yet what distinguishes the general public administration
from development administration is the dominant focus on goal-achievement in a more
systematic manner. In other words, development administration is that aspect of Weidner
points out, are progressive in nature. Thus, development administration is concerned with the
achievement of progressive political, economic, social and cultural goals.
Progressivism
The element of ‘progressiveness’ of goals is an accepted feature of development
administration. What is progressive for one society may not be so for another. Nevertheless,
there appears to be a broad consensus on the nature of progressiveness of these goals in most
of the countries, particularly those that are ‘developing’ societies. In political systems,
progressivism would imply greater participation of the people in governmental affairs. In a
democratic system, participation could imply strengthening of the pressure groups, political
parties, free voting in elections and greater respect for public opinion in governmental affairs.
Increasing participation would involve greater share of the common man in the formulation
and implementation of government policies, plans, programmes and projects. It is a very
difficult goal to achieve, particularly by an administrative system. Nevertheless, it is expected
of a development administrative system to create and promote such conditions that will
facilitate greater participation of the people in the process of development. In the economic
sphere, a progressive approach would involve faster pace of economic development and a
more equitable distribution of income and wealth. It would involve an approach of economic
justice where opportunities to develop economically are equitably distributed to all sections
of society. In the socio-cultural sphere, a progressive approach would involve
universalisation of education, promotion of health facilities for all sections of society, social
justice based on equity, secularism and adequate opportunities to all social groups to promote
their respective cultural distinctiveness. The emerging emphasis on “people-centred

5
development” is a reflection of such new concerns. Development Administration, thus, is, an
administration designed to achieve progressive political, economic and socio-cultural goals.
We can observe this from the following Figure.

Planning
Planning is not a prerequisite to development administration, but it is the most helpful aid to
the whole process of goal-oriented change. An Indian scholar, V.A. Pai Panandiker looks at
development administration as administration of “planned change”. It is true that planning is
a strategy that facilitates maximum possible utilisation of human and material resource. And
in poor countries, where such resources are scarce, planning gains a central importance. As a
programme of action to achieve certain specified goals in a given period, planning helps in
the maximum possible utilisation of time and other resources that make the whole process of
development effective. Little wonder, almost all developing countries have adopted socio-
economic planning as a strategy of development, and even the developed socialist countries
continue to place great reliance on the mechanism of planned development. In the New
Economic order, the stress on planning, however, seems to be waning. The likely shape of
planning would be an indicative planning.
Innovation and Creativity
Development administration is not dogmatic and traditional in its approach to problem
solving. Instead, it stresses upon identification and adoption of new structures, method
procedures, policies, plans, programmes and projects, which would help, achieve the
developmental objectives with the greatest possible facilitations. Experimentation and
adaptation are the hallmarks of developmental administration. In India, for instance,
organisations such as District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and Command Area
Development Authority (CADA) and programmes such as Integrated Rural Development
Programme (IRDP) are Tribal Area Development Programme (TADP) are examples of such
innovations. Likewise, use of computers, district planning, national education policy, etc., are
other instances of an on-going creative approach to the development process. This creativity
is not confined to the organisational level only. At the group and the individual levels as well,

6
creativity in administration is feasible and its overall contribution to effectiveness of goal-
oriented change can be immense. A development administrative system has the responsibility
to create an organisational environment, which would be congenial to creativity and
innovations.

Flexibility in Organisational Processes

Generally, a bureaucratic administration is considered as a synonym of rule oriented
administration. While it is true that no bureaucracy or administration can function without an
adequate set of rules, it is also true that a totally “rule oriented” administration can fall in the
trap of treating rules as ends rather than as means. Such a dogmatic approach can make an
administrative system straight jacketed and inflexible and thus make it unfit for promoting
development at a faster pace. Development-oriented administration requires an optimum
flexibility of operations, which would allow an administrator the required autonomy to apply
rules with discretion to certain unique and significantly distinctive administrative situations.
Though accountability for any decision made shall remain with the administrator, yet he/she
will be granted adequate leeway in using the set of rules to the advantage of the organisation
and to the best of his ability and judgement. Yes, the risk is likely to remain of misuse of any
discretionary powers, yet this little inevitable risk should not become an obstruction in the
process of making a development administration optimally flexible in its functioning.
Otherwise, the ideal notions of creativity and innovation will remain only myths.
Higher Level of Motivation
Motivated personnel are the backbone of any organisation designed to achieve certain
progressive goals. A development administrative system needs a set of highly motivated
personnel at top, middle and lower levels. Such personnel should be committed to the
progressive goals designed to be the achieved and should have a high degree of enthusiasm
and commitment to accomplish those goals. Their narrow vested interests or comforts should
not deter them from acting in the highest interests of the organisation and the society. What
factors can motivate the personnel functioning in development administrative organisation?
Essentially, the maxim of need-fulfilment will apply to any group of individuals entrusted
with the responsibilities of achieving certain goals. For the developmental administrative
personnel too, the bases of motivation will remain the same. Notwithstanding this
commonality, it may be stressed that in a development administrative system, the personnel
need to possess and demonstrate extra zeal, extra dedication and even perseverance to
achieve lofty progressive goals of change. In case it is not possible to create such a cadre of

7
motivated people, there is a likelihood of routinization of administration resulting in only
modest performance. How to get a group of highly motivated people to guide and man
development administrative organisations are a difficult question. Yet, a rigorous exercise in
building individuals and groups in a planned manner through proper training can be
attempted. Behavioural training for attitudinal change can be effectively employed for
creating a new class of motivated individuals.
People-orientation
A development administrative system is a client-oriented (in new parlance, ‘customer-
oriented’) or a beneficiary-oriented administration. It aims at providing maximum benefits of
its services and products to the very people for whom the organisation is designed. In other
words, Development administration is “people-centred” administration, which accords
primacy to the needs of its beneficiaries and tries to tune its policies, programmes and actions
to these needs. Here it may be appropriate to refer to a very important aspect of motivation
that is pre-eminent in any service-oriented or beneficiary-oriented administration. It is called
“extension” motivation, which means motivation to “help” people. Western motivation
theorists such as Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland have not highlighted this particular type
of motivation, but Indian social psychologists have been successful in identifying and
highlighting this notable phenomenon. The assumption of extension motivation is that there
is a desire in every human being to be of help to others. There are varying intensities of
extension motivation among people, depending on their socialisation and orientations. It can
be suggested without much risk of contradiction that in a beneficiary orientated
administration, existence of functionaries with a high degree of extension motivation will be
a great asset in pushing that organisation towards its goal of responsiveness. No doubt, a
development administrative organisation is a “responsive” organisation. It is responsive to the
needs, wishes and aspirations of the people that it purports to serve. Responsiveness is a trait
that would do well to any administrative system, but for a development administrative
organisation, it is a fundamental prerequisite to its successful existence.
Participation
We have discussed earlier that progressive political goals in a society will involve great
participation of the people in governmental affairs. The notion of participation gains added
importance in the actual functioning of a development administrative system. Development
administration involves the participation of the people or the beneficiaries in the formulation
and implementation of development programmes. In identifying goals, prescribing objectives,
formulating plans, designing action strategies, implementing projects and evaluating

8
 performance, the role of the beneficiaries is of utmost importance. That is why the block level
and district planning are gaining increasing importance in development administration in
India. Not only participation helps in making policies and plans more realistic and down-to-
earth, it also mobilises people’s cooperation and support in implementing development
programmes with minimum cost in terms of manpower, time and money. Participation of the
people in development programmes depends on three factors. These are:
i. Ability to participate which in turn depends on their level of formal and informal education.
ii. Willingness to participate which in turn depends on the socio-psychological framework of
society, groups and individuals.
iii. Opportunity provided to the people by the governmental organisations to participate. Their
absence may cause low participation.
Participation has an important concomitant in decentralisation. A development administrative
system effectively utilises the strategies of delegation and consultation and thus makes the
administration “grass-root” oriented. People’s willing cooperation is sought and mobilised by
the governmental authorities and this cooperation and collaboration becomes a potent
instrument for making the process of development administration successful.
Effective Integration
Bringing together a host of groups and authorities for the achievement of common
developmental goals would require a high degree of integrative capacity in an administrative
organisation. Verily, development administration is characterised by a high degree of
coordination or integration. And in case, the level of integration is low, the developmental
output is likely to be adversely affected. In a development administrative situation,
coordination is required to be affected at various levels, among different organisations and
units among various positions and functionaries and among the resources available for the
achievement of goals. Lack of coordination is bound to result into wastage of resources and
mitigation of effectiveness. As is well known, any developing society experiences a
proliferation of structures to equip it to undertake specialised tasks. But what generally
happens is that the level of specialisation of functions and structures increases. But a required
level of coordination does not accompany this. This gap between specialisation and
coordination is termed as “integration lag”. Fred Riggs calls that society “Prismatic” where
the level of integration (coordination) is less than that of differentiation (specialization). In a
Prismatic Society, I<D (I stands for “integration lag”, D stands for Development).
Coping Ability

9
A development administrative system is an “open” system. It receives inputs regularly from
the environment and attempts to respond through its outputs, viz., decisions and actions. No
doubt there is a continuing interaction between a system and its environment and this
reciprocity of relationship is an important trait of development administration. Every
development administrative system functions in an environment, which has its set of sub-
systems. For instance, there are the political, economic, social and cultural (including
technological) environments in which development administration has to function.
Obviously, the influences of these environments affect the nature of functioning and
effectiveness of development administration. The political environment places demands for a
change and provides direction of movement, the economic environment outlines the agenda
of action of the administrative system and puts constraints of resources on it and the
sociocultural system creates the milieu in which the development administrative system has
to operate. It does not imply that development administration is only a dependent variable
and lacks its own mechanism to influence the environment. Essentially, the process of
development administration is interactional and therefore it would be a mistake on the part of
theorists to present it only as a one-directional process.
SCOPE OF DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
With the de-emphasis on the dichotomy between development administration and non-
development administration, the scope of development administration as a discipline as well
as a profession has increased enormously in recent years. The discipline or the study of
development administration has focused on the progressive goals of administrative systems
and thus have strengthened the ideological orientation of public administration. Values have
taken a central place in the analysis of development administration. Second, these progressive
goals are being studied in a very wide context involving political, economic, social, cultural
and technological systems. Thus, the students of development administration are examining
the variegated dimensions of political, economic, social, cultural and technological
development in an objective manner. Third, development administration analysis is not
confined to national boundaries and it transcends them and has rightly become cross-national
and cross-cultural in its approach and orientation. Fourth, its expanding intellectual network
has enveloped a number of branches of public administration that have their origin in a
variety of functional administrative areas. For instance, areas such as industrial
administration, agricultural administration, educational administration, health administration,
and the continually growing intellectual network of development administration would
encompass irrigation administration and social welfare administration. Thus, development

10
administration, going beyond the issues of large-scale transformation in developing countries,
helps in strengthening the empirical base of public administration as a discipline and thus
makes it more ‘rigorous’. Its ideas and lessons can be fruitfully utilised for facilitating the
process of all round development.
Little wonder, development administration, during the past four decades, has
influenced the whole notion of governance at the national as well as the international levels.
In South Asia, as in other regions of the Asia, Africa and Latin America, the concerns of
holistic transformation of societies have penetrated into the philosophy and practices of
governance. The interdependence of political, economic, social, cultural and technological
development has become a widely accepted truth. This has made the strategies of national
transformation increasingly multi-faceted and ecological in orientation. Second, the
administrative system being the crux of the governance system has become an integral
component of any process of change. It is impossible to conceive of ‘development’ in any
realm without first examining the requisite role of the administrative system. What lends
sustainability to the process of development is a sound administrative system that provides
vitality and viability to the change process.
Third, the process of nation building has become closely interwined with the process
of institution building as a result of the thrust of development administration. Whether it is
urbanisation, rural transformation, educational development, health improvement, women
welfare, childcare or technological growth, no organised development is possible without
systematic planning, programming, coordinating, human resource management and
administration of non-human resources. Thus, the dimension of effectiveness in the process
of governance has taken a crucial place. Undoubtedly, this is the clear impact of the
sprawling scope of development administration.
Fourth, development administration has paved the way for a new ‘humane’
administration. It has propelled the promotion of enterprising and inspiring leadership that
generates a motivational climate and induces the best among the personnel forming the
network of development organisations. This has led to the expansion in the scope of
development administration.
And lastly, with the emergence of strong faith in the philosophy of liberalisation,
globalisation, privatisation, and public-private partnership, the scope of development
administration is transcending the public (government) systems and is influencing the
functioning of even the emergent modified private sector that is learning the strategies of co-
existing and co-functioning with the public system without in any way imbibing the

11
dysfunctionalities of bureaucracies. In times to come, the scope of development
administration is bound to further expand vertically as well as horizontally.
SIGNIFICANCE OF DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Development administration has emerged as the meeting point of empirical as well as
normative concerns. That way, it is post-behavioural in character and is akin to the movement
of New Public Administration. Some students of development administration are concerned
primarily “with the normative questions, with the desirability of proposed courses of action,
with prescriptions for the maximization or optimization of selected values,” while others have
a dominant interest in “empirical question, in the descriptions and analyses of existing
practices and situations, and in the prediction of what is likely to happen under given sets of
conditions” (Riggs, op. cit). These foci have been interdependent. Scholars interested in
prescription generally seek help of empirically based knowledge, while students interested
primarily in empirical studies often chose a subject of study for its probable policy relevance.
The study of development administration has generally had a dominant normative concern
with enhancement of administrative capabilities in “developing” nations particularly. Thus, it
is natural to find an emphasis on various normative questions in the field.
All policy sciences must have a paramount concern with the question of values. Thus,
development administration has been viewed as “an aspect of public administration that is
centrally concerned with one of the many values men seek and which varies in the strength
and kind of allegiance it commands country to country, group to group, and person to person”
(Weidner, op. cit). This focus has provided the whole area of public administration with a
programmatic goal or value orientation. Development administration studies both the process
of selecting values and the ways in which they influence administration in various ecological
settings (Heady, 1966).
Further, the concept of development administration helps in relating administrative
means to administrative ends, and thus aids the process of selecting appropriate means for
achievement of developmental goals in various cultural contexts. Such a developmental focus
can subtly reflect the parochial bias of what Dwight Waldo has called “ethnocentrism”
(Waldo, 1968). To guard against this, research must recognise the diversity of ecological
settings in which development may occur. In addition, the study of development
administration can assist the practitioners of public administration to identify conditions that
maximize the rate of development in these various settings (Riggs, 1964).
While discussing the scope of development administration, it was made clear that this
discipline, during the past four decades has brought a metamorphosis in the analysis and

12
application of the governance systems across the world. It has stressed upon the role of
administrative system in generating and sustaining change in its environment. Thus, the non-
administrative obligations of the administrative system have magnified the status of
bureaucracy as a key factor in changing the social order. In the analysis on development
administration, the dynamism of administration is highlighted as a requisite to nation
building. Further, the stress on goals and their achievement has helped development
administration go beyond the parameters of the ‘goal-theory’. Development administrative
theorists have highlighted that in a democratic society, a democratic administration can help,
evolve and strengthen participatory philosophy and strategies. In this ambience emerge
leaders who are visionary and motivational who, through goal-orientation and with an eye on
future, create a motivational climate and an open communication system that facilitates the
development of people-centred development. The whole structure of administrative systems
creates a more effective climate for purposive action. An
integration of goals by the administrative system through its mechanism of planning and
programmes helps in the process of holistic development of social orders. This holistic
approach, in turn, promotes a value-based transformation that gives central place to the
premises of equity, justice, instrumental values and positive work culture.
An important contribution of development administration is in strengthening the
“regulatory” administration through the generation of additional resources and the creation of
a climate of stability and happiness that, in turn, lends credibility to the governance system.
POLITICAL FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT
Poor management

There are often political factors involved in why some countries remain poor, and one of
those is bad government. Governments need to do lots of things to encourage development –
they need to build and maintain infrastructure, and raise and spend finance wisely, on the
right projects. When governments are inept at managing infrastructure, development is
impossible. Nobody wants to build a factory in a city where the power could go out at any
time. They also need to set up their laws and business practices in a way that encourages
investment and initiative, that protect businesses and individuals legally, and that honour
property rights, contracts and copyrights.

Corruption

13
 If you have ever lived in a country where corruption is rife, you will know how frustrating,
dis-heartening and fundamentally dis-empowering corruption can be. Tim Harford describes
corruption in Cameroon, in his book The Undercover Economist. While the most obvious
perpetrators are crooked policemen or customs officials, which everyone knows about, these
are the tip of the iceberg. Red tape is where real endemic corruption happens – a slowing and
over-complicating of simple processes, from starting businesses, buying or selling property,
to the law courts, all require ridiculous amounts of paperwork, interviews, visits to ministry
offices. Harford describes how chasing an unpaid invoice in Cameroon took 58 separate
procedures. Says Harford: ‘Every procedure is an opportunity to extract a bribe. The slower
the standard processes, the greater the temptation to pay ‘speed money.

Imagine having to bribe your telephone company and all your utility companies,
paying an aside for your driver’s license and to pass your exams. Imagine having to bribe the
post office every time you bought something by mail order, bribing the bank clerk to let you
take money out of your own account, paying your doctor to give you a prescription, and then
the chemist to give it to you. That’s the reality of endemic corruption, the abuse of power at
every level. It takes strong leadership to fight it, but it can be done.

Political instability

Finally, political instability plays a role in why some countries remain poor. This could be
ethnic tension, tribalism, or all-out war. Needless to say, countries with long-term conflicts
such as the ones in Somalia or Afghanistan, have little chance of developing. Other nations
such as Sri Lanka, have simmering ethnic divides that are a constant distraction, de-
stabilising the region and discouraging investment. Syria is an example of a country that was
doing well, until conflict pushed its development sharply into reverse. Conflict and tension
harms people directly, and it damages the infrastructure that people rely on. It drains away
spending into the military or into repairing what has been damaged. The uncertainty alone is
a problem, because it stops people from planning ahead and investing. There are a lot more
political factors in why countries remain poor, from the health of institutions, to the role of
inequality and the distribution of wealth. But that’s an introduction to some of the main
political reasons for persistent poverty.

ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT

i. Import tariffs of goods from poorer countries put the prices of those goods UP

14
 ii. Subsidies (payments from governments to the producer) of goods produced in richer
countries push the prices of rich world goods cheaper. This makes it harder for poorer
countries to compete.
iii. The world trade system encourages a “race to the bottom”, where buyers from richer
countries go from place to place around the world driving down prices because supply of
goods often outstrips demand. In addition, the lack of reliable energy supply, political
stability, infrastructure and educated workforce put countries at a disadvantage. The net
result in many poorer countries is that they are forced to export only lower value raw
materials such as agricultural goods, whilst they buy back more expensive manufactured
goods or services. Poorer countries do not have the capital to set these types of industries up.

SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT CULTURE

There are many definitions of culture. According to the definition by House, Javidan et al.
(2001, p. 494), culture is defined as „shared motives values, beliefs, identities, and
interpretations or meaning of significant events that result from common experiences of
members of collectives and are transmitted across age generations“. In general, culture is
considered as the accepted behaviors, customs, and values of a given society (Dlabay and
Scott, 2011).
Many components can be considered as elements of culture. These elements arise and are
related to the beliefs and behavior of people. Form multinational companies’ perspective, a
culture of every foreign country through its elements affects their business activities. Тhe
main elements of culture that may have an impact on the operation of multinational
companies are (Vasudeva, 2007):
i. Attitude and beliefs – In every host country, there are norms of behavior based on attitudes
and beliefs that constitute a part of its culture. The attitudes and beliefs vary from country to
country. Multinational companies face a different set of attitudes and beliefs of a culture in
each foreign country separately, and it influences all aspects of human behavior, providing
organization and directions to a society and its individuals. Identifying the difference in
attitudes and beliefs among various countries helps the multinational managers more easily
understand people's behavior;
ii. Attitude toward time – It refers to people’s behavior about punctuality, responses to business
communication, responses to deadlines and the amount of time that they spent waiting for an
appointment. For instance, Americans are known to be punctual and the phrase time is money
exactly explains their attitude towards time. In contrast, people from other countries may

15
 show more flexibility towards time. Analogically, multinationals operating in various
countries should take into consideration these differences in attitudes towards time;
iii. Attitude toward work and leisure – There are differences in attitude towards work and leisure
among various countries. In some countries, people work much more hours than is necessary
to satisfy their basic needs of living. This attitude is indicative of their views towards wealth
and material gains;
iv. Attitude toward achievement – Cultural diversity in the general attitudes towards work is
related to people's achievement motivation.
v. Attitude toward change – Multinational companies should anticipate a difference in attitudes
toward change between separate countries. They should take into consideration some key
cultural issues, such what aspects of a culture resist change, how the process of change takes
place in different foreign countries, how the areas of resistance differ among them, and how
long it takes time for implementing same change;
vi. Attitude toward job – The importance of certain profession in country significantly
determinate a number and quality of people who want and seek to join that profession.
Consequently, if the business is considered as a prestigious occupation in some country,
multinational companies will have at their disposal broader pool of local professionals.
Language
The diversity of language among various foreign countries is a source of many challenges for
multinational companies. Although there is a tendency of accepting the English language as a
universal business language, the companies are aware that it also provokes resistance by
locals in many of countries where they operate. Business communication is further
complicated by the nonverbal components of the language. Nonverbal communication creates
difficulties for multinational companies due of various meanings of its elements in the
separate countries, such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, etc. (nonvocal elements
of speaking) and pitch, volume, speaking rate, etc. (vocal elements of speaking) (Hargie,
2011).
From the perspective of the multinational company, it is very notable to have good
knowledge of the local language. The lack of knowledge of a local language is reflected on
the performance of foreign subsidiaries and their managers. The languages difficulties can be
reduced by appointing expatriates on the top managerial positions in the local subsidiary or
nationals that have good knowledge of parent company’s language and corporate culture.
The most common problem is that a large proportion of the parent company’s staff
has limited or no knowledge of local language and that contributes the parent-subsidiary

16
communication to be reduced to subsidiary's staff who knows the parent’s language or to the
translators. Consequently, the volume of information that parent company’s staff receives and
processes are significantly decreased. This problem is significantly enhanced if several
languages are spoken by the local workforce. The presence of more than one language in a
given country is an indicator of diversity in its population. In some European countries, such
as German, which employ a large number of guest workers, the language difficulties increase
from the linguistic variety. In German, for instance, many companies employ guest workers
from Turkey and Spain. Consequently, the periodic meetings with workers are held in
German, Turkish and Spanish (Fatehi, 2008).
Religion
Religion is considered as “a socially shared set of beliefs, ideas, and actions that relate to a
reality that cannot be verified empirically yet affects the course of natural and human events-
a way of life woven around people’s ultimate concerns” (Hill, 2009, p. 519).
The largest religion groupings in the world are Christianity and Islam (see Fig. 2).
Christianity numbers about 2.1 billion followers or approximately 33% of the world’s
population. On another hand, Islam is considered as the world’s second most practiced
religion with 1.3 billion followers or about 21% of the world’s population (Morrison, 2008).
In many countries around the world, religion plays a significant role in people's life. Religion
even determines the way people think of work. Consequently, religion considerably affects
on business activity and corporate culture. Many companies adapt their working process
according to a predominant religion of a given country in terms of the holidays, working
hours, food habits, a way of dressing, etc. From the perspective of the multinational
company, religion is an important social factor that should take in consideration when some
company decides to operate in a given country. Religion, through its effects on people,
affects a multinational company and its operations. Multinational companies, for instance,
should be aware of religious holidays in each country where they operate. The most of the
Islamic countries have significantly lower productivity during the month of the Ramadan fast.
Likewise, the pace of work in many Asian countries is slow down during the celebrations of
the Chinese New Year. The situation is similar during the Easter holidays in many European
countries as well (Parboteeah and Cullen, 2017).
In some countries, the followers of particular religions are required to dress or to
maintain their physical appearance in a manner that is not appropriate to the company’s
appearance norms. Also, multinational company’s products or ingredients used in
manufacturing are forbidden in the certain country. For instance, multinational companies

17
 cannot produce or sell pork products because pork and all that is associated with it is
rigorously forbidden according to Islam (Ajami and Goddard, 2014).Based on the foregoing,
it can be concluded that an appropriate understanding and respecting of religions is extremely
important for the efficient functioning of multinational companies.
LEVEL OF EDUCATION
Education significantly affects the lifestyle of a population of any country in the world, the
way of their thinking, their attitude toward work, etc. The level of education varies among
countries. However, in many countries, the level of education has a tendency to increase.
Education level and level of literacy of population of a given country are indicators of the
quality of their potential workforce.
Economic potential and progress of any country depend on the education of its population.
Analogously, education has notably impact on international business. The most significant
economic implications of education that are reflected on the operation of multinational
companies are (Aswathappa, 2010):
i. Countries with a well-educated population attract high-wage industries. Every country that
invests in education tends to create high-wage industries that are known as “brain power”
industries;
ii. The market potential of any country primarily depends on education. The counties rich in
educational facilities, such Germany and England, are more likely to attract high-tech
industries than the less educated countries such as Romania and Poland. The technology level
of the company’s products may depend on the education level of the local population;
iii. The level of education and the level of literacy of population in a given country considerable
determine the way of marketing research, packaging and advertising conducted by
multinational companies.
In a country where the level of education of local population is higher, it is considered
that expectations from multinational companies are proportionally higher. Buyers with a
higher level of education require more quality products and services, a better price-quality
ratio (a better VALUE-for-MONEY RATIO) and know their right as customers. Also, well-
educated local workforce requires better working conditions, more stable work, and greater
opportunities for further improvement as the business environment changes.
THE ATTITUDE OF THE SOCIETY TOWARDS FOREIGN BUSINESS
The social and government attitudes towards foreign business, especially towards foreign
companies and their products, are one of the social factors that may have a significant impact

18
on the performance of multinational companies. The social and governments attitudes of the
particular country towards foreign companies and their products can range from complete
acceptance and trust to complete distrust and antagonism.
Analogously, if the society of a given country is friendly towards foreign business,
multinational companies will certainly benefit from a supportive local environment. On
another hand, if social attitudes of a given country are antagonistic, the multinational
companies may face difficulties, such as boycotts of their products. The antagonistic social
attitude that companies may face in some foreign countries is often the result of their
government's position towards some political issues (Shenkar, Luo et al, 2015).
The purpose of boycotts is to shout completely the companies out of the particular
market. The most publicized boycott campaign ever was 50 years boycott run by Arab
countries against the companies that were engaged in business activities with Israel (Gillespie
and Hennessey, 2016).
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND POLICIES
The following are the various development strategies that have been adopted at one time or
the other. These are: Community boards of 1954, the farm settlement scheme of 1959, the
first National development plan period (1962-1968); the Second National development period
(1970-1974); the third National development plan period (1975-1980), the fourth National
development plan period (1980-1985); and the post fourth plan period (1985-1990), the
agricultural development project, operation feed the Nation; Green revolution, national
directorate for employment, mass mobilization for self-reliance and economic recovery, river
basin development authority, national accelerated food production programme, the national
livestock development programe, the directorate of food , roads, and rural infrastructures, the
integrated rural development programmes, the national economic empowerment development
strategy (NEEDS), the vision 2010, the vision 2020, the seven point agenda and others
(Ezeah, 2005; Ndukwe, 2005; Igbokwe and Enwere, 2001).
Brief Examination of a Few Developmental Strategies in Nigeria:
The First National development plan (1962-1968)
The plan made no clear statement on rural infrastructural development, as agriculture was
still an important exchange earner, the plan’s objectives were to encourage the gathering of
agricultural produce for export purposes.
The Second National development plan (1970-1974)
The second plan was launched shortly after the end of civil war. The plan attempted to
rehabilitate economic activities in the war-affected areas. The plan according to Ogwunike,

19
 (1995) spelt out five principal national objectives meant to achieve a united, just, strong and
self-reliant nation. But just as in the first plan’ government did not make any clear statement
on rural infrastructural development. However, it was stated in the plan that government was
committed to village regrouping. This was perhaps to reduce the cost of providing economic
and social infrastructure such as health, electricity, water and educational facilities for the
rural areas. The sum allocated to rural development looks too paltry, and generally like the
previous once, the plan failed to achieve result.
The Third National development plan (1975-1980)
The third national development plan was considered more ambitious than the second.
Emphasis was placed on rural development and efforts to revamp agricultural sector.
The Fourth National development plan (1981-1985)
The fourth National development plan according to Oye Adeniyi (2014) exhibits several
distinguishing features: First, it was formulated by a civilian government under a new
constitution based on the presidential system of government. Second, it was the first plan in
which the local government tier was allowed to participate fully in its own right. The plan
emphasized among other things the need for balanced development of the different sectors of
the economy and of the various geographical areas of the country. It emphasized the
importance of rural infrastructural development as a vehicle for enhancing the quality of rural
life.
In terms of rural transportation development, the local government in the country planned for
the provision of intercity/village bus services, for the construction of motor parks, and for
petrol filling stations during the fourth plan period (1981-1985).
In order to increase the access of rural dwellers to safe drinking water, rural water
supply scheme were planned apart from the huge boreholes drilling programmes. At the state
level, the various state governments spelt out different policy issues in the fourth
development plan. For instance, in Oyo State, the government identified four cardinal
programs for itself, these include:
a. Free education at all levels.
b. Free medical services
c. Integrated rural development and
d. Gainful employment
The post Fourth plan (1985-1990)
The post fourth plan period witnessed the establishment of the Directorate Food, Roads and
Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) in 1985 for the purpose of providing rural infrastructure in the

20
 country side. The laws establishing the Directorate was promulgated under decree number
four of 1987. The core of the Directorate’s programme is the promotion of productive
activities. Besides the directorate recognized the provision of rural infrastructure such as
feeder roads, water, electricity and housing as essential for the enhancement of the quality of
life in the rural areas.

The programme of the directorate include:

The organization and mobilization of the local people to enhance or facilitate close
interaction between the government and the people. In addition, the local communities were
asked to form unions or associations for the purpose of providing common facilities for
themselves.
a. the provision of rural infrastructures such as rural feeders roads, rural water and sanitation,
rural housing and electrification.
b. The promotion of productive activities such as food and agriculture, rural industrialization
and technology;
c. The promotion of other extra-curricular activities such as socio-cultural and recreational
programs, intra and inter community cohesion activities.
The plan for the implementation of DFRRI programs was organised into two phases, the
target was to provide water for 250 communities in each of the states of the federation, to
construct 90,000km of feeder roads, and to promote rural housing, health and agriculture. To
facilitate industrial growth and improve the attractiveness of the rural environment, the
Directorate planned to commence its rural electrification programme in the second phase
starting in June 1971. In pursuit of its objectives DFRRI also planned to coorporate with
organization (Edwin, 1972).
In Nigeria, several attempts were made to effect both rural and national development
from independence apart from the various rolling plan, they include the agricultural
development programme, (ADP), Operation feed the nation, Green revolution, Structural
adjustment programme (SAP), vision 2010, vision 2020, National Economic empowerment
development strategy (NEEDS) and others.

21
 The above mentioned strategies for development have all been the same, it is just a change of
a nomenclature, their objectives and medium for achieving the various goals have not been
different from one another.
INSTRUMENTS FOR ACHIEVING DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

You would agree that developmental difficulties are numerous and the complexity
of developmental tasks varies. It is extremely difficult to achieve developmental goals
solely through administrative systems. There is also a requirement for the use of
additional instruments. We will examine four significant instruments that can be used
to accomplish development goals. They are as follows:

a. Administrative system

b. Political organisation

c. Voluntary associations,

d. People's organisations.

Administrative System: Any country's public administration is an indispensable tool for

implementing development policies and programmes. The administrative system
provides specialised services and is responsible for a wide variety of developmental and non-
developmental activities. Due to the specialised skills and extensive experience of
administrative systems, there is a strong reliance on this instrument to achieve
development goals. However, given the breadth of the objectives, it is necessary to enlist
additional instruments.

Political Organisation: Political parties mobilize support for development initiatives.

They are instrumental in resolving social conflicts and laying the groundwork for
development. As a result, it is regarded as a vital instrument of development administration.

Voluntary Associations: There will always be a chasm between the people and the
governmental system in transitional societies. This should be completed to expedite the
development process. Voluntary organisations can play a critical and significant role in this
area. Increased motivation, adaptability in organisation and approach, apolitical nature, and
commitment to the cause all contribute to their suitability as developmental
instruments

22
Peoples Organisations: As previously stated, development requires increased citizen
participation. Participation can occur during the decision-making process, during
implementation, during benefit sharing, or during evaluation. This requires both skill and
dedication and necessitates mass mobilisation. People's organisations contribute to the
acceleration of the development and social transformation processes. We must bear in
mind that development strategy cannot be based solely on a single national structure or
socioeconomic progress strategy. We must use all of the instruments or a
combination of instruments that are dissimilar. Additionally, there are numerous
administrative positions in India, such as District Collectors and Chief Secretaries, that are
intricately linked to developmental as well as traditional functions. Separating their functions
would be academic at best. Thus, the most rational approach would be to regard
Development Administration as a distinct type of administration with distinct characteristics
but inextricably linked to general administration.

23