The Traditional Model of

Public Administration
S Ranugge
B. A. (Hons), M.A. (ISS), SLAS

Session 2

Session Objectives:
At the end of the session you will be
able to Understand;
the evolutionary process of public
administration concepts up to the
latter part of the last century
the principles of bureaucracy and its
validity as a public administration
model

Traditional Model
Introduction:
Public administration has a long history:
E.g. construction of pyramids in ancient
Egypt, ancient irrigation system in Sri
Lanka
Emperors and kings ruled their dynasties
and kingdoms through officials
Administration by amateurs and
personnel loyal to leaders

Traditional Model
Patronage and nepotism in
recruitments
Corruption, misuse and personal gains
by officials
The Spoils System of Administration in
the US till the latter part of 19 th century
Change in Presidency means change in
administration

Traditional Model
Demand for reforms and the
beginning of bureaucratic form of
administration
The need for regime continuation
with bureaucracy
Bureaucracy to function under the
control of political leadership

Traditional Model
Northcote-Trevelyn Report in Britain
(1854)
Abolition of patronage in recruitment to
the public service
Open competitive Examination for
recruitment under a central
examination board
Young men to be recruited to the lower
ranks

Traditional Model
Reorganization of staff as intellectual
and mechanical
Promotions from within the service
on merit basis
Gradual implementation of
recommendations
The Report impact on the US.

Traditional Model
Problems with the spoils systems
killing of President Garfield in 1881
by a disappointed jobseeker.
Corruptions through out the country
The Civil Service Act (1883) also
called the Pendleton Act.
Establishment of Civil service
Commission

Traditional Model
Competitive examination for
recruitments to the classified service
Merit-based appointments
Recruitments to the lower grade
Probation period before confirmation on
the post
Apportionment of appointments
according to the population of the states
and cities.

Traditional Model
Woodrow Wilsons contribution to
reforms
He was inspired by the Weberian
Model
Idea of distinct professional public
service
Recruited and appointed on merit
Politically neutral

Traditional Model
Permanent and continuance despite
political changes
Politicians to make policies and
Administrators to implement them

Webers theory of
bureaucracy:

Foundation of the traditional public

administration and modern
organization
Webers three types of authority
Traditional authority
Charismatic authority
Rational/legal authority

Rational/legal authority as bureaucracy

Six Principles of the

Bureaucracy:

1. Division of labor
2. Hierarchy
3. Promotion based on merit and
professional skills
4. Development of a career service
5. Reliance on and use of rules and
regulation
6. Impersonality of relationships

Merits of bureaucratic
theory

Administration is no longer arbitrary

Administration is not a personal political
arm
Rationale in decision-making;
application of rules and precedents
The system is with the highest level of
technical efficiency
Specialization of function means
increase in productivity.

The position of the official in

bureaucracy;
Holding office as a vocation
The official enjoys social esteem
Appointment by a superior (political)
authority
The position is held for life.
Fixed salary (by rank) and a pension
Career service, moving from lower
level to higher level

The political control and the

traditional bureaucracy:
Politics administration dichotomy
Woodrow Wilson
Politics sets the tasks for
administration
Public administration is detailed and
systematic execution of public law
The principle of separation was (is)
practiced in parliamentary
democracies.

The political control and

Minister and the ministry to make
policies, which are to be
administered by a department
The department head is permanent
and remains when the government
changes.
Stability, continuity and permanence
of service to carry out policies.

The political control and

Administration is anonymous although
it is carried out in the name of
Ministers.
The Ministers accept the personal
responsibility for all activities of their
departments
Public servants receive certain
benefits, such as salaries, job security
and a pension.

The political control and

The political control in the traditional
bureaucracy;
Accountability and responsibility
each department/agency is
accountable thro the hierarchy to the
Cabinet (in Westminster System)
Clear separation of areas of work
between the politicians and
administrators

Nature of the traditional

model:

Rigid and bureaucratic

Merit-based appointments
Focused on and preoccupied with the
structure and process
The system is stable
A better system than what existed
before

Criticisms of the traditional

model

Hierarchical structure is not the most

efficient organization to produce
results
Bureaucracy may be good for control
but not for management
No room for innovations
Political control is problematic

The problem of political

control

Separation between politicians and

administrators is vague and not
realistic
What was visible was a separation of
political appointment to public service
from career appointments in the US
Separation was followed in the
Westminster system.

The problem of
The traditional model does not
explain the role played by
administrators in management and
policy-making

The problem of bureaucracy

Barrier to innovations, bureaucrats as
timeservers
Red-tapism, mediocrity, inefficiency and
inertia (bureaucracy suffers from)
Problematic relationship between
bureaucracy and democracy
Professional secret of bureaucrats as
their power, and superiority as an elites
class

The problem of
Adherence to rules reduce the
technical efficiency
Clashes between politicians and
bureaucrats over this superiority (in
Sri Lanka at independence)
Politicians were critical of
bureaucracy in the 1970s in the
western democracies

In conclusion
The tradition model dominated the
20th century public administration
Impersonality and consistency of the
bureaucratic model are valid aspects
of modern organizations
Inherent weaknesses of the model
lead to reform the public sector in
the latter part of the 20th century.