Assignment Code: BPAC-132 / ASST/TMA/July 2021 & January 2022

Course Code: BPAC-132

Assignment Name: Administrative Thinkers

Year: 2021 -2022 (July 2021 and January 2022 sessions)

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Assignment A

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1. Discuss Kautilya’s views on personnel administration. 20 marks

Ans) Personnel management was particularly vital because the state's activities were broad and diversified, implying a broad and varied public administration.

The King and the kingdom were the most important traits to look for in a public job seeker. In other words, Kautilya emphasised three qualities in a candidate for state employment: moral/ethical, technical/professional, and devotion to the monarch and country. Kaam, Kroadh, Maya, and Loabh should be gone. Only an officer free of avarice and allurement can serve the interests of both the ruled and the ruling effectively and satisfactorily. The safety and security of the state and its citizens are related to the moral and ethical standards of its employees. Kautilya prescribes tests of Kaam, Kroadh, Mada, and Loabh to achieve this.

Recruitment, Promotion and Transfer

Recruitment is the process of finding and selecting the best candidates for assigned administrative tasks/functions. It was determined by a person's qualifications for each functional responsibility whether or not they were accepted or given a low-level duty. Even the King had to meet some requirements to become King. So it was with the prince, the priest, and the other department heads. Before being assigned to any position, civil servants had to pass several tests.

Moreover, Kautilya seems to have recognised the value of not only subject knowledge or technical skills, but also actual experience. This is closer to the current practise of defining eligibility for state jobs.

The list of the eligibilities of Amatyas for selection included the following:

1. He should be a citizen of the country.

2. He should be from a high family and should be influential.

3. He should be well- trained in Arts.

4. He should possess foresight, boldness, wisdom, intelligence, enthusiasm and energy, strong memory, purity of character, dignity and endurance, affability, strength, health and bravery.

5. He should be skillful, eloquent, firm in loyal devotion, endowed with excellent conduct.

6. He should be free from fickle mindedness, procrastination and from such qualities that excite hatred and enmity.

Pay and Salaries

The Arthashastra states that the salary grade ranged from 48000 panas to 60 panas. The Mahamatya, Purohit, Senapati, Yuvaraj, Acharaya, Ritwik (sacrificial priest), Queen, and Rajmata received 48000 panas, while the Dauvarika, Antarvamsika, Prasastra, Samaharta, and Samnidhata received 24000 panas.

The total salary of public servants was determined on the basis of the principles of:

1. The capacity to pay to the countryside and the city.

2. It shall not be more than one fourth of revenues of the State.

3. The salary should be enough to meet the bodily needs of the employees and shall

   not be in contradiction to the principles of Dharma and Artha.

4. Salary should be fixed in such a manner that right people with right merit are

   attracted so as to attain the objectives of the State.

5. The salary could be paid either in cash or in kind or both depending on the adequacy

   of cash available with the Treasury.

Training of Civil Servants

The author of Arthashastra only addressed this subject explicitly and in depth in Arthashastra, therefore it drew Kautilya's attention. Kautilya was not only engaged in teaching theory, but also in teaching practise. As far as I can tell, Kautilya stressed purposeful training for civil workers. In other words, he saw training as a useful tool for promoting organisational discipline. The Kautilyan concepts of training are relevant in today's administrative development setting for improving people's/subjects' wellbeing. Strangely, Avthashastra paid little attention to the training needs of lower-level staff.

Q2. Explain the styles of management, as propounded by Rensis Likert. 20 marks

Ans) Rensis Likert identified Four Management Styles on a continuum, from autocratic job-centered managers (System 1) to democratic, employee-centered managers (System 4).

These four management styles are given below:

System 1 : Exploitative-Authoritative Management

The manager in the Exploitative-Authoritative Management Style has little faith in their subordinates and obtains task compliance by fear and threats. The manager has a strong sense of authority and imposes judgments on subordinates with little or no opportunity for further discussion. Furthermore, management is primarily concerned with the task's completion rather than the desires of the human beings participating in the activity. In general, top-down communication and psychological isolation between superiors and subordinates characterise this management style.

System 2: Benevolent-Authoritative Management

As the term 'benevolent' implies the manager in System 2:Benevolent-Authoritative Management Style listens to the concerns of the subordinates. This indicates that the boss has faith and confidence in their subordinates. Managers, for example, delegate the responsibility for making routine choices to subordinates while maintaining tight policy control. Rather than using fear and threat to elicit conformity from subordinates, the benign authoritative employs rewards. Apart from the reward system, System 2 is distinguished by limited upward communication from subordinate to superior, i.e., information going upward is limited to what the management wants to hear.

System 3 : Consultative Management

The manager in System 3:Consultative Management Style has partial faith and trust in his or her subordinates. Despite the fact that the management is still in charge of all policy choices, they try to comprehend their subordinates' viewpoints. Top management, as in the benevolent authoritative management style, is in charge of higher-order decisions; subordinates are in charge of lower-order decisions; and economic incentives are used to encourage compliance. In summary, System 3 is characterised by a two-way communication process, both upward and downward, in which subordinates provide their thoughts in limited proportions that differ from what the superior wishes to hear. As a result, subordinates can have a moderate impact on departmental activity.

System 4: Participative Management

System 4 Management Style is characterised by participative group management and is founded on managerial trust and confidence. As a result, every employee feels accountable for attaining the organization's goals. Aside from monetary incentives, management makes extensive use of group engagement and involvement in areas such as setting high performance goals, performance-based awards, collaborative cooperation, upgrading work processes, and open communication. It should be highlighted that subordinates and superiors are psychologically close, and decision-making is generally done through group processes throughout the organisation. Employee-oriented managers, in general, are those who have developed their departments' staff into effective groups with cooperative attitudes and a strong sense of job satisfaction.

According to Likert, management is always a relative process. Likert's central idea is that, in order to be effective, modern organisations must think of themselves as interacting groups of people with ‘supportive relationships' with one another. All employees should, in theory, believe that the organization's goals are personally important to them. They will see their occupations as significant, necessary, and challenging since they contribute to those goals. As a result, managers are expected to direct and encourage workplace cooperation in order to attain those agreed objectives and values. Participative managers, for example, are observed to focus on the human side of their employees' difficulties and on forming productive teams.

Assignment B

Answer the following in about 250 words each.

Q3. Examine Gandhi’s idea of Swaraj. 10 marks

Ans) Gandhi's definition of Swaraj. In contrast to the narrow negative meaning of individual or national freedom, Gandhi was concerned with the moral meaning of freedom. So, I'm afraid I won't be able to respond in English, he says. In Sanskrit, the word waraj means "self-rule." Swaraj is the Sanskrit word for self-rule. The term "independence" is unrestricted. Independence may imply the ability to act freely. Swaraj has a positive attitude. Independent in a negative way Self-rule and self-control, not independence.

Swaraj means that an individual's or a nation's freedom does not imply complete isolation from others or a moral obligation to others who also have the right to freedom.

Gandhi believed that man's right to self-rule or freedom is inherent in him as an autonomous moral agent, and that individual liberty is essential to society and community. He becomes an automaton without this freedom, and society collapses. Individual liberty is unalienable in any society. Gandhi, unlike Mill, emphasised the moral and social importance of individual liberty.

Gandhi's concept of Swaraj is applicable to both individuals and nations. He emphasises the interconnectedness of individual and collective self-determination, as well as personal and national liberty. "Individuals are the foundation of Swaraj. 'As with the individual, so with the universe,' says the great truth. Gandhi, on the other hand, emphasised the individual as a self-aware agent while dismissing the group. He defined swaraj of people as "the sum total of swaraj of individuals." Self-government, or swaraj, is synonymous with moksha, or salvation.

Q4. Describe the changing perspectives of Weber’s bureaucracy. 10 marks

Ans) Proponents and opponents alike assumed, following Weber, that only a cultured advanced society could sustain such legal-rational administration. In less advanced societies, a legal-rational organisation can rarely achieve maximum efficiency. However, the complexity of societal existence of individuals on democratic and equity principles has increased reliance on government agencies in both advanced and developing countries. Decades of inaction, inefficiency, corruption, unmanageability, unresponsiveness, unaccountability and invasive procedures contributed to the rise of bureaucracy. These ills are collectively known as bureaucratisation.

The post-Weberian paradigm shift from mechanical impersonal Weberian structure to human development paradigm has been tectonic. This means more flexible structures and less focus on productivity and secrecy. as if organisational productivity without human development was useless. It was suggested that the organisation develop a new ethos, situational response, greater accessibility, openness and transparency, and above all, inter-personal relationships. The role of government has become increasingly complex in recent decades, with bureaucracy playing an increasingly important role in everyday life. On one hand, people's participation with government and bureaucrats is widely acknowledged, but on the other, bureaucracies' use of power is increasingly questioned.

Based on recent events, we can conclude that bureaucracy necessitates refocusing our goals and strategies. The ‘bureaucratic leviathan' had social hiccups. Decentralisation of authority (rather than centralisation), strengthening local governance through Gram Sabha, citizens' charters, citizen report cards and grievance redress are among the tools and strategies used in both advanced and developing countries to address these issues. Despite its many advantages and disadvantages, bureaucracy has become inevitable in today's world.

Q5. Briefly discuss Maslow’s theory of motivation. 10 marks

Ans) As previously stated, Maslow established an overall Theory of Motivation in his landmark paper, "A Theory of Human Motivation." From the perspective of human needs, he investigated the interaction between humans and organisations. Human beings join organisations to meet their wants, which can come from a variety of places, according to him. As a result, meeting these demands inspires people to perform better, while not meeting them has a negative impact on people's motivation to contribute to organisations. As a result, the organization's aims, and objectives aren't met. With this in mind,

Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs Theory, which he hoped would keep employees motivated, resulting in increased productivity and satisfaction for both individuals and the company as a whole. Maslow felt that individual behaviour was the outcome of the individual's conscious and subconscious aspirations, according to Dhameja and Mishra. Both personal and organisational objectives were set. Personal demands were pushed to the bottom of the priority list, while organisational needs rose to the top.

Healthy human beings, according to Abraham Maslow, have a set of requirements that follow a hierarchical pattern and are thus organised in a hierarchy. Physiological, security, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs are some of these requirements. Some needs are more primal or basic than others (e.g., physiological and safety needs) (such as social and ego needs). Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' is frequently depicted as a five-level pyramid, with higher requirements emerging only if lower, or more basic ones are addressed.

Assignment C

Answer the following in about 100 words each.

Q6. Explain the concept of mental revolution as given by Woodrow Wilson. 6 marks

Ans) Mental Revolution It is a change in the attitude both on the part of management and workers in terms of extending cooperation and producing surplus.

The change in attitudes of workers and management towards one another and their respective responsibilities was advocated by him. Managers should stop worrying about acquiring the greatest assets and instead concentrate on earning the most revenue, which will result in more funds for them. Workers should cease worrying about raising earnings without putting forth more effort and instead enhance their responsibility and efficiency while boosting production, which will almost certainly result in an increase in their wages sooner or later.

Q7. Write a short note on the views of Follett on Leadership. 6 marks

Ans) Follett identifies four key principles in giving an order in her article "The Giving of Order," which are as follows:

1. Conscious Attitude- realise the principles through which it is possible to act on in any matter;

2. Responsible Attitude —to decide which of the principles should act on;

3. Experimental Attitude —try experiments and watch; and

4. Pooling the results.

Be Follett suggests, issuing an order based on principles is referred to as a conscious attitude. Responsible attitude is defined as issuing orders based on the ideals one should act on. Experimental attitude refers to issuing orders without knowing or analysing the success or failures. Finally, if the existing methods are determined to be inadequate, one should look into the pool of experiences of all and see how and to what extent the ways of providing commands have changed.

Q8. What do you mean by Contribution-Satisfaction Equilibrium? 6 marks

Ans) The question arises as to why subordinates obey authority when their acquiescence is required. According to Barnard, an organization's longevity is contingent on maintaining a balance between the contributions and pleasure of its members. Participants in the organisation offer contributions, which are decided by workers rather than management.

The satisfaction of the participants is supplied by the organisation. He emphasised that an individual participant would only stay in an organisation if his benefits outweighed his inputs. The organisation can only continue as long as it has the ability to provide effective inducements in sufficient quantities to keep the system in balance.

Q9. Discuss the principles of Job Enrichment. 6 marks

Ans) Vertical Job Loading, according to Herzberg, meant enhancing employees' status. Horizontal Job Loading, on the other hand, believed in changing the nature of work by making it more difficult. Herzberg proposed a new way of thinking about motivation and how it affects work situations. Instead of vertical loading, he talked of horizontal loading. It meant putting the staff to the test by increasing the quantity of work they were required to complete.

To meet individual needs, Herzberg suggested Job Enrichment. He meant by Job Enrichment that the job should be hard enough to allow individuals to put their skills to use. Increased responsibility should be commensurate with increased competence. Managers can increase employee intrinsic motivation by implementing Job Enrichment. If a job cannot accommodate a specific ability, it should have the potential to provide people with jobs that are suited for their abilities.

10. What do you understand by Management by Objectives? 6marks

Ans) Management by Objectives (MBO) is widely regarded as one of Drucker's most significant contributions to management theory. In 1954, he introduced this concept. MBO was further modified by Edward C.Schleh, who coined the phrase 'Management by Results.' MBO comprises methods for planning, establishing standards, evaluating performance, and motivating employees. MBO, according to Drucker, is not only a management tool, but also a management philosophy. It shifts management's fundamental concepts from exercising to self-control. MBO works both from the bottom up and from the top down. MBO connects objectives from one level to the next at the organisational level, and it gives precise performance targets at the individual level.