Difference between Developmental and Non-Developmental Administration
Sometimes a distinction is made between developmental administration and non-developmental or “traditional” administration. It is said that both are similar so far as these are concerned with how rules, policies and norms are implemented by government organisations but they differ in their objectives, scope, complexity and degree of innovation in the developmental administration.
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It may, however be said that differing mixes of administrative departments will be seen as developmental or non-developmental in different ecological settings. It is also not true that the developmental processes start only when a country has achieved political freedom.
The apparent developmental non-developmental dichotomy is due to the impression that development administration is concerned solely with the administration of developing countries.
But such assumption can only reduce the utility of the concept of development administration in its application to the comparative analysis of ‘developed’ and ‘developing countries. In fact it is almost impossible to find totally developing or single purpose oriented administrations in actual functioning.
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Even in developing countries where administrations are assumed to be developmental, top priority is given to maintaining social order. At the same time the administrations in developed Western societies, which are passing through a period of turbulence, have to face the problems of continuing socio-economic and political development.
The difference may really be only in degree of emphasis or ecological setting in which an administration functions. To sum up, it may be said, “Nevertheless, as the term developmental administrations is used in the literature, it refers to those administrative systems or organizations which are centrally concerned with the achievements of progressive socio-economic and political goals, and which are innovational in attitudes and operation.