1. Although modern societies are for the most part lacking in castes, guilds, and other socially
embedded ways of recruiting, training, and organizing workers, personal connections and
social networks are still highly relevant to many aspects of working life. In a parallel fashion,
the rules and procedures governing the way that particular kinds of work are done may simply
reflect longstanding customs, even when they may not be effective or efficient. In today‘s
world, however, a great many aspects of work organization are governed by a markedly
different approach, one that is encompassed by the term public bureaucracy. At first glance,
this hardly seems like a progressive step, as bureaucracies are often thought to be collections
of semi competent plodders hopelessly ensnarled in red tape. As we shall see, there is some
truth to this stereotype, but bureaucracies have a number of positive features and for many
kinds of work, their virtues far outweigh their vices.
Notwithstanding the criticisms and dysfuntionalities , bureaucracy has a great potential and plays an
important role in the process of development. In fact when development constitutes the most pressing
challenge facing the human race, the role of bureaucracy in pursuing and promoting development can
hardly be ignored or overlooked. On getting independence from the shackles of colonial powers when
many third world countries development as their primary objective, bureaucracy was entrusted with
stupendous task of development and nation building through a variety of state sponsored development
programs. Seen as Sine-qua-non in the process of development, while the role of bureaucracy has
undergone substantial changes from one of regulatory type of administration to development
administration, bureaucracy in recent years is going through a serious phase of transition in its identity
and role definition. From the mindset of absolute power and status, the bureaucrats are now seen as
facilitators of development. In welfarist – interventionist and development states, which carry on a
bewildering variety of activities encompassing the administration of various development programs,
while politicians decide which of these myriad activities the state may undertake, it is generally the
bureaucracy that is called upon to execute them. In fact, bureaucrats, though not democratically
elected officials, essentially run all governments on an everyday basis and even make overwhelming
majority of decisions publicly credited to Presidents or Prime Ministers.
Thus, when the systematic importance of bureaucracy has, for obvious reason, been widely accepted
both by the academic community and the political leadership alike, in the context, the issue of
development has a close linkage with the issue of public bureaucracy.
Here in this work I have tried to analyze the bureaucratic importance in the process of development
and also have selected Bangladesh as a developing country to fulfill the need of my work.
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2. Contextual outlines
1. Bureaucracy and Public Bureaucracy: A Conceptual overview-
Before going for the discussion on public bureaucracy we at first can have a look for the widely used
term bureaucracy.
1.2Bureaucracy:
The term bureaucracy may be traced to the French word bureau meaning a writing table or desk. The
origin of this word accordingly has come from French and was related to the cloth which covered the
desks of French Officials. Bureaucracy is essentially a normative model, which emphasizes the
structure of an organization. As an organized system of government, bureaucracy has largely been a
phenomenon of the post-industrial revolution, although highly bureaucratic systems did exist in the
old world, especially in China, ancient Egypt and India. Itis an essential part of an organization.Every
organization whether big or small adheres to bureaucratic structure in different forms. Although the
image of the bureaucrat has gradually deteriorating in recent decades, it is interesting to recall that the
German Sociologist Max Weber hailed Bureaucracy as an administrative organization for promoting
clean, healthy and efficient Public Administration.
As an ambiguous term, bureaucracy means different things to different people. While some describe it
as
The organization of personnel that government needs for the exercise of its continuing functions, to
get and keep things going under the constant supervision of political superiors, to others on contrary,
it may signify the mechanistic, formal, inhuman, rigid and ritualistic attitude of administrators.
According toMax Weber, "Bureaucracy is universal social phenomenon and the means of carrying
community action to rationally ordered societal action."
In the words of Marshall E. Dimock, "Bureaucracy is the state of the society in which institutions
overshadow individuals and simple family relationships, stage of development In which division of
labour, specialization, organization, hierarchy, planning and regimentation of large groups of
individuals either by voluntary or involuntary methods, are the order of the day."
Hans Rosenberg has observed that "...an essential part of the present structure of governance consists
of its far-flung system of professionalized administration and its hierarchy of appointed officials upon
whom the society is thoroughly dependent. Whether we live under the most has totalitarian despotism
or in the most liberal democracy, 'we are governed to a considerable extent by a bureaucracy of some
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kind."
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3. Herman Finer says that bureaucracy is a "professional body of officials, permanent, paid and
skilled."
Arthur K. Davis looked at bureaucracy from the structural point of view. To him, bureaucracy is "an
integrated hierarchy of specialized offices defined by systematic rules, an impersonal, routine
structure wherein legitimized authority rests in the office and not in the person of the incumbent".
According to Pfiffner and Presthus ―Bureaucracy is the system of authority, men, offices and
methods that government uses to carry out its programs‖.
So Bureaucracy can be defined as any large, complex organization composed of appointed officials,
where Authority is divided among several managers; no one person is able to make all the decisions.
Therefore bureaucracy based on one of the types, called Legal Rational Authority given by Weber is a
clear cut division of labour, hierarchy of offices, consistent system of abstract rules, impersonality in
official conduct, and guaranteed employment based on qualifications.
Still some others call bureaucracy a form of government- a government of the civil servants, for the
civil servants and by the civil servants, which sole heartedly bear the meaning of public bureaucracy.
1.3) Public bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is an administrative organization consisting of a legal body non-elective employed
officials and organized hierarchically in departments in accordance with rules governing their
employment conditions. It is found in any type of society, in any type of organization, public or
private or non-governmental and observed in all large organizations in whichthe numbers of
employees or members are such that it is no longerpossible to run the organization on the basis of
face-to-facecontacts with others in the organization.
Therefore when the word PUBLIC is added the term Bureaucracy turns to Public Bureaucracy.
Speaking more precisely we can start from the explanation of Civil or Public Service, which is to
include all those personnel who are employed in a civil capacity by a government ( central, state or
local), typically excluding those belonging to political, judicial and legislative offices and those
employed in public enterprises and regulatory agencies which operate independentently of the
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statutory civil service. Thus bureaucracy which exercised in civil service is synonymously called
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public bureaucracy. The concept of bureaucracy given by Max Weber, can be used to describe the

4. term public bureaucracy and also the characteristics of his ideal type bureaucracy is found ideal for
explaining the term public bureaucracy.
A Proposed Definition of Public Bureaucracy: Thoseoffices created to carry out purposes mandated
by the legislatureand executive branches of government which (offices) are staffedlargely by persons
who are neither elected norpoliticallyappointed. (Larry Hill, 1989)
Using Max Weber's description of bureaucracy as a guide, theideal bureaucracy should have the
following characteristics:
1) Mission/Mandate given by law; the purpose of the agencyis to accomplish some public purpose
usually stated inthe legislation creating the bureaucratic office.
2) Hierarchical Authority: Authority is distributed top- down according to some organizational
chart.
3) Prescribed roles and routines: Each position in thehierarchy has a job description (and
corresponding job requirements which alone determine who may be hired to fill each position). Each
position has standard routines which are often described in a job description manual.
4) Paperwork: All transactions are recorded. Standard operating procedures require keeping
records of actionstaken within the organization as well as all dealingswith persons outside of the
organization. This "paper trail" ensures that standard operating procedures androutines are in fact
being followed as required. They also serve to protect the agency's clients/customers and employees
from arbitrary actions by others within theagency.
5) Professional codes of conduct: Agency employees dealwith each other, and with persons outside
of the agency,according to clear standards of conduct. These codes exclude family, personal or
political favoritism, patronage, or prejudice in agency transactions.
6) Focus of Loyalty: The ideal agency employee will viewhimself/herself as owing his/her job (and
loyalty) to theagency rather than to a particular personal boss or tosome political party or faction.
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5. Quickie Way to Remember Max Weber's Characteristics of Bureaucracy:
While saying these are "ideal" characteristics we admit thatin fact many public agencies may be
faulted for not showing all of these characteristics, however it may be said that most of the civil
servants do behave as described by these characteristics.
2. Development and Development Administration:
2.1. Development:
Despite the burgeoning literature on the subject, there in hardly any agreement among the social-
scientist as to what constitutes development. Nonetheless, it is to define that,
Development - means a progression from a simpler or lower to a more advanced, mature, or complex
form or stage. It is also defined as the gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive
changes. Development is a process, not a level. It is a path to achieve certain goals.MichaelTodaro
described development ―as a multidimensional process involving changes in structures, attitudes and
institutions as well as acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication
of absolute poverty‖. The Brandt Commission Report indicates that development involves a
profound transformation of the entire economic and social-structure. Gunnar Myrdal, the author of
famous Asian Drama stated development ―as the process away from underdevelopment of rising out
of poverty, it is sought and perhaps actually attained by means of planning for development”.
Development became a center of politics in the newly emerged independent countries after the WW2;
it was at that time treated from the vantage point of economics by the economists of classical
orientation. Accordingly, though until 1970‘s development was used in the sense of economic growth,
Robert S. McNamara, the president of the World Bank, insisted that the 1970‘s should see something
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more than gross measures of economic growth. Thus in 1990s it was realized that development

6. requires not only economic growth ,but also a concurrent and qualitative transformation of the society
through social, political and cultural changes. It includes growth, modernization, increase in social
facilities, political awareness, etc.
Therefore development;
Is a process of creating and guaranteeing conditions in which people can enjoy, exercise and
utilize all their human rights.
Is a process of generating not only self-sustained growth of a community but a concurrent and
qualitative transformation of the society through social, political and cultural changes.
It is a process of making one aware of himself, self-reliant, and self-respecting and giving
freedom from exploitation.
It involves active participation of the people in the process of making social, political and
economic decisions; and
It also requires action for preparing a planned program of development, which can be
implemented effectively by the available instruments of administration.
2.2. Development Administration- thus implies administration thus implies not merely for the
development of people, but working with the people. It signifies decentralization of administration,
and administration by participation. Characteristically, it can be defined as a goal-oriented, change
oriented, progressive, planned, innovative, flexible, motivational, clientele-oriented, and participatory
and a highly integrated administrative system with substantive coping ability. It maybe the realization
of goals of development either by governmental administrative system or voluntary agencies or
people‘s organizations.
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7. Role of Public Bureaucracy in Development:
Context of a Developing country
Public Bureaucracy has always been considered an indispensable tool of Social Management. It has
often been termed as necessary evil ---necessary because a suitable substitute is yet to be devised—
evil, because of its propensity to turn into a power hungry monster. Moreover there are some ‗though‘
in the case of the role of Public Bureaucracy in Development. If we delve deeper we therefore can get
bones alongside with some banes regarding the performance of the aforementioned issue in
development. The concerned topic on the other hand as has to be described from the point of view of
a developing country, Bangladesh as a developing country has been selected for convenience .
3.1. Bangladesh as a Developing Country:
The explanation of the aforementioned developing country can rightly be described with the following
characteristics-
Short-term output determination- Output is limited by bottlenecks in certain sectors,
particularly the agricultural sector and the foreign sector. Relative price changes are the main
equilibrating force in the short run (although quantity adjustments also take place).
Income distribution :The wage share is directly determined by the price of necessities
(especially food) and not by the markup in the industrial sector. The institutional bottlenecks
in agriculture and not the strength of trade unions are the main factors influencing income
distribution. Effective demand expansions will give rise to a reductionin real wages and the
wage share.
Key sectors: Agricultural sector, Export sector, etc.
Determinants of growth: The rate of growth of the production of necessities. An expansion
of effective demand will lead to inflation unless constraints in this production are solved.
Class composition: Complex class structure in which rural actors play a central role. Power
relations and property structure in agriculture explains the low growth rate of national
income. Class structure leads to the maintenance of the status quo and limits the effectiveness
of state intervention.
Role of the state: Increase in the overall rate of investment with a concentration on
agriculture and the foreign sector. Elimination of institutional bottlenecks in agriculture
(through land reform, etc). Planning is necessary to assure high rates of economic growth.
State intervention is negative for powerful actors.
Bangladesh hasParliamentary democracy. 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West
Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and has the Legal systembased on English
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common law. Politically it has a profound history, but to say briefly Sheikh MujiburRahman, leader
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of the Awami League, became the first Prime Minister of the independent Bangladesh (land of

8. Bengal). After his assassination in 1975, the country saw sixteen years of military-backed regimes.
The parliamentary elections which led to a centre-right Bangladesh National Party (BNP) government
being installed in 1991 marked the start of a new era in building democratic institutions in
Bangladesh. Elections, held in June 1996 under a caretaker government, resulted in the return topower
of the Awami League. The BNP emerged as the largest opposition party. Theparty under the
leadership of Khaleda Zia formed a four-party opposition alliance inJanuary 1999. The alliance
participated in the October 2001 general election heldunder a Non-party Caretaker Government and
won the polls with two-thirdsmajority. The political climate is marked by tensions among rival parties
and leaders,especially between Awami League on one side and the BNP and Islamic parties onthe
other.
As a developing country though it is expected that Bangladesh one day will flourish from economic,
social, political, etc. other many more aspects, the loopholes as a developing country cannot
altogether be neglected. Therefore as a developing country, It is trapped in a vicious circle of
stagnation, the population growth, food scarcity in developing countries willalways be a problem,
Agricultural and mining exports cannot contribute to the economic development of acountry,
Dependence of developing countries on the advanced economies leads to a netoutflow of capital and
importantly Rapid population growth, etc. many more obstacles has always been a threat to economic
as well as overall development.
3.2. Public Bureaucracy of Bangladesh:
Bangladesh bears a colonial legacy in its entire public bureaucracy as well as public administration
system. Present day Bangladesh was part of the British Empire for almost two hundred years. In 1947
Pakistani rulers replaced the British and dominated the area then known as East Pakistan until a bitter
war in 1971 brought about an independent Bangladesh. A colonial imprint persists in Bangladesh
especially in political and administrative arrangements. The British tradition helped the bureaucracy
to become an essential tool of governance. At the same time, it is accused of following the ―Pakistani
tradition of involvement in power politics‖ (Haque, 1995).
The political system of Bangladesh has survived a series of transitions. A few years of democracy
were followed by nearly fifteen years of military rule. In 1990, for the first time, Bangladesh achieved
a fully functioning democratic structure.
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9. After 1990, Bangladesh has reverted to parliamentary form of government. Two parliamentary
elections were held during this period, which were believed to be free and fair. Parliament was
relatively active during the regime of Khaleda and Hasina compared to earlier JSs.
Some the basic nature and practice of our Public Bureaucracy are as follow-
3.2.1.Nature of bureaucracy
Bureaucracy played overt role in regime change. It is currently divided on party line. Career
advancement seems to be dependent on the contentment of the incumbent government. Bureaucracy
itself is beset with factionalism. As an institution it is on decay with waning elitism and esprit de
corps. Consequently bureaucracy is eager to develop a mutual dependency relation with the ruling
elite.
Recruitment and promotion:
During the reign of Khaleda (1991-1996), politicization of administration assumed numerous modes:
placement of party loyalists to appoint crucial position in civil service, appointment of diehard
supporters as key functionaries (including the chairman) in Public Service Commission (PSC) with
whose assistance the BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) recruitment process was allegedly manipulated
in favor of the candidates having links the ruling party and mass promotion of officers apparently
submissive to the ruing regime(Zafarullah, 1997:5 Part-3).
During Hasina regime, the chairman and members of PSC had been politically appointed keeping an
eye over their distinct political tinge. Quota for the freedom fighters has been made applicable for the
children of freedom fighter family. This is an instance of disregard for merit principle in civil service.
The standard of the recruitment examinations during these two regimes was moderate. A large
number of civil servants were promoted several times on the basis of political affinity with the
incumbent government. Seniority was utterly discarded on the issue of promotion let alone counting
merit as one of the prime yardsticks of career advancement.
Administrative reform
The reform committee made a number of recommendations on the rationalization and reorganization
of government offices and presented its report to AL government. But instead of implementing the
recommendations (Khan, 1998:114), the present government constituted its own commission PARC
(Public Administration Reforms Commission) almost entirely composed of bureaucrats. The
commission has already submitted the report with 137 recommendations (30 interim, 70 short term
and 37 long term), which will be implemented in phases (Daily Star, July 03, 2000& Independent,
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July 5, 2000). Recommendations include among others the elimination of corruption and insurance of
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accountability at all levels. Of course the recommendations are yet to be implemented.

10. Accountability of bureaucrats
A number of measures have been undertaken during this decade to hold the bureaucrats accountable.
The structure of committee system has been modified and its scope broadened. The minister is
appointed as the chief executive of the ministry and the Upazilla system has been reintroduced. This
may initiate a brake on bureaucratic dominance.
Changing role of bureaucrats
Bureaucrats became development partners of the incumbent government. The ruling governments
have established some sort of control over the bureaucracy by regulating their career development.
However, bureaucrats‘ influence on politicians is still evident.
Decay of Elitism
Elitism is now non-existent in Bangladesh civil service since all the services are unified at present. In
an effort to eliminate elitism from the bureaucracy and by liberalizing the system of recruitment as
component of administrative reform, the charm of the service has faded away. Like the British and
Pakistan periods, it no longer attracts the ´best and brightest‗youths. Easier entrance to the civil
service compared to British and Pakistan periods has brought forth declined performance of
bureaucracy (Jamil, 1998:40).
Factionalism in Bureaucracy
The entire bureaucracy in Bangladesh is plagued with deep-seated factionalism and waning esprit de
corps. The sharpest and pernicious form of factionalism in civil service is the conflict between the
specialists of 28 cadres and the generalist of BCS (administration) cadre. To this principal
configuration, one can add at least seven lesser strains of factionalism. This conflict has led to total
demoralization, utter negligence of work, ugly acrimony and serious tension in bureaucracy (Siddqui,
1996:18-20). They are more committed to their professional norms than the service rules. This
factionalism has weakened the esprit de corps of the bureaucracy as an institution.
The role of public bureaucracy has changed in the course of Bangladesh‘s development. After
independence its focus was the attainment of development in all spheres of life by intervention and
the use of administration and the bureaucratic system in a constructive way. Government and
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administration were seen not merely as a regulator but as a facilitator. However, it can be argued that
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11. development, when considered as a multi-dimensional concept, cannot be attained and sustained
without sound practice of public bureaucracy
Therefore the role of public bureaucracy has always been an issue of concern for the arena of
development. Thus by having the above information regarding the nature of public bureaucracy of a
developing country (Bangladesh), the issue of public bureaucracy in the arena of development has
been elaborated below-
3.3. Public Bureaucracy and Development
3.3.1. Public Bureaucracy and Development: Some international concern-
Therelationshipbetweenbureaucraticperformanceanddevelopment
outcomeshasbeenasubjectofinteresttotheinternationaldevelopmentcommunityaswell
asschol ar sforquitesometime.Morerecently,someofthesameassumptionhasreappearedwiththeadditio
nalinsightthatthequalityofbureaucraticrulesisessentialfor
understandinghowbureaucraticperformancerelatestodevelopmental outcomes.
Thecurrentassumptionsmaybesummarized, asfollows:
BureaucraticRulesBureaucraticPerformanceSocio-EconomicDevelopment
Forinstance,thecurrentfocusongovernanceininstitutionsliketheWorldBankandtheOrganizationforEc
onomicCooperationandDevelopment (OECD)is almostexclusivelyonfindingthe
linksbetweenimprovedgovernmentperformanceanddevelopmentoutcomes.Usingthetoolofregression
analysisandaconceptionofgovernancethatisprimarilyassociated
withqualitiesofstateinstitutions,Kaufmannandhiscolleaguehavecreatedsixscoresforsixdimensionsof
governance.
TheteamattheWorldBankisnotalone.Inrecentyears,agrowingnumberofotheractorshavebeguntoratethe
degreeofbureaucraticperformanceindifferent ways (aspartofbroaderassessmentsofcountryrisk).
Forexample,theEconomistIntelligenceUnit(EIU)provides ratings on various
aspectsofregulatoryquality,ruleoflaw,andcorruption (amongother
issues)fromaglobalnetworkofnationalinformationgatherersreviewedby
regionalpanels.TheInternationalCountryRiskGuide,producedbyPoliticalRiskServicesinNew
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York,providesadirect measureofbureaucraticqualityusingavarietyofindicators.
TransparencyInternationalissuesitsannualPerceptionofCorruptionIndex.In sum, these agencies
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providesubjectiveassessmentsonsomeofthekeyissuesof bureaucraticperformance–

12. includinggovernmentefficacy,redtape,andcorruptionamongpublicofficials.
Therehavebeenanumberofimportantstudiesthathaveusedthesedatasetsinempiricalworkinvestigatingthe
importance ofdifferentaspects ofbureaucraticqualityfor
developmentoutcomes.Forexample,usingEIUdata,Maurofoundthattheefficiencyofthe
bureaucracywasassociatedwithbetterratesofinvestmentandgrowthwhereas
corruptionwasnegativelyrelated.
3.3.2. Public Bureaucracy in development from the context of Bangladesh: Some ways and
means-
Thereareanumberofways and means throughwhich public bureaucracy is counted as a key role
player in the process of development.
Some ways through which public bureaucracy plays the key role in development at present-
A. Public Bureaucracy in the role of policy making:official policy makers are those who occupy
the formal offices prescribed by the authorized community. Therefore the bureaucratic culture of
Bangladesh itself has made the bureaucracy a powerful policy actor. Next to donors , they are highly
influential in the frame working stage of policy formation. It can also be stated that, public
bureaucracy and policy making go synonymously. Their roles are-
In the secretariat though they do not initiate policy proposals like the cabinet ministers, but
the define policy priorities based on official statistics about the field level and on external
suggestions.
Decisions regarding transfer, posting of senior professionals and other senior officers of the
concerned policy making ministry, distribution of equipment, all other related works are
determined by bureaucrats of that specific ministry.
The secretary, the top most civil servant,is the key person in overall administration of a
ministry. The rules of business accords considerable power to the secretary. He is the chief
adviser to the minister on policy making, acts as the financialhead of try; and assumes the
role of sole custodian of relevant information on which policies are based
Below the central level , the original power of decision making is vested with the divisional
director, district level officers, and the Thana level officers for that specific ministry.
Though they do not initiate the broad policy proposals but as soon as they receive a macro
policy framework from the donors and their political executives they become responsible for
doing all the preliminary tasks to transform it into policy. In this process they manipulate the
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policy ideas by virtue of their technical knowledge.
It is also noticeable, that the public bureaucracy within the national context has controlled
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13. and mediated the nature and flow of development assistance and has been the primary
source of contact with the foreign donors‘. In case of the recent health policy of Bangladesh
government although the idea was injected by the World Bank on behalf of donors, the
framework was formulated under the leadership of our bureaucrats.
Public bureaucracy‘s close liaison with the major interest groups also enables it to
recommend and implement public policies.
B. Role player in the government’s planning apparatus:
The powerful secretariat has made bureaucracy highly dominant. The secretariat headed by the
secretaries sits on the communication nerve of the nation and controls information about everything
that is done on behalf of the government. Such possession of vital information and knowledge of the
government affairs provides them with potential sours of power. In this way the control of public
bureaucrats over the information as well as over the functions of government have given them the
scope to be dominant.
C. Politically forced not self-driven:
We all think that bureaucrats are driven by their own sweet will, whereas the actual picture is
somewhat hidden. The case of Pabna draws our attention. The concept of political control of civil
service is an admitted fact our country as like as other democratic system. it is popularly known as
politicization of civil service. Political control has led to a deep seated perception within the political
community that whatever is wished by the politicians should be implemented without any question
being raised by civil servants. In contrst the civil servants have to work within the complex web of
laws, rules and regulations. Violation or disagreement may invite disciplinary action. If a particular
decision given by a minister runs counter to established rules and regulations, a civil servant sadly to
say has to be duty bound to stay free prom unusual punishment. Therefore to avoid the wrath of the
minister most of the civil servants do bend the rules. Such trends start from the very stage of
recruitment to post-retirement contractual appointment to those groups of candidates or civil servants
who are perceived by the party in power to have an acceptable degree of loyalty. Such cases were
reported during 2001 to 2006 and also in 2010.
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14. D. the meritorious portion of a country:
The Public Sector in Bangladesh currently numbers around one million people. Around
300,000 are employed in public enterprises whilst approximately 700,000 are employed in various
ministries, Departments and other Government Offices. This latter group is termed the ―Civil
Service.‖ These officers staff 41 ministries, 15 administrative divisions and the offices of the
President and Prime Minister (DFID: 2004). The Bangladesh Civil Service is structured horizontally
into four classes, Class 1 being the professional or officer class and others performing a variety of
supporting functions. There are 29 cadres each comprising officers with particular skills or
qualifications. All above cadre posts are filled up by competitive examination starting from the
preliminary exam based on MCQ, then with the next stage of written examination, ending to the last
stage of viva. Then the Recruitment is conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) as per
requirement conveyed by the Ministry of Establishment, which is responsible for the personnel policy
within the civil service and human resources function, particularly in the administrative cadre.
E. Following hierarchy: a guide for maintaining pile of works:-
The internal organization structure of a ministry reflects a hierarchical order. The minister is in charge
of a ministry and is normally the ―political head‖ of that ministry. A ministry consists of at least one
division. The secretary or, in his absence the additional secretary, is considered the ―administrative
head‖ of the ministry. He/she conducts and looks after the duties of a division, which includes routine
operation, supervision of its staffing and organizational processes (Jahan: 2006). He/she is also the
adviser to the minister regarding policy and administrative issues. A division can further be divided
into wings. A joint secretary is the head of a wing and has the power to submit cases directly to the
minister for decisions. In practice, such cases are first submitted to a secretary/additional secretary for
his consideration before being placed before a minister. A wing is composed of branches. The head of
a wing—a joint secretary—supervises the activities of the branches within his wing. Each branch is
under the charge of a deputy secretary. Below the branch is the section, which is headed by an
assistant secretary, and is the basic working unit of a division. An assistant secretary disposes all cases
based on clear precedents. Below the level of assistant secretary, there are a considerable number of
office personnel (Zafarullah, 1998: 83-87).
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15. Concluding Remarks:
Often tagged with negative interpretations, public bureaucracy has been the most used and abused
concept in the discourse of public administration. True to the words of Toffler ( 1990: 165), who in
his book power swift wrote, ―Everyone hates a bureaucrat‖, everybody connected or unconnected
with it , indulges in bureaucracy-bashing which has become a sort of national as well as international
pastime. In almost all countries, bureaucrats are viewed as indolent and inefficient, imperious and
impervious, arthritic and parasitic, obstructive and destructive, authoritarian, arrogant, irresponsive
and irresponsible, basically in the third-world developing countries like Bangladesh. Except
themselves, there are perhaps no admirers left for the bureaucrats.
Whatever may be the criticism, the fact is that no organization, whether public or private or even
autonomous, has been able to do away with bureaucracy or do without bureaucracy. Despite serious
scholarly attacks and consultant advice to reduce bureaucracy, create flat hierarchies and democratize
internal organizational decision making, the fact of the matter is that not much has happened to reduce
bureaucracy and on the contrary, bureaucracy, has shown stubborn survival capacity. In fact ,
bureaucracy is the most omnipotent phenomenon running from the developed to the developing
societies , flourishing equally under presidential to parliamentary democracies, even in non-
democracies, and relevant to socialism or capitalism or any other ism. It can be rightly said that if
different countries are really captive of a system, it is not capitalism or socialism but bureaucratism,
for bureaucracy is the most prevalent form of power in almost all categories of states. Toffler ( 1990:
s257) very aptly comments that ―…..no matter how many parties run against one another in elections
and no matter who gets the most votes, a single party always wins. It is the invisible part of
BUREAUCRACY‖. However it is to see that the word bureaucracy, specifically public bureaucracy
by now has a markedly negative tone. Nonetheless it has correctly been said by CHRISTIAAN
MOSTERT, in his Hope: Challenging the Culture of Despair that any little thing can give hope, like a
candle in the dark. Therefore from a wide point of view it can be hoped that public bureaucracy will
work as a candle for lightening the process of development to change the myth of bureaucracy as an
anti-role player to friendly-role for overall development. Moreover it can also be realized right away
that cooperative role of the government under a strong and attainable political leadership can help the
Public Bureaucracy to play a friendly role as well as to deliver the fruits of development to the people
in this century and later centuries come by .
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16. References:
1. ADB, (2005). Supporting Good Governance Initiatives II,
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