: ent 50 Public Administration: The Business of Governim' y The Ecology of Public Administration Often there is uncertainty about public admi: science. However, one thing is certain, This is to say that : * Bear in mind that the envi- ronmental situation keeps on cl anging. It is suggested that one should “take full account of the company’s environment before drawing up any plans.” However, this is not easy to do At this point, it is important to remember tha ‘ which public administration is an integral part, constant change, OF this, Eugene Rostow says: t society, of has been in ‘Harold Koontz. and Cyril O'Donnell, Principles of yy Analysis of Managerial Functions, Sth ed, (New York. MoGraeetent: An Company, Inc,, 1977), p. 68. il Boo! | 2 John Argenti, Corporate Planning: A Practical Guide (London: Pr] Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1968), p. 13. * GeorgeThe Ecology of Public Administration 51 The Philippines is a developing country. It is a changing society. It exists in a pragmatic, result-oriented environment. So, as it changes, the ecology of public administration also c hanges sAg e if. This will, 's in the government course, necessarily generate cha The e. It rules in the name of the people. It exists to meet the changing require- ments of its people, particularly in the delivery of governmental services. But what happens if it no longer reflects what the people feel and it no longer acts in ways that suit most of them? Certainly, the people will change it. But sometimes the government becomes too strong that the people cannot change it anymore, which results in dissatisfaction and unrest. In other words, public administration and its environment should go together, if it is to exist harmoniously. By this system, the ecology of public administration should fit the culture, values, and traditions of the people. But, what is ecology? Dalton E. McFarland answers the question in this manner: Ecology is a concept borrowed from the field of biology, in which the term refers to the study of organism in relation to its environment. The analogy between biological ecology and manage- ment ecology is, however, imperfect. The reason is that in contrast to biological organism, izati . Therefore the individual and his organization: ent are in a complex state of inter- action with each other, and the organization itself is in a state of interaction with its environment.4 “In addition,” McFarland stresses, “the ecological approach lends itself to those theories of organization which take the Organization to be, by analogy, a living, dynamic organism.”® eT "Eugene Rostow, “The Need for Values” in Michael Curtis (ed.), The Nature of Politics (New York: Avon Book Division, The Hearst Corpo. ation, 1962), p. 50. “Dalton E, McFarland, Management: Principles and Practices, 3rd | (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), p. 58. “Wid,52 Public Administration: The Business of Government i therefore, ecology refers to two things: | ree dateraetGh of the ee of public administratio, ir environment; an . 2 the econ of the administrator with the organization itself. : Be te istinguish the two types a peat est environment will be called the external environ. ment, while the individual environment will be known as interna environment. With this arrangement, external environment Tefers to everything outside the organizational structure of Public administration, while internal environment refers to the relation. ship of the administrator with his organization. Clearly, this means that the administrator can never be freed from the influences of the external environment of his organiza. tion. Hence, he needs to know and understand the ecology of his administration to succeed in his undertaking. To provide him with basic knowledge of the ecology of public administration, the following subjects will be discussed in this chapter: 1. The Administrator's Attitudes on Environment 2. Ecology and Administrative Effectiveness 3. Factors of Environmental Constraints Int Hl. The Administrator's Attitudes on Environment® Some social scientists claim that the environment has significant impact or effect on the administrative process. They have cited many examples of this, In fact, one of the ways to make better decisions, according to one of them, is “to take control over more of one’s environment”? If public administration is to survive at all, it must accept developments in its environment. If this is not Possible, it becomes the task of the administrator to control it. For this, he must evolve a kind of organizational system that either complements of supplants its own character with its environment. This must be done even if this would result on some changes in its organizational goals and administrative structures, The most formidable obstacle to this strategy of development, however, is posed by the administrator himself, who would like ete ial ®In this book, unless specifically identified, the terms administrator, manager and executive are used to simply mean the head of an organizatiot unit. T Argenti, op. cit,, p. 211,The Ecology of Public Administration 53. to preserve the status guo in the organization for his personal benefits. To be sure, he would not accept the concept of change for it develops in him a certain degree of uncertainty. This is one instance in the life of the organization where the leadership of the administrator is put to a test For the survival of his organization, if not for its develop- ment, he needs to realize the consequences of such eventuality. The importance of the task of the administrator in relating the organization with its environment was pointed out by Robert A. Gordon and James E. Howell in this manner: The environment helps to determine the alternatives on the basis of which business decisions are made and also affects the value systems which supply the criteria for choosing among these alternatives.® It would thus be an important undertaking for him to know and understand his environment. For this, Richard Eells has suggested that a study of the environment is important not only for its scientific or theoretical interest but also for its practical meanings for them.? What is specially significant about Eells’ suggestion was explained by McFarland. He said: Clearly the executive and his organization may both benefit from the experience difficulties with their relationships to the en- vironment. Among the practical benefits of the environment is the way it challenges and stimulates the individual. Earlier, Arnold J. Toynbee made an observation that the civilizations that survived since the dawn of recorded history were those that faced and met strongly the challenges of their environ- ment.! Accordingly, the dynamic forces that shape their survival begin with the attitudes of their administrators. Of course, the perception of an individual depends primarily on what one sees. What one sees, however, depends on what one would like to see. ® Robert A. Gordon and James E. Howell, “Basic Elements in the Prac- tice of Business” in Robert Dubin (ed.), Human Relations in Administra- tion with Readings, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1974), p. 12. Richard Eells, The Meaning of Modern Business (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960), p. 99. 10McFarland, op. cit., p. 59. see Amold J. Toynbee, A Study of History, abridged by D. C. Somervell (New York: Oxford University Press, 1947).54 Public Administration: The Business of Government William G. Scott and Terence R. Mitchell put it this way: . .. What one perceives is a function of both his past experiences and his immediate environment. To some extent the specific content of these experiences and environments are determined by one’s culture, but the underlying processes or major contributing factors are the same. Corollary to this, they argue further that: ... the individual cannot be understood apart from his environ. ment. In fact, the person environment forms a syndrome, two or more mutually dependent interacting parts, creating a fairly stable structure of relationships which possesses an inherent Potential of predictability as long as one is sufficiently sensitized to it. This meant that whether the ecology of public administra tion will be an asset or a liability to the organization depends primarily on the attitudes of the administrator toward it. Of course, it is well worth mentioning that his attitude will be govern- ed, in certain degrees, by his perception of the situation. These things may indicate that if ecology is properly managed, it could then be an effective instrument of administra- tion in facilitating the accomplishment of its organizational goals. If not, it could be an administrative constraint or an organization pressure to its operations and management. On this, McFarland says: Perception of the environment and the meanings within it are thus an important element of management action. Indeed, many managerial actions take the form of influencing, of even creating, aspects of the environment,14 ; At this point, it should be borne in mind, as McFarland says, that: It is part of the executive re bili espon: the external Ponsibility to be alert to forces in een that affects the organization and its goals. Organizations levelop adaptive mechanisms and structural devices William G Scott and Terence R. Mii Structural and Behavioral Analysis, rev, ed D. Irwin, Inc., 1972), p. 73 5 13 /bid., p.90 McFarland, op. cit., p. 59. tchell, Organization Theory: A (Homewood, Mlinois: RichardThe Ecology of Public Administration 55. for coping with these environmental factors and relating them to the internal process of management Ecology and Administrative Effectiveness An organization must be designed in full recognition of the rapid and dramatic changes in its environment. Certainly, such developments affect the way the organization performs its assigned tasks. As a result, the organizational values and traditions are subjected to pressures of change. More than ever, to be effec- ' tive, the organization must permit itself to perform a kind of balancing its ethos and that of its environment. Only in this way, could it be expected to meet the challenges of the fast changing t world. By constantly adjusting to its environment, particularly the | forces of change, public administration shall be in a better position to serve the changing requirements of its people. Of this, McFarland says: The organization constitutes the manager’s immediate environ- ment. Therefore organizational variables are important determinants of the manager's behavior. But there is also the environment of the enterprise itself. That is, the organization exists in a political, econo- mic, social, and technical environment of which it is an integral part and to which it must relate.1® McFarland calls these two kinds of environment also as internal and external. *” One important thing to remember is what Scott and Mitchell f said about the effect of environment to the organization. They i believe that: Some of the characteristics that effect the group's behavior and output can be fairly controlled by the organization." i This could only be done, of course, with the administrator t leading the way. Why is this so? Of this, William R. Dill, Thomas 1 ppid., p. 66. See also Peter M. Blau and W. Richard Scott, Formal Organizations (San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 1962), chapters 3 and 8; William N. Mitchell, The Business Executive in a Changing World (New York: American Management Association, Inc., 1965), chapter 10; and John Kenneth Galbraith, The New Industrial State (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1967). 18 Jpid., pp. 55-56. 1 ybid., p. 56. 18 Scett and Mitchell, op. cit., p. 116.56 Public Administration: The Business of Government L. Hilton and Walter R. Reitman counsel that by ee the challenge of the environment and designing it to enhance his strong characteristics, the ane can bring the company out of its fai d launch it towards success. ; ws ee be realized by now, as Robert Dubin stresses ‘that organizational forms and technology revolutionize the environ. ment of organization.” “In short,” Arthur M. Weiner says, many environmental factors influence management decisions." Considering that public administration is an organization by itself, by necessity it must reflect the culture and values of its environment. If this cannot be done, its alternative 1s to change it. Both situations, however, call for flexibility on its part as it relates itself with its environment. It is noteworthy to consider that this situation calls for the administrator’s greater determina- tion to tackle it. Certainly, its result can trigger a chain of reac- tions affecting the entire organization. At this point, it is worth knowing that William R. Dill,” Hans B. Thorelli2? and James D, Thompson, among others, have presented theoretical models of organization that give an important place to the concept of environment. In this regard, McFarland reported: We found that the external environment is important because it contains influences that shape the behavior of those inside the company. The main way this occurs is through information coming into the organization from outside that helps it shape its goals. According to his perception of these signals and his interpretation 2©William R. Dill, Thomas L. Hilton and Walter R. Reitman, The New Managers: Patterns of Behavior and Development (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962), chapters 6-7, 2 See Dubin, op cit, 2 Arthur M. Weimer, Introduction to Business: A Management Approach (Homewood, Mlinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1959), p. 370. 2William R. Dill, “Environm ‘v . Dill, “Environment as an Influence on Management Auto non, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 12 (March, 1988), pp. 409 28Hans B, Thorelli, “Organizational Theory: An Ecological View.” Academy of Management Proceedings, 27th Annual Meeting, 1967 (Bowliné Green, Ohio, 1968), pp. 68-84, 24 James D. Thompson, Organization in Action (New York: McGraW" Hill Book Company, Inc., 1967).The Ecology of Public Administration 57 of their meanings, the executive's task environment emerges.> Harold L. Wilensky’® and William R. Dill?” have supplied valuable theoretical insights as to the role environment plays through the mechanisms of information transfer Factors of Envy earlier stated, there is no other way whereby the administrator could escape from the influences of n the external environmental forces of his organization, except for his orga- nization to control it. The organization's external environmental factors can be classified as follows: educational, legal-political, socio-cultural, economic, and religious. However. for purposes of this book, these will be called constraints for they are factors to be overcome by the administrator in attaining the goals of the organization. Educational Constraint. Advanced society is not exempt from the educational constraint of environment. This is in spite of its educational system being closely matched with its manpower requirements. As seen by Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnell, there is always the phenomenon of a shortage of educational brain power.% They claim that the characteristics of a society, the presence of literacy level, the availability of specialized vocational training, higher education, and management development program could lessen its educational motives. Moreover, by doing so, it will not conform to the requirement of balancing its educational brain power. This concept can be compared to the principle of economics on supply and demand. The principle states that when the supply is less, the demand for the product will be higher. Conversely, when there is abundant supply., the demand will be reduced. For this, the development of certain level of education in the country, particularly those pertaining to the development of management skills, has an important impact on the pace of 25McFarland, op. cif., p. 58. 26 see Harold L. Wilensky, Organizational Intelligence (New York: © Basic Books, Inc., 1967). 27Dill, op. cit. 8K oontz and O'Donnell, op. cit., p.97.58 Public Administration: The Business of Government economic progress the organization is capable of undertaking. In fact, this problem is not only limited to the intervention of the organization’s external forces, but also on the country’s total national socio-economic development program. Elaborating on this, Arsenio P. Talingdan says that technical skill implies an understanding of and proficiency in a specific kind of activity, particularly those involving methods, approaches, processes or techniques in dealing with education as an external constraint.?° Thus an administrator must necessarily endeavor to acquire that required technical skill of management for the particular undertaking for which he is responsible. : This theoretical knowledge can be obtained only, in most cases, through formalized schooling. However, its full develop- ment is only attained by the administrator through his practical experience in administering the programs of the organization. Talingdan suggests also that the conceptual skill of an administrator should be developed. It involves the ability to see the organization as a whole or the ability to recognize and integrate the interrelationships of any various factors in that organization.®° In other words, the administrator, to be effective as such, must recognize the relationships. An administrator must perceive the significant elements in any management situation. He should, by then, be capable to act in any given way to advance the organization toward attaining its goals. To do that, he must possess the ability to perceive any changes that will happen within the environment of his organiza- tion. Only in this manner can he be capable of gearing the activi- ties of his organization along such developments. Legal-Political Constraint, Most organizations, if not all, are governed by laws that are extremely complicated. These laws usually apply to personnel administration.3* While these laws were designed to guide the administrator in the management of the organization, in some instances, they hamper the attainment of its administrative efficiency. Se : ne Menlo P. Telingdan (ed.), Public Administration and Management in the Philippines (Quezon City: Alemar-Phoenix Publishi a maveNaraae ing House, Inc. 3p id. : **For the application of these laws on government Personnel in the Philippines, see Jose P. Leveriza, Personnel Administration in the Govert- ment (Manila: National Book Store, Inc., 1980).The Ecology of Public Administration 59 In other words, the administrator cannot apply these laws to many of his administrative problems. Administration is not only based on laws but also on human relations. It requires, therefore, knowledge about people to make legality practicable. As Albert K. Wickesberg says: .. . the tasks and duties required of the firm if it is to survive and remain successful are continually in flux in response to the changing needs and of the external environment, the interests and personalities within the firm, and the goals as these are formulated end reformulated for the firm. The result is an ever-changing, conti- nually adjusting set of personal relationships.?” : Thus, Wickesberg concludes: External as well as internal environmental factors thus play a role in determining the nature, extent, and effectiveness of the indi- vidual’s actual authority.°° Needless to say, politics and administration are inseparable. Very few administrators understand, however, as a Filipino author views it, that “politics is government itself.”** Thus decision-making in the government is shaped by them. Politics should never be a problem to a knowledgeable administrator. Indeed, politics would be an asset in public adminis- tration, if he knows how to handle this properly. If not, it will, of course, hamper the effectiveness of his administration. Socio-Cultural Constraint. Richard A. Johnson, Fremont E. Kast and James E. Rosenzweig point out that ‘organization can be thought of as a subsystem of the broader sociocultural environ- ment in which it operates.””®> As suggested by the three American authors, public adminis- tration can be considered as a subsystem of society. Every society has its own culture. In that manner, public administration shares in that culture. Accordingly, Benita Yap states that social processes are in- ee 52 Albert K. Wickesberg, Management Organization (New York: Meredith Publishing Company, 1966), p. 6. Ibid, p. 36. 41 everiza, op. cit., p. 4. 88Richard A. Johnson, Fremont E. Kast and James E, Rosenzweig, The Theory and Management of Systems, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1973), p. 508.G0 Public Administration: The Business of Government the administrator, interacting with the other members of his social system, is capable of modifying the behavior of his group. Likewise, the members of the group can modify his behavior, The extent to which such interaction is reciprocal depends, of course, upon the dominating character possessed by each person, as well as on the rigidity of the patterns of the group behavior. ‘\ In this regard, Johnson, Kast and Rosenzweig state: Broadly speaking, we are recognizing that man is just a subsystem of the universe and that his actions may have significant adverse implications for his environment, other living organisms, and all of mankind.®” Of this, Talingdan observes that the Filipino people is a conglomeration of different customs, idiosyncracies and habits.* By this, it is shown that the social relationships of the Filipinos are quite complicated. The administrator must fully consider these characteristics of his people in planning, as well as in eee his programs. As pointed out by Johnson, Kast and .osenzweig: _Every organization has a psychosocial system which consists of individual behavior and motivation, status and role relationships, group dynamics, and influence systems. Obviously, the psychosocial system is affected by external environmental forces as well as by the tasks, technology, and structure of the internal organization.3° i or the organization has its own culture. is culture must be fully known and und T inderstood by the ae R.N. Farmer and B.M. Richman identify a a nam eS eee that Pronounced the behavior, as well as the tie etween ini i ii eae ee ¢ administrator and subordinates. These Bi ae sacral attitude of the society towards managers; * 72€ dominant views of authority and subordinates; 3. The extent to whi 4 ich i . 4S a Way of life; Cooperation between various group teractive.** In this way, es Benita Yay (Quezon City: Alar Phoens oh om nd pie Administration 57 Johnson, Kast and Rosenzweig, op, ae sos, 979), p. 22. 38Talingdan, op. cit., p. 224, wo 3° Johnson, Kast and Rosenzweig, op. cit., pp, 43.44 44s cited in Koontz and O'Donnell, op. cit., p, 97The Ecology of Public Administration 61 The view of achievement; The extent of inflexible class structure and individual class structure and individual mobility; 6. The view of scientific inethod ; 7, The view of risk; and 8. The view of change.** Moreover, due to varying beliefs, values or culture of the people, these factors, many social scientists claim, could either contribute to the building of the constructive atmosphere or to the failure of administration. Also, Yap had observed that culture affects the individual in the traditions he has learned, shared and valued.” Certainly, many administrators agreed that studying the culture of the place is an important responsibility. In fact, it is a prerequisite to understanding their subordinates and the people their organizations deal with. The customs, traditions, and values of the local people need to be understood by them, as well as to be duly respected. Some of these values of the Filipinos, as identified by some sociologists, are pakikisama (smooth interpersonal relationship), utang na loob (debt of gratitude), and hiya (shame). Clearly, then, skill in human relations is essential to effective administration in all levels of the organization. Of this, it should be pointed out that an individual with the highly developed skill in human relations is expected to be fully aware not only of his own attitudes, assumptions, beliefs, and values, but also of others. Indeed, since an administrator interacts with the people of his organization whose attitudes sometimes differ from him and the other people of the organization, he needs to develop such skill. Of course, the development of the skill depends upon his determination to achieve proficiency in his job. Economic Constraint. Economic stability is a significant economic variable. It is accepted by many that money is the life- blood of any organization. By that alone, it is clear that it is an important economic environmental factor. In preparing the development plans of the organization, the administrator is required to commit, by necessity, not only the an — 41 For a full discussion of these factors, see R. N. Farmer and B. M. Rich- man, Comparative Management and Economic Progress (Homewood, Illi- nois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1965). “Yap. op. cit., p. 22.62 Public Administration: The Business of Government ii ‘ces of the organization but also its other resources, heen ie ‘fF forced to be wuided only by the limited data on the i itions of his environment. : ooeritaation of production factors, as Koontz and Oo Ponnel int out, is also an economic environmental mai ter of great Berit ance He should, therefore, consider production factors, such fa factor endowment, the extent to which a country has available natural resources, adequate and useful labor, capital which can be employed for efficient production, or the extent to which social overhead capital is available. That is, the supply and quality of public utility-type services.“ : In this way, production factors refer to the host of services necessary to support the production, distribution and consump- tion of certain products. Religious Constraint. Religion can be considered as one of the constraints or outside forces that creates a problem to the effectiveness of public administration. Certainly, there are differences among the various religious denominations existing in the country today. Members of these Teligious organizations are, sometimes, fanatical in their adherence to their faiths and beliefs. Of this, Yap has found out that some of the roots of personnel administration are embedded in religion and ethics.“ She explained that the attitudes and outlook of people are bound to be influenced by their religi i is rit wrong. Their relations with othe Ts are influenced by what may be considered the correct conduct t 0 follow. One of the inalienable rights of every Filipino is the freedom to exercise one’s religious belief. This right is mandated, sanctioned and , Protected by the Constitution of the Philippines. It says in it Section 8, Article II, entitled Bills of Rights: : iit No law shall be made fespecting an establishment of religion, or Prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise . of religious profession and worship, without discri ence, shall forever be allowed, No religious test shal exercise of civil or political rights, and enjoyment imination or prefer- Il be required for the Unfortunately, there are some experiences in the past that show that 43 Koontz and O'Donnell, op. cit., p. 79, #4Yap, op. cit., p. 20.The Ecology of Public Administration 63 the implementation of some programs of the government ran counter to the constitutional rights, However, these conflicts have been caused by different interpretations of these provisions. Summary Public administration, as an organization, is influenced by its environment. Its ecological factors, in some degrees, condition its organizational behavior. Society, of which public administration is an integral part, has been in constant change. The Philippines as a developing country is a changing society. Whether the ecology of public administration will be an asset or a liability of the organization depends primarily on the attitudes of the administrator towards it. However, his attitudes will be governed, to some extent, by his perception of that particular situation. Also, organizational forms and technology revolutionalize the environment of organization. Besides, many environmental factors influence management decisions. In fact, public administration must reflect the culture and values of itsenvironment. Thus, it calls for the constant adjustment of its organiza- tional goals and administrative structures with that of its environment. While an administrators is influenced by the extemal environmental forces of his organization, the organization is capable of controlling them. These external factors can be classified as educational, legal- Political, socio-cultural, economic, and religious constraints.