3.

MODULE-2
Module II
• Bases of Organization; Principles of Organisation; Hierarchy, Span of
Control, Unity of Command, Centralization and Decentralization
• Chief Executive: Types and Functions.
• Line, Staff and Auxiliary Agencies
 What is Administration & Organization ?
• Administration is a cooperative effort of a groupof people in pursuit of a
common objective.
• It is necessary that this group should be organized in order to attain the
desired goal.
• In other words organization is an essential element of Administration.
• It facilitates the proper utilization of men ,material,and money for the
accomplishment of the defined purpose.
• Hence there can be no administration without Organization.
• Dimock and Dimock stated,”Organization is the basic tool by means of which
the administrative process is kept operating”.
• The term Organization derived from the word ‘organicism’ which means an
organized body of interdependent parts sharing common activity.
• The term organization connotes different things to different people.
• It is used in three different senses, that is, the act of designing the administrative
structure, and the administrative structure itself.
• These three views represent a mechanistic (structural) view of organization in the
sense that they do not convey the idea of human relationships(informal relations).
• However, an organization is both a structure and a set of human relationships.
• ‘Organisation’, “is the work of connecting inter- dependent parts so that each has
a special function, act, office or relation to the whole”.
• In the words of L D. White, “Organisation is an arrangement of personnel for
facilitating the accomplishment of some agreed purpose through allocation of
functions and responsibilities”.
• According to Pfiffner, “Organisation consists of the relationship of individual to
individual and a group to groups which are so related as to bring about an orderly
division of labour
Characteristics of the Organization.
1. They are purposeful, complex human collectivities.
2. They are characterized by secondary (or impersonal) relationships.
3. They have specialized and limited goals.
4. They are characterized by sustained co-operative activity.
5. They are integrated within a larger, social system.
6. They provide services and products to their environment.
7. They are dependent upon exchanges with their environment.
a) According to L. D. White, an organization has three primary elements viz.,
persons, combined efforts, and a common purpose.
b) The elements of an organization, according to C. I . Barnard are : a)
common purpose b) communication and c) willingness to serve.
 Organization-Bases
• Luther Gullick identified four bases of Organization
• 1. Function or Purpose [Link] [Link] (Clientele or Commodity) [Link] (Area
or Geography)
[Link]- When the organisation is built up on the basis of the nature of functions to be
performed it is said to be organised on a functional basis. Most of the organisations in the
modern governments follow functional principles because it is useful in giving
comprehensive service to the people. In India many departments of the government, ,
Defence Department, Health Department, Labour Department Human Resource
Development Department etc.. are organised on these principles. .
Merits of the Purpose Principle or Functional Principle are-
✓It gives a coherent mission to the organization
✓It eliminates overlapping and duplication of work
✓It facilitates development of coordinated policies
✓It enables the fixation of responsibility for failures.
✓It is easily intelligible to the common man.
Demerits
✓It neglects the subordinate type of works.
✓It ignores latest technologies
✓It leads to Departmentalism in thinking.
The Haldane committee of Britain (1918-1919),The first Hoover Commission of USA(1949-1950)
and the Study Team of Administrative Reforms Commission of India (1966-1970) recommended this
Principle.
[Link] – It means the technique or specialized skill used by the Organization in the performance
of work. Process is a technique or primary skill of a specialized type.
• Engineering, accounting, medical care, legal care etc are examples of this basis. When an
organisation is built up on the nature of activity more or less specialised it is said to have been
organised on the principle of process.
• The examples of organizations based on the process are ;The Ministry of Law and Justice, Urban
Development, Housing ,Space Department ,Ocean Department, Electronics Department and so on.
Merits
• It facilitates the maximum amount of Specialisation
• It ensures the maximum utilization of up-to date technical skill
• It secures economy due to maximum use of labour saving machinery
• It encourages coordination in the technical work.
• It is conducive to the development of career service.
Demerits
• It is of limited use as itcannot be applied in non-technical activities
• It gives more importance to the means than to the ends.
• It develops professional arrogance and leads to conflict.
• It neglects service of the generalist administration.
[Link](Clientele or Commodity) - It means the body of persons to be served.
Sometimes some social groups have some social problems, which require the
particular attention of the government. .
• When a department is established to meet the special problems of a section of the
community the basis of such a department is said to be clientele or persons served.
• In India the Department of Scheduled Caste And Scheduled Tribe ,Rehabilitation
Department, Tribal Welfare Department, Women Welfare Department and so on.
Merits
✓It makes one agency responsible for all the needs of a group.
✓It facilitates coordination of different services provided for the beneficiaries.
✓It establishes close relationship between the target group and the agency
✓It enables holistic approach to problem.
DEMERITS
✓It leads to the creation of a large number of small departments and thus
results in what the Haldane committee called the “Lilliputian Administration”.
✓It creates Jurisdictional disputes between departments.
✓It violates the principle of specialization due to multi-functional character.
✓It makes organization vulnerable to improper influences of pressure groups.
[Link] (Area or Geography)- Organisations spreading over a large area or territory
have the characteristics of area or territory. It is a fact that the government cannot
conduct the whole business from a single place.
• Naturally it has to decentralise many of its departments and locate them in the
different parts of the state. Eg;The Ministry of External Affairs and Territorial
Divisions witin it, Damodar Valley Corporation, Zonal Offices of Railway and so on.
• The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is a governmental organization which
operates several power stations in the Damodar River area of West Bengal and
Jharkhand states. It was formed through a special legislation in the Indian
Parliament in 1948 through DVC Act of 1948.
• Merits
✓It facilitates coordination of different services provided within a specified
area.
✓It allows the adaptation of national policies to the needs of areas concerned.
✓It is suitable in cases of long distance and communication difficulties.
✓It secures economy due to reduction in travel and communication cost.
• Demerits
✓It turns counter to uniformity in the administration of national policies.
✓It foster localism at the cost of national outlook and solidarity.
✓It violates the principle of specialization due to multi-functional character.
✓It makes organization vulnerable to improper influences of regional interests
and pressure groups.
 Principles of the Organization
• Principles of organization are a set of principles, which determines the existence and
functioning of organization.
• Human beings cannot live in isolation. They are unable to fulfil their needs and desires
alone, because any one lacks the strength, ability, time and potential. He has to get the
cooperation of other persons in achieving his goals.
• It is very difficult to define the term organization precisely because the use of the term
organization is not standardized. It is not static (fixed).
• It is dynamic and ever changing as per the needs of society, its members, business objectives
and environmental changes. Organization has been defined in different ways by different
theorists, because different theorists have emphasized different characteristics of
organization.
• Organization is defined as the form of human association for attaining common objectives.
• Every Organization needs management for every level. Be it an organization as small as a
family or temple or big organization like colleges/business houses etc..
Principles of Organization are:
• [Link], [Link] of Command, [Link] of Control, 4. Coordination, [Link],
[Link], [Link] and [Link].
[Link] or the Scalar Process
• The term „Hierarchy‟ is derived from the Greek term for a ruling body of priests
organized into ranks.
• Literally, „hierarchy‟ means the control of the higher over the lower. In
administrative phraseology, it means an organization structured in a pyramidical
fashion with successive steps interlinked with each other from top to bottom.
• Hierarchy means a graded organisation of several successive levels in which one of
the lower levels is immediately subordinate to the next higher one and through it
to the other higher steps right up to the top.
• The shape of the administrative structure is that of a pyramid.
• Mooney and Reily call it the scalar process. They say “a scale means a series of
steps something graded. In organization, it means the grading of duties not
according to different functions, but according to degrees of authority and
corresponding responsibility.
• Fayol referred to it as the scalar chain while Mooney and Reiley called it the scalar
process. The word scalar is derived from scale which means ladder with several
steps.
The basic features of the hierarchical structure are:
• A person will have only one immediate superior from whom he will receive orders.
• A person will not receive orders from lower status.
• No intermediate level shall be skipped over in the dealing of the people at the top
with those lower level or vice versa.
• A person who is given responsibility for a task will have authority commensurate
with this responsibility.
➢ From the above features it is clear that in the scalar system, authority command
and control descends from the top to the bottom step by step.
➢The secretary of the department will deal with the joint secretary who in turn shall
deal with the deputy secretary who further shall deal with the under secretary.
➢The under secretary shall further deal with the section officer who in turn deals
with assistants, clerks etc.
➢ Similarly, the upward communication shall also be exactly the same when a section
officer deals with higher officers.
L D. White narrates the basic functions of hierarchy.
• According to him it's primarily the channel of command.
• It is the principal channel of communication downward and upward along with the flow of
information, advice, specific instructions, warnings and commands.
• It is the channel for the delegation of authority.
Advantages of Hierarchy :
• (i) It serves an instrument of integration and coherence in the organization.
• (ii) It acts as a channel of communication.
• (iii) Enables to fix responsibility at each level.
• (iv) It acts as a channel of communication –up wards and downwards.
• (v) It prevents congestion of work at the top level.
• (vi) It facilitates decentralization of decision-making.
• (vii) It facilitates delegation of authority.
• (viii) It simplifies procedures for file movement.
• (ix) It promotes discipline and order in the organization.
Disadvantages of Hierarchy :
(i) It causes delay word due to Red Tapism.
(ii) It discourages the initiative and drive of the lower level personnel resulting in
indecisiveness and inefficiency.
(iii) It is not conducive for the growth of dynamic human relations among members of
the organization.
(iv) It makes organization over extended, consequently the personnel at the top loose
touch with lower levels.
(v) It creates superior-subordinate relationship due to differences at various levels in
the following aspects :
• Distribution of authority and privileges.
• Nature of responsibilities.
• Pay scales.
• Qualifications and qualities of the staff.
[Link] is Span of Control?
• The principle of span of control means the number of sub ordinates or the units of work
that an officer can effectively direct, control and supervise.
• Span of control is simply the number of subordinates or the units of work that an
administrator can personally direct.
• It is also known as span of supervision or span of management.
• According to Dimock and Dimock, “The span of control is the number and range of direct,
habitual communication contacts between the Chief Executive of an enterprise and his
principal fellow officers.”
• V.A. Graicunas described this concept as related to the principle of “span of attention”.
• There are limits to human capacity; and if the span of supervision extended too thinly,
unsatisfactory results occur.
• There are some who limit it to 3 persons; others put at 7; and still others restrict it to 20.
The problem of fixing the number of subordinates is a problem of the span of control and is
related to the psychological problem of the span of attention.
• In fact nobody can attend to more than a certain number of things or persons. It means
the span of attention is limited.
What are the factors that determine Span of Control?
• The exact length of span of control depends on the following four factors :
• (i) Function
• (ii) Time
• (iii) Space
• (iv) Personality
• (i) Function : It refers to the type/nature of work to be supervised. The span of
control is more when the work to be supervised is of easy, routine, mechanical
character than when the work is of difficult, non-routine, intellectual
character.
• (ii) Time : It refers to the age of organization concerned. The span of control is
more in old organizations than in newer organizations. because in older
organizations, things get stabilized while newer organizations will have few
precedents.
• (iii) Space : It refers to the place of work to be supervised. The span of control
is more when the supervisor and the subordinates to be supervised are under
the same roof, than when the subordinates work in different rooms or at a
distance from the supervisor.
• (iv) Personality : It refers to the competence of the supervisor and the
supervised. The span of control is more when the supervisor is intelligent,
energetic and tactful than when he is weak, dull and incompetent.
• Though there exists no unanimity over laying down a definite number
constituting the span of control.
• There is a general agreement that shorter the span, the greater will be the
superior-subordinate contact and in consequence more effective control,
supervision and direction.
• There is a close relationship between Hierarchy & Span of Control. That is,
the number of levels in a hierarchical organization depends upon the span of
control of a superior officer.
• Narrow span of control increases the number of levels in the organization and
thereby creates tall structure.
• On the other hand, wider span of control decreases their number and thereby
results in a flat structure.
3. Unity of Command.
• Unity of command means that an employee should receive orders from one
immediate superior only.
• In other words, it means that no employee should be subjected to the orders of more
than one superior. Thus, it stands for single boss for each person or mono-command.
• Unity of command means that no individual employee should be subject to the
orders of more than one immediate superior.
• Thus it means that each individual employee shall have only one man as his superior
and shall receive orders only from him.
• If he gets orders from more than one officer it may be difficult for him to discharge
his duties.
• Responsibility can be fixed only if we know where the authority rests and this is not
possible if the authority stands divided.
• Absence of conflict in orders, exercise of effective supervision over the employee
and clear fixation of responsibility are the advantages of unity of command.
• In the words of Pfiffner and Presthus, “ The concept of unity of command
requires that every member of an organisation should report to one, and only
one leader”.
• According to Fayol, unity of command means “an employee should receive
orders from one superior only”.
• It is a fact that in practice we find significant exceptions to these principles. It
is usually seen that an individual employee is subject to a dual command.
• This can be seen more in the professional fields. There one gets orders not
only from the administrative side but also from the professional side.
• For e.g. a doctor employed in a local body is under the administrative control
of the Chairman of the Local Body. At the same time professionally he is
under the control of the Director of Public Health.
• Unity of command has been seriously affected by the increasing number and
growing influence of Staff and Auxiliary agencies.
• The fact that the agencies are manned by experts has added their growing
significance.
• Defenders of the principle of unity of command have tried to save it by
pointing out that the technical experts in public administration do not really
exercise independent authority and control.
• They are of the opinion that they work only as advisors.
• It is also argued that its violation does not occur when an employee receives
orders from more than one superior in one and same matter.
4. Coordination
• Co-ordination is an essential part of administration. It has both positive and
negative connotations.
• Positively, it means bringing about co-operation and team work among the
persons and units of an organization.
• Negatively, it means removing conflicts, inconsistencies, friction, overlapping
and working at cross purposes among persons or units of an organization.
• According to Mooney, “co-ordination is the first principle of organisation and
includes within itself all other principles which are sub-ordinate to it and
through which it operates”.
• According to Charlesworth, “Co-ordination is the integration of several parts
into an orderly whole to achieve the purpose of the undertaking.”
Need for Coordination :
• (i) To avoid conflicts and duplication of work.
• (ii) To curtail the tendency among employees to attach too much significance to their own
work and de-emphasize others work.
• (iii) To prevent tendency of empire building.
• (iv) To meet the requirements of growing number of organizational units.
Different types of Coordination
(i) Internal and External
• Internal coordination deals with coordinating the individual activities of persons working
in an organization.
• External coordination deals with coordinating the activities of various organizational units.
(ii) Horizontal and Perpendicular :
• Horizontal coordination deals with coordination between one section and another, one
branch and another, and so on at the same level whereas a perpendicular coordination
deals with the coordination between an officer and his employee, a branch and a division
and a division and a department.
(iii) Procedural and Substantive
• This typology is given by Herbert Simon. Procedural coordination is exempted by
the structure of the organization itself that defines the pattern of formal relations
among its members.
• The substantive coordination on the other hand is concerned with content of the
activities of the organisation.
Techniques or means of coordination :
• (i) Planning.
• (ii) Institutional devices like inter-departmental meetings, conferences, committees
and so on.
• (iii) Standardization of procedures and methods like forms, manuals, regulations.
• (iv) Verbal and written communication.
• (v) Inculcation of institutional spirit among the employees.
• (vi) In addition to above formal means, there are various informal means like
personal contacts, dinner etc.
Factors limit the achievement of coordination :
• (i) Uncertainty of the future behaviour of individuals and of groups.
• (ii) Lack of knowledge, experience, wisdom and character among leaders and
their confused and conflicting ideas and objectives.
• (iii) Lack of administrative skills and techniques.
• (iv) Incompleteness of human knowledge, particularly related to men and life.
• (v) Lack of proper methods for developing, considering perfecting and
adopting new ideas and programmes.
[Link]
• Centralization means concentration of authority at the top level of the
administrative system.
• In a centralized system of administration, the lower levels (called field offices)
cannot act on their own initiative.
• They have to refer most of their problems to the higher level (headquarters)
for decision making. They act as only implementing agencies.
• L. D. White, “The process of transfer of administrative authority from a lower
to a higher level of government is called centralisation.”
• Henry Fayol, “Everything that goes to increase the importance of the sub-
ordinates role is decentralization, everything which goes to decrease it is
centralization.”
Merits of Centralization :
• (i) It provides for maximum control over the entire organization.
• (ii) It ensures that all the work is performed in the same manner and in
accordance with the same general policies and principles.
• (iii) Secures economy by avoiding duplication of work.
• (iv) Facilitates the introduction of dynamism in the organization through the
active role of personal leadership.
• v) It is suitable for dealing with emergencies and unanticipated matters.
• (vi) It enables the maximum utilization of the human and material resources
in the organization and thus develops a corporate personality.
Demerits of Centralization :
• (i) It leads to delay in securing action as the field officials have to refer the
matter to the higher authorities.
• (ii) It makes the head office overburdened due to “apoplexy at the top and
anemia at the extremities.”
• (iii) It leads to autocratic control over subordinates and thus results in lack of
flexibility in administration.
• (iv) It makes administration irresponsible as the head office acts without the
knowledge of local conditions and requirements.
• (v) It does not facilitate peoples‟ participation.
• (vi) It does not allow the development of second line of executives.
• (vi) It is not conducive for the expansion of the organization.
[Link]
• Decentralization means dispersal of authority among the lower levels of the
administrative system.
• In a decentralized system of administration, the field offices can act on their
own initiative in specified matters.
• They are given authority to take decisions without reference to the
headquarters. Thus, the essence of decentralization is the resting of decision
making power in the field offices.
Merits of Decentralization :
(i) It increases administrative efficiency by reducing delays, curbing red-tapism
and encouraging faster action.
(ii) It reduces workload of the head office.
(iii) It develops resourcefulness and self-respect among the sub-ordinates by
making them to take decisions with a sense of responsibility
• (iv) It makes administration more responsive.
• (v) Facilitates people‟s participation and strengthens democracy at the grass-
root level.
• (vi) Allows development of second line executives.
• (vii) Encourages the expansion of the organization.
• (viii) Facilitates the adaptation of national polices and programmes to the
varying conditions of different regions.
• (ix) It alleviates the problem of communication overload in the organization
by reducing paper work at both higher end lower levels.
• (x) Encourages competition.
• (xi) It makes possible the experimentation in decision making
Demerits of Decentralization :
• (i) It complicates word motion and integration of the activities of various units
due to decrease in the degree of central control over the total organization.
• (ii) It makes communication among various levels difficult and thereby
reduces its effectiveness and authencity.
• (iii) Makes administration expensive due to duplication of work.
• (iv) Not suitable for dealing with emergency matters.
• (v) It encourages divisive forces, thus threatens the organizational integration.
• (vi) It weakens the national perspective by breeding localism and
parochialism.
• (vii) Increases corruption, nepotism and so on.
Safeguards for effective Decentralization.
Following are the safeguards to make decent decentralization effective :
• (i) Field offices should report to one central agency only.
• (ii) Jurisdictional lines should be meticulously drawn.
• (iii) Procedures in several field offices should be of a common standard.
• (iv) Field office should have a sufficient flexible physical and psychological
structure to permit it to adjust to the emergent local conditions.
• (v) Field office should not make decisions affecting overall policy.
• (vi) A system of ready appeals should be present.
• (vii) Suggestions from the field to the centre should be freely channeled.
• (viii) Adequate reporting and inspection methods should be provided.
[Link] and [Link]
• The Authority has the power to give orders and instructions to its subordinates that they
may work.
• Responsibility means duties entrusted to a person at the time of delegation of authority.
What is Authority?
• Authority is the formal right to act. Authority is the legitimate power of a person or group
over other people.
• Henry Fayol defined authority as “the right to command and the power of precise
obedience”.
• Authority empowers management to enforce obedience. It is the power to order and
ensure that these orders are followed.
What are the characteristics of authority?
• Basis of getting things done: – Authority provides the basis for getting the work done in
the organization.
• It refers to the right to influence the behavior of others in an organization with the
performance of certain activities to meet defined objectives.
• Legitimacy: – Authority is accepted because it has some validity, that it
acquires the right to safe performance from others.
• Such a right may be legal or formal, or it may be supported by tradition,
Custom or accepted standards of authenticity.
• The authority of a manager is given to him to influence the behavior of his
subordinates based on his position or office in the organization.
• Decision making: – It is a condition of authority. The manager may instruct
his subordinates to act or prevent them from acting in a particular way when
he has decided that in relation to the course of activities they perform.
• Subjectivity in Implementation: – Although the authority has an element of
fairness about it, its practice is significantly influenced by subjective factors,
such as the personality of the manager who is empowered to use it, in the
context of a subordinate or group of subordinates to whom It has to be with.
 Authority -features
• Features of Authority:
• It is an individual's legitimate right.
• It enables staff to be determined by the placeholder.
• This means the right to seek compliance.
• It is practiced in a certain manner to control the actions of subordinates.
• It moves within the organization from top to bottom.
• It is the ultimate organizing power, and it unites the various individuals who
work in the company.
• It is used to accomplish organizational goals.
• Differentiating authority from power. Power is referred to as the ability to
influence the attitude and behavior of an individual whereas authority is
particular authorization obtained from the higher end.
Elements of Authority
• There are 5 elements of authority which are explained below.
• Usage of Power: In other words, there is a power where there is an authority based
on which the authorized person gives orders and instructions to other persons
under his/her jurisdiction.
• Influential Personality: If the power is assigned to a person of influential
personality, he can make successful use of these powers, easily because his orders
are readily accepted by the subordinates.
• Performance: An essential aspect of authority is the need for the exercise of
authority control. Such success can take place in various ways, such as with the
application and issuing orders in writing, etc.
• Effective Leadership: The individual with authority must be an effective leader so
that his subordinates can be guided and his subordinates can obey his instructions
in turn.
• To Influence the Subordinates: The person having authority must have a quality
impact on his subordinates for the successful exercise of authority to be able to
recognize and comply with his orders
What is Responsibility?
• Responsibility has different meanings in management. The most common
description is the obligation on the manager to perform the task himself.
• The essence of responsibility is ‘obligation’.
• Anyone who accepts a task must be held responsible for its performance too.
• In the context of hierarchical relations in an organization, responsibility is the
obligation of a subordinate to perform the tasks assigned.
• Therefore, responsibility is relative to the person.
• Also, it emanates from the subordinate-superior relations in an organization. Hence,
the manager can get the assigned duty done by his subordinate.
• He also needs to ensure a proper discharge of the duty. Therefore, in an
organization, authority and responsibility move as follows – Authority flows
downwards, whereas Responsibility is exacted upwards.
• Sometimes, informal leadership emerges in an organization. This can create
problems in the clear definition of responsibilities of the subordinates. However, the
responsibility towards the seniors does not change.
There are two forms of responsibility–
Operating Responsibility
• Operating responsibility is the responsibility of an individual to carry out the
assigned tasks.
• Operating responsibility is the responsibility or obligation of the person who
actually works.
Ultimate Responsibility
• The ultimate responsibility is the final obligation of the manager who ensures
that the work is performed efficiently by the employees.
• The ultimate responsibility is the final responsibility of the manager who get
the work through the employees.
• A manager’s ultimate responsibility is to get the work done by his employees
(operating responsibility).
Authority Responsibility
It is the legal right of the superior to It is the responsibility of a subordinate
command his subordinates. to complete the task assigned to him
by his superior.
Authority normally arises due to the Responsibility arises from superior
position of the boss in the subordinate relations, whereby the
organization. subordinate agrees to perform such
duties as he is assigned to.
Authority may be delegated by a It cannot be delegated by the
superior to his subordinate. subordinate.
Authority flows downwards from Responsibility moves upward from
superior to subordinate. subordinate to superior.
The relationship between Authority and Responsibility is given as follows: –
• The authority has the power to give orders and instructions to its
subordinates that they may work.
• Responsibility means duties entrusted to a person at the time of delegation
of authority.
• Authority may be delegated. Responsibility cannot be delegated.
• A superior can always share his authority with his subordinate. But a superior
cannot delegate his responsibility or obligation to a subordinate to perform
his duty.
• Responsibility is accounted to a person. Therefore, no subordinate can escape
his responsibility by delegating certain rights to his subordinate.
Responsibility always moves upwards and therefore cannot be delegated.
• Authority and responsibility are closely related. There should be parity
between the two. The subordinate shall be accountable for the authority
entrusted to him and not beyond.
 Chief Executive: Types and Functions
• Chief Executive -Meaning
• By Chief Executive we mean the person or the body of persons at the head of the
administrative system of a country.
• The administrative hierarchy of a country resembles a pyramid, broad at the base and
tapering towards the top till it ends at a single point, the apex.
• The chief Executive is the apex of the administrative pyramid.
• He is a person or persons in whom the executive power has been authoritatively
vested for performing various functions.
• In a political system, the person or persons in whom the constitution vests the
executive power of the government is the chief executive.
• In public or private organisations, the person who is at the top position with the
major responsibility of carrying out the work of organisations is the chief executive.
• The chief executive has to perform various political and administrative functions. He
occupies a central position in Public Administration.
• He determines the goals of the organisation, prepares plans, determines the
tasks, fixes priorities, takes crucial decisions, mobilizes resources, recruits
personnel, coordinates the work of all the departments under him, motivates
the personnel, provides leadership and supervises. the implementation of
plans.
• He sees that the goals of organisation are achieved with maximum efficiency
and optimum use of resources.
• The success or failure of an organization, therefore, depends on the dynamic
nature and character of the chief executive.
• In India, the President is the Chief Executive of the Union and the Governors
of the states.
• In Britain, the Monarch is the Chief Executive, in the USA, the President, and
in Switzerland, the Federal Council.
TYPES OF CHIEF EXECUTIVES
The type of executive varies with the form of government.
In a dictatorship, the chief executive comes to power through a military coup and
continues to be in power through army support. Modern democracies have either a
Presidential or a Parliamentary/ Collegiate executive, which is chosen from, and
responsible to, an eIected legislature.
• The parliamentary and Presidential Types of the Chief Executives- In countries like India
and the UK, with parliamentary systern,the chief executive consists of the Prime Minister
and other Ministers.
• The Prime Minister heads the cabinet in these countries. There is a close, continuous and
intimate executive legislative relationship as the cabinet is accountable to parliament in
the parliamentary system.
• In the Presidential system like the USA, the chief executive is the President. In such a
system, the President is neither a member of parliament nor accountable to it.
• The President of US can be impeached and removed from office by the legislature i.e.
the US Congress by two-third majority.
• In the USA, for instance, because of the system of checks and balances, Congress, the
President and the judiciary have become separate. entities independent of each other.
• The Titular and the Real Chief Executives- In parliamentary form of government,
all executive power is vested in the titular or constitutional head in theory and all
decisions are supposed to be taken in his name. It means that the head, whether it
is the King or the President can exercise his powers only on the advice of the
ministers and not independently.
• Thus, though the Constitution vests the powers with the President or the King, in
practice these are not his real powers and cannot be exercised by him without the
consent, of ministers. The chief executive in this state remains titular or nominal.
• The real executive is the Council of Ministers or the Cabinet to which the legal
powers of titular executive pass, It means that legally he does not have any powers
but in practice exercises all the powers vested in the titular head.
• In England, the Queen and in India, the President are the titular chiefs and in both
the countries the real executive is the cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
• In countries like the USA, the President is the real chief executive, as the powers
legally vested in him are also exercised by him independently.
• Single and Plural Chief Executives -In countries where parliamentary system of
government prevails, the real chief executive is the cabinet which is a plural body. The
body comprises the Prime minister and other ministers.
• The Prime Minister works on the advice of his ministers. Unlike this, the chief executive in
the Presidential system of government (like in the USA) is a single individual, the
President.
• Though he functions under the system of separation of powers and checks and balances,
he takes his decisions in an independent manner.
• The Collegial Executive of Switzerland -The Swiss Executive belongs to neither of the two
types i.e., the plural or singular, it has feature of both the types. This type of executive is
called the Collegial Executive.
• It represents a mixture of some of the basic principles of the parliamentary and the
presidential types.
• Just like the parliamentary type, the Swiss Executive is a plural body conisisting of several
members.
• It is truly Collegial because in it there is nobody like the Prime Minister holding a position
of primacy. All its members are equal in rank and and responsible to the legislature.
• Unlike the members of the cabinet and like the US President, the Swiss Executive, [the
Federal Council) is elected for a fixed term and is irremovable during the period.
• In the countries where all executive power is vested in the King or the President
who however can exercise his powers only on the advice of the ministers and not
independently is the Titular Chief Executive.
• The legal powers of the titular executive pass, for all purposes, into the hands of
the cabinet or the ministry which thus becomes the real Chief executive.
• In England, the queen and in India the President of the Republic are titular or
nominal chief of this type and in both countries, the real executive is the cabinet
headed by the Prime Minister.
• It is the same with the governors in the states of India.
• But it would be a mistake to regard them as mere ciphers, for, from the very nature
of things, a residue of discretionary power are given to enable them ns are
ceremonial and advisory rather than executive.
• In countries like the USA where the presidential form of government prevails, the
position is different.
• They have no titular or nominal executive, and the powers legally vested in him are
exercised by him personally and independently. He is under no legal obligation to
act on the advice of anyone else.
 FUNCTIONS OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES
• The chief executive is the head of the country and in that capacity has far-reaching
legislative, executive and judicial powers granted by the Constitution of the
country.
• Besides him there are numerous lesser chief executives at the state and local levels
who also have to perform various legislative, executive and judicial functions in
their respective areas.
• The nature and quantity of functions keep changing at every level.
• In companies or corporations the chief executive has the important task of
interpreting the policy of the Board of Directors to the rest of the management and
the general public.
• He has to ensure that policies and programmes laid down by the Board of Directors
have been understood by all the employees.
• He has to devise the various procedures of organisation and determine its
structure.
• The chief executive, at any level has a dual role to play i.e. political as well as
administrative.
[Link] Functions
• The source of political power under democracy is primarily the people themselves
and secondarily the legislature which is the representative body of the people.
• The chief executive obtains his office through the votes of his people. It means that
the office of the chief executive is the end-result of a political process.
• For executive discharge of the duties of his office and proper working of the
administration, the chief executive needs the support of the legislature and the
people. Therefore, he must always work for winning the support of the legislature
and the electorate.
• The chief executive has to perform his activities by keeping in view the public
interest as well as the interest of the nation.
• Administration cannot run smoothly unless there is interaction between the people
and the administration. Thus, political management is one of the most important
functions of the chief executive
• Chief executive also exits at other levels e.g.,both in public organisations, private
enterprises etc.
• At these levels too, the chief executive has an important political role to perform. In actual
practice, the chief executive in a parliamentary form of government performs many
functions which the head or heads of the public or private organisation (which ran be a
General Manager, Managing Director or a Secretary) perform.
• The executive in a parliamentary system is controlled by the Legislature and in an
organisation it is controlled by the Board of Directors.
• Even though the chief executive in public organisations,(BEL,BHEL
,GAIL,BP,BSNL,SBI,LIC,AAI,HP,ONGC) is not a result of political process, but they
have to interact with people, press etc., to run the organisation. They mobilises the efforts of
the personnel to achieve organisational goals.
• This means that political role of a chief executive is very crucial and he cannot avoid it,
whether it is at the national level, state level or local levels.
• His political function of stimulating the entire administration to action in pursuit of the
accepted goals and objectives and winning the people's support and consent thus assumes
importance.
Administrative Functions
• The chief executive has to perform a number of administrative functions. Luther
Gullick sums up these functions in the acronym POSDCORB (Planning,
Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting. )
[Link] of Administrative Policy
• One of the major functions of the chief executive is the determination and
formulation of administrative policy. He issues a number of specfiic policy
directions, written or oral, which enable the administrative officers to perform their
duties in a proper manner.
• They actually serve as a guide to administration. The chief executive is consulted by
the departmental heads and other administrative officers on certain important and
controversial matters.
• His ability and personality has close bearing on administrative efficiency.
• The Legislature only enacts laws in general terms. The executive fills them with
details to make them fit for application.
• Eg;(NEP, MUDRA,CIAL-the first greenfield airport in India to be built under a
public-private partnership –PPP-first fully solar-powered airport in the world)
[Link] Control the Finances - Fiscal control and management also forms a part of
the administrative functions of the Chief Executive.
• It is his duty to prepare the annual budget and submit it to the legislature for
approval.
• He has to make a full report regarding past financial operations, fiscal policies
and present economic condition of the state and to make statements
regarding provisions made for meeting the revenue and expenditure needs of
the government in next financial year.
• The whole exercise is called budgeting. In other words, the Chief Executive
prepares the budget.
• He gets the budget approved by the legislature and then implements it
through administrative policies and actions.
• It is his responsibility to secure the realization of budgetary targets
[Link] supervise and control the administration - It is the duty of the Chief
Executive to supervise and control the entire administration.
• The purpose of supervision and control is to ensure that every personnel in the
whole administrative organisation does his work efficiently and according to
the plans and policies issued by him or in his name.
• He has to issue instructions, 'warn' when the work is not being done properly
and 'encourage' when it is running smoothly.
• He monitors the implementation of the policies and initiates steps to plug the
loopholes and errors.
• He enforces discipline among the staff and gets the work done through
effective supervision and control.
4. Public Relations - Public administration is responsible to the people. As such,
it has to keep the people well informed about its policies and programmes and
remove the misunderstandings if any.
• For this reason, the Chief Executive functions as the spokesperson of the
administration by enunciating all public policies and keeping the public informed
about all important and major administrative decisions. (NEP, PM’S MUDRA
Yojana, Beti bachao beti patio, MGNREGA)
• He maintains relations with the press, various interest groups, voters and the
legislature.
• Healthy public relations are an essential need for keeping the administration
popular, efficient and productive of desired results.
• The Chief Executive has the duty to conduct public relations in a befitting manner
[Link] Functions - The Chief Executive has to continuously maintain
active, efficient and healthy communications between him and all other
departments of the organisation.
• For a successful working of every organisation, it is important that information
should flow smoothly from him to all subordinates. He must also receive all feed
back information from his staff.
• Timely, clear cut and regular communication and exchange of all information to
different parts of the administrative system alone can secure an integrated and
effective attempt for securing the purpose of the organisation.
6. Issuing Directions, Proclamations and Orders - For carrying out the work of
administration, the Chief Executive issues orders and directions to the
personnel and units of the organisation.
• The kind, nature and number of the directives, proclamations, and orders
issued by the Chief Executive set up the tone of the administration.
• According to L.D. White, "In any official organisation, the impulse to action
comes from above".
• He issues these orders and directions either directly or through delegation
of authority to his subordinates who are occupying key and responsible
positions in the administrative hierarchy.
[Link] and Removal of Personnel
• It is the responsibility of the chief executive to see that the heads of different departments
perform their duties sincerely and efficiently.
• Hence he also has the power to select the officers. In almost all the countries the chief
executive makes appointments to higher offices.
• In India, all important appointments such as that of State Governors, Ambassadors, Chief
Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court and State High Courts, the Attorney General, the
Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission are made by the chief
executive.
• Recruitment of administrators to other ranks is made by Public Service Commission on the
basis of competitive examinations.
• So even where merit system of recruitment normally prevails, key appointments are made
by the chief executive. In public and private organisations, key appointments are made by
the chief executive.
• The recruitment of personnel is done under his supervision and with his due consent.
• The chief executive also has the power of dismissal or demotion of public servants, if he
finds it necessary in the interests of administrative efficiency.
• Dismissals are subject to certain constitutional arrangements. In the removal of personnel
of the lower cadre he is guided by the Civil Service Rules.
8. Coordination of Executive Functions - One of the most important functions of the
Chief Executive is to coordinate the working of various parts of the organisation.
• Modern administration consists of several departments, commissions and sections,
each performing a specialised part of the function.
• In order to create uniformity, unity and efficiency in the administration,
coordination is needed. Conflicts and differences keep on emerging in a modern
administration.
• The Chief Executive settles conflicts and brings harmony.
• In fact, conflict-resolution through coordination is a vitally important and highly
useful function of the Chief Executive.
• His verdict has to be respected and obeyed by all officials or units engaged in the
conflict. Thus, to coordinate is the supreme responsibility of the Chief Executive.
• He is the coordinator-in-chief of the administration.
9. Leadership - The Chief Executive is the leader of the administration and he is to
provides effective leadership to it.
• The quality of administration depends upon the vigour and energy with which he
leads it.
• He must have a high moral character, capacity to judge, capacity to inspire
confidence, decisiveness and other qualities of leadership.
• The impact of leadership on the administration can be assessed from the fact
that a change of leadership at the chief executive level always produces a
change in the internal and external environments and working of the
administrative system.
Role of the Chief Executive
• The Chief Executive occupies a Central position in administration.
• He determines the goals, prepares plans, fixes priorities, takes important decisions,
coordinates all work, appoints the personnel, motivates the personnel, and
supervises the implementation of all policies and plans.
• The Chief Executive is the pivot around which the administration revolves. In many
ways, his qualities and work determine the real performance of the administration.
• In actual practice, however, the Chief Executive cannot perform all the above
mentioned functions himself. He has to depend on his subordinates among whom
the work of the organisation stands delegated and divided.
• He only gives the broad outlines of the policies, leaving the details to be filled in by
his subordinates.
• The Chief Executive functions through delegation of authority followed by
continuous coordination, supervision and control.
• He depends upon the services of a large number of personnel working in the
administrative organisation, particularly upon those who work at the top levels of
various departments and other units..
• The Chief Executive is a very busy person and often feels a paucity of time for bringing
necessary and big changes in the policies and programmes of the administration.
• This compels him to make use of the services of a large number, a big team of officials. In
many cases, the Chief Executive has to put his seal of approval on the recommendations of
his staff.
• Formally, the decisions are made by the Chief Executive but his decisions get evolved out of
various processes, and as such, many officials in the hierarchy contribute to such decisions.
• He takes only the policy decisions or the major decisions and that too after these have
been processed by his subordinates.
• Marshal Dimock believes the actual role of the Chief Executive is that of a "Trouble shooter,
a supervisor and promoter of the future programme".
• He has the prime responsibility of getting the work done. He has to administer the
administrators.
• He delegates authority to them, coordinates their work, supervises them and controls their
work behaviour.
• He has to keep their morale high and give them directions as well as a purpose for working
effectively and efficiently. His great quality really lies not in administering the work himself
but in making others administer and carry out the work.
• He has to get things done and makes things work
 AIDES TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
• No Chief Executive can perform these mentioned functions all by himself.
• He needs help and this help is provided by the organs attached to the office of the chief
executive.
• It is impossible for the chief executive to work without any assistance. Hence there is the
need for delegation of work and powers.
• The chief executive delegates some of his powers to the organs attached to his office but
keeps to himself the more important functions and overall responsibility of the delegated
activities.
• Delegation, thus, does not interfere with his supreme responsibilities.
• Delegation can be of two types, the staff and the line, Staff and line agencies reduce
pressure upon the chief executive.
• The terms line and staff are both taken from the military vocabulary.
• Line refers to the chain of command, extending from top-ranking officers down to the
lowest rank, they implement the decisions/policies of the chief executive.
• The staff refers to the service rendered to the chief executive through advice and
counselling.
• Staff agencies help the chief executive by providing him with information he needs for
decision making .
• Thus, staff agencies keep the executive duly informed and save his time by
ensuring that matters reach him in a prompt and convenient manner.
• It supplies the chief executive with relevant data and fruitful advice and also
sees that the decisions taken by the chief executive are properly implemented.
• Major staff agencies in India are the Planning Commission, the Cabinet
Secretariat, Cabinet Committees, PM's Office etc.
• In U.K. the example of staff agencies are the Cabinet Committees.
• In U.S.A., the White House Office, National Security Council are some of the
staff agencies.
 Line Staff and Auxiliary Agencies
• The creation of Line and Staff is the result of the increased magnitude and
complexity in Organization.
• The concept of “Line and Staff”has been derived from Military vocabulary.
• It needed due to the specializationin the army.
• The system first entered into private business management and later to the
government.
• The govt . Conducts its business with the help of a highly elaborate system of
organization.
• The central hierarchy comprises the Line and for assisting the Line there are
Staff and Auxiliary Services.
• Staffs provide Specialised advices but not [Link] provides
common services.
Line Agencies
• It is with the line agencies that the ordinary citizen comes into contact.
• These agencies are concerned with the execution or fulfilment of the primary
objectives and functions of the government and deal directly with the people.
• They provide services to people, regulate their conduct, implement programmes
sanctioned by the legislature, collect taxes etc.
• Line agencies can be of three types - the Departments, Govt. Corporations and
Independent Regulatory Commissions of the U.S.A.
• In India, we find two types of Line agencies-Departments and Public Corporations.
• Major Line Departments in the Govt. of India are those of Health, Defence,
Education, Railways, Communication etc. The Damodar Valley Corporation, the
Industrial Finance Corporation, the Indian Airlines Corporation and the Air India
International are a few examples of Public Corporations in India.
• All these line agencies help the chief executive in carrying out his decisions and
policies.
• Even at the local levels, the staff and line agencies are there to help and advise
the local executives.
• If we take the example of a Municipal Corporation, the city Mayor is the chief
executive who is assisted by the Deputy Mayor.
• The staff agencies perform functions with respect to personnel, finance,
planning and legal assistance and help the chief executive.
• The line agencies help the executive by carrying out functions relating to
Health, Police, Recreation, Library etc.
• Thus staff and line agencies perform various functions in order to assist the
chief executive in executing his policies and decisions.
• Staff Agencies According to Mooney, the staff is "an expansion of the
personality of the executive. It means more eyes, more ears and more hands to
aid him, informing and carrying out his plans".
• Literally, 'staff' means a stick on which you can lean for support, but which can
neither initiate nor decide your movements.
• If the matter is complicated and the functions are of Technical character,
relevant information and technical advice of officers havingexpert knowledge is
necessary.
• So it is highly necessary to set up special organisations to make research and to
act as the technical advisor to the Chief Executive.
• The Special Organization are called Staff Agencies.
• Staff always remains in the background. It makes preparations for executive's
decisions, but docs not decide itself.
• According to Pfiffner, there are three kinds of staff agencies, these are
General, Technical and Auxiliary.
• The General Staff helps the chief in general matters by advice, collection of
information and research.
• It acts like a filter and a funnel as it only lets the most important matters
reach the chief executive keeping back the matters which can be settled
elsewhere in the organisation.
• The Technical Staff advises the chief executive on technical [Link];
Engineers, doctors,financial experts and Computer experts.
• Auxiliary staff performs functions common to various administrative
departments e.g. printing, accounting etc. It prevents duplication of activities.
• Willoughby calls them as” Institutional or House keeping activities” and L.D
White refers them as Auxiliary Services.
• Characteristics of Staff Agencies
• First of all they have no responsibility or authority for the actual performance
of the duties for which their services are created and maintained.
• Secondly ,their functions are exclusively of a research ,consultation and
advisory character.
• Finally they have no power to give Orders.
Functions of Staff Agencies
• To ensurethat the Chief Executive is adequately and correctly informed.
• To assist him in forseeing problems and planning future programmes.
• To ensure that matters for his decisions reach his deskpromptly.
• To exclude every matter that can be settled elsewhere in the system.
 THE INDIAN EXECUTlVE
• Chief Executive in India is the head of administration at respective national,
state. district and local levels.
• At the Union level, President is the Constitutional or the Nominal Chief
Executive while the PM as the Head of the cabinet is the 'Real' Chief
Executive.
• Administration at this level is helped by secretaries in charge of different
departments like finance, education, commerce etc.
• At the State level, the Governor is the constitutional chief executive and Chief
Minister (CM) is the real chief executive.
• In States the Chief Secretary is the pivot of administration and provides major
assistance to the CM.
• At the district level, the District Collector (District Magistrate) is the chief
executive. He is the most important functionary in the district.
The Union Executive
• The Constitution says that the "executive power of the Union shall be vested
in the President" (Article 53). The President of India is thus the head of the
'executive power' of the Union. The various powers that are included within
the comprehensive expression 'executive power' have been classified under
the following heads:
• a) Administrative power : The execution of the laws and administration of the
departments of government,
• b) Military power : The command of the armed forces and the conduct of
war.
• c) Legislative power : The summoning, prorogation, etc., of the legislature,
initiation of and assent to legislation etc.
• d) Judicial power : granting of pardons, reprieves etc., to persons convicted of
crime
• Despite all these powers, the President of India is only a nominal executive as
he has to exercise his functions with the aid and advice of Council of Ministers
headed by Prime Minister.
• The PM and his cabinet thus is the real chief executive at the national level.
• Though President is only a nominal head, he does have some discretionary
powers e.g. ordinance making power and pardoning power. He also has certain
special powers relating to 'Union Territories'.
• He has the power to give instructions to Governors.
• He has the power to appoint certain commissions for specific matters.
• He also has special powers in respect of the administration of Scheduled Areas
and Tribes.
• Thus, even though he is not the real executive, he is not totally deprived of real
powers.
• Still it is true that the PM is the keystone of the Cabinet arch. He is the linchpin of
the executive wheel.
• As Chairman, he presides over the meetings of the Cabinet, prepares the agenda
and guides its deliberations.
• He allocates portfolios among the ministers. He communicates to the President
about the happenings in and outside the country. He is the chief spokesman of the
Cabinet in Parliament.
• He declares its policy. He is the chief coordinator of Ministries and Departments.
Me makes the major appointments in the name of the President.
• He represents the country at various international forums. He is the leader of the
nation.
• He is the real chief executive and in all his work is assisted by the Council of
Ministers. The Cabinet Committees, the Cabinet Secretariat and Prime Minister's
Office provide staff support to the chief executive.
• They provide the necessary information and material for formulation of policies
and also oversee the monitoring and implementation of the decisions of the chief
executive.
• At the central level, the chief executive, that is the Prime Minister, is also
assisted by the Cabinet Secretary who keeps the chief executive informed
about the agenda of the cabinet meetings.
• The work of administration is run by the Secretariat.
• It assists the chief executive and ministers in formulation of policies. The
Secretariat helps in policy making, framing rules, exercising of financial
control, guiding and directing the executive agencies in the performance of
their tasks and in evaluating the work of the executive agencies.
• Thus a vast network of agencies both staff and line help the chief executive at
the national level.
The State Executive
• Our Constitution provides for a federal government having separate systems of
administration for Union and its States.
• At the head of the executive power of a State is the Governor, who like the
President of India, is a constitutional ruler. He has to act according to the advice of
the Council of Ministers responsible to-the state legislature.
• Governor of the State has various powers relating to appointment of judges,
members of State Public Service Commission etc., addressing, summoning,
proroguing and dissolving the state legislature, granting pardons, remissions etc.
• But all these are not his real powers as he performs them with the advice of Council
of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister.
• He also functions under the direction of the President.
• The Chief Minister with his Council of Ministers, thus is the real chief executive at
the State level white the Governor is the nominal chief executive.
• At the State level, the political head is the Chief Minister, but the administration is
headed by the Chief Secretary.
• He is the kingpin of the State Secretariat. His control extends to all other
departments of the Secretariat. He is the Chief of the Secretaries.
• He is the head of the civil services in the State. He is the Chief Public Relations
Officer of the Government. Such an institution does not exist at the central level.
• The Chief Secretary, performs the following functions:
• i) He is the principal adviser to the Chief Minister.
• ii) He is the Secretary to the Cabinet. He prepares the agenda for the Cabinet
meetings, arranges these meetings, maintains records of proceedings etc.
• iii) He exercises general superintendence and control over the entire Secretariat.
• iv) He has the authority to make postings, transfers etc. of government personnel.
• v) He is the immediate executive superior to each District Collector so far as
development activities are concerned. Thus the Chief Secretary acts as a staff
agency to the Chief Minister
Executive at the District Level
• The role of chief executive assumes great importance in India at the district
level.
• District is the basic unit of administration and it is placed under the charge of
District Collector.
• Thus District Collector is the chief executive in the district.
• In a way, the position of District Collector is more important than the other
chief executives in the national and State levels as there is no nominal or
political executive at the district level.
• The District Collector is the sole executive and also the real executive.
• He has various functions to perform, both political and administrative.
• Today, we witness a gradual and steady growth in the powers of the chief
executive.
• The governmental power is three-fold legislative, judicial and executive.
• Lately, there has been a tendency for the executive to gain in powers at the
expense of both the legislature and the judiciary.
• Drafting and initiation of bills has passed into the hands of the executive and
as a result the legislature confines itself to consideration of bills initiated by the
executive.
• The volume of legislative business has increased, Parliament has no time to
examine the bills in detail, it just provides the outlines and leaves it to the
Executive to fill the necessary details.
• The executive has thus acquired the power of delegated legislation. Executive
already has supremacy over the judiciary as it has the power to appoint and
transfer judges.
• Economic planning and the need to monitor plan implementation have also
greatly strengthened the powers of the Executive.
• Due to Executive's ever growing powers it is necessary that a person with
administrative capability, leadership qualities, even temper, deep knowledge,
intelligence, firmness of purpose, continuous interest in work, energy etc., is
selected as chief executive.
• The entire development of the country rests on Chief Executive's shoulders.
• He has to perform his functions with full zeal and vigour at all he levels in the
country so that the policy goals are realised in time without the wastage of
resources and efforts.