Techno Bureaucracy and Public Service Delivery in Lagos State
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of this study are two folds:
General objective
The study is to explore the effect of techno-bureaucratic on public service delivery in Lagos state.
Specific objectives
To achieve general objective, the current study will also discover the following specific objectives:
- To find out techno-bureaucratic challenges which consumers encounter in service delivery in Lagos state.
- To know techno-bureaucratic principles impact on service delivery to consumers.
- To examine how Lagos state use techno-bureaucratic to improve service delivery and ensure consumers satisfaction and care.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Concept of techno-bureaucracy
As a concept in politico-administrative studies, bureaucracy has attracted definitions of various scholars. Therefore, there is no unanimous agreement between these scholars on the definition of techno-bureaucracy. In the literatures on public administration, the term bureaucracy is used as a synonym of public administration. This is the usage to be adopted in the paper and the focus is on governmental bureaucracy/administration. The other concepts that are more or less synonymous of governmental bureaucracy/administration are civil service and public service (Eme & Onwuka, 2010:38).
The word bureaucracy was derived from the French word bureau – office and the Greek word kratos – strength, power, dominion, sovereignty, rule, mastery (Olaopa, 2008:18). It came into usage in the 18th century, and it referred explicitly to political system dominated by public official. It is used in connection with the conduct of public officials. Bureaucracy came to refer to a class rather than a system dominated by that class. Bureaucracy basically is a characteristic feature of large and complex organizations as opposed to a one-man concern. This accounts for why bureaucracy is viewed as the connecting link between the mandators of the organization and the workers (Sharma, 1982 cited in Tonwe, 2008:208).
Bureaucracy according to Eme and Onwuka (2010:38) can be viewed as a large-scale, complex, hierarchical and specialized organization designed to attain rational objectives in the most efficient and effective manner. The realization of such rational goals and objectives are maximized through the bureaucratic qualities of formalism and impersonality in the application of rules and regulations in the operation and management of organizations. Even though Max Werber is described as the father of techno-bureaucracy, the practice of techno-bureaucracy is as old as the world itself. Every society has experienced it. Bureaucracy is a type of formal administration with the characteristics of division of labour, rules and regulation, hierarchy of authority, impersonality of social relationships and technical competence, etc. The essence of techno-bureaucracy is to enable large organisations to be managed, to achieve efficiency and be more accountable to the people. In other words, bureaucracy is the coordination of organisational activities for effective, efficient and economical provision of services by public and private organisations.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This Study concentrated on bureaucracy and public service delivery. Both primaries as well as secondary data was broadly used a combination of various study approaches were adopted for gathering the required information and collecting data with different ways including: Questionnaires, Interview and observation. This chapter demonstrated a detailed description of the methodology of the research. Methodology included the description of the research design, research population, sampling technique; instruments, data collection methods, data analysis as well as ethical consideration and limitation of the research.
Research design
This study employed descriptive design. The study was conducted through descriptive study; the purpose of descriptive research is to describe an accurate profile of persons, events or situations. However, this study was used quantitative approach; Quantitative is any data collection technique (such as a questionnaire) or data analysis procedure (such as graphs or statistics) that generates or uses numerical data (Saunders et.al, 2009). The study was also used a case study. Case study is defined as an “empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” The case study as “a methodology that is used to explore a single phenomenon in a natural setting using a variety of methods to obtain in-depth knowledge” (Yin, 2003).
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
This chapter highlight of responses received from respondents because of questionnaires adopted as a sample and interviews conducted to ask for information about the effect of techno-bureaucracy on services delivery in Lagos state. These responses were analyzed through the use of tables and bar graphs to depict the demographic characteristics, bureaucratic variables that influence service delivery, as well as the views, and opinions of respondents on service delivery by the Lagos state. 80 respondents suitably participated in this research.
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
introduction
In this chapter, the researcher was discussed the findings exposed from the data analyzed and interpreted in the previous chapter. The discussion was focus on Lagos state is encountering bureaucratic challenges making delivery of public services below expectations and satisfaction of stakeholders, especially consumers of public services. Indeed the region faces problems such as; inadequate financial support to implement socio-economic policies, lack of skilled work force to drive region’s goals, poor office environment with archaic equipment, etc. In This chapter, the researcher presented the solution of the research problems presented in the first chapter.
Conclusion
Techno-bureaucratic ideology values technical expertise itself and its technical experts, efficiency, economic development and the resultant mass consumption. Technobureaucratic ideology places its belief in planning and rational management. More than anything else, it is the fruit of utilitarian economic rationalism. It values security, order and authority which are essential to efficiency.
In order for public service to deliver effective services, an efficient bureaucracy and technocracy remain invaluable. Therefore, the technocrats and bureaucrats should be given prominent roles in the public service. No nation of the world has progressed and developed when insipid, stale and visionless minds inundate the entire system of governance. Not until the technocrats took over Brazil, Russia, India, China, Singapore and Malaysia that those countries witnessed growth and development. Just less than a decade ago, these countries were still called third world countries on same par with Nigeria. But today, they are flourishing with productive and educated workforce because of the policies and reforms executed by technocrats.
Technocrats, because of their training, are frequently accused of being less nationalistic than politicians. These assertions are based on the belief that recent economic changes – particularly privatization and reduced protectionism – are not only technocratic but also clearly antinationalistic. It is common for scholars to attribute these economic changes to the rise to power of technocrats (Lindau, 1996:310-311). Generally speaking, technocrats are more interested in implementation of market reform rather than political reforms. Alfred (1978:57) points out that, technocratic elites often have chameleon-like qualities that allow them to serve various political masters. The technocrats are primarily concerned with promoting economic growth and to that end limiting the influence of ideology in policy making. In sum, the technocrats in Nigeria played an important role in economic transformations. It is important to note that technocrats’ ideological and institutional connection with the state is an important explanatory variable in shaping their disposition of economics, in which the role of the state and public institutions largely define the type of economics.
In order to realise effective public service delivery and good governance in Lagos State, Nigeria, efforts to improve public services requires the presence of a watchdog state agency that is capable and effectively have the right base on law and regulation to assist people and community stand up from their weak positions when they are facing bureaucracy-maladministration.
Technocrats in Lagos State, Nigeria need a new strategy and ideas to re-configure the current socio-political and economic landscape of their countries. This is not about getting a large sum of money from a godfather sponsor to run for a political office. There is no new idea in that strategy. It is about using knowledge and modern thoughts that the old dogs lack to mesmerize them; thereby subtly and systemically wresting power out of them without gun shots. To save developing societies, the skilled professionals, technocrats, knowledge-based state actors with the “interest of their country at heart” would have to rise up and take over the affairs of the nation. The technocrat seeks to inform, assess and integrate the infrastructure in a merit-based management system. This is the future for developing societies.
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