ABSTRACT
The role of bureaucracy in the policy process has actually awakened conflicting views among individuals and groups in society. This study is carried out to understand the kind of relationship that exists between the political executives and bureaucrats in the policy making process in Nigeria. This study assessed how public policies are being generated and formulated, the role of bureaucrats as actors in the policy process, including the skills, knowledge and experience required to participate in the making and implementation of public policies. Also participation of bureaucrats in all stages and processes of public policy were assessed. This study was carried out in two bureaucratic organizations, thus the Federal Civil Service Commission Abuja and the Federal Ministry of Health Abuja. It was discovered that bureaucracy is the main government organization that provides adequate data from where policy decisions are made. It is the instrument through which government makes careful selection of alternative policy agenda. The findings of this study show that the state bureaucracy is the machinery through which the government formulate and implement its policies. Therefore it is recommended that bureaucrats should play their noble roles outside the influence of political office holders or political power.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- Background to the study – – – – – – – 1
1.2 Statements of the problem – – – – – – – 5
1.3 Objectives of the study – – – – – – – 7
1.4 Significance of the study – – – – – – – 8
1.5 Scope and limitations of the study – – – – – 8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH METHOD
2.1 Literature review – – – – – – – – 10
2.2 Hypotheses – – – – – – – – – 29
- Operationalization of the key concepts in the hypotheses. – 29
2.4 Research methodology – – – – – – – 30
2.4.1 Theoretical frame work – – – – – – – 31
2.4.2 Research design – – – – – – – – 34
2.4.3 Methods of data collection – – – – – – 35
2.4.3.1 Population of the study – – – – – – – 53
2.4.3.2 Sample size – – – – – – – – 35
2.4.3.3 Sampling technique – – – – – – – 37
2.4.3.4 Sources of data collection – – – – – – 38
2.4.3.5 Tests of validity and reliability of research instruments 38
2.4.3.6 Method of data analysis – – – – – 38
CHAPTER THREE: THE STUDY AREA/GENERAL INFORMATION
3.1Federal civil service commission – – – – – – 40
3.2 Federal ministry of health – – – – – – – 44
CHAPTER FOUR: Data presentation, interpretation and analyses 46
4.1 Research Questions – – – – – 46
4.2 Test of hypotheses – – – – – – – – 54
Hypotheses 1 – – – – – – – – 54
Hypothesis 2 – – – – – – – – 55
Hypothesis 3 – – – – – – – – 56
4.3 Analyses – – – – – – – – 56
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, recommendation and conclusion – 59
5.1 Summary – – – – – – – – – 59
5.2 Recommendation – – – – – – – – 60
5.3 Conclusion – – – – – – – – – 63
References – – – – – – – – – 65
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The term bureaucracy is derived from a French word bureau, (meaning desk) and it referred to a cloth covering the desk of the 18th century French Monarchs. However, the modern use of the term has deviated significantly from this French derivation. (Obiajulu, S.A, and Obi, E.A, 2004). It was a German sociologist, Max Weber, who has given prominence to the concept of bureaucracy. Weber regarded bureaucracy as a universal social phenomenon and the means of carrying “community action” into rationally ordered “societal action” (Sharma and Sadana, 2007:1). Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy is concerned with outlining the characteristics of the ideal type from a functional point of view. His views probably championed the application of the concept to institutions rather than to officials employed in such institutions. Unlike others before him, his approach is more formalistic. His ideal type bureaucracy is a triumph of complex impersonal rules and an effective separation of the organization offices from their incumbents. According to Okoli, F.C. (2009) Bureaucracy is a professional corps of officials organized in a pyramidal hierarchy and functioning under impersonal, uniform rules and procedures.
The characteristics of bureaucracy were first formulated in a systematic manner by the German sociologist, Max Weber (1864-1920), whose definition and theories set the foundations for all subsequent works on the subject. They refer to the division of labour in the organization, its authority structure, the position, and role of the individual member, and the type of rules that regulate the relations between organizational members. A highly developed division of labour and specialization of tasks is one of the most fundamental features of bureaucracy. This is achieved by a precise and detailed definition of the duties and responsibilities of each position or office. The allocation of a limited number of tasks to each office operates according to the principle of fixed jurisdictional areas that are determined by administrative regulations. In a bureaucracy, authority is legitimized by a belief in the correctness of the process by which administration rules were enacted; and the loyalty of the bureaucrat is oriented to an impersonal order, to a superior position, not to the specific person who holds it. Once a candidate enters the bureaucratic organization, his office is his primary occupation. It constitutes a “career.” That is to say, it implies stability and continuity, a “life’s work.” There is an elaborate system of promotion based on the principles of both seniority and achievement.
The most important and pervasive characteristic of bureaucracy (one that to some extent explains all the others) is the existence of a system of control based on rational rules that is, rules meant to design and regulate the whole organization on the basis of technical knowledge and with the aim of achieving maximum efficiency. According to Max Weber, “Bureaucratic administration” means fundamentally the exercise of control based on knowledge. This feature makes it specifically rational (The theory of social and economic organization, 1947:P339). However, real organizations can be more or less bureaucratic according to their degree of proximity to their ideal formulation.
By the term ‘’policy process’’, we are referring to the public policy process or the making, implementation, evaluation and feedback of public policy. Chandler and Plano (1980) define public policy as the strategic use of resources to alleviate national problems of government concerns. Okoli and Onah (2002) define public policy as the choice of alternatives on the bases of priorities to solve specific political and social economic problems. Obikeze and Obi (2004:94) define it as “simply government action and programmes of actions” towards solving societal problems.
According to Onyishi, public policy is concerned with those processes that are directly or indirectly associated with government programmes, decisions targeted at the critical needs and aspirations of citizens and groups within nation-state or parts thereof. In the reality of every definition of public policy by scholars, it maintains the following important features that; public policy originates from the government, it is meant to solve societal problems, it usually entail the use of state resources including the state agencies to achieve policy goals.
According to Onah R.C. (2005:97) policy making has increasingly become a crucial aspect of the function of government. This is sequel to the rising expectation of the citizenry with respect to the responsibility of governments. The formulation of public policies and the translation of these policies into specific programmes and projects may be seen as a series of disparate activities, which makes up a never ending whole. Policies are formulated and implemented with the specific objective of effecting desired changes in some aspect(s) of human life activities. Therefore, public policy is a policy undertaken or made by government and government actors.
According to Ikelegbe (2005), the policy process refers to the methods, conditions, procedures, structures, resources, activities, interactions and its environment. It refers to how policies come about, how it is implemented, and the impact it achieves. Ikelegbe explains the policy process using the holistic perspective of the systems theory. According to the system, policy-making is seen as an interaction between the environment and the political system in which demands generated from the environment are converted into the outcomes or solutions. It is simply an input-conversion-output process. From the systems perspective, the policy process in government could be subdivided into the following sub systems. The policy generation process (environment demand system). The policy formulation process (the political/conversion system) The implementation system (government agencies), and The evaluation process (feedback system)
The civil bureaucracy or civil service is the term used to describe the system of authority relationship that exists between men, office and methods that government uses to implement its policies and programmes. It does not cover political appointees such as ministers and advisers or members of the judiciary at the federal, state, and local government tiers of government. The primary function of the civil servants is to advise the political executives or appointees on all aspect of governmental activities to ensure formulation of policy, which is consonant with the objectives of government of the day. Advice in the context of policy initiation and formulation also includes the collection of relevant data, together with carefully considered alternatives, which could enable policy decisions to be made by the political heads. Related to this function is to ensure that policy decisions of government are carefully implemented. From this brief statement of the roles of the bureaucrats or civil servants, it will be seen that the civil service (bureaucracy) is about the most significant single institution affecting the lives of the citizenry in a polity, its influence is all pervasive, more so in today Nigeria where it is striving to attain good governance.
However, the role of bureaucracy in the processes of public policy has actually awakened the interest of the researcher to embark on the assessment of the contributions of the bureaucrats and their various positions in the policy process in Nigeria. The contemplation of many people about who makes public policy and the conclusion of many, that public policy is entirely made by the political office holders has generated much controversy and thereby leading to this study, “an assessment of the roles of bureaucracy in the policy process in Nigeria”.
