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SUBJECT – Concepts, Issues and Dynamics of Public Administration and Management
TOPIC – Concepts of power, authority, legitimacy, responsibility, and delegation | Principles of Organization: Hierarchy, Span of Control, and Unity of Command | Functions of Management, Corporate governance, and social responsibility
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Public Administration PYQs – Click Here
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Q1 Point out any two differences between authority and power ? 2M
Answer:
Q2 What is Graicunas’ theory of span of control ? 5M
Answer:
V.A. Graicunas proposed a formula to determine the ideal span of control for managers.
- Graicunas states that as the number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager increases arithmetically, the number of potential relationships within the manager’s work group increases geometrically.
- This is because supervision involves not only individual subordinates but also the various combinations of their interactions.. The total number of all the relationships ⇒ direct single + crosses + direct group.
- thus, a manager can effectively supervise 6 subordinates at the top level while managing 222 relationships.
Q3 What is delegation, and what are its guiding principles? Briefly highlight the hindrances in achieving it.10M
Answer:
According to Mooney, “Delegation means conferring specified authority from a higher to a lower authority.”
A scheme of delegation has four features (Mohit Bhattacharya):
(i) Assignment of duties by the superior (delegator) to the subordinate (delegatee).
(ii) Granting of authority by the delegator to the delegatee to facilitate the assigned work.
(iii) Creating an obligation for the delegatee to fulfill the assigned duties.
(iv) Prohibition of further delegation of the obligation by the delegatee to their subordinates.
Guiding Principles: To ensure effective delegation, the delegator should:
- Choose capable subordinates.
- Specific and written delegation ensures clarity and accountability.
- Delegate substantial assignments rather than trivial tasks.
- Delegation should be made to a position, not just an individual, to ensure continuity.
- Authority and responsibility should be coterminous and coequal.
- Delegation should follow the usual chain of command.
- Provide systematic training for delegated responsibilities.
- Well defined policies, regulations and procedures should be adopted.
- Standardize functional and housekeeping procedures.
- An open communication system and systematic reporting
The extent of delegation hinges on the nature of the case, circumstances, and responsibilities involved. . It doesn’t entail transferring final authority or ultimate responsibility. The delegator retains inspection, supervision, control, and review powers.
Barriers to Delegation
Q4 Write a paragraph on any one of the following in approximately 200 words. [RAS Mains 2021]
Impact of Modern Technology on Farming
Answer:
Impact of Modern Technology on Farming
The farming sector forms only about 20.2 percent of India’s GDP despite employing almost 50 percent of the total workforce. Despite significant improvement in food grain production, there are several challenges to tackle as the government aims to increase agricultural production as a share of GDP.
Farming in India is largely dependent on nature, but climate and global warming issues make farming unpredictable. The need of the hour is to educate farmers in the use of modern technology and innovative approaches to increase productivity and raise profitability.
Technology has a major role in farming and agriculture practices; and with the advent of digital technology, the scope has widened. Innovation in agriculture is leading an evolution in agricultural practices, thereby reducing losses and increasing efficiency. This is positively impacting farmers. Use of digital and analytic tools is driving continuous improvement in agriculture, and the trend is here to stay, resulting in improving crop yields and helping to increase the income of the farming community. Refined things have evolved and brought forth modern technology into the field of agriculture. From the earliest time, ancient people have already engaged in some form of agricultural technology used in planting, collecting or even gathering. But unfortunately such technological tools are inadequate to bring out the best in agricultural industries.
Technology in farming affects many areas of agriculture, such as fertilizers, pesticides, seed technology, etc. Biotechnology and genetic engineering have resulted in pest resistance and increased crop yields. Mechanization has led to efficient tilling, harvesting, and a reduction in manual labor. Irrigation methods and transportation systems have improved, processing machinery has reduced wastage, etc., and the effect is visible in all areas.
The importance of technology in farming gives a dynamic force for world’s development-an economic backbone. New-age technologies focus on robotics, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, block chain technology, and more.