MSG Team's other articles

9286 Factors Influencing Retention Ratio In Reinsurance

In the previous article, we have already studied what retention is and why it is important for many insurances as well as reinsurance companies. We are now also aware of the fact that some insurance companies tend to retain more risks on their balance sheet whereas there are others who pass on more risks from […]

12254 Active Credit Portfolio Risk Management

The business of banking has witnessed a lot of changes in the past few years. It would be safe to say that the entire business model has been transformed because of intense competition as well as constantly increasing regulatory pressures. The fast pace at which businesses now work makes it mandatory for banks to give […]

9855 Importance of Negotiation in Corporates

Negotiation is nothing but a discussion among individuals to find out an alternative which takes into account the interest of all and nobody is at loss. In a win- win negotiation people try their level best to come to a solution where every one is benefited and no body is at loss. Negotiation is essential […]

11704 Types of Teams – Permanent Teams, Temporary Teams, Task Force, Virtual Teams etc

When individuals with a common interest, goal, attitude, need and perception come together, a team is formed. Individuals need to come and work together to form a team for the accomplishment of complicated tasks. In a team, all team members contribute equally and strive hard to achieve the team’s objective which should be predefined. In […]

11204 Schramm’s Model of Communication

After learning the Shannon weaver model, let’s find out about Schramm’s model of communication which has its roots from the Shannon weaver model itself. Wilber Schramm proposed the model of communication in 1954. Information is of no use unless and until it is carefully put into words and conveyed to others. Encoding plays a very […]

Search with tags

  • No tags available.

We are at the next level of understanding departments within the organizations. In the earlier article we understood about the line staff and auxiliary agencies and the organization of business in departments based on the four principles of finance, process, clientele and geography. This article shall look at the distribution of authority within the department.

Based on the distribution of authority, there are two main systems namely Bureau System and the Board or Commission system within departments. When all the administrative authority is invested in a single individual within the department then the system is Bureau.

When a plural body is vested with all the administrative power then the system is known as Board or Commission. Now, the next obvious question that comes into the mind is how to decide which system to use. According to author Raj Kumar Pruthi, in his book Administrative Organizations, there are conditions that determine the choice of systems:

  • If the department is to carry out work of administrative character, the Bureau system is more appropriate. He further explains that for the administrative functions the speedy decision making, unity of command and promptness is required for efficient performance and it can be achieved only when the responsibilities and power are invested in a single individual.

  • When the nature of work is such that a lot of discretion and care is to be maintained with respect to information which affects a large number of people, like the drafting of policies, rules and regulations, the Board or Commission kind of system works best.

    Also, when an organization has to perform both kinds of functions, then in such cases as well, the Board systems works better.

    To sum up, for services and functions that require collective intelligence, holistic view points, mature decision making, a Board system works well as there are more members to arrive at balanced decisions.

The Board or Commission system is followed under following conditions:

  • Organizations that perform quasi-judicial and quasi- legislative functions like the Railway Board of the Government of India

  • Organizations which exercise large discretionary powers to perform their duties like the Public Service Commission

  • Organizations which need representation from different groups to be able to function objectively like the Arbitration Board of Industrial Dispute

  • In countries like USA, where representation of the opposition party is also included. The e.g. is the Tariff Commission of the USA

There has been a lot of debate amongst the scholars regarding whether the public organizations and their structures inherently differ from those of private organizations.

Some support the argument saying that it does and some say that through the difference is there but it is only in the presence of red tapes in the public organizations.

Those who oppose the statement argue that, the public organizations are very different from the private organization in terms of lack of flexibility, excessive government control, lack of clear performance indicators like profit and loss and a lot of emphasis on rules and hierarchy.

Some researchers like Pugh, Hickson and Hinnings pointed out that the size of the organization and technological developments are other important determinants of the structures and hierarchy of any organization.

Article Written by

MSG Team

An insightful writer passionate about sharing expertise, trends, and tips, dedicated to inspiring and informing readers through engaging and thoughtful content.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Comparative Public Administration

MSG Team

The Closed and Open Models of Public Administration

MSG Team

Classical Theory of Public Administration

MSG Team