Homo peccator in public administration

Author: Masani, P.R.

Source: Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems & Cybernetics, Volume 26, Number 3, 1997 , pp. 334-366(33)

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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Abstract:

In the animal world the presence of entropy necessitates contest. Among the non-human mammals the contests are overwhelmingly inter-specific. On the other hand the bulk of human contests are intra-specific. They bring about a dissipation in human systems akin to that brought on by noise in natural systems ("human noise"). Just as the engineering of natural systems hinges on the successful understanding of noise and its filtration, so the successful administration of human systems must hinge on the understanding of human noise and its filtration. In this paper, after demarcating the concepts of communication, teleology, contest and inquiry and their stochastic foundations, we shall (1) show that post-Weber administrative theory, unlike the more classical, is delinquent in its neglect of human noise, (2) list the lacunae in the prevailing theory, (3) explain the greater efficiency of the administration of warfare in contrast to that of more humane projects, (4) expound the Parkinson maxims on the human noise specific to a Weberian bureaucracy, (5) show how this together with widespread corruption results in ineffective government, and finally, (6) suggest how systems analysts might approach this problem.

Keywords: Communications; Cybernetics; Management; Systems Analysis

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684929710163218

Publication date: 1997-03-01