AFRICAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION The Effective Management of Personnel

“. . . covers many vacuums existing in governance research, raises pertinent neglected issues and tackles many unanswered questions.” – Prof. Tatah Mentan, University of Minnesota

“The author goes beyond many contemporary works to explain and provide solutions to developing countries’ predicaments. He points to the loopholes of the evolutionary, fatalism and dependency theories and criticizes the development fallacies that uphold universal model application regardless of national realities.
Bongyu successfully blends theory and practice, explains discrepancies, and provides a blueprint for effective administrative reforms. This panoramic view backed by empirical evidence will surely provide foundations to various researchers interested in issues related to development and governance.” – Prof. Aletum Tabuwe Michael, Yaoundé University

“Bongyu’s emphasizes on education as a critical instrument of development. In most African countries, the educational systems have not been decolonized, they produce too many people with wrong skills and too little with right ones, thus the coexistence of manpower shortages and excessive unemployment. The author also discusses the dilemmas developing countries face by the brain-drain phenomenon when the most qualified nationals escape the effects of misgovernment and seek greener pastures in democratic advanced countries.” – Prof. Gaye Zachariah, Jackson State University

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1. African Problems
2. Comparative Government
3. Environmental Challenges
4. Administrative Expectations and Output Failures
5. Importance and Mismanagement of Human Factor
6. Study Questions
7. Systems-Functional Approach
8. Chapter Summaries

PART I. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND STUDY APPROACH

1. Public Administration and Human Factor Theories
I. The Public Administration Theory
II. Human Factor Theory
III. Problematics and Thesis
2. Systems-Functional Method and Approach

PART II. ADMINSITRATIVE SYSTEM WITHINPUTS: POSITIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

3. Authority-Participation Balance
I. Principle of Authority: Unity of Command
II. Participative Management
4. Inducement - Contribution Balance
I. Personnel Inducements - Advantages and Rights
II. Obligations and Disciplinary Sanctions
III. Controls of the Administration

PART III. ENVIRONMENTAL INPUTS: EXTERNAL IMPACTS ON ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

5. Intra-Societal Environment
I. Politico-Economic Dimensions
II. Socio-Cultural Dimensions
6. Extra-Societal Environment
I. Balance Sheet of Colonial Heritage
II. Continuation of Domination/Dependency Relations

PART IV. ADMINISTRATIVE OUTPUTS: DYSFUNCTIONS OF PERSONNEL MISMANAGEMENT

7. Unresponsive Administration: Scarcity Amidst Plenty
I. Inflated and Superfluous Administrations: Parkinson's Law
II. Resource Misallocation: Personnel Misplacement
8. Output Failure: Costly but Failed Administrations
I. Opportunity Costs of Financing Inflated and Inefficacious Administrations
II. Process of Displacement of goals
9. Endemic Administrative Ills Despite Controls
I. Inadequate Preventive Measures Lacking
II. Insufficiency of Repressive Measures

PART V. FEEDBACK AND REFORM: EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATIONS

10. Administrative Rationalization
I. An Equilibrated Administration
II. Effective Resource Planification and allocation
11. Creating Positive Administrative Environments
I. Limited and Legitimate Governments
II. Active and Concerned Public
12. Adaptive and Flexible Administration
I. An Integrative Administration
II. Administrative Dynamism
GENERAL CONCLUSION
1. African Generalized Crises
2. Explanations
3. Perspectives
4. The Imperative
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX