PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Evening Star, Issue 22085, 19 July 1935, Page 13

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

ADDRESS BY DR FISHER In an address to members of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Institute of Public Administration last night Dr A. G. B, Fisher, professor of economics at Otago University, emphasised the fact that the essential difference between public administration and private business related to the differences of their objects.. He said that, while the test of success in private business was the payment of profits, the public service, when it entered _ a field of activity, was concerned with things in which dividends were not the principal concern. ■ , Dr Fisher said that in New Zealand, as in other parts of the world, there were wide differences of opinion as to the fields in which the State should operate. • He would suggest that the only sensible way to approach the question was to consider the problem and its implications from a severely practical point of view. A realistic view of the world to-day, and of New Zealand in particular, showed that it was inevitable that the activities covered by State departments would continue te be extensive. There was no serious movement in other countries in the opposite direction. This trend corresponded to deep-rooted causes operating in the whole of our economic structure. In face of this fact the only thing to do was to accept it and study the most appropriate methods of making State activities effective. _ He welcomed, therefore, the formation of such a body ds their own. .There was. he added, none but a member of the Civil Service who had such a comprehensive knowledge of the details of the working of State departments. The problem of State activities was particularly pressing in New Zealand, said Dr Fisher. There was a curious contradiction m the Dominion between the willingness of the people to experiment in State activities and the attitude towards this work of the Civil servants themselves. That applied more particularly some years ago. ,It,seemed to him a matter of the greatest urgency that an attempt should be made to study tho problems involved in public administration, and no one seemed more qualified to undertake this duty than members of the Civil Service' themselves. Dr Fisher went on to say that it was unfortunate that so little of the traditional wisdom which was accumulated in the Civil Service was made available to members of the public. As an illustration of this the speaker referred to the changes which had been _ made in the administration of the Railways Department. There a close study of the reasons which had led to these changes would be of great value. It was also a curious fact that while there was an abundant about the Maori people up to the time of the Maori ware, little had since been written, and it was very difficult to fain a correct idea of the policy of ealing with the Maoris which had proved so successful. That information, he suggested, would be of great interest not only in New Zealand, but in other countries which had to deal with native peoples. These and other problems of a similar nature were those upon' which members of the Civil Service could throw a great deal of light that would be of value to the rest of the community. Dr Fisher went on to discuss the distinction between public administration and the private administration of business. He suggested that it was a mistake to suppose that the same technique which was needed in a private business was likely to be successful in a Government department. One of the fallacies which was exposed by the war was the idea that all that was needed to administer a Government department successfully was sound business knowledge. The substantial reason for developing a different technique was that the objects of private business and public administration were different. The speaker said the test of success in private business was the payment of pr private business was the payment of profits, but he thought that the very fact that the State entered a field of activity was an indication that this test of success was not satisfactory in that instance. In certain directions the community as a whole expressed its judgment that the evidence given by profit changes was unconvincing, and that it was desirable, instead of giving consideration to them, to pay attention to other factors. A man accustomed to take profits as the test of success might therefore be quite unable to appreciate the difference in the administration of a State department. Because the ordinary rules of business were found in such cases to be inapplicable, it was sometimes thought that no rules were required at all. < Efficient administration, however, was interfered with if the rules by which it was to bo conducted were not laid down with sufficient clearness. Another problem which arose was that of harmonising departmental autonomy with parliamentary responsibility. Speaking or the question of the personnel of the Civil Service, Dr Fisher referred to the security of employment which members of the service traditionally enjoyed. That might be traced partly to the responsibility of the work of the service, taken as a whole, however unimportant the individual’s work might be, and partly to the desirability of giving him security in certain instances where the department’s work might clash with private interests. The fact that such security of employment was offered by the Civil Service, he thought, was one reason why particular care should be taken in its recruitment. In conclusion, Dr Fisher urged his audience to take a close interest in the wider implications of their work, for, he said, the public should look to them for guidance on matters which came within their sphere. At the conclusion of his address Dr Fisher was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.