BUREAUCRACY AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

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1.0. Introduction

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1.1. Background of the Study

Right from the onset of the world, man has been cooperatively organized as a group of work towards a directed goal in a directive manner.

Indeed the prevalence of complex bureaucracies is believed to be the structural framework in our relent organization.

Against this backdrop, the emergency of this bureaucratic organization so unpresented and optimization of the contemporary era that is often believed that we are living in the organized society where the people are manned by the organization.

No less important to mention is the fact that these complex organization are established not only to find solution by giving human problem but to do efficiently. It is not surprising therefore that in the new turn era. The central concern of several classical social analysis was the issue of how man is going to be organized human society in general and more specifically his productive act vitas in the most efficient way achieved maximum benefits.

Adam Smith (1723 — 1790) advocated that economic and industrial maters should be left in the hands of the economist of industrial elites and agents (i.e those West in economic affairs). He was concerned with the problems of organizational productivity. Above all, for Max Webber (1869 -1920). The essence of the bureaucratic organization is efficiency. In order words, the peculiar characteristics of bureaucracy enable man to effectively deal with and transform the socio-physical environment.

It is on this basic that bureacractic organization are guided and pirated in man's bid to perfect actualize him through socio-economic development that any impediment to efficient operations should be critized seriously.

Burearcracy is presupposed to provide the frame work of the attainment of organizational efficiency. But certainly, as it grew in public service, it came to required opprobrious meaning an odious cannotation. It is therefore in recognition of the need for a sound vinmiles and a efficient public bureaucratic that the researcher investigated into the remote cause of bureaucracy inefficiency in the countries public service.

The policy thirst of the ministry is implemented through rural electricity supply provision of water to urban, Semi urban and rural communities, rural roads (feeders) construction / rehabilitation, inspection of on going initiated projects for government counterpart finding, rural telecommunications, water resources management development, pre investment studies of hydrological surveys and geological survey maintenance of reticulated water system in public building coordination of all external technical assistance programmes on water and electricity project and liasing with the appropriate agencies water quality management and pollution control and water bore hole licensing and control.

On the structure of the ministry, it has statutory, a commissioner, permanent secretary, eight department of administration, accounts planning research and statistics, electrical services department, community development department, water service development, doing and irrigations of department, hydrology, hydrogeology department.

The Ebonyi State civil service two parastatals namely, Ebonyi state water development agency (E.W.A.D.A) and Ebonyi state water cooperation.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

Bureaucratic and service delivery has now posed seriously concern for all in public service. As bureaucracy grew in the service, it came acquired the opprobvious the connotative which reveals it's negativity and disfunction. It poses a problem because the existence of bureaucracy can adversely affect the smooth functions of an organization.

The problem lies on the fact that bureaucracy is associated with inefficiency, lack of initiative, unintelligent rigidly in the approach to human problems under fussnes and bossness on the part of official and down right storbness. It is this undesirable and regreatable tendencies of bureaucracy that members of the public cry out against therefore, the problem addressed in the research work anchors on the following:

1. Bureaucracy distorts the smooth functioning of an organization.
2. It adversely affects efficient delivery of public goods and services.
3. Bureaucracy promotes red- tapism, rigidity and inefficiency.
4. It reduces productivity.

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1.3 Objective of the Study

Bureaucracy is often perceived as a phenomenon that can adversely affects the smooth functioning of an organization. It is on this stand point that people refer bureaucracy to as red-tapism, slugglish, rigidity, cumbersome, negative and inefficient, this research is undertaken to investigate into bureaucracy problem in Nigerian public enterprises, the effects of such problem and possible ways of eradication the problem and to ensure vinile, sormdard efficient and sustainable public bureaucracy.

However, the research is aimed at finding out the extent in which bureaucracy have undermined the smooth effective and efficiency service delivery of Nigerian public enterprises.

1. It is also the objective of the research elucidate the concept of bureaucracy.
2. The project also attempt to identify, examine, and analyzed the cause of bureaucratic bottlenecks in the country's public service.
3. It is equally the purpose of the study to make a well articulated commendation that will go a long way to ensure sarily in our public service with a view of to an achieving efficiency and increased productivity.

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1.4 Research Questions

The researcher is guided by certain research question in his quest for answers to the problem being investigated.

The main problem of this research therefore revolves the following questions.

• Is the country's socio-political climate conducive for virile, sound and efficient public bureaucracy?
• To what extent does the reform exercises yield positive result?
• Could it be possible for Nigerian public administration bottlenecks?
• Has the government of Nigeria made any sermons effects towards eradicating bureaucratic inefficiency in the public administration?
• In what ways can the problem be solved?

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1.5 Significance of the Study

Significance of the study defined the relevant contribution and benefit of the study to the public administrators and researchers of successfully carried out. However, this study will be great significance in the following ways:

The finding of the study shall be of immense benefit to administrators and managers in correcting and malies inherent in a bureaucratic set up.

1. It will also help an organization in boasting productivity.
2. It will be equally be useful to public enterprises and other cooperate bodies if they adopted the finding and recommendations provided in this work, when making policies and decisions.
3. It will aid the government and the organization to avoid bureaucracy, bottleneck, red-tapism and non-chalet attitude of public servants.
4. Academically, the research will contributes to the work of knowledge and stimulate further research into the subject matter by students and other researchers in the field of administration, management and social service.

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1.6 Scope of the Study

Since the large scale of an organization, bureaucracy is eminent and inevitable for the service of such organization the scope of the research on bureaucracy and service of delivery in Nigerian civil service with the ministry of public utilities as the case study.

As the result of the vastiness and ambigiousty of ministry of public utilities, the study shall be narrowed down to the administration department of the ministry.

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1.7 Limitation of the Study

In attempt to carry out a meaningful research, certain factors seems to affects the researchers effort an among factors are:

Time Constraint:

The time given to this research work is the short to generate enough data that would help in testing the hypothesis.

Lack of Fund:

Those factors equally affected the research process as / could travel to other organization to dise over similar experience and draw a conclusive analysis.

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1.8 Definition of Terms

In the researcher, is cooperating with certain concept which may not be familiar to the research for better understanding of the terms and concepts used, an operation definition is given as follows:

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1.9 Terms and Definition

Bureaucracy:

This is used to mean any large complex organization in which employee has specified responsibilities and works within a hierarchy of authority.

Public Utilities:

This refers to special kind of public enterprises mainly to the provision of essential public services such as electricity, pipe borne water etc, for both domestic and commercial consumption.

Public Service:

This refers to all public institution that implemented public policy, comprasing the civil service, public enterprises, legislatures, local government system.

Public Enterprise:

There are organization set up with cooperate bodies and as out if the government operations for an enterprenual like objectives.

Red — Tapism:

This has to do with excessive use of formalities and strick adherence to rules in pubic business while shows donations.

Public Administration:

They deals with how the activities of government that are carried out as the institution (such as ministries and extra ministerial departments) procedure and processes involved in translating public policies in to action.