Macroeconomic Environment Essay

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DISCUSSING HOW MACRO ENVIRONMENT POSES MORE CHALLENGES THAN OPPORTUNITIES TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS Public administration is concerned with the institutional formula of government, its social-economic and political environment as well as behaviour of individuals who work in those government organisations [Prestus]. Macro environment also known as external environment is made up of factors outside public administration. Public administration exists in a peculiar social-economic and political environment which affects its behaviour and performance [Nnoli 1986: p 173]. However these organizations are open systems which continually interact with their external environment [Niggro 1994: p 49]. Public administrators have no control over these factors. Managing these factors is the wise thing administrators can do. The external factors impacting on public administrators include; political forces, economic forces, legal forces, social forces and technological forces. These forces present both challenges and opportunities to public administrators. Technological change as a force brings with it some opportunities to public administrators as it make work easier for public administrators. Public administrators during the period of traditional model were often technological leaders, using the latest in equipment that was available. The telegram and telephone for example were very important for communication both within and outside the government services and government departments were assiduous users of both. The nineteenth century theory of bureaucracy depended on such nineteenth century inventions. [Hughes 2003: p 183] The traditional model of public administration grew and thrived with the technology of the quill pen and later the type writer for written communication. In both of these technologies there is essentially one piece of paper or document from which copies are
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