COURSE

DS 4201
Development Policy and
Planning

SUBMITTED TO

Umme Habiba
Assistant Professor,
Development Studies Discipline,
Khulna University, Khulna.

SUBMITTED BY
172115, 172122, 172128,
172130, 172131, 172136,
172137, 172139
Development Studies Discipline,
Khulna University, Khulna.

A Term Paper On
Date of Submission
Development 20 December, 2020

Management, Section B,

Chapter One
 A Term Paper On Development Management, Section B

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2

What is Development Management? ..................................................................................... 2

The Approach of Development Management........................................................................ 3

Institutional Building ............................................................................................................... 5

Strategies of Institutional Building ........................................................................................ 6

Structure & process of development management in Bangladesh ...................................... 8

Historical Context .................................................................................................................. 8

Structure of Development Management in Bangladesh ........................................................ 9

Process of Development Management in BD ...................................................................... 11

Challenges of Development Management Sector in Our Country ...................................... 14

Democracy & Decentralization ............................................................................................. 15

Definition of Democracy ..................................................................................................... 15

Principles of democracy....................................................................................................... 15

Objectives of Democracy..................................................................................................... 16

Advantages of Democracy ................................................................................................... 17

Definition of Decentralization ............................................................................................. 17

Importance of Decentralization............................................................................................ 18

Objectives of Decentralization ............................................................................................. 19

Advantages of Decentralization ........................................................................................... 20

Disadvantages of Decentralization ...................................................................................... 21

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 22

References ............................................................................................................................... 22

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 A Term Paper On Development Management, Section B

INTRODUCTION

After the Second World War ‘development’ becomes the buzzword for the developing country.
As development is considered as a multi-dimensional concept, the management of various
sectors of development became a challenging task before the managers of development. In a
holistic sense, true development means not only high economic growth and per capita income
but also enhancement of education, health, and living condition of the people. Balanced
development calls for growth and development of all the sectors in the long run. Development
management usually means management of development, management in development, and
management for development.

WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT?

Development management is a growing and important area in development studies. It is used

as an instrument for achieving smooth and faster development. Definitions given by various
experts on development management are given below.

According to Paton, “Development management is contemplated with a realization of the

importance of the expressive aspect of management in which values and ideas are promoted
as part of, not just as one way, of getting things done”.

According to Wuyt, “Development management aims at promoting values, in particular, what

is to be regarded as development, in this way”.

According to Seers, “Development management means managing, as far as possible, in such a

way as to enhance the potential of those one who is working with directly and development
organizations that carry similar values, even if this is not the most straight forward way of
getting a particular job done”.

In the words of Korten, “Development management can be thought of in terms of positive

linkages between development, capacity building, and learning in individual, organizational,
institutional and societal levels”.

Allan Thomas in his book on development and management has critically discussed
development management. The three definitions of development management given by him
are:

 Development management includes, firstly, the management of the specific tasks

involved in development interventions called management of development.

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 Secondly, the normative idea of management-oriented towards development ideals

called management for development; as well as the more straightforward notion of
management in a development context, known as management in development.
 Development management is not just a question of getting the task at hand completed
by the best means available. It also means simultaneously building the capacity to
undertake future tasks and learning how to be able to cope with what at present are
unspecified tasks.
 Management for development implies a style of management in which any and every
activity is undertaken in such a way as to enhance development.

According to Solaiman, “development management means evaluating change from the present
situation into a better situation and it is a process of improving, building and innovating in
order to ensure a better quality of life for the present human beings without jeopardizing those
of the future”. From these definitions, it can be concluded that development management is a
process of conducting development in a systematic way to improve the quality of life of the
people.

THE APPROACH OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

Humans are constantly growing, shifting, developing, and transforming. This process begins at
conception. The development management approach is described in terms of a series of crises
through which the individual grows and evolves. Each of these crises is due to the conflict
between the old self and the new abilities and attitudes that are constantly increasing and
expanding. Resolution of conflicts results in the development of a sense of competence
concerning a specific capability. Approaches to development management are many and
varied. One comes across as many as five distinct approaches to development management.
These are:

 Theories of social change: Social change refers to a significant transformation of

social image and the corresponding alterations in behavior and denotes awareness on
the part of those involved. According to this perspective, development is not primarily
a set of diverse characteristics to be recorded, but a pattern of thought and action to be
understood. Theories of social change fall under two broad groups; one, the "linear" or
evolutionary, and two, the 'cyclical' theories. It is an on-going process of growth in a
sequential transformation which leads spirally from lower to higher stages of matter,
substance, and organization resolving in the process the contradictions, especially those

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of class struggle through revolutionary changes and resulting in the perfection of the
mode of production and the self-perfection of the man himself.

 Theories of development as growing systemness: System theorists have

conceptualized development in two ways. Some view development as growing
systemness. Others look upon it as a continuum from traditionalism to modernism or
transition from agricultural to industrialized society. Development as growing
systemness refers to the irreversible on-going process of change and continuity
invoicing increasing differentiation and interdependence of the system. While growing
interdependence manifests itself in declining self-sufficiency and growing
complementation of the units of the system, the on-going differentiation reflects itself
in the proliferation of specialized roles and goal-directed organization. Industrialization
with all its consequences constitutes the turning point in the process of the growing
systemness.

 Theories of motivation: Motivational theories explain the causes rather than the
meaning of development. Max Weber thought that Europe became the cradle of
industrialization because of the spirit of capitalism fostered and nurtured by the
Protestant Ethic. Mc- Clelland says: "The higher and wider the spread of the
achievement, (achievement motivation) the more likely that economic development
will be intense. Development or modernization can occur only where natural conditions
can be found and where the society as a whole and the individuals in it have a burning
need for change and innovation.

 Theories of economic and political development: The theory of development has

always remained in the center of scholarly interest in Economics and Political
Science.22 Theories of economic and political development far from treating
development as a spontaneous evolution, view it as a goal-oriented activity.

 Economic Development: Development is measured by the extent to which the

skewed distribution of factory ownership is corrected by the number of people
who are lifted over the poverty line, by education, health facilities, and housing
provided to them, by the range of employment generation, by economic growth,
price stability, political participation of the unorganized and disinherited
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majority and by cultural progress. When development became the center of

politics in the emerging countries the neo-classical economists interpreted
development as economic development and economic development as increase
in national income or Gross National Product (GNP) per capita.

 Political Development: In the burgeoning literature on political development-

developed between 1960 to 1976 by American political- scientists, the term
'political development' was largely, used to perform a 'legitimating' rather than
an 'analytical’ function. Political development is a cumulative process of (1)
political requisite of economic development, (2) the polities typical of industrial
societies, (3) political modernization, (4) the operation of a nation-state, (5)
administrative and legal development, (6)mass mobilization and participation,
(7) the building of democracy, (8) stability and orderly change, (9) mobilization
and power, and (10) one aspect of a multi-dimensional process of social change;
the significance of which lies in the effectiveness of the political system and its
increased capability.

 Theories of modernization: Development has been equated with modernization by

many scholars. Some members have thought of it in terms of society as an entity while
others have segmented it into phases such as economic or political. Included as defining
features of modernity such manifestations as "mass education, urbanization,
industrialization bureaucratization, rapid communication and transportation", a high
rate of growth in national GNP, manipulation technology and social mobilization.

Therefore, the approaches of development management can be measured by the identification

which moving and transforming its activities as long as accepted everywhere. Basically,
Development management will be a way of developing as mass education, health condition,
social change, mobility and effectiveness, and so on. So, it introduces the actual meaning of
development management.

INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING

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One of the many aspects of development administration is institution building. As a component

of economic development, it contributes to guides for development movement and is utilized
for inducing and protecting change. As Esman and Bruhns observe:

Institution building is an approach of the developmental process which relies closely

on the idea of 'social engineering' and which stresses the leadership functions of
modernizing elite groups within that process and the alternative action strategies
available to them. The institution building has been primarily designed for developing
countries that have taken the path to modernization, their overriding-goals being socio-
economic progress and nation-building.

The major components of have been identified as:

 A doctrine, or set of action commitments, which establishes, communicates, and

legitimizes norms, priorities and styles for operating programs; and
 A set of action instruments through which communication with the community is
maintained and operating programs are implemented.

STRATEGIES OF INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING

To become development management more efficient and successful its relevant institutions
should be more strategic. Given terms describing below, can follow as a strategy of institutional
building:

 Leadership: Leadership is defined as the group of persons who direct the institution's
internal operations and manage its relations with the external environment." These
persons are actively engaged in the formulation of the doctrine and program of the
institution. As deliberately induced change processes require intensive, skillful and
highly committed management both of internal and of external relationships,
leadership is considered the single most critical element in institution building. It is a
group process which entails a variety of roles such as representation, decision-making
and operation control that can be distributed in various patterns among the group. A
powerful adjustment between organizational needs and environmental 'norms and
values must be made and the leadership must claim and establish the legitimacy of the
organization.

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 Doctrine: Doctrine is "the self-propelling, self-renewing value system that gives an

organization a life line independent of the corporate sum reached by adding up the
qualities of its individual members:" In the institutional building literature, the term
doctrine has been used 'to denote the broader objectives that are converted into a more
concrete set of policies and guidelines that direct the activities of an institution. It is
regarded as "a series of themes which project a set of images and expectations of
institutional goals and styles of action". This projection may happen both internally
and externally within the organization or outside it.

 Resources: One of the important preoccupations of all institutional leadership is

represented by the problems that are involved in mobilizing and in ensuring the steady
and reliable availability of resources. These resources, affecting all aspects of the
activities of an institution including both tangible inputs like financial, physical, and
human and intangibles like legal and political authority and information about
technologies and the external environment. These inputs are vital not only in
quantitative terms but also because of their sources. There are dimensions or categories
of their source variable: availability and sources. The former includes the physical and
human inputs which are available or can be received for the functioning of the
institution and the performance of its program. The latter includes the sources in the
environment from which resources have been obtained and alternative sources to
which the institution has access.

 Program: The translation of doctrine into concrete practical activities of an

organization like producing and delivering outputs of goods and services is represented
as program in institution building model. The translation also takes the form of
allocation of energies and other resources within the institution itself vis-à-vis, the
external environment. A program is designed to attain the organization goals that are
defined in legal mandates or official doctrine. The important program variables
relevant to the output functions of the institution have been identified as consistency
with doctrine, stability of output, feasibility regarding resources and substantive
contribution to societal needs.

Uphoff and Ilchman note three-time dimensions: synchronization, sequence and rate.
Synchronization or coordination is intrinsically bound to time. The essence of
establishing program priorities is sequencing resource allocations. The rate of

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institutional production is another important dimension because the needs of the

society must be met in a timely way merely meeting them is not sufficient for
institutionalization. The content and implementation of program become critical when
rapid results are desired. When the resources are scarce it is important to make the
efficient allocation through program strategy.

 Internal structure: Internal structure can view as the organization of resources into
patterns of authority that may be both formal and informal. Other aspects are division
of responsibility among the different units of the organization, systems of
communication, and the means of resolving conflicts and formulating consensus on
priorities, policies and procedures." The ingredients of this variable are identification
of participants with the institution and its doctrine, consistency of the structure with
the doctrine and program, and adaptability of the structure to changes. These affect
program performance and maintenance of the system.

STRUCTURE & PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

IN BANGLADESH

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The process and structure of development management have been considered as one of the
crucial phases in developing countries like Bangladesh. According to World Bank,
International Monetary Fund and other development partners Bangladesh is now suffering from
serious contradictions in the management of development projects.

The GoB has taken different initiatives to recover her dignity in management of development
projects. The journey of development management planning started in July 1953; ‘Planning
Board’ was established in East Pakistan for Five Years. After the independence, several five-
year development plans have been initiated in development sector of Bangladesh. These are:
One year plan July 1972 to June 1973; First five-year plan July 1973 to June 1978; and recently-
finished one is 7th five-year plan from July 2016 to June 2020. And the proposed plan is 8th
five-year plan from July 2020 to June 2024.

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STRUCTURE OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT IN BANGLADESH

The structure of Development management in Bangladesh based on two sectors;

1. Ministry of Planning
The Ministry of planning plays an imperative role in development management policymaking
practice. The Ministry of planning oversees the financial policies of the GOB, responsible for
socioeconomic planning and statistics management.

Planning Commission contains three divisions. Such as,

 Planning Division
 Statistics and Informatics Division
 Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division

Functions of Ministry of Planning

 Ministry of Planning works as the secretariat of the Planning Commission in any
development management policy.
 Coordination of development works among various ministries, departments and
agencies
 Coordination of financial policy among various ministries, departments
 To develop project in National and Local Level
 Scrutinize planning commission’s tasks

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2. Planning Commission
Planning Commission is the excellence Planning phase of any development management
policy in Bangladesh. For implementation of Development Management plans it judges
investment resolutions of scheme. Planning commission evaluates how the mission
implementation has an impact on people’s living standard. It prepares perspective plan, 5 years
plan and ADP. It mainly works through NEC and ECNEC.

Functions of Planning Commission:

 Evaluation of plans and policies
 Coordination of preparation of plans like five year and Annual plans.
 Review of macro-economic situation such as, National income, international economic
relations, savings, investment, fiscal and monitory situation, employment and another
macro-economic situation.
 Authorization of development projects and release of funds for unapproved projects
 Coordination of preparation of ADP.
 Economic Appraisal of development projects.
 Formulation of sectorial plans consistent with macro planning objectives
 Preparation of ADP in consultation with sector ministries and agencies
 Processing of Development projects including project appraisal
 Formulation of sector development and planning policies.

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PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT IN BD

The process of development management has six certain phases and they are described below-

(a)Initiation:
The background of any development project shows us a theoretical framework for development
management process in Bangladesh. We know that planning commission (PC) is
interconnected with various departments of GoB, GO and NGOs. For this interconnectivity,
they collect information from all over Bangladesh both from rural and urban areas and identify
the need for the welfare of people and society. Therefore, PC discuss with the line ministry to
take necessary actions through submitting project proposals to the parliament considering the
concern of the identified stakeholders. Here, the line ministry can be "Ministry of Home
Affairs", “Ministry of Education”, Ministry of Health” etc.

(b) Preparation of Development Strategy:

Initially, growth with equity and social justice remained the overarching goal of our
development strategy. Slowly reducing wide regional gap in development, inclusive growth in
terms of reducing poverty and income inequality, equal access of the poor to economic
resources and employment, increasing economic participation of women and their political
involvement, environmental sustainability etc. have come to limelight and different strategies
are initiated by GoB and its development partners.
Most well-known development strategies of Bangladesh are: Annual Development program,
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Five-Year Planning (currently ongoing one is 8th five year
plan), Vision 2021, Delta Plan of Bangladesh, mega projects like construction of Padma
Bridge.

(c) Planning:
In the process of development management “planning” starts with policy making. Planning
Commission plays a significant role to play there. The Planning Commission through Annual
Development Plans and the Five-year plans, translate the ideas, aspirations and the
commitment of the government. National planning of a country is an endeavor to reach the
socio-economic goal of a country. There are some compulsory tactics to invent and put into
operation of the plan. In Bangladesh at first any project planning is approved by the National
parliament, and then it is sent to National Economic Council (NEC) for finalization. Therefore,

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NEC finalizes and approves the plan and then it is launched to Executive Committee of the
National Economic Council (ECNEC) for ultimate approving. From ECNEC, the plan goes to
Ministry of Planning, which helps to formulation and implementation of policies and also
reviews the impact on the economy.

Parliament

National
Economic
Council

ECNEC

Ministry of
Planning

Diagram: Development Planning Process in Bangladesh

Name of the project, administrative ministry/ division, executing agency, location of the
project, implementation period, date of commencement, date of completion, cost etc. are
clearly defined in the drafts at the planning stage. Here is an example of Five-Year planning in
our country. Every development planning goes under this similar kind of process as well (such
as- ADP, PRSP etc.).

Five-Year Planning Process in BD:

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Evaluation of Past Plan Performance

GED Prepares Technical/ Policy Framework Indicating Desirable and

Realistic Growth Rate

GED Prepares Resource Forecast in Resource Demand by

Co-operation with IRD, FD, ERD Ministries/Agencies

Reconciliation Resources/Demands

Background studies (e.g. 7FYP)

Reconciliation of Sectoral Plans with the Macro Framework of FYP

Sector Divisions Prepare Sectoral Plans/Programmes

Five-Year Plan Approved by NEC

(d) Implementation:
There is an Inter-ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) for implementing any development
project ensuring a smooth inter-ministerial coordination of it. The IMSC discusses the overall
problems and solutions during implementing development projects. It provides necessary
instructions for the field offices and Pourashavas based on reports and recommendations from
the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG). IMSC conducts regular meeting every six months.
In implementation stage project will also introduce special allocation of investment fund to
create a new, additional financial incentive mechanism to implement sub-projects and thereby
strengthen linkages between different sectors. The sub-project funded by the special allocation
improves the connectivity among the disconnected areas.
(e) Monitoring and Evaluation:

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Initially, monitoring activities were mostly limited to financial performance reporting of any
projects. Data analysis activities and reports were limited mostly to observations. The reports
based on those observations were prepared from reports received from the ministries/agencies.
Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) is responsible as central project
monitoring organization of the GoB Currently, monitoring and evaluation process included-
Collection and compilation of project-wise data for preparing quarterly, annual and periodical
progress reports, Field inspection, spot verification, Submission of project inspection reports
to concerned authority. The Prime Minister assigns matters relating to Central Procurement
Technical Unit (CPTU) and Public Procurement Rules (PPR) to the Divisions from time to
time.

(f) Closing and Impact Analysis:

Different Acts, Policies, Principals and Guidelines of Constitution of Bangladesh confirm that
project proponents are undertaking appropriate environmental and social considerations.
Through various measures and indicators, so as to prevent or minimize the impact on the
environment and local communities which may be caused by the projects for which GoB and
other development partners provide funding, and not to bring about unacceptable effects. It
thus contributes to the sustainable development of developing regions. Acknowledging
environmental and social considerations, GoB places importance on dialogue with all involved
partners (e.g. the host country, local governments, borrowers and project proponents) regarding
environmental and social considerations. Transparent and accountable processes, as well as
active participation of key stakeholders (e.g. local residents and local NGOs affected by the
project) in all stages of the project are highly considered. Social Impact Analysis,
Environmental Impact Analysis, psychological impact assessing etc. are done after the
completion of any development project through the active participation of all stakeholder.

CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT SECTOR IN OUR

COUNTRY
 Corruption: Corruption is not a new-fangled incident in Bangladesh. Political and
administrative elites have often predestined the high incidence of corruption. The
World Bank estimates that 2 to 3% of GDP growth is lost due to corruption each year.
 Mismanagement: Mistreatment of development projects in absence of a uniform law
contributed largely to mismanagement. Although restricted tendering method or direct
procurement method for development project management can be used for some

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specific reasons, procurement and contracts but they often take place through open
competitive biddings.
 Power Politics: People’s participation is not so accelerated at local level because of
people’s unconsciousness and power of local elite. Generally, urban based planning is
given more importance than rural planning.
 Dependency on Foreign Aid: Project planning formulation is too much depended on
foreign aid because of lack of our internal resources. The key part of revenue budget is
received from import tax (33%) and this import is depended on foreign support. Foreign
aid depended development strategy cannot bring any optimistic impact in any country
as through this aid the donor countries receive their interest.
 Rough Political Circumstances: It seriously hampers the successful implementation
of projects. There is no surety on continuity of any project as the next ruling
Government may reject it. Hence, the development policies cannot be implemented, as
it should be. Newly admitted democratic values often fails to prepare code of conduct,
ethics, and issues of conflict of interest according to priority.

DEMOCRACY & DECENTRALIZATION

DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY
The concept of democracy etymologically comes from ancient Greek and is formed by the
combination of the words “demos” (public) and “kratos” (sovereignty) meaning the
sovereignty of the people. The realization of democracy in the structure and functioning of
organizations in the working life is called as “organizational democracy. The organizational
democracy is expressed as the participation of the organization members in the management
and decision-making processes in the organization. Organizational democracy is frequently
associated with increased employee involvement and satisfaction, higher levels of innovation,
increased stakeholder commitment, and, ultimately, enhanced organizational performance.
However, democratic processes can also absorb significant time and other organizational
resources and bog down decisions, which may lead to reduced efficiency.

PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY
 Purpose and vision: A democratic organization is clear about why it exists and where
it is headed and what it hopes to achieve.
 Transparency: Openness and transparency are key ingredients to build accountability
and trust, which are necessary for the functioning of democracies.
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 Dialogue and listening: Instead of the top-down monologue or dysfunctional silence

that characterizes most workplace. Democratic organizations are committed to having
conversations that bring out new levels of meaning and connections.
 Fairness and dignity: Democratic organizations are committed fairness and dignity.
 Accountability: Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of
responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the
administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or
employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be
answerable for resulting consequences.
 Individual and collective: In democratic organization the individual is just as
important as the whole
 Integrity: “Integrity” has become a concept with more prominence in research on
government and governance, as well as in actual policy making at all levels.
 Decentralization: It is the process by which the activities of an organization,
particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated
away from a central, authoritative location or group.
 Reflection and evaluation: Democratic organizations are committed to continuous
feedback and development.

OBJECTIVES OF DEMOCRACY
 Learning and exchange: Democracy, the democratic procedural law and how it is
practiced, is never completed but always in process. Different countries with different
cultures develop a different kind of democracy.
 Help and develop: It aims to build cross-border support and transnational solidarity
among citizens and democracy groups. Democracy International seeks to offer support
by sharing expertise and lessons learnt through three decades of experience.
 Transnational drawing together: Today democracy is mainly a governmental form
of states and sub-national political entities. International politics is still largely in the
hands of national governments. With the European Union, forms of direct democracy
have begun to emerge also at supranational level. Democracy International seeks to
consolidate this process and foster the development of transnational democratic
structures.

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Theoretical Framework Linking Organizational Democracy to organizations’ Structure,

Strategic Leadership Style and Turbulent Environment-

Organic
Structur

Successful
Organization
Implementation
al Democracy Empowering
of
Principles Strategic
Organizational
Leadership
Democracy

Turbulent
environment

ADVANTAGES OF DEMOCRACY
 Protecting the interests of citizens- People get the chance to vote on the key issues
affecting their country or can elect representatives to make these decisions.
 Promoting equality- One principle of democracy is that all people are equal in the eyes
of the law, and every person gets a vote.
 Preventing abuse of power- In democracies, people in authority are usually elected by
people who vote them in.
 Creating stability- Democracies have rules and laws that provide stability and protect
human rights.

DEFINITION OF DECENTRALIZATION
Decentralization is referred to as a form of an organizational structure where there is the
delegation of authority by the top management to the middle and lower levels of management
in an organization. In this type of organization structure, the duty of daily operations and minor
decision-making capabilities are transferred to the middle and lower levels which allow top-
level management to focus more on major decisions like business expansion, diversification
etc.

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Delegation refers to the assigning a portion of work and the associated responsibility by a
superior to a subordinate. In simple words, when delegation is expanded on an organizational
level, it is called decentralization.

“Decentralization refers to tire systematic effort to delegate to the lowest levels all authority
except that which can only be exercised at central points.” —Louis A. Allen

IMPORTANCE OF DECENTRALIZATION
 Rapid decision making: Most of the decisions are taken on the spot, and approval from
the higher authority is not required. The ability to make a prompt decision allows an
organization to function its operation quickly and effectively.

 Administrative development: The decentralization process questions the manager’s

judgement and techniques, when responsibility and challenges to develop solutions are
given to them. This questioning method grows confidence, encourages self-reliance,
and make them a good decision-maker resulting in the development of the organization

 Development of executive skills: It allows the employee to perform task individually,

giving them invaluable exposure. This individual performance creates an environment
where an individual can enhance their expertise, take ownership & more significant
responsibilities, and be suitable for promotion.

 Promotes growth: Decentralization also allows the heads of the department to work
independently. This independence helps the department to grow, have a healthy
competition between other departments. Ultimately, the competition will lead to an
improvement and enhancement in productivity.

 Higher control: It also evaluates and reviews the performances of each department and
gives them a comprehensive perspective of their work. However, controlling is the
biggest challenge of decentralization and stabilized management and scorecard are
being developed.

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OBJECTIVES OF DECENTRALIZATION
Let us understand the various objectives for which organizations decentralize their operations:

 Development of Managerial Personnel: Decentralization provides for self-learning

of the managers by facing the problem, finding the solutions themselves and taking the
correct decisions. It adds on to the skills, experience and expertise of the managers in
their respective departments.

 Effective Control and Supervision: The managers exercise better control over the
operations of the subordinates by taking disciplinary actions. They can make decisions
related to production schedules, promotions and leaves taken by the subordinates.

 Flexibility: Decentralization leads to flexibility in business operations. It also provides

authority to the managers to handle unexpected situations independently. It allows them
to manage their respective departments in the way they want to.

 Motivates and Boosts Morale: It creates self-dependent managers and drives them to
enhance their performance, take the initiative and develop a problem-solving attitude.
Decision making also boosts their morale and confidence.

 Prompt Decision Making: There are times when the managers have to take immediate
and unplanned decisions at operational levels; it is only possible in decentralized

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organizations. On the contrary, in a centralized organization, the decision-making

process is quite lengthy and complicated, which is ineffective for handling unforeseen
operational problems and issues.

 Reduces the Burden of Top Management: The management has to take certain
crucial strategically decisions which require a lot of analysis and planning.
Decentralization releases the management from operational decision making,
facilitating them to engage themselves in future strategic planning.

ADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALIZATION
 Motivation of Subordinates: Decentralization improves the level of job satisfaction
as well as employee morale, especially amongst the lower level managers. Furthermore,
it strives to satisfy the varying requirements for participation, independence, and status.
Decentralization also promotes a spirit of group cohesiveness and spirit.

 Growth and Diversification: Under decentralization, every single product division

attains sufficient autonomy to exercise their creative flair. In this way, the top-level
management can create healthy competition amongst different divisions. While
carrying out a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization, it is
imperative to note that it aids subordinates in exercising their own judgment. They even
develop managerial skills and help in solving the succession problem which ultimately
ensures the growth and continuity of an organization.

 Quick Decision Making: Another important pointer in the advantages and

disadvantages of decentralization is that decisions are taken and executed by authorized
personnel. This, in turn, results in faster and accurate decisions which are well aware
of the real scenario.

 Efficient Communication: The wider span of management under decentralization

leads to fewer hierarchical level. This makes the communication system more
efficient as intimate relationships develop between superiors and subordinates.
 Ease of Expansion: Decentralization can add inertia to the expansion process of a
growing business. This might often result in the opening of new business units in

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varying geographical locations. Decentralization unleashes the fullest potential of the

organization and can react easily to area-specific requirements.

 Better Supervision and Control: Lower-level managers can alter production

schedules and work assignments with adequate authority. They can even take
disciplinary actions and recommend the promotion of their peers. This, in turn, leads to
greater efficiency in supervision. Performance evaluation of each decentralized unit
helps in exercising adequate control.

 Satisfaction of Human needs: Decentralization serves as an important tool for

satisfying our basic need of independence, power, prestige, and status. A cadre of
satisfied manager is built up by this satisfaction as they feel responsible towards the
company’s betterment
.
 Relief to top executives: Top executives can focus more on more on the executive level
work like planning and decision making if the lower-level employees take all the
responsibilities on their own. This relieves their workload which eventually is for the
greater good of the organization.

DISADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALIZATION
 Difficult to Co-Ordinate: While talking about the advantages and disadvantages of
decentralization, it is imperative to note that substantial autonomy is enjoyed by every
single division. This, in turn, makes it difficult to coordinate the overall activity.

 External Factors: The trade union movement, market uncertainties, and government
intervention might make it impossible to benefit the most out of decentralization.

 Narrow Product Lines: Decentralized product lines need to be adequately broad so

that autonomous units can flourish within the same. This might not be of much help in
small business houses having narrow product lines. Lower levels in the organization
also lack competent managers thus adding to the difficulty quotient.
 Expensive: In decentralization, every employee takes responsibility for the better of
the organization so they work harder to achieve the organizational objective. In return,

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they have to be paid more which sometimes proves to be very expensive for the
company.

CONCLUSION

Development management is now going through the context of “Sustainable Development”.

This term is now more multidimensional as it works with the vital aspects of organizational
management or project management. Basic approaches, institutional strategies, democracy and
decentralization etc. gives it more perfection in the field of realistic applications of
development management tools and techniques. In terms of Bangladesh development
management also play greater role in project management or organizational management and
of course the people of our country are now able to take the essence of development for its
multidimensional and multi stakeholder obtainment.

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