2017 · Q4 · Riggs's Prismatic–Sala model (20 marks)

Source: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 2017.pdf, PDF page 1 · Answer allocation: 20 marks

Original examination question

Discuss in detail the Prismatic-Sala model enunciated by Fred Riggs in order to evaluate the under-developing society and its implications for public administration.

Bullet outline

• Explain the ecological and ideal-type approach.
• Distinguish fused, prismatic and diffracted arrangements.
• Define heterogeneity, formalism and overlapping.
• Describe Sala’s mix of official and particularistic practices.
• Apply cautiously to recruitment and service delivery.
• Critique abstraction, measurement and developmental assumptions.

Full exam-ready answer

Introduction

Fred W. Riggs's Prismatic–Sala model explains administration through its relationship with the surrounding social environment. Its central insight is that formal organisational structures cannot be understood independently of political power, social obligations and economic arrangements. The model is particularly useful for analysing societies where modern institutions coexist with enduring informal practices.

The ecological framework

Riggs distinguished fused, prismatic and diffracted ideal types. In a fused arrangement, a limited set of structures performs many functions. In a diffracted arrangement, functions are more specialised across differentiated institutions. The prismatic type captures a mixed setting in which differentiated structures exist without fully displacing older relationships.

These are analytical constructions rather than a simple ranking of real countries. Their value lies in directing attention to tensions within institutions, not in assuming that every developing society possesses identical characteristics.

Three central features

Heterogeneity means the coexistence of different organisational practices, values and technologies. Highly professional agencies may operate beside institutions dependent on personal authority.

Formalism is the gap between prescribed rules and actual behaviour. A recruitment system may formally require open competition while informal influence affects shortlisting or placement.

Overlapping occurs when specialised official roles remain entangled with other social relationships. Kinship, community or political obligations can shape decisions that are nominally governed by universal administrative criteria. Together these features explain why importing a formal structure may not reproduce its expected results.

The Sala administrative subsystem

The Sala represents administration within the prismatic setting. Officials occupy formally defined offices but may respond simultaneously to legal rules and particularistic pressures. Public and private interests can become blurred, producing unequal access, favouritism and inconsistent enforcement.

An illustrative licensing office may display the same procedure for every applicant while connected applicants obtain faster treatment. The problem is not the absence of written rules; it is the interaction between those rules and the informal environment. Understanding that interaction requires looking beyond the organisational chart.

Implications for public administration

The model challenges reforms that assume legislation or restructuring alone changes behaviour. Recruitment safeguards, transparent records and accessible appeals are needed to make formal standards effective. Reform must also consider how employees are rewarded, protected or pressured within their social setting.

For Pakistan, the framework can illuminate differences between merit-based rules and patronage in postings, or between uniform service standards and unequal citizen access. Such applications are hypotheses requiring evidence, not grounds for describing all officials or communities as corrupt.

Critical evaluation

The model's terminology and abstraction make precise measurement difficult. Its broad categories can understate variation across organisations and overstate a uniform transition from traditional to modern society. Informal networks also exist in wealthy countries, so they should not be treated as exclusively developing-country defects.

Moreover, the framework diagnoses contradictions more clearly than it specifies a complete reform programme. Political economy, legal institutions and organisational leadership must supplement it when designing action.

Conclusion

Riggs's contribution is the insistence that administration is embedded in society. The Prismatic–Sala model explains why formal reform can coexist with unchanged practice, but it should be used critically and comparatively. Successful reform must change incentives and relationships as well as rules and structures.

Study note: This is an original model answer, not an official FPSC marking scheme. The outline is for revision; the prose below it provides the complete answer. Marks guide relative depth rather than a prescribed word count.