National Administration in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Organisational Arrangements and Operating Methods

The administrative system in Bangladesh suffers from dysfunctions resulting from organisational and procedural complexities extant in both political and bureaucratic structures. The relationship between the two, not clearly defined, further complicates the governmental process and can lead to problems in coordinating and integrating policy-making and implementation. At the administrative level, overlap and duplication of functions, oversight of regulations, inconsistent and contradictory rules, inefficient information flow, insufficient inter-agency consultation, inadequate delegation of authority, and delays in decision-making, combine to affect both policy and administrative performance. Reforms have been mainly externally-induced but the government has been sluggish in applying them.