Discuss any three features of development management

Introduction
Development management can be defined as managing government agents so that they can acquire
capabilities to adopt and act upon unremitting change to achieve sustainable growth. The characteristic
features of development management include change orientation, goal orientation, innovative
administration, client orientation administration, beneficiary participation. The paper will discusses
beneficiary participation, goal orientation and innovative administration which seems to be more
appealing features in the development management discourse. These features played a pivotal role in the
achievement of progress in the political, economic, technological, cultural and social objectives that are
authoritatively determined in one manner or another. The essay will allude to the major concerns of each
feature, their applicability and salient challenges associated with the operationalisation in different
contexts. The essay is therefore, to give a robust analysis and racy detail of the highlighted features
drawing major examples from.. as it unfolds.
Definition of terms
Development management is the implementation of proggrammes designed to bring about modernity that
is of socio-economic progress and national building. Waldo (1980: 98) attempted to define development
management in government as the processes of guiding an organisation towards the achievement of
progressive political, economic, and social objectives that are authoritatively determined in one manner or
another. Riggs (1966: 225) on the other hand, pointed out that development management as typically
referred to the administrative means to achieve developmental goals. In addition, Gant (2006: 223)
argues that development management attempts to upgrade or develop administration in developing
countries. Ontenyo and Lind (2006: 112) succinctly specifies that development administration required
objectives such as the ability to change, innovation, decentralisation and the need for administrators to
establish clear goals that must be shared among the implementing individuals. Therefore, from all these
paraphernalia of definitions one can conclude that, development management is concerned with
increasing capacity within the administrative system, to bring about modernity in the context of socioeconomic progress. Hence development management manifests itself through local participation, goal
orientation and innovation.
Beneficiary Participation
The first salient feature of development management to be discussed is participation. Korten and Klaus
(1984: 112) referred participation as an attitude of openness to the perceptions of others, a concern in

what difference a project make in people's lives and an awareness of the contribution that others can bring
to an activity. Development as a process of increasing peoples' capacity to determine the future means that
people need to be included in the process though participation or empowerment which can take the form
of political and administrative form in either vertical or horizontal participation. According to Bryant and
White (1982: 205) the process and definition of development lies within participation by the public or
beneficiary in project design and or implementation which formed the meaning and integrity of the entire
process. With this in mind, participation became the sedimentary of any developmental project in the
modern world hence, development management is participation orientation. As stated by Makumbe
(1996: 18) beneficiary participation enhance self reliance, self sustainable and self transformation
processes of development. To this end the culture, attitudes to work, saving and investments habits, skills
and social systems of participants abound therefore to be significantly and positively influenced.
Participative development necessitate distribution of power throughout the society which is accompanied
by effective and meaningful mechanisms of political accountability which enhance the politics of consent,
consensus, conviction and commitment which is absolutely lacking among African developing countries.
For instance, citizens participate through participatory budgeting processes. Comparatively, the city of
Masvingo (Zimbabwe) and Municipalities of Mangaung and Ekurhuleni (South Africa) are a reflection of
successful participatory budgeting processes (UN HABITAT 2008).
Makumbe (1996: 91) also add that, the cattle fattening scheme in Buhera North is a tip of an ice berg. In
that project, the co operative themselves did most of the construction work allocating each other duties of
feeding, watering, and guarding and even the kith and kin participate by providing food and relief to
members on duty. Therefore, participation as a feature of development management promote the
mobilisation of more resources like labour and knowledge which was under utilised. A training project of
health workers in Guatemala portray the importance of participation as the trained health worker
represents the community and the community in turn is responsible for him and can discipline, retain or
recommended his dismissal (Bryant and White 1982: 205). Also the Squatter Resettlement Scheme in
Lusaka reveal the significance of participation as a feature of development management. There is a
conviction that, talking together in meetings can resolve any misunderstanding of acute problems which
have occurred in the mentioned scheme (ibid 1982: 206). Hence, people can implicitly develop and grow
through the processes of participation thus development in its form.
However, participation is viewed by the political fathers as opened a Pandora's box of revolution to the
status quo. Adedeji (.) succinctly unravel that, due to the growing marginalisation of the people in the
development process the government might not genuinely and utmost want this process of transformation

to take place by a mere fact that it inevitably tills the death knell of authoritarianism, expands the areas of
debate, diffuses power etcetera. Hence various pundits reach a consensus that, participation in developing
countries is engulfed in a series of challenges in which it need to be deliberated from these shackles. For
instance, leaders who have controversial legitimacy often experience serious resistance in the
developmental projects by the people, hence they resort to disrupt participation by coercion to force
unpopular decision in the community. Bujumbura, Burundi capital has been hit by a new wave of protests
as opposition to President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term grows (www.bbc.com). The enactment
of Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA) in 2002 hinder participation in Zimbabwe. According to Zinyama (2012) even though people
participate in Zimbabwe, it is just a window dressing since most of their contribution are thrown in the
dust bin by self seekers because they are regarded as ignorant and western affiliated. For example, the
constitution making process in 2013, and the implementation of prepaid water meters (smart meters) the
people are participating but planners have a tendency of neglecting contrary contribution to their goal.
Therefore, to this end participation as a feature of development management is compromised.
Innovative administration
Furthermore, another feature of development management is innovative administration. Innovation refers
to novel or non routine or nontraditional ways of of performing work which lead to life style (Farazmand
2001: 221). Therefore, innovative management are policies to improve governance at international,
national, local, sector, sub sector, cross sectoral levels in planning, finance, personnel and broad based
institutional development strategies that enhance effectiveness of government as it measured by the
degree of equity, fairness, efficiency, economic justices, participation, infrastructure development etcetera
(Rahman 2004: 270). Development administration focuses on replacing and or improving the existing
governing structures and norms with the ones that suit the changing political and social environment. It is
interested in identifying and applying new structures, methods, procedures, techniques, policies, planning
projects and programmes so that the objectives and goals of development are achieved with minimum
possible possessions and time. To this end, innovative administration can be achieved through
partnerships and technological inventory. Partnerships came in to play as a migratory inventory
mechanism of risk management in the new public management paradigm. For instance, the Great Dyke
Investments which is a joint venture between Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and Russian
consortium in which the Platinum Plant is currently at the exploration phase.
In addition, most countries experimented with several new institutions and procedures which can be
termed as the hallmarks of development administration. According to the Division for Evaluation of

Development Cooperation document (2004) India, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka introduced
Rural Development Programmes which include IRDP (Integrated Rural Development Programme),
TRYSEM (Training Rural Youth for Self Employment), NREP (National Rural Employment
Programme), etcetera. These programmes broadly aimed at reducing unemployment by creation of job
opportunities and poverty reduction. Furthermore innovative administration manifest itself through the
creation of development agencies and institutions. In Zimbabwe, for example we have the District
Development Fund (DDF), Agricultural Rural Development Authority (ARDA) and in India there is the
District Planning Cells which aimed at improving the standard of living per se. Therefore development
administration has to be innovative enough in order to realize the predetermined objectives of
development which leads to speedy realization of goals.
However, innovative administration in developing nations faced chronic debility and torpor challenges.
These challenges can be summarised as capital constrains, political upheavals, lack of expertise, poor
communication channels between strategic apex and shop floor level, fund defalcation among others. This
resulted in to an acute and chronic dependency syndrome which came in the name of technical assistance
from the first world. Rahman (2004: 276) succinctly argue that, from literature revealed concerning this
issue, most of the innovation and changes in development management are achieved through reforms
which have been externally induced through (the Briton Wood Institution, the Habitat Agencies, World
Bank Loans, Bilateral Donors) which have conditionals for credit. For instance, Zimbabwe and other Sub
Saharan African countries adopted Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) to get funds
from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. This resulted in catastrophic and disastrous
consequences especially on Zimbabwe. Therefore, home grown innovations are recommended to make
public administration more efficient performance and result oriented like the land reform programme
though controversial.
Change Orientation
Another feature of development management is that development is change oriented. Bryant and White
(1982: 88) supports that, the first and foremost element of development administration is its change
orientation which shapes part of philosophic values of development administration. Development
administration involves itself in establishing a new social order in which growth and distributive justice
co-exist. According to Gant in Ontenyo and Lind (2006: 257) the central theme of development
administration is socio-economic and political change. Development administration cannot be status-quo
oriented but transformational for self reliant and sustainability. Most pundits in this field reach a
consensus that development cannot take place unless and until it introduces certain positive changes in a

system. For instance, Zimbabwe is party to international and regional instruments for gender equality and
the empowerment of women and girls which aims at changing the lives of the former vulnerable groups.
According to Oxfam (2015) report the organisation is carrying a project entitled Rural Sustainable Energy
Development (RuSED) from 2011 to 2016 which is being implemented in association with the Ministry
of Energy and Power Development and the Rural Electrification Authority of Zimbabwe. The report
unravel how the project has improved health outcomes, broadened access to education, increased
production and boosted business, enhanced quality of life and strengthened livelihood options in the Ruti
and Himalaya communal areas of Zimbabwe. In a nutshell development management brought with it
changes such as structural reorganisation of administration, innovative programmes to augment
production, remove unemployment, poverty and new schemes to improve employer-employee relations.
Nevertheless, socio-economic and political change can be compromised by resistance to change by the
people it mean to benefit. This is argumented also by Bryant and White (1982: 89) who state that, one of
the reasons that the appropriate wave of change (technological movement) provokes so much controversy
is that it challenges traditional relationships and beliefs. This manifest itself when people feel little control
over the technology they work with, changes are all the more threatening. For instance, the Ethanol Fuel
Plant Land Conflict in Chisumbanje, Zimbabwe. According to Herald about 40 000 hectares of land has
been earmarked for compulsory acquisition leading to a fierce and merciless conflict between the
villagers and the company, the villagers fighting back their traditional land for subsistence farming.
Therefore, to this end one can conclude that in a bid to introduce change in communities, the grassroots
should be included from the policy formulation to project design so that they are not going to be taken by
surprise and this reduces resistance at the implementation phase.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, one can conclude that development management is characterised by change
orientation, goal orientation, innovative administration, client- oriented administration, participationoriented administration, effective co-ordination and ecological perspective but the essay managed to
discuss only three as required by the question. From the discussion it can be depicted that, various
impediments can jump in to gridlock the operationalisation of development management with specific
reference to developing countries where Zimbabwe fall under. Therefore, participation is taken a the
major solution recommended to all notorious problems that might hinder development because
participation enhance self reliance and sustainability, elimination of popular resistance, better programme
design mobilisation of more resources among others. With all these characteristic formed the handbook of
development management based on socio-economic change.