How Important Is the State for Effective Development Management - Coursework Example

s play a very important role in ensuring that there is effective implementation of development projects. Development management is a managerial process that involves the coordination and implementation of various development projects and programs (Fritz and Mendez, 2007). One of the important paradigms of development management is the issuance of aid by foreign institutions for purposes of developing a state. However, it is important to explain that states such as India do not depend on aid (Fritz and Menocal, 2007). This is because foreign aid presents a small portion of the overall government expenditure. This paper is an analysis of the role of state, in ensuring that there is an effective process of development management. This paper takes a stand that without the input of the state, the process of development management will be ineffective. The state plays an important role in ensuring that development projects within its jurisdiction are implemented effectively and successfully. Acemoglu and Robinson (2012) explain that without the input and support of the state, any development project, initiated by non-governmental organizations, and the state, will not be successful. For example, it would be difficult for American civil groups to sponsor development activities in third world countries without the support of the American government, and that of the third world countries (Fritz and Menocal, 2007). This situation is better depicted in the relationship between Zimbabwe and the Western countries. Because of the policies of President Mugabe, to possess land belonging to the whites, the European Union and American government have banned any of its organizations from initiating development activities in Zimbabwe. Based on this situation, it is possible to denote that the government plays an important role in ensuring the success or failure of a developmental project or program within its jurisdiction (Lockwood, 2006). This depends on the policies that the government creates, the quality of services it offers, and the nature of the government system. A policy such as the re-possession of land, initiated by the government of President Mugabe had an impact of negatively affecting the development partners of Zimbabwe. In return, these people decided to withdraw aid, and their developmental programs. Brinkerhoff (2008) therefore explains that one of the most efficient roles, by the state, in development management is enacting policies that do not negatively affect the interests of development partners. A state should develop policies that encourage development, and this includes liberalisation of the economy, promotion of democratic governance, and observing the rule of law (Fritz and Mendez, 2007). These policies would enable the state to attract investments, and increase the activities of NGOs, which play a role in initiating developmental projects (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). Even if a good policy exists, but there is widespread insecurity, the state may fail to attract and manage developmental activities. Acemoglu and Robinson (2012) therefore assert that one of the major functions of a state in ensuring there is effective development management is the provision of services. The state is responsible for providing security, health, education, and investment services to everybody that seeks them. However, some of these services are mandatory, and this includes, security and education services (Fritz and Mendez, 2007). Without the security of a state, chances are high, that the state under consideration will become a failed state. Furthermore, a state that cannot guarantee the security of its citizens would mean that it cannot attract investors. Without investments, chances are high that the economy would not grow (Mackintosh, 1992). This is because jobs would not be created, the government will not get revenue, in form of taxes, and the flow of money will be limited within a state (Migdal, 2004). These are important factors that contribute to the development of an economy. Take for example a state such as Somalia. The country is considered a failed state, because of the inability of the government to provide security to its citizens (Fritz and Menocal, 2007). There are numerous instances of terror attacks, murders, theft, etc. This makes it difficult for investors, to invest in the country. This in turn has made Somalia to be poor. It is therefore important to denote that a state that fails to provide security to its citizens is not effective in the management of development activities within its territories (Migdal, 2004). This is because there won’t be, or there will be limited development activities, occurring within these states. It is practically impossible for any development activity to occur, within a state that is full of conflict, or is experiencing a series of insecurities or armed conflicts. Security of a nation is a guarantee that the state under consideration is stable, and ripe, for developmental activities (Fritz and Menocal, 2007). This is the reason that countries such as Kenya, experienced numerous foreign direct investments, and developmental projects in the 1990s. This is because the country had a good security network, and it was politically stable, despite a wave on insecurities and armed conflicts in its neighbouring countries, such as Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ethiopia (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). In as much as provision of security is an important factor that determines the effectiveness of the state in ensuring there is effective development management, the ability of the state to develop a relevant education system would also contribute to its effectiveness in developmental management (Clapham, 2002). Without the availability of the necessary skills, and labour, investors will not manage to acquire the necessary workforce to enable them meet their objectives. In fact, most investor preferred to open manufacturing units in China, mainly because the country had cheap and skilled labour. This is one of the reasons China has managed to experience a high economic growth, making it the number two largest economy in the world (Clapham, 2002). Without a good education system, it is almost difficult or impossible to train skilled workforce, who can help in developing the economy, and managing developmental projects. However, the government cannot work alone in the development of an educational curriculum that can help in imparting the necessary skills, which can contribute in the management of developmental projects or programs (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). There is a need of involving the private sector, and other interested parties in this initiative. This would ensure that the curriculum developed, aims at imparting the necessary skills that the current job market requires (Fritz and Menocal, 2007). The development of skills is one of the most important and effective ways that the state can carry out, for purposes of ensuring that it effectively manages and implement development projects or programs. This is because without skills of carrying out a certain development project, it would be difficult to implement the project under consideration (Clapham, 2002). In as much as the government, with collaboration of the private sector has the responsibility of developing the skills required for managing development programs or activities, it is also responsible for identifying the developmental problems, and finding a solution to these problems. One of the major developmental problems that affect the third world countries is unavailability of an accessible road network (Fritz and Mendez, 2007). Over 50% of the road networks of countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe are not accessible (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). This is very serious, because it negatively affects the social and economic development of an economy. This is because it limits the capability of resources to move freely in the regions that have a poor road network. It is the responsibility of the state, to identify such kind of factors that limits its ability to initiate and effectively manage developmental projects within its territories (Migdal, 2004). This is for purposes of finding a solution to the problem under consideration. For example, in the 1960s, the so called Asian Tigers were underdeveloped, and poor. The Asian Tigers comprised of countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). These countries are highly industrialized and developed, and this is because of the role that their played in identifying the various development gaps in them (Moore, 2001). For example, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, realized that to develop, they had to develop their industries, and promote the manufacturing sector. Their government thereafter developed a series of policies and measures aimed at promoting their manufacturing industry, hence the development of their economies. Take for example, Samsung, which is a company with its headquarters in South Korea. This company has made a great contribution in the South Korean economy by exporting electronic products and substances to almost all the countries of the world (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). This was made possible through the policies of the government of South Korea, which encouraged innovation and creativity in the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, these countries liberalized their economies, in a region where almost all the countries had a closed economic system (Lockwood, 2006). This included countries such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea. It is important to understand that without the identification of these development gaps, by countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, chances are high that they could not achieve the enormous economic and developmental growth that is associated with them (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). There are some African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, whose economies were at par, with the economies of the Asian tigers, after their independence in the 1960s (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). However, currently, the economies of the Asian Tigers are more advanced, than the economies of these countries. This is attributed to poor leadership, which is discriminatory in nature. This means that the government seeks to initiate developmental activities in regions that it gains support, as opposed to regions that are against the leadership of the government. This amounts to poor leadership. This is a situation that is widely seen in Kenya, where the government awards jobs to the tribes that supported it, and it channels developmental programs or projects to regions, that are perceived to be friendly to its policies (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). Poor leadership and corruption are some of the methods that can make the government to fail, in efficiently managing developmental programs, or projects. Poor leadership would result to unhealthy competition for power, and this is disadvantageous because it may lead to violence and conflict. This is what happened in the 2007 Kenyan election, where violence erupted after the declaration of the presidential results. The losing party refused to acknowledge the winner, making people to fight for political leadership (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). Furthermore, this was accelerated with the perception and belief that political leadership was an avenue of acquiring wealth, and benefiting the ethnic society of the leader. Therefore, for any state to achieve efficiency in managing development projects there is a need of initiating mechanisms that can help in promoting good leadership. Good leadership would amount to equal distribution of resources, and ensuring that the projects and resources developed are able to reach the people. This means that the government has to develop mechanisms aimed at fighting corruption, and loss of state funds through dubious means (Evans, 1995). This is a good and effective way of ensuring that the projects developed and initiated are able to reach the people, leading to a growth in development. Therefore, to ensure that developmental projects or programs are effectively utilized, the state will have to promote good leadership, and fight corruption. Through good leadership, the state will ensure that there is a good environment where development projects can be initiated (Migdal, 2004). By fighting corruption, the state will ensure that the resources to use in initiating the development projects are not stolen, or swindled. Furthermore, it is impossible for a state to efficiently manage developmental projects if its style of governance is authoritarian in nature. This is because authoritarian governments tend to have poor leadership capabilities, leading to the emergence of unaccountability in the manner which state resources are distributed. An example is North Korea, whose government is authoritarian in nature (Mwanzia and Strathdee, 2010). This situation has made North Korea to be amongst the poor states in the world, and it is unable to initiate policies that would ensure there is efficiency in the manner which its development projects are managed and implemented. In conclusion, the input of the state is important in ensuring that there is efficiency in the manner which development projects are initiated and implemented. The policy that the state creates, should be one which promotes development, as opposed to the one which hinders development. Policies such as that of President Mugabe, to reposes land owned by white people are not good, and it frustrates the efforts of initiating development projects. Provision of good and quality services is also another method that the state can use in ensuring efficiency in the manner which development projects are managed and implemented. These services include security, education, health, and provision of licenses. Good governance is also an important method which a state can use to implement and manage development projects. The state is an important player in development management because it has the responsibility and duty to carter for the needs of its citizens. References: Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J.A. (2012) Why Nations Fail: The origins of power, prosperity and poverty. London: Profile Books. Brinkerhoff, D. (2008). "The State and International Development Management: Shifting Tides, Changing Boundaries, and Future Directions." 68(6): 985-1002. Clapham, C. (2002). "The Challenge to the State in a Globalized World." Development & Change 33(5): 775. Evans, P. (1995) Embedded autonomy: States and industrial transformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Fritz, V. and Menocal, A.R. (2007) "Understanding state-building from a political economy perspective: an analytical and conceptual paper on processes, embedded tensions and lessons for international engagement". London, Overseas Development Institute. Fritz, V. and Mendez, E. (2007) Developmental States in the New Millennium: Concepts and Challenges for a New Aid Agenda. Development Policy Review 25 (5): pp. 531-552. Lockwood, M. (2006) The State They’re In: An Agenda for Internation Action on Poverty in Africa. 2nd Edition, Rugby, Practical Action Publishing. Mackintosh, M. (1992) "Questioning the Sate". In Wuyts, M.;Mackintosh, M. & Hewitt, T. (Eds.) Development Policy and Public Action. Oxford, Oxford University Press 61- 89. Migdal, J. (2004). State and Society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Moore, M. (2001). "Political Underdevelopment: What Causes “Bad Governance"." Public Management Review 3(3): 385-418. Mwanzia, J., & Strathdee, R. (2010). Participatory development in Kenya. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Read More