ABSTRACT
This chapter has attempted to show the influence of patterns of political culture and general cultural values on the operation of the administrative system. We have examined this influence as it affects not only the outputs of the administrative system, but also the internal management of the organizations. In both cases, we find that culture has a significant impact on the behavior of public administration. Unfortunately, the assessment of this impact had to remain at a somewhat impressionistic level because of the lack of much hard evidence on these relationships. One of the main problems with the concept of culture, and especially of political culture, is that it generally tends to be a vague and amorphous concept that can be twisted to include virtually anything a researcher wishes. We hope we have avoided this pitfall as much as possible and have presented the evidence in as unbiased a manner as possible. But we are the products of our own culture and see the world from our own perspective. It is difficult if not impossible to escape the imperatives of a culture taught to us from birth. Any significant progress in the field of relating cultural values and their effects on administration (or other aspects of politics) must come from a more complete empirical delimitation of culture and an examination of its dimensions. It is hoped that this discussion has been a step in the direction of analysing the potential and probable effects of culture so that more informed empirical analysis can test for these effects.
