Sifarish,Sycophants,Power and Collectivism: Administrative Culture in Pakistan

This article analyses some of the major attributes of Pakistan’s contemporary administrative culture. The article uses Hofstede’s famous four dimensional model of national cultures as an analytical framework. Hofstede’s fourfold typology – power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity/femininity – is used as a point of departure for a more elaborate description and analysis of the traditions, values and norms that characterize Pakistan’s governing system. The author uses secondary data from official documents, newspapers, magazines and scholarly literature to support Hofstede’s initial findings. A brief account of the colonial antecedents and post-colonial evolution of the administrative institutions is given to provide the context in which the system operates. The main conclusion is that Pakistan’s relatively high collectivist orientation, high propensity toward uncertainty avoidance, high power distance and masculinity largely account for many traditions and practices including strict adherence to hierarchy, centralization, corruption, nepotism and gender differentiation in administrative roles.