Abstract

The search for answers for the inefficiencies in the administrative systems of emergent
nations culminated in the formulation of Prismatic Sala Model by Fred Wriggs. The
riggsian theory or sala was based on the different types of societies such as the fused
or traditional society, diffracted or developed society and the prismatic or developing
society. To Riggs, the fused or traditional society has no specialization, it is
undeveloped because in it there is a low level of structural differentiation with a
corresponding level of integration. On the other hand is the developed or diffracted
society. This is a developed one because it is at the high level of structural
differentiation with a corresponding level of integration. There also exist another
society which combines both the features of developed and undeveloped societies and
this is developing society, Riggs referred to this society as the prismatic society. This
type society has embraced some modernization which is a feature of developed society
and still possess some traditional features. According to Riggs, prismatic society has
three important features namely Heterogeneity, Formalism, and Functional
Overlapping. The salient characterisitics of the Sala Model are: The Bazaar- Canteen
and Price Indeterminacy, Nepotism, Poly-Communalism, Existence of Clects, Poly-
Normativism and Lack of Consensus and Separation of Authority from Control.
Though, the model is not without its criticisms, it has played vital roles in
comparative analyses on the performances of public administrative systems in
diffracted (developed), and prismatic (developing) societies.

Key Words: Fred Riggs, Prismatic Sala Model, Diffracted, Fused, Societies.
Introduction

Within the academic community, especially between the late 1940s and early 1950s,

there were questions concerning the universality of American public administrative

system by scholars like Robert Dahl, Dwight Waldo and Herbert Simon, Wallace

Sayre and Herbert Kaufman. These academic atmospheres constituted favorable

conditions for Fred Riggs to formulate his comparative public administration

framework based on a contextual or ecological perspective and a structural-functional

approach (Haque, 2010). Riggs believes the improvement of administration in

developing countries would ultimately improve the other parts of their social system.

Therefore, he considers administration to be the sector which development planners

should make their first priority. He assumes that in order to understand the

administration of developing countries, an understanding of the environmental

conditions should be considered. Therefore, he views administration as an outcome of

society, affecting it and in return being affected by it.

Based on this assumption he argues that many Western models and techniques have

proved effective in their environment (Western), but have failed to achieve the same

results in other environments. His analysis of this situation led him to develop a new

theory he has called Prismatic Theory. Accordingly, Riggs posits three ideal types of

society: diffracted, fused and prismatic, using physics terminology and the analysis of

light to distinguish between them. In the first, structures are highly specific and

specialized. The modern industrialized societies occupy this category. The major

distinguishing characteristics of diffracted system are: universalism- achievement

orientated - functional specificity (Rasheed, 2018). In the second, the fused society

structure is functionally diffuse. A single structure performs all functions which are

necessary to the existence of the society. In the middle of this scale comes the
prismatic societies which combine the features of the other two. Most developing

countries correspond to some extent to this type.

In this paper, the prismatic sala model shall be painstakingly discussed. For clarity,

this paper was divided into sections. Section one is this introduction, section two

looks at the pedigree of Fred Riggs, section three discussed the prismatic sala model,

section four dealt with the contributions of the prismatic sala model, section five

looked at the criticisms levelled against the prismatic sala model and then section six

concludes the paper.

Fred Riggs Pedigree and Factors which Influences his Thought

Fred W. Riggs was born in Kuling, China, a mountain resort on the Yangtze River in

Kiangsi province, on 3rd July 1917 and he died on 9th Februry, 2008 (Okoli, 2013).

His parents were American missionaries who arrived in China in 1916 with the intent

of helping peasants improve their farming methods. He was a Professor Emeritus of

Political Science Department of the University of Hawaii, USA and has received

several awards from several institutions and countries in recognition of his knowledge

to the understanding of Administrative Theory. He was one of the pioneers in the

development of administrative models and theories; and most represented

administrative thinker in modern society.

He was well known for his studies in Comparative Public Administration (CPA)

especially the Riggsan’s Model. Here are some of his other works; Frontiers of

Development Administration, Idea of Development Administration, Administration in

Developing Countries. Fred W. Riggs’ article Agraria and Industria: Toward a

Typology of Comparative Administration published in 1955, won him wide acclaim

among scholars. Since the publications of The Ecology of Public Administration in

1961 and Administration in Developing Countries in 1964, Riggs’ position and

reputation in the field of comparative public administration has been peerless

(Ramulu, 2018). Riggs' upbringing provided much of the inspiration for his theory.

Like many foreign experts to come after them, Riggs' parents carried in their heads an

image based on Western models. If only the local people would farm scientifically,

using modern methods, their problems would disappear and output would soar. The

alternative to effective reform seemed to be economic and institutional stagnation.

This was the same image that administrative experts would attempt to export forty

years later. As he later discovered, most American agricultural technics were

irrelevant to the concrete realities of the Chinese situation.

Delving quickly into the literature of public administration, Riggs was deeply

suspicious of what he found. Virtually all of American public administration was

deeply narcissistic: it idealized our administrative practices as though they had

evolved independently without counterparts elsewhere, and offered universally

relevant answers to the problems confronting the new states emerging around the

world. By this time, his vision of the paradoxical nature of public administration in

transitional societies had developed into an elaborate theory, complete with its own

vocabulary. Articles appeared, followed by three influential books: The Ecology of

Public Administration (1961), Administration in Developing Countries: The Theory of

Prismatic Society (1964), and Thailand: The Modernization of a Bureaucratic Polity

(1966).

Prismatic Sala Model

Riggs was mainly interested in analysing the interaction between the administrative

system and its environment in prismatic societies. For this purpose, he constructed the

'prismatic-sala' model in which 'prismatic' represents the prismatic society

(transitional or developing society) and 'sala' represents the administrative sub-system

of a prismatic society. In presenting his theory of prismatic society, Riggs drew on the

social science approach known as structural-functionalism which holds that societies

perform certain functions: someone must settle disputes, someone must make rules,

someone must cure disease, and someone must takeout the garbage (Okoli, 2013).

The need to perform functions such as these is universal. The structures by which the

functions are accomplished differ enormously from society to society. Generally

speaking, traditional societies utilize only a few structures with which to perform

these functions. The structures are fused. Industrial societies, by contrast, maintain a

much larger number of structures with very specific functions. The process of

modernization, from this perspective, involves increasing structural differentiation.

To give his audience a mental picture of his ideas, Riggs searched for a simple

analogy. He settled on phenomenon of light. Light as it arrives from a source like the

sun is fused. All of the visible wave lengths are present, but they are combined into

the single color white. Once separated, the individual colors appear as in the hues of a

rainbow. One way by which light can be refracted into its separate colors is to use a

prism. To Riggs, the white light represented the fused structures of a traditional

society. The rainbow represented the diffracted (or refracted) structures of an

industrialized society. Inside the prism was the society in transition. The mid-point

between traditional and industrialized society, Riggs called the 'prismatic model'

because of the prism which refracts fused light. The prismatic model was neither

traditional nor modern, but it contained novel elements generated by the juxtaposition

of old and new social structures.

To understand public administration in a prismatic sala model, Riggs stated that an

understanding of the particular features of that society is important. According to

Riggs, prismatic society has three important features which are:

Heterogeneity: A prismatic society has a high degree of heterogeneity, that is, the

simultaneous presence, side by side, of quite different kinds of systems, practices and

viewpoints. The sala is also heterogeneous as it combines the elements of 'chamber' of

a fused society and 'bureau' of a diffracted society.

Formalism: A prismatic society has a high degree of formalism, that is, a degree of

discrepancy or incongruence between the formally prescribed and the effectively

practiced, between norms and realities. In short, it refers to the gap between theory

and practice.

Functional Overlapping: A prismatic society has overlapping phenomena, that is,

the extent to which formally differentiated structures of a diffracted society co-exist

with undifferentiated structures of a fused society; overlapping in sala refers to what

is described as administrative behaviour but which is actually determined by non-

administrative criteria, that is, by political, economic, social, religious or other factors.

The salient characterisitics of the Sala Model are:

The Bazaar- Canteen and Price Indeterminacy: Formally every

citizen in the prismatic society is entitled to certain services,

regardless of his religion, class or status. But under price

indeterminacy rule, there is discrimination according to the social

status and influence of each client or employee. Furthermore, with

price indeterminacy, wages and salaries of workers and officials are

determined not according to their qualifications or knowledge but

according to their social status and personal influence and the class

to which they belong (Amaechi et al, 2018).

Nepotism: In a prismatic society, nepotism and favoritism play a dominant role in the

making of appointments to various administrative posts. Members of a family and

their kins are given preference in employment and other matters. The close relatives

of a government officials derive variety of advantages from his official position in

various ways. On the contrary, the consideration of kinship are kept out of the

administrative behaviour in diffracted society. In a fused society, the politico-

administrative system has a patrimonial feature in which family or kinship plays a

significant role. In prismatic society, the laws, rules, regulations laid down in status

are not adhered to in practice. The sala officer attaches importance on material gains

rather than paying attention to the social welfare of the people. His behaviour and

performance are influenced by parochialism and consequently, the laws and the rules

are not made universally applicable.

Poly-Communalism: This is the name given by Riggs to plural society where there is

the simultaneous existence of several ethnic, religious and racial group. Most of them

are in hostile integration with each other. They lack proper motivation for social

change. This affects the society as well as the administration. If a member of a

minority community is able to occupy a high position in a public or private

organization, he begins to show preference to the members of his community in

administrative matters, such as recruitment, promotion, transfer, etc. Because different

communities try to pull the society in different directions to fulfill their communal

interests, the interests of other minorities, the quota or reservation system may be

adopted to provide some cost of proportional representation to all communities in the

administration. However, such an arrangement may lead to mutual hostility among

various communities, thereby creating administrative problems.

Existence of Clects: Clect is another word used by Riggs to mean a typical prismatic

group which makes use of modern, associational methods of organization, but retains

diffuse and particularistic goals of a transitional type (Amaechi et al, 2018). Riggs
says in a prismatic society there is simultaneous growth of clects society. Clects

represent exclusively the people of a particular community or group, and government

officials belonging to that category serve only the members of their respective ‘clects’

more effectively by ignoring others. Sometimes, the sala officer or his subordinate

develops close relations with particular clect or start functioning like a clect in itself.

As a result, the clects foster close links with a particular group and function primary

in their own interest, ignoring universalistic norms.

Poly-Normativism and Lack of Consensus: In a prismatic society, people subscribe

to different values and norms of their own. These lead to differences in society.

Moreover, the traditional and modern ideas coexist and are in hostility with each

other. As a result of overlapping, decision-making becomes more complicated. The

sala bureaucrat may enter into service by virtue of his possession of educational

qualifications or through success in competitive examinations, but promotion and

career development depends largely on ascriptive ties and favours from superior

bureaucrats. The sala official publicly may adhere to a modern set of norms but

secretly reject them as meaningless (Okotoni, 2011). A sala official may insist on a

strict enforcement of regulation by the public, but when his personal issues is

involved, he may openly violate them.

Separation of Authority from Control: Riggs says that the prismatic society

consists of a highly centralized and concentrated authority structure overlapping a

control system that is highly vocalized and dispensed. Thus, authority and control

overlap each other. The authority of the sala overlaps with the control mechanisms

which are based on poly-communalism, clects and poly-normativism. This form of

overlapping influences the relationships between politicians and administrators.

According to Riggs, a prismatic society is an ‘unbalanced polity’ in which bureaucrats

dominate the politico-administrative system. Bureaucrats in an unbalanced polity

exercise much more power than their formal authority suggests. They have statutory

authority which is used for influencing decision over the allocation of human and

physical resources.

Due to such a concentration of power in the hands of bureaucrats, there would be lack

of response to the demand of the people. Riggs also states that when such a weak

political system and leadership fail to control the bureaucracy, the legislature, political

parties, voluntary associations and public opinion also become ineffective. The

influence of a political executive varies considerably with its ability to reward or

punish the administrators. Since the performance of the government largely depends

on the level of output of the sala official, Riggs says that there is an inverse ratio

between administrative output and bureaucratic power. The more powerful the

officials become, the less efficient as administrators. Thus sala in a prismatic society

is characterized by nepotism in recruitment, institutionalized corruption, and

inefficiency in the implementation of laws.

Contributions of Prismatic Sala Model

The model has contributed immensely to administration in developing countries. The

sala has been seen as a relevant model in developing countries. The following are

some relevance of fred Riggs sala model:

Firstly, the model help us to understand that society develop from one stage to

another. According to Fred Riggs, societies began from the traditional state where

they were fused together. No differentiation in functions and authority. They are very

compact and their major source of economic activity is agriculture. Structures perform

similar and identical functions. Fred Riggs elucidate further that, there is another type

of society called the developed or diffracted society where there is a high level of
structural differentiation with a corresponding level of integration. Institutions work

perfectly and the standard of living is very high. He also talked about the third society

which is the prismatic society which combines the features of both the fused and

diffracted societies. He further explained that for society to move from traditional

society to the develop stage some form of modernization features should be

possessed. Social transformation does not progress at a consistent speed. The question

thus remains, how does a traditional society become modernized? Moreover, how

does afused society become a more diffracted society? Between the two extremes of a

“lack of division of labor” society versus a diffracted society, one may ask, what other

possibilities are there. Through his model, Riggs suitably and thoroughly

addressesthese questions by describing how a ray of light passes through a prism

Again, The prismatic-sala model of Riggs contributes to a better understanding of

actual societies that are undergoing rapid socio-economic and administrative changes.

It has revealed the influence of ecology on the administrative systems of developing

countries. It is sensitive to the context of administration of a country. Thus it is very

useful to analyse and understand the actual functioning and problems of public

administration in a developing country.

The model helps in the allocation and the distribution of resource. This because after

studying the sala model, government in traditional or fused societies will know areas

to concerntrate more effort in order to be elevated into the status of a developed or

diffracted society. For instance in a traditional society whose focus is mostly centered

on the production of raw material and agriculture will have some form of

enlightenment to channel a chunk of their resources to the manufacturing sector if

they want to attain the status of a diffracted society.

The sala model has some practical utility to the professional administrators in the

developing countries. It reveals the fact that now the prismatic conditions of a

developing society adversely affect the efforts of development administration. The

sala model is therefore useful to the administrators in directing them on the right lines

in their efforts to administrative problems in the transitional societies in accordance

with the local conditions. It also provides insights in the policy formulation process in

the area of administrative development.

Furthermore, Riggs sala model help in the study of economic behaviours in

developing countries. Riggs’ believes that when analyzing prismatic societies, most

social scientists fail to understand how they essentially function. More significantly,

they are unable to fully understand the conditions under which a society experiences

diffraction. That is to say, such social scientists only grasp the concept of a

specialized structure, and are not able to conceptualize the entire social structural

system. Taking a family household as an example, in a fused society the family is the

model by which politics, the administrative system, religion, and ethics are judged. In

contrast, in a diffracted society, the family household’s influence on other social

structures is negligible. Yet, in a prismatic society the degree of influence lies within

these two extremes. In other words, a family household’s influence on various other

social structures is less than in a fused society, but more than in a diffracted one.

The study of economic behavior can be applied in the same manner. In a prismatic

society, should one ignore the interrelationship between political, administrative,

social, and economic factors, and limit one’s analysis to economic behavior alone,

one not only fails to fully grasp the larger picture, but more importantly,

misunderstands the role of economic behavior as well.

Criticisms of the Model

The limits of Riggs’ theory according to Ramulu (2018) can be summarized along the

following lines:

Over Reliance on Model Theories and Lack of Empirical Evidence: The school of

thought that supports the “fused-prismatic-diffracted model” believes that this model

can replace empirical studies in general. In other words, empirical studies are

regarded as having little or no value. The primary reason for this stems from the

perspective that empirical studies are timewasting and expensive. Critics believe that

it is dangerous for novice scholars to rely entirely upon model theories. Limitations

arose when scholars erroneously believe that once one is familiar with one model of

administrative theory, one can draw broad conclusions about the administrative

features of all regions without conducting an empirical study.

There is little empirical study to support the “fused-prismatic-diffracted” model

making it difficult to find appropriately related evidence. As a result, it is predicated

on the notion of deduction/logical speculation or assumptions. Most sciences require

empirical evidence so that results can be verified, not only repeatedly but also at any

time and place. For instance, Riggs believes that formalism is the primary and sole

factor in increasing administrative hierarchical power within prismatic societies, most

scholars consider this concept as unsatisfactory, and believe that it is too simple and

unequivocal to accept it.

Broad Scope of the Model: Another critique of Riggs’ theory identifies the scope of

the “fused-prismatic diffracted model” as being too broad and abstract. Riggs’

structural function studies, which include several cultural factors - including

economic, social, and political - are difficult to follow. Therefore, some scholars

denounced this kind of large-scale theory as middle-range theory, and hence, consider
empirical investigations as supplemental. The objective is to shorten the distance

between theory and practice.

Ignoring Some Important Variables: Scholars such as Markson (2017), Peng

(2009) and Obinna et al (2019) have also found that in some cases the “fused-

prismatic-diffracted model” ignores certain variables. For example, factors such as

historical background, the political structure of post-colonial countries, territorial size,

the status of hierarchical power, and the role of the military, as well as social

ideologies were left out. This analytical perspective tends to exclude other factors,

which by extension prevents alternative explanations including the psychological and

cognitive aspects of a prismatic administrative system. Most importantly, the unique

circumstances of each country will have a profound influence on administrative

behaviour. Yet, these are factors that Riggs seldom discusses.

Too Over-generalized and Use of America as a Model: To illustrate his argument,

Riggs uses American society as his model of a diffracted society. The reality is that

although American society is a developed and industrialized country, it is wrong to

infer that it is free of formalism and no longer a prismatic society. Therefore, the

theoretical hypothesis that American society is a model which one should use in

constructing a diffracted society is both inappropriate and unacceptable.

Riggs however, admitted that the model’s reasoning was faulty and would lead to

misguided thinking; therefore, within the “unilinear path” concept, Riggs added a

“degree of conformity” axis. In contrast, the “bilinear path” proposes that a prismatic

society is not determined by economic development, nor by achieving modernization

alone; rather, it can be found in different societies in various degrees of

differentiation. Consequently, prismatic societies are not limited to underdeveloped

countries. This nullifies the notion that differentiated societies are diffracted, to a
more precisely one – the more differentiated a society is, the greater the need for

conformity in order to reach a state of diffraction.

Difficulty in Language and Focus on Negativities: The terms used by Riggs in the

model are borrowed from sciences, thus difficult to understand and it also focuses on

the negative aspect of prismatic societies.

Limited Social Structural Classifications: In addition, from a structural perspective,

the “fused-prismatic-diffracted” model is awkwardly divided into three sections. This

type of organization reflects the model’s formalist limitations. Factors that trigger

social transformations are latent, unstable, and indefinite at best in describing the

evolution of Middle Eastern society. Certainly, there are societies whose

transformations have occurred as a result of powerful external forces. Under these

circumstances, if one insists on using the “fused prismatic diffracted” model for

analytical purposes, the result would be irrelevant to the facts.

Although there could be some truths in the above critical observations, Riggs often

offered adequate responses to these critics: that his theory-building was based on in

depth case studies; that he maintained a balance between the ideographic and

nomothetic approaches in his academic work; and that he was always against using

the American administrative system as a universal model. Irrespective of some of the

alleged limits of Riggs’ work, his theoretical models and arguments discussed in this

work are largely based on a nomothetic approach and an ecological perspective.

Conclusion

Fred Riggs Prismatic Sala model has proved to be effective in comparing the

fundamental structure of various societies. It enables comparative public

administration scholars to comprehend each country’s administrative attributes and

differences. The model has also to a great extent explained the problems of

inefficiency in developing countries of the world. the aforementioned points in

support of the relevance of the Riggs sala model were; the theory help us to

understand that societies develop gradually, the theory has revealed the influence

ecology have on the administrative system of developing countries, the sala serves as

a guide to administrator, directing them on the right line of administration; and the

model helps in the study of economic behaviours in developing countries.

The notion that the environment alone can determine administrative behavior should

be avoided. Riggs observes that, while it is important to describe the environment’s

influence on other subjects, inversely, one should also acknowledge the influence

individuals have on the environment. Only by taking into consideration the dual

aspects of interacting influences can we hope to develop an authentic ecological

model. Riggs argues that listing merely one environmental factor does not constitute

adopting an ecological approach. What ecological public administration requires, or

more specifically what defines research as being ecological, is the identification of

critical variables as well as the demonstration of administrative items and plausible

patterns of correlation.

References

Amaechi, O. C., Amadi, C. O., & Nnaji, S. E. (2018). Prebendalism and budget
authorization in the Nigerian legislature. International Journal of Academic
Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(7), 59–73.

Haque, M. S. (2010). Rethinking development administration and remembering Fred

W. Riggs. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 76(4) 767– 773.
Markson, M. (2017). Ridding civil service of corruption.
http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/20 17/11/10/ridding-civil-service-of-
corruption/

Obinna, C. A., Ayeni, E. O & Madu, C. P (2019). The prismatic sala model and its
relevance to Nigeria’s public administrative system. CCU Journal of
Humanities, 1(1), 113 - 122.

Okoli F. C. (2013). Administrative theories and national development. Topmost Press

and Consultancy Services.

Okotoni, O. (2011). Problems and prospects of Nigerian bureaucracy. Journal of

Social Sciences, 7(3): 223-229.

Peng, W. (2008). A critique of Fred W. Riggs’ ecology of public administration.

International Public Management Review 9(1), 214- 226.

Ramulu, C. B. (2018). Fred W. Riggs’ ecological approach to administrative theory.

http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000030PU/
P001502/M06168/ET/146537024115.ET.Fred_W_Riggs-
Ch._Bala_Ramalu.pdf.

Rasheed, A. (2018). Corruption and a disabled civil service. The Guardian.

https://guardian.ng/opinion/corruption-and-a-disabled-civil-service/.

Riggs, F. W. (1964). Administration in developing countries: The theory of prismatic

society. Haughton Mifflin co.

Riggs, F. W. (1973). Prismatic society revisited. General Learning Press.