Abstract
MR. BYNG made it clear, too, that the outstanding feature of the scheme of a national administrative staff college was that it would be highly selective. No matter in what department-accounting, commercial, engineering and the like-candidates for admission had served, only those who had shown themselves likely to qualify for higher grades of administrative responsibility would be considered. Moreover, while the course would extend over five months, not more than one quarter of the time would be devoted to formal instruction. The remainder would be occupied by discussions, practical exercises directed to testing powers of exposition, of investigating problems, drawing up reports and so on. Already, Mr. Byng told his audience, the group responsible for this proposal claim that among some two hundred and fifty people who have been consulted (and they include members of the Government, both Houses of Parliament, representatives of the Civil Service, local government, industry and the universities) all but a few have expressed their approval. We are glad to note these opinions from varied sides of our national life because they reinforce another of the points made by Mr. Byng. It is that industrialists and business men are ready, if not anxious, for an all-inclusive staff college. They would welcome the idea that picked men from the Civil Service should study together with picked men from their own ranks. We believe there is much to commend the idea. The growth of large-scale organizations, and of quasi-public corporations controlling services previously rendered by private enterprise, have made the differences between business and the public services much less definite than they used to be. Indeed, the relations between the business world and the Government departments become more and more intimate and complex. The War has added strength to that tendency and there would be obvious advantages in bringing together what Mr. Byng calls “the future administrators of both worlds” during a critical part of their training.
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A National Administrative Staff College. Nature 152, 100 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/152100a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/152100a0