PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN PARAGUAY AND THE OPERATION OF THE PARAGUAYAN INSTITUTE OF THE INDIGENOUS: AS A MACHINE, ORGANISM AND OCTOPUS

Abstract

The investigation describes the ways in which the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute (INDI) is presented in reality. It analyzes the different levels of action from the perception of its officials and with the help of theories and metaphors, three operating models are elaborated: the first is the machine model from Max Weber's theoretical approach. In this model, the institution is presented as efficient working as cogs in a machine. The second is the organism model from the theoretical contribution of Niklas Luhmann in terms of decision making in organizations, with adaptation, flexibility and adequacy. The third as an octopus using the idea of Clifford Geertz model. The conclusion explains the INDI as an institution conceived as a Max Weber-style machine, of an organism according to Luhmann, which can combine several operating models at the same time, depending on the need, one or the other performance model is emphasized. It is an institution that adapts like an organism, internally and externally manages its bureaucratic procedures, flexibly adapting it to the demands of the recipients of their actions as expressed in Clifford Geertz’s octopus model.