INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Unit 1: The study of Public Administration
1.1 Meaning and Definition of Public Administration
1.2 Scope of Public Administration
1.3 Changing nature and importance of Public Administration
1.1 MEANING AND DEFINITION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Introduction (Administration)
When a group of people started living together and emerged as a community some common problems
made themselves felt which needed collective resolution. The origin of Public Administration can be
felt in the need for maintenance of peace and prevention of crime. It was only at a much later stage
that Public Administration engaged in carrying out positive functions intended to promote human
happiness and welfare.
Meaning of Administration:
The English word ‘administer’ is derived from a combination of two words ad and ministrare
meaning to serve or to manage. It means management of affairs- public and private.
Administration is a process permeating all collective effort, be it public or private, civil or military,
large scale or otherwise. Being a characteristic of all enterprises in pursuit of conscious purposes,
administration is not a peculiarity or speciality of modern age alone as its glimmerings could be
sensed in the growth of civilization. Organisation and Management are special features of
administration. Thus, administration is that type of collective activity that involves rational
organisation and management of men and material.
Definitions of Administration :
According to John Veig: “ Administration is the systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use
of resources, aimed at making those things happen which we want to happen and simultaneously
preventing developments that fail to square with our intentions.”
According to Marshall E. Dimock: “Administration is concerned with what and how of the
government.”
According to Pfiffener: “Administration is the organisation and direction of human and material
resources to achieve the desired ends.”
Introduction/History of Public Administration:
Public Administration is a segment of the wider concept of Administration.
The concept of Public Administration can be traced in the aftermath of formation of nation-states in
the 16th century. However, in a police state where the state adopted laissez faire, Public
Administration had a very small role. The state could only provide law and order and defend the
boundaries while protecting individual liberty. State interference in the day to day life of the people
was not considered conducive for the economy. Thus the State failed to regulate public affairs and
maintain public welfare due to its minimal function. Until the 19th century, Public Administration had
limited scope. Later in the 20th century after the Great Depression in America, the then President of
America, Roosevolt undertook certain socialist measures to battle with the effects of the depression. It
was then recognised that the state can not only perform negative functions but can also perform
positive functions. Thus, the welfare State replaced the laissez faire system and increased the scope of
Public Administration. Similarly in developing countries, particularly those (like India) coming out of
long colonial rule, the State had to intervene in many aspects of social life to bring about radical
socio-economic development. Rural development (as most people live in rural areas), social
development with emphasis on health, nutrition and education, industrial development and most
‘development’ activities had, at least initially, been the responsibility of the State (which means in
reality `government’), resulting in considerable administrative expansion.
Therefore we can state the Pub Admin is the product of the modern state.
Meaning of Public Administration:
As discussed earlier, Public Administration is an aspect of the larger field of Administration. Its
function is to accomplish the goals and objectives formulated by the political decision makers. It is
also known as governmental administration. It elaborates on the collective activity of the government.
It plans as well as manages the affairs of the government to ensure stability and law in the state. It also
has the responsibility like any other administration. There is an emphasis on the calculated use of
resources as they are limited. Hence Public Administration is the administration which operates in a
governmental setting. It mainly focuses on bureaucratic organisation.
Definition of Public Administration:
According to L.D. White: “Public Administration consists of all those operations for their purposes
of fulfilment or the enforcement of Public Policy as declared by the competent authority.”
According to Gullick and Urwick: “Public Administration is that part of science of administration
which has to do with the government and thus concerns itself primarily to the executive branch where
the work of the govt is done.”
According to Marshall E. Dimock: “Public Administration is an enforcement of public policy as
declared by the competent authorities in order to promote the general will of the people.”
According to Woodrow Wilson: “Public Administration is detailed and systematic execution of law .
Every particular application of law is an act of administration. Administration is the most obvious part
of the govt; it is the govt in action; it is the executive, the operative, the most visible side of the govt.”
The above definitions can be divided into 2 different views:
i) Public Administration is a science of administration. It emphasises fairness, persistence,
universality, rationality and neutrality like science.
ii) Public administration is an enforcement of law and policy. The legislative organ of the government
cannot interfere in the tasks of the executive.
1.2 Nature of Public Administration:
There are two divergent views on the nature of public administration.
They are: 1) The Integral View and 2) Managerial View
1) The Integral View:
The Integral View is a traditional but broad perspective of studying Public Administration.
Public administration, according to L.D. White, is the amalgamation of all the activities
undertaken to attain the national objectives. It is the summation of managerial, technical,
clerical and manual activities. It constitutes the activities of all persons from top to bottom.
For example, the manual labourers who are recruited to develop the infrastructure are
contributing to Public Administration.
Clerical works include all the paper works, e-governance, custodians of records, etc.
Similarly, managerial activities are all about hierarchy that exist in Public Administration at
all the levels viz. Central, state and local. The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for
government management in India. The technical aspect of Public Administration relies upon
technology. It also takes into account the introduction of specialised schemes for skill
development among its population, etc.
Henri Fayol and L.D. White are the supporters of this view.
2) The Managerial view:
The Managerial view is a narrow and modern perspective of studying Public Administration.
In this context, Public Administration does not encompass technical, clerical and manual
activities but only emphasises on the managerial aspects. Administration according to this
view is concerned with the activities of only the top persons in the hierarchy. Simon,
Smithburg, Thompson and Luther Gullick adopted this view.
According to Luther Gullick, Public Administration consisted of seven elements. He summed
up these elements in the acronym ‘POSDCORB’, where each letter represents one element of
administration according to him. They are as follows:
P: Planning: It is about working out in broad outline the things that need to be done and the
methods for doing them to accomplish the purpose set for the enterprise. It is also considered
the primary step of Public Administration. Planning includes anticipating and mitigating the
crisis that occurs, setting prior objectives, and fixing methodology.
O: Organisation: Here, it means the establishment of the formal structure of authority through
which work subdivisions are arranged, defined and coordinated for the defined objective. It is
also about hierarchy, both horizontal and vertical, that exists in an enterprise. It also talks
about delegation of work which eventually leads to specialisation of work and quick
achievement of goals.
S: Staffing: Staffing means the recruitment and training of the personnel and their conditions
of work. Without staff, organisation is impossible. Staff are an essential necessity to perform
various managerial tasks.
D: Direction: Directions is the continuous task of making decisions and embodying them in
specific and general orders and instructions and serving as the leader of the enterprise. These
steps act as a way to achieve the goal systematically. In PA, it is the Constitution that provides
the guidelines to the administrators.
CO: Coordination and Communication: In order to work properly, the system must have
coordination and communication among its various departments. It means inter-relating the
work of various divisions, sections and other parts of the organisation. Coordination leads to
timely decisions. Good Governance compels the administrators to coordinate in order to bring
transparency and accountability to avoid administrative problems.
R: Reporting: Reporting is keeping informed those to whom the executive is responsible as to
what is going on. This includes keeping oneself and one’s subordinates informed through
records, research and inspection. It ensures periodical evaluation or assessment of a work.
Constructive criticism is also a part of it. It brings accountability and responsibility in
administration.
B: Budgeting: It includes fiscal planning, control and accounting. It deals with financial
planning, preparing a budget, etc.
Theories of Public Administration: Following are the two theories of Public Administration.
- Administrative theory: Administrative theory deals with the structure of organisation
and the administrative function of the state. It studies the overall control of Administration.
- Applied administrative theory: This theory deals with the specific functions carried
out by administrative officers. These functions are as follows:
1) Legislative Function: Public Administration includes legislative work. However, in a
modern administrative system, the parliament/ legislature is already overburdened.
Also, in India, the Parliament meets only thrice a year. This time is not enough to
discuss each and every legislative proposal in detail. This, along with other
complications, makes it difficult for the legislature to pursue the proposals or agenda.
Hence, the practice of delegated Legislation is seen today in the Public Admin
system. In Delegated Legislation, the parliamentarians delegate the legislative work
or the law making responsibility to the Executive. The Executive then further
delegates it to the bureaucracy (special committees) who undertake studies, research
and prepare a draft proposal. This draft is then sent to the executive again who then
passes it to the legislative body, forming a chain b/w legislative, executive and the
bureaucratic body of the govt. The effective coordination b/w them will facilitate
efficiency in Public Administration.
Legislature makes basic framework/outline/ bill→ Delegates it to executive branch
→ Executive delegates it to special committees composed of bureaucracy→ Special
Committees prepare drafts → Drafts sent to executive→ Executive passes it on to
legislative.
Example of Delegated Legislation: Parliament of UK has made the law ‘The Road
Traffic Act’ in 1930. They had made the basic framework of the law. Section 30 of
the Act provides that the minister of Transport and Civil Aviation may make the
regulations as to the use of motor vehicles, their construction and equipment. So,
accordingly, the minister made Motor Vehicles Regulation (Use and Construction)
1955.
2) Financial Function: Administration is involved in making and drafting of the
budget. Budgets are proposals consisting of the annual income and expenditure
incurred in the process of administration. The income and expense procedure is
carefully planned and reviewed. There are five stages in the making of the budget:
a) Preparation of budget: The Centre and the state Govt have to prepare
separate budgets. The Centre has different ministries under which they have
different administrative departments with their local officers. All the
departments of the Central Govt prepare their own estimated income and
expenditure when the budget is prepared. This budget is then forwarded to the
President of India, PM and the CM. After getting their clearance, the budget
is presented before the Parliament.
b) Approval in Parliament: Parliamentary approval is mandatory as the
Government can't withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for
their expenses until the Parliament approves the budget and sanction the Bill.
c) Execution of Budget: The government can withdraw money out of the
Consolidated Fund of India. This money needs to be distributed to every
department and sub-department. All financial transactions must be recorded
properly in the accounts.
d) Accounting: For any financial transaction done, there has to be an account
maintained for it. They have to maintain a separate accounting department
for this purpose.
e) Auditing: Accounts of all departments and local offices are further
scrutinised by the Audit Department. This department is headed by the
Controller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The CAG along with his
team audits the accounts. The CAG submits a number of reports to the
Parliament who further scrutinises it.
3) Defence Function: This function aims to protect the territorial sovereignty of the country
from any kind of foreign invasion. The ministry of Defence looks into the protection of our
sovereignty, territorial integrity and security related matters. In India, a larger part of the budget is
spent on defence as compared to other areas. This is due to its volatile neighbours. Along with the
Army, Navy and Air force personnel, the policy makers also contribute in this field by constantly
giving them direction in consultation with think tanks that formulate our defence policy. There are five
major departments under the Ministry of Defence:
a) Department of Defence
b) Department of Military Affairs
c) Department of Defence Production
d) Department of Defence Research and Development
e) Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare
4) Social Administrative Function: This function provides for the basic requirements of
people. It pursues the role of the welfare state. Modern State is resonant with welfare states that cater
to the requirements/ needs and provide social security to the people including the marginalised
section. Social Administration includes provision for family welfare, medical care, pension schemes,
protection of senior citizens, employment opportunities, welfare of the marginalised section, women,
children, disabled people, etc. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of
Women and Child Development look after the social administrative function. Various other
departments are also responsible for the effective implementation of schemes pertaining to social
security.
5) Economic Administrative Function: This function of Public Admin is mainly concerned
with the overall economic development and growth of the country, oversees financial matters,
facilitates industrial and agricultural development of our country. The Ministry of Finance is
concerned with the Economic Administration, which is an apex body. The Ministry of Finance is
assisted by 5 departments. All the departments are assisted by a Secretary who is the head of the
department and is assisted by joint and additional secretaries. The HOD has to coordinate with the
core Ministry. Following are the Departments under the Ministry of Finance:
a) Department of Economic Affairs
b) Department of Expenditure
c) Department of Revenue
d) Department of (Disinvestment) now known as, Investment and Public Asset Management.
e) Department of Financial Services.
6) Foreign Administrative Function: In this age of globalisation, interdependence between
countries has increased manifold. Foreign policy and diplomacy are integral parts of Public
Administration. India has diplomatic missions in more than 180 countries. India has signed a number
of bilateral and multilateral agreements. Various divisions within the ministry of external affairs look
into these agreements before they are signed. They examine India’s commitment towards these
international treatises along with the nature, characteristics and consequences of signing an
agreement.
Approaches to study Public Administration:
1) Philosophical Approach: This is the most comprehensive and oldest method of studying
public administration. It takes into account all facets of administrative tasks. It is focused on
'what ought to be' rather than 'what is.' Thus, it is founded on the normative approach. Its goal
is to articulate the values (principles) that underlie administrative activity.
Plato’s Republic, John Locke’s Treatise on Civil Government, Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan,
Shantiparva of Mahabharata, Swami Vivekananda, and Peter Self have advocated this
approach.
2) Legal Approach: This approach has been particularly popular in continental European
nations such as France, Germany, and Belgium. It has supporters in the United Kingdom and
the United States, with Frank J. Goodnow being the most prominent. It examines public
administration as an aspect of law, with a focus on the constitutional/legal structure,
organisation, powers, functions, and limitations of public authorities. As a result, it is also
known as the Juridical or Juristic method. It is the earliest systematic approach and was
developed during the laissez faire era, when the duties of the state were restricted and simple.
3) Historical Approach: It studies public administration via historical changes that have an
impact on the present. It compiles and interprets information on administrative agencies in
chronological order. L. D. White's four notable historical studies, The Federalists (1948), The
Jeffersonians (1951), The Jacksonians, and The Republican Era, have chronicled American
Federal Administration in its formative phase. Kautilya's Arthashastra, as well as publications
on Mughal and British administration, provide views of India's past administrative structure.
This method is closely related to the biographical approach to administration.
4) Case-study Approach: It is concerned with the narration of specific events that constitute or
contribute to an administrative decision. It aims to reconstitute administrative realities and
familiarise public administration students with them. It acquired popularity in the United
States during the 1930s. Twenty case studies titled Public Administration and Policy
Administration edited by Harold Stein were published in 1952. In India also, the Indian
Institute of Public Administration (New Delhi) and the National Academy of Administration
(Mussoorie) have published several case studies. According to Dwight Waldo, the case
method is going to be a permanent feature of the study and teaching of public administration.
1.3 Evolution/ Changing nature of Public Administration:
Public administration stands for two implications:
1) It refers to the activity of Administration.
2) It refers to the field of study.
Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’, Aristotle’s ‘Politics’, Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’: in all three books
significant observations about the organisation and functioning of government can be seen.
Stages of public administration
Stage one: Politics-Administration Dichotomy (1887 to 1926)
This stage represents the advancement of Public Administration as a discipline.
Woodrow Wilson was regarded as the "Father of Public Administration." In 1887, he published an
essay titled "Study of Public Administration" in the journal "Political Science Quarterly." He clearly
addressed the relationship between Political Science and public administration in this article. Political
science, according to him, is the study of the state and governance. As a result, it is concerned with
government policies and expression. According to him, public administration entails the
implementation of a policy, i.e. government in action. So, in his opinion, political science is an
integral aspect of public administration and vice versa.
Frank J. Goodnow expanded on his concept. He proposed a similar difference between politics and
public administration in his book, 'Politics and Administration,' published in 1900. This distinction
was based on Montesquieu's famous notion of ‘separation of powers' during the French Revolution.
He advocated studying public administration as a separate subject. He is also known as the "Father of
the American Public Administration”.
In the twentieth century, the United States launched a movement for governmental reforms. As a
result of this effort, the American Political Science Association produced a report in 1914 stating that
the objectives of political science were to "train or prepare specialists for government employment."
LD White authored 'Introduction to the Study of Public Administration' in 1926. It is regarded as the
first textbook of public administration, and with its release, the field of public administration gained
traction in the academic realm, as institutions in America began to offer public administration courses.
Stage 2: Principles of Administration (1927 to 1937)
During this stage, the scholars considered that specific administrative concepts needed to be
discovered and applied. The purpose was to promote the efficiency and economy of government
administration. This began with the publication of W. F. Willoughby's book, 'Principles of Public
Administration,' in 1927, which was acknowledged as a full pledged text in the discipline of public
administration. According to the experts, administration is administration regardless of its kind or
context since the principle of administration has universal validity and relevance. He pioneered the
notion in the field of public administration that there are certain administrative principles that must be
followed in order for administration to function effectively. Some noteworthy writings are:
a) Mary Parker Follet: she wrote a book, ‘Creative Experience in Administration’ in 1924
b) Henry fayol wrote a book industrial and general management in 1916
c) Mooney and Reiley’s ‘Onward Industry’ 1931 and Principles of Organisation’ 1939
d) In 1937, Luther Gullick and Lyndal Urwick published papers on Science and Administration and
with their publication public administration as discipline reached its zenith.
Stage 3: Era of Challenges (1938-1947)
The main theme of this stage was the promotion of human relations and a behavioural approach. The
defining principles and pillars of public administration were both challenged. Administration is not
only concerned with policy execution, but it also plays a significant part in policy formation. They
have also challenged and criticised administrative principles, believing that they lack scientific
validity and universal relevance. As a result, they termed these concepts ``Proverbs of
Administration." They have also criticised the organisational approach of public administration for
focusing on the formal framework of the organisation while ignoring the socio-psychological aspects
of organisational behaviour. In other words, the idea of politics- administration dichotomy was
rejected.
In 1938, Chester Bernard wrote a book, ‘The Function of Executive’. This book didn't have any
impact initially. Later, Herbert Simon was influenced by Chester Bernard’s thinking and wrote the
book, ‘Proverbs of Administration’ in 1946. Simon stated that “Public Administration as science is
only a myth and there are no such scientific principles of administration that exist.”
Some important publications of this phase:
1) Morstein Marx’s ‘Elements of Public Administration’ in 1946.
2) Herbert Simon’s ‘Administrative Behaviour’ in 1947.
3) Robert Dahl’s ‘The Science of Public Administration: Three Problems’ in 1948.
Importance of Public Administration:
Public Administration has become an essential segment of modern society which has witnessed the
emergence of what is called by administrative thinkers as Administrative ‘State’. This means that
every activity of individuals is regulated and controlled by the State agencies, that is, administrative
agencies.
Public administration is important especially in a democratic country as it calls for a certain amount of
accountability and responsibility which means commitment to public good. Therefore in a democracy,
the government aims at all round development of a nation including social, economic and
environmental aspects. Therefore, here we refer to the term development administration. It involves a
change, goals to be fulfilled and the participation of citizens.
Public administration is not just an administration on part of the government, it also involves people.
Public administration is an important variable in nation building activities especially in developing
countries. It involves several functions: legislative function, financial function, social administrative
function, economic function, industrial function, defence function etc. Development is therefore a
total activity of Public Administration and public administration has to play an important role in the
development process. Thus, we can say that public administration is the foundation or basis of
government.
Public administration is not merely about a few functions but is actually engaged in policies viz,
economic, foreign, social and its implementation. It has to cater to expectations and fill the voids in
policies. It is instrumental in performing government functions as the modern state is resonant with
the welfare state, catering to people's expectations which are wide.
Public administration has been a stabilising force whose main objective is to ensure political stability
that is status quo in society. There should be no chaos, disorder, anarchy. Law and order must be
ensured to maintain stability. This is the objective of Public Administration by which it prevents
external aggression and internal violence.
Its importance can be listed as follows:
1) It ensures political stability
2) It makes and implements policies to ensure unity.
3) It unites State and Society and acts as a bridge between them.
4) It is a catalyst for nation building
5) It facilitates decentralisation of power.
6) It ensures implementation of fundamental rights.
