Is Voluntary Sector Management Part of

Public Administration?

Public in Public Administration

Public organizing concept in an organized field
Public Administration
Cario:
Not accidental; significant organizing principle

The idea of the collective in a nation

Waldo (1965) stated that:
But unless it can be shown that there is something distinctive
and important about public, then the phrase indicates only an
administrative convenience, a pragmatic adjustment to supply
and demand, and perhaps not even that, but a resultant of the
accidents of inertia, resources and personalities.

Public in Public Administration

Public Administration as the Management of
Governmental Organizations
Public Administration as the Provision of Public Goods
and Services
Public Administration as Governance for Public
Interest

Public in Public Administration

Public Administration as the Management of
Governmental Organizations
Public Administration as the Provision of Public Goods
and Services
Public Administration as Governance for Public
Interest

PA as the Management of
Governmental Organizations
Public government
Collective embodied in the central authoritative institution
Original meaning of public in Public Administration
public school
public hospital
public agency
public fund
public official

owned and controlled by the government

PA as the Management of
Governmental Organizations
Public administration
management

governmental

Traditional public administration

How the human, fiscal and organizational resources of
government may be used and distributed in the most
economical and efficient way

Public in Public Administration

Public Administration as the Management of
Governmental Organizations
Public Administration as the Provision of Public
Goods and Services
Public Administration as Governance for Public
Interest

PA as the Provision of Goods and

Services
Public beneficiary of public goods
Collective

Jones definition of public

those affected by indirect consequences of transactions to
such an extent that is deemed necessary to have those
consequences systematically cared for

PA as the Provision of Goods and

Services
Movement of public administration from an advocacy
for the use of a specific mechanism the government
bureaucracy to greater concern for the throughput
throughput amount of public goods and services that will
be received by its beneficiaries

Alternative delivery systems of public goods

Not only through the government but also through the people
and the community

PA as the Provision of Goods and

Services
Issues on supply and demand of public goods
Structure and structuring of markets
Rules on allocation and distribution
How to allocate and distribute public goods to the
beneficiaries

PA as the Provision of Goods and

Services
No special name until the 1970s during the
Minnowbrook Conference
New Public Administration

Influence of political economy and public choice

theory by Ostrom and Ostrom (1971)
Political economy how public policy is created and
implemented
Public choice theory policy-making by the people and not
the government

PA as the Provision of Goods and

Services
Implementation as a neglected area in public
administration
Formulation

Implementation

Evaluation

PA as the Provision of Goods and Services

College of Public
Administration in the
University of the
Philippines

Program on public policy

and program
administration in 1978

Department of Public
Administration in
American Universities
Abandonment of
bureaucracy
Political part of policy
process
Zeroing in on program
administration
Non-bureaucratic ways
of producing and
delivering public goods

Public in Public Administration

Public Administration as the Management of
Governmental Organizations
Public Administration as the Provision of Public Goods
and Services
Public Administration as Governance for Public
Interest

Public Administration as
Governance for the Public
Interest

Public in Public Administration

the people

presumed

beneficiary of government and of providers of

other public goods, as well as the embodiment of the
collective in a nation.
philosophy of PA and public philosophy
Have always given a central place to the people as embodied
in ideas of the public interest or the public good
Public service
All citizens
public not only as recipient or beneficiary, also
the creator and participant in the process.

 Biller (1971)
Any unit is

public to the extent that it is

hosted in a turbulent field.
Contrasted this with the private organizations
which can make fairly accurate and predictive
statements about customers and supply

 Public

organizations have more indeterminate

environments and continually shifting concerns.

Decided in a crucible of openness and confrontation

involving the exercise of power and resulting in

authoritative allocation of resources.
Not only by agents of sovereign power, it also
involves all with participation in and responsibility for
the definition and advocacy of the public interest,
accountability to the public at large, and
responsiveness and representativeness to society.

Administration to Governance

Public Policy Period

Freed

public administration from exclusive

concentration on the bureaucracy to the higher
reaches of the legislature and the presidency, and
also to the outskirts of the political realm, local
governments, communities, the business sector, the
people.
Continued to focus on administration

Governance Period
-To govern is much more than to administer

To govern
attainment of goals
Must contemplate a

theory of the role of

the state and not
just a bureaucracy.

To administer

Undertakes to attain the

goals
The theory must explain
how the role of the state is
diminished or reinforced
by forces outside it.

Market and Civil society

Recognition of civil
society

Market in PA

1990s phenomenon
Power
People

Indexed by the demand for

Revolution in 1986

privatization and
liberalization of international
development agencies, and
championed by such leaders
as Margaret Thatcher and
Ronald Reagan.

Sectors outside the bureaucracy

not only in providing services

Political roles
envisioning the good society and defining the public
interest, in acting as representative of the people, in
reinforcing public values and standards, in becoming
vehicles for the socialization of the citizenry for social
responsibility and public service.
Public Administration as governance for the public interest

 The

inclusion of the voluntary sector in PA is not a

matter of a market lag in supplying education for
these organizations.
It is propelled by the historical development of the
discipline and the theoretical import of its role in
society.

 The private sector

Attempt to show

that
unhampered
competition results in the efficient production
of goods and services, and that the law of
supply and demand upholds individual choice.

Market
Public interest rationale on market
The market can point to freedom and liberty for

citizens of the states, and more judicious use of

the nations resources.
It intersects PA as a model of an alternative
delivery system and as a focus of regulatory
concern

Civil Society
Organizations

of the civil society insert themselves into

the realm of governance by becoming more like a
political institution.
Civil Society as vessels of the public interest and
representatives of the people.
Advocate public policy not only for the good of their
organization but on behalf of those who do not speak
out.
Attempt to correct distributional problems by consciously
seeking out the marginalized.

 Public

Administration
to
Public
and
Nonprofit
Management and Policy
Reflects the growing importance of nonprofit
organizations in our nations public sector.
Merely recognized the organizations as a part of the
public sector.
Voluntary sector is public and its management a
legitimate aspect of Public Administration. NYU
PA will always be governmental management

Meaning of public in PA
Meaning of public
Government

Beneficiary
public goods
The people

Definition of
field
Governmental
management

the Examples

Public
schools,
public funds, public
officials
of Provision of public Public utility, public
goods and services health, public policy
Governance for the Public
service,
public interest
public interest

The Voluntary Sector in the

Continuum of Publicness-Privateness

Barry Bozeman

Claimed that all organizations are public

Bozeman also argues that some government organizations

are private
Some of their goods are purely private or intermediate
between the purely private and purely public.
Public ownership is diluted, thus power is delegated to
managers.
Some of administration motive is self-interest, even
when the stated organizational motive is not
A public manager will have greater opportunity to
increase his well-being at the expense of the owners
wealth to a greater extent than a manager of a
proprietary concern because it is relatively less costly to
do so.

If even government agencies can be private, it is clear that

publicness-privateness is a continuum.
Public to the extent that it exerts or is constrained by
political authority, and private to the extent that it exerts or
constrained by economic authority.

Economic

authority- represented by the operation of market

forces and the primacy of technology.
Political authority- concerns accountability to external political
actors, increased interdependence, concern with externalities,
closer ties to political cycles, increased public visibility and
increased concern with equity and other social group.

 Members of the voluntary sector have private and public

characteristics
Public in their involvement in serving the public interest
and in their critique or advocacy of public policy.
Broad purpose and generalized constituency as a key
quality of publicness. (Bozeman)
Some of them are public in that they provide goods and
services that are indivisible and have high externalities.
Others are meant to generate income which place them
in the market.

Since the profit is not distributed to the members as

individuals, the organizations retain their public quality.

 Civil

Society organizations also have elements of the

private
Private initiative and funding
Nature as unelected representatives

The

publicness of the civil society organizations

outweighs their private qualities.

Comparison of
Business, Public and
Voluntary Sector
Management

Comparison of Business, Public and

Voluntary Sector Management

Even though voluntary sector management is accepted as part if

public administration in its enlarged definition as governance for
the public interest.
It is not wholly like the generic
field of public administration.

It is not a disqualification

Since other aspects of public administration, such as local

government and public enterprise management differ from each
other and from the typical government agency not only in the
substantive program they are focusing on but also in major
personnel, fiscal and organizational concerns.

Comparison of Business, Public and

Voluntary Sector Management

Local government management is the most political sphere of

public management:

It has a different mix of political and administrative officials than

the rest of the bureaucracy.

It undertakes taxation

It has to tackle legislative-executive relations and lawmaking that the

rest of public administration does not.

Public enterprises have more market characteristics than regular

agencies:

These place their management at the intersection of public and business

administration.

Comparison of Business, Public and

Voluntary Sector Management

Three reasons why it is instructive to make a comparison among

Business Administration (BA), Public Administration (PA), and
Voluntary Sector Management (VSM):
1.

It will show that voluntary sector management is closer to

public administration than business administration.

2.

It will bring out the major differences which public

administration scholars must watch out for they when they
discuss a Philippine administrative system which includes the
voluntary sector.

3.

These differences may provide lessons for changing the other

types of administration.

Comparison of Business, Public and

Voluntary Sector Management

The three types of Administration can be compared along several

dimensions

1.

Sphere of Work

2.

Purpose

3.

Various Management Concerns

SPHERE OF OPERATION
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary Sector
Management

Market

State

Civil Society

PURPOSE
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Profit

Public Service

Voluntary Sector
Management
Public Service
Fulfillment of
Members:
Economic
Social
Personal

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary
Sector
Management

Qualifications of
Staff

Technical

Technical

Technical
Value
Commitment

Retention of Staff

Based on
performance

Based on
performance

Dependent on
interest and
commitment

Reward system
Discipline

Largely pecuniary Largely pecuniary

Based on rules

Based on rules

Largely psychic
Moral suasion
and selfregulation

CLIENT PARTICIPATION
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary Sector
Management

Through buying of
goods

Originally as
passive recipients

Promotion of
involvement of
citizens

FUND GENERATION/FISCAL
ADMINISTRATION
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary Sector
Management

Profit-making

Taxation

Philanthropy,
income generating
projects, some
public funding

STRUCTURE TO WHOM
ACCOUNTABLE
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary Sector
Management

Bureaucracy
Owners

Bureaucracy
Public, through
government
officials

Association public,
through its boards

Comparison of Business, Public and

Voluntary Sector Management
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary
Sector
Management

Sphere of
Operation

Market

State

Civil Society

Purpose

For profits

For public service

For public service

For members
fulfillment

Qualifications
of Staf

Technical

Technical

Technical
Value
commitment

Retention of
Staf

Based on
performance

Based on
performance

Personnel
Administration

Dependent on
interest and
commitment

Comparison of Business, Public and

Voluntary Sector Management
Business
Administration

Public
Administration

Voluntary
Sector
Management

Largely pecuniary

Largely pecuniary

Largely psychic

Based on rules

Based on rules

Moral suasion and

self-regulation

Client
Participation

Through buying of
goods

Originally as
passive recipients

Promotion of
involvement of
citizens

Fund
Generation

Profit-making

Taxation

Philanthropy,
income
generating
projects, some
public funding

Structure to
whom
accountable

Bureaucracy
Owners

Bureaucracy
Public, through
government

Association Public
through its boards

Reward
System
Discipline

Comparison of Business, Public

and Voluntary Sector
Management
There is a fiscal point in which VSM and PA converge:

Many voluntary sector organizations are highly dependent on government for

funding.

Voluntary Sector Organizations justify seeking and receiving public funds

because they undertake many public functions.

In acting as alternative delivery systems, voluntary sector organizations claim

to produce public services at lower costs and in a more compassionate,
humane approach.

Voluntary sector organizations serve as private instruments for public tasks

such as political socializations and recruitment, political communication and
interest articulation and interest aggregation.

Comparison of Business, Public

and Voluntary Sector
Management
Voluntary sector organizations are source and analyst for public policy.

They act as a safety valve, a forum for venting frustration and despair
of governmental and societal failure, through their critique and
advocacy of reform.

Ways the
Management of the
Voluntary Sector Can
Enrich PA

Personnel and Human Resource Issues

Commitment

as a qualification

A goal of a volunteer management is to keep

volunteers challenged, happy and motivated
in their work, a kind of fulfillment which is not
a goal of a market and state organizations.
VSM can be helpful here since its managers
are forced to be creative in motivating their
staff.

Role

of values in motivation and discipline

Volunteers in the nonprofit sector are

expected to undertake responsibilities on
a regular basis. Their credo of rights and
obligations is just as extensive as those in
PA and BA.
The difference lies in the fact that they
rely, less on formal controls and
disciplinary processes.

The Role of Citizens in Governance

Role

model for citizen empowerment

The boundaries of the voluntary sector are

permeable by the demands of citizens, many of
whom can also choose to be members and, thus,
influence the organization from without or within.
Clients are encouraged to voice out their concerns
at all stages of the policy cycle.

Understanding

the role of the state and

growth of civil society
The study of voluntary sector can thus
illumine the role of the sate and the growth of
civil society, an understanding that is crucial
as PA moves beyond administration to
governance.

The Generation of Financial Resources

Performance-based

financing

There is no theoretical reason for agency

allocations to be based only on the previous
years budget or on political ability.
The voluntary sector regularly puts its
performance on the line when it seeks funds
through philanthropy , grants or loans from
government and international agencies, and its
own entrepreneurial projects.

Analysis of philanthropy and giftgiving.

Non-profits are not naive, but recognizing
that altruism is not necessarily diluted,
have started to study philanthropy in a
more neutral, academic sense.

Social

capital

Its advocates contend that it is every

bit as important as material resources,
but it does not involve the exchange of
money.
Social capital networking of
human relationships allows a society to
be formed and to grow.

Organizational Structure
Alternatives

to bureaucracy

Relationships tend toward equity rather than

hierarchy.
The division of labor is propelled by the need
to responsive to people rather than the
imperatives of procedures control.
Its staffing would tend to be flat and modular.

Public

Service Configuration

The coverage of PA will include the

government, private for profit and the
voluntary sector, all engaged in public
policy and implementation.

Conclusion
Nonprofits

have the responsibility to

create vision, standards, values and
commitment, and human
competence towards the causes
they have embraced. They must
learn to lead, manage and govern.