Public Administration: An Overview

• Public Administration (PA) has dual usages as a field of practice and a field of study.
• It administers public affairs and carries out governmental functions.
• Examples of PA practices include enacting a law, making decisions on the best policy, formulating the MTPDP, maintaining peace and order, processing claims, building infrastructure, issuing licenses, and setting standards and processes.

PA as a Field of Study or Discipline

• PA advances theoretical and practical knowledge using scientific methods and social sciences.
• It differs from political science by focusing on bureaucratic structure, behavior, and methodologies.
• Empirical studies, case method analysis, surveys, and quantitative analysis are examples of PA as a field of study.

PA Subject Matter

• PA as a field of study examines policy-making/implementation, relationships between government institutions, human resource development, environmental regulation, the behavior/attitude of public officials, leadership styles, poverty program mechanisms, and relations between government and citizens.
• PA has practical uses for government, improving performance, preparing individuals for public service careers, and training good administrators.

PA as Art and Science

• As an art, PA involves creativity, leadership, and a sense of administration's intangibles, closely related to its practice.
• As a science, PA utilizes a knowledge base and theories to explain/predict phenomenon in the field, built on empirical research with systematic methods to improve practice.

Evolution of Public Administration

• Tracing the history and evolution of the discipline reveals influences on the theory/practice of public administration.
• Examination of fields of specialization considers emerging fields beyond traditional ones.

PA as a Developing Discipline

• Paradigm 1 (1900-1926): Politics/Administration Dichotomy
• Paradigm 2 (1926-1937): The Principles of Administration
• Paradigm 3 (1950-1970): PA as a Political Science
• Paradigm 4 (1956-1970): PA as Management
• Paradigm 5 (1970): PA as New Public Administration
• Paradigm 6 (1990s-present): PA from Government to Governance

Woodrow Wilson's 1887 Essay

• His classic essay, "The Study of Public Administration," was written during the Progressive Movement in the US and advocated for public administration as a self-conscious, professional field.
• Wilson suggested separating politics and administration by stating administration should be “politics-free”.
• Wilson claimed "the field of administration is the field of business".

Leonard D White, 1926

• Leonard D. White wrote the the first text in public administration in 1926 titled “Introduction to the Study of Public Administration”.
• White recognized transforming administration into a science White concentrated on emphasizing the managerial phase of administration.

Max Weber (1946)

• Max Weber is a German sociologist known as the "Father of Modern Sociology"

• He analyzed the good and bad effects of bureaucratic structures

• He presented features of bureaucracy which are hierarchy, division of labor, written rules/procedures, impersonality, and neutrality.

• Public Administration promotes government understanding and its societal relationship to encourage responsive policies and managerial practice.

Public Administration Approaches

• There are three approaches to public administration which are Managerial, Political, and Legal

The Managerial Approach

• The managerial approach minimizes the distinctions between public and private administration and focuses on managerial principles and values.
• Its values of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness with questions such as: What can the government do sucessfully? How can it be done with the utmost possible efficiency? What is the least possible cost in money or energy?

Organizational Structure

• It promotes a bureaucratic organizational structure to maximize these management values.
• The selection of employees is based on their merit not political affiliation, race, and gender
• Bureaucratic organizations are organized along formalistic lines and positions are classified according to scientific principles and organized into rational schemes.
• A negative aspect is the traditional management approach view of individuals.
• Weber considered dehumanization a special virtue of bureaucracy.

The Political Approach

• The political approach developed from an analysis of apparent empirical reality, stressing representativeness, political responsiveness, and accountability.

Organizational Structure

• Pluralism stresses the advantages of political pluralism and reflects of values, conflicts, and competing forces within a pluralistic society.
• It is denounced as making the government inefficient, costly, and unmanageable.
• Individuals are viewed as members of communities of interest.

The Legal Approach

• It's origins and values are divided into three inter-related sources which are administrative law, movement toward the "Judicialisation" of PA, and constitutional law.
• It embodies procedural due process, individual substantive rights, and equity within the US political system.
• The preferred organizational structure is adversary procedure

Definition of Public Administration

• Waldo 1955 defined PA as the organization/management of men/materials to achieve government purposes and as the art/science of management applied to state affairs.
• Caiden 1971 defined PA as a cooperative group effort in a public setting that covers all three branches and has an important role in the formulation of public policy.
• Fry 1989 defined PA is policy-making that is not autonomous
• Rossenbloom 1989 defined PA as the action part of government that is realized for the purposes and goals of government.

Public vs Private Administration

• Relations to the environment: Public is subject to public scrutiny, while private is less exposed to public inspection
• Accountability: Public has transparency in transactions and is accountable to all of the public. Private is management accountable to owners.
• Measure of performance: Public focuses on general public satisfaction, while private focuses on profit.
• Nature of goods and services: Public is open to all as private availment is based on paying ability.
• The sphere of operations: Public is state and private is market.
• Purpose: Public service as private is profit.
• Client Participation: Public is originally passive and the private is buying goods and services.
• Structure to whom accountable: Public is government officials while the private is only the owners.
• Decision making: Public is pluralistic while the private is simple or monopolistic.
• Visibility of administrators: Public has more visibility than the private.