NORTHERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

“Institution for Better Life”

GRADUATE SCHOOL
Laoag City

Name : Joseph Ryan G. Marcelino

Subject : PA 202- Theory and Practice of Public Administration
Professor : Norberto S. Galiza, Ed.D.

PART I : NATURE AND SCOPE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

DEFINITION

Public administration is formed by two different terms, public and administration.

The term “public” means government which is mainly focus on government activities and
actions.

Whereas the term “administration” is derived from a Latin word “Administer” which means to
serve, too direct, to control, to care for or to look after people. Literally, the term
administration means management of public or private affairs. Hence, simply public
administration is known as the management of public affairs. It looks after the affairs of the
people and provides services to them.

Public administration is "centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and
programs as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their
conduct". Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators,
including heads of city, country, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal
budget directors, human resources (HR) administrators, city managers, census managers, state
mental health directors, and cabinet secretaries. Public administrators are public servants
working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government.

Views and opinions of some scholars of Public administration.

1. Public Administration is the detailed a systematic execution of public law. Every particular
application of law is public administration. -Woodrow Wilson (1887)
2. Public administration is the action part of government, the means by which the purposes and
goals of government are realized. -John J. Corson and J.P. Harris

3. Public administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose of fulfillment
or enforcement of public policy. -L.D. White

4. Public administration is that part of science of administration which has to do with

government and thus concerned itself primarily with the executive branch where the work of
government is done through there are obviously problem connection with legislative and
judicial branches. -Luther Gulick

5. Public administration in all modern nations is identified with the executive branch of
government. It includes the shaping of policy on the way up, execution of policy after it has
been made, and as a necessary part of the execution, decision making about policy matters on
the way down. -James W. Fesler and Donald F. Kettl (1996)

6. Public administration is concerned with the management of public programs- Robert B.

Denhardt (1995)

7. Public administration is the use of managerial, political, and legal theories and processes to
fulfill legislative, executive, and judicial governmental mandates for the provision of regulatory
and service functions for the society as a whole or for some segments of it. -David H. Rosen
bloom and Robert S. Kravchuk (1997)

8. Public Administration may be defined as all processes, organizations, and individuals acting in
official positions and roles associated with carrying out laws and other rules adopted or issued
by legislatures, executives, and courts (many activities are also concerned with formulations of
these rules).PA is also a field of academic and community study and professional training
leading to public service careers at all levels of government. -Milakovich and Gordon

9. Public administration:

(a) Is the non-political bureaucracy operating in a political system?

(b) Deals with the ends of the state, the sovereign will, the public interest and laws,

(c) Is the business side of government and as such concerned with policy execution, but it is
also concerned with policy making?

(d) Covers all three branches of government, although it ends to be concentrated in the
executive branch, (e) Provides regulatory and service functions to the people in order to attain
good life, (
f) Differs significantly from private administration, especially in its emphasis on public and
interdisciplinary in nature as it draws upon other social science like political science, economics
and sociology.

-S.P. Naidu

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The emergence of the study of Public Administration can be dated back to 1887, the year in
which the political scientist, Woodrow Wilson published an article entitled The Study of
Administration.
Since then, there have been different approaches to the study of public administration when
this subject as a separate academic discipline was born.
1.    Historical Approach
The theorists of the historical approach believe that knowledge of history is essential for a
thorough study of any field. The historical approach sought to explain the administrative
institutions in the light of their past.
It analyses the administrative institutions by tracing their development within a particular time
span. Therefore, this approach organizes and interprets the information relating to
administrative institutions in a chronological order.
The father of the study of Public administration Woodrow Wilson emphasized the historical
method as one of the two best suited methods (the other being comparative method) for the
study of Public Administration.
A society furnished with rich history would gain huge benefit employing this approach as the
uniqueness of its administrative systems is thus identified.
In fact, quite a sizable number of administrative institutions can be comprehended in the light
of their past by adopting this approach. For instance, it is rather difficult to understand the
history of creation of Philippines into one unit without going into her origin and her phases of
development.
2.     Legal Approach
Another name for the legal approach is juristic approach. The proponents of this approach
sought to study public administration  as part of law and focus on the formal legal structure and
organization of public bodies.
The primacy of the legal approach is concerned with power—its structure and functions. It lays
emphasis on the formal organization of offices, official duties, limitations of power and
discretionary authority of administrators. Its source materials include constitution, codes of
law, office manuals of rules and regulations and judicial decisions.
Some European countries, for example, Germany, Belgium and France, are particularly known
to have employed the legal approach to the study of public administration.
In these countries there are two principal divisions of law, namely: constitutional and
administrative. Constitutional deals with the three main organizations of the government, their
interrelation and the distribution of power among them; whereas administrative is mainly
concerned with the structure and functions of public bodies, departments and authorities.
The legal approach is valuable for the understanding of the legal framework within which the
administrative system operates. However, by neglecting the informal forces operating in the
organization (the sociological and psychological variables).
It remains to a great extent an incomplete approach to the study of public administration. Frank
J. Goodnow is known to be the main advocate of the legal approach.
3.     Philosophical Approach
The philosophical approach comes with a comprehensive range as it takes within its purview all
aspects of administrative activities and enunciates the ideals underlying those activities.
It tends to focus attention on the rationalization of human behavior in administrative activities.
By a philosophy of public administration is meant that scheme of classification and analysis,
which looks at values of the administrative structures and the values and expectations of the
individuals or society it ought to serve.
This might incorporate a philosophy of the science of administration, i.e., the ways and
methods by which the administration, ranks and justifies decisions.

Philosophical approach is said to be the oldest approach, examples of which are found in the
following works: Republic, by Plato; Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes, Second Treatise on Civil
Government, by John Locke.
4.     Systems Approach
The system, in relation to the study of Public Administration, is derived from the technique of
engineering.
It appeared on the scene in the 1960s. The term system may be defined as ‘a complex whole, a
set of connected things or parts.
In other words, a system is a collection of interrelated parts which receives inputs, acts upon
them in an organized manner and thereby produces certain outputs.
Systems theory, therefore, generally means that the administration is seen as a system of
interrelated and interdependent parts (sub-systems) who interact among themselves.
Interdependence implies that a change in one part influences the other parts, ultimately
affecting the entire system. Persons in the organization are seen as the basic unit of
organizational systems.
All human organizations are open sub-systems engaged in transactions within the larger social
system, that is, society.
All sub-systems receive inputs in the form of human and material resources from the larger
system, while giving out outputs in the form of products, services or rewards to its members as
well as to the larger system.
Characteristically, organizational sub-systems are adaptive in nature; they can affect the larger
system and can as well be affected by it; they are dynamic in the sense that they undergo
continuous change as a result of interaction with other sub-systems within the larger social
system.
A major contributor to systems analysis in organizational theory is Herbert Simon.
Herbert Simon views the organization as a total system, a composite of all the sub-systems
which serve to produce the desired output. His basic assumption is that the elements of
organizational structure and function emanate from the characteristics of human problem-
solving processes and rational choice.
Therefore, the organization is seen as a system made up of individuals making choices and
behaving on the basis of their reactions to their needs and environment.
The chief value of the systems approach lies in its capacity to conduct systematic search for
significant interactions while evaluating policies or actions of any organization.
The objective of systems analysts is to predict the system’s movements by interpreting the
relationships between its parts. The systems approach is particularly relevant to the study of
large public organizations operating in larger social, political and economic environments.
The systems theory does not oppose either the traditional structural theory or the modern
behavioral approach.
However, it’s an approach merely devised to avoid the pitfalls of both and to integrate the
elements of the internal formal structure of an organization and the social-psychological
relationships. In addition, it sees organization in interaction with its environment.
Therefore, the systems approach shows a way of looking at reality that emphasizes “wholes”—
their properties and inter-relationships—as contrasted with specialized parts.
5.     Case-method Approach
The case-method approach began to develop in USA in the 1930s. It narrates what has actually
occurred in the past in the sphere of administration by giving detailed account of specific events
leading to a decision taken by a public administrator.
In other words, the Public administration case is a narrative of the events that constitute a
decision of an administrator.
The case-method approach emphasizes the decision-making behavior of the administrator and
the influence of the various factors such as personal, legal and institutional on the decision-
making process.
This approach is very useful to study the empirical behavior of decision-makers and the
dynamics of decision-making in public administration.
Therefore, it is realistic, but the pitfall is that this approach deals with only those decision-
problems that involve policy rather than technical issues.
It is also limited in its ability to provide the conceptual knowledge and principles of public
administration.
Despite its limitations, the case method is believed to remain a consistent feature in the study
and teaching of public administration.
6.     Mechanical or Managerial Approach
This is the earliest approach to the study of public administration. Its main advocates
are Leonard D. White, William F. Willoughby, Frederick W. Taylor and Richard Warner. These
theorists deliberated efforts and focused attention on achieving efficiency in public
administration.
Taylor particularly believed that the problems of efficiency were alike in private industry and
public administration and advocates the idea that the principles of organization are of universal
applicability to all forms of administration.
His resolution was to break down workers, experiment with different work methods and
procedures, and finally adopt those which proved most efficient.
He was concerned with mechanical efficiency and viewed Public administration as a purely
technical and non-political organization concerned with ‘getting things done’ effectively.
The basic idea underlying the mechanical approach is that administration is a mechanical
organization and that we can find out certain principles which will make the organization
function efficiently.
According to his approach, efficiency is chiefly the number one axiom in the value scale of
administration. The mechanical approach may therefore be also called efficiency-oriented
approach or scientific management approach with a little difference of emphasis.
7.     Behavioral Approach
The behavioral approach also called the socio-psychological approach is basically concerned
with the scientific study of human behavior in diverse social settings, being that it incorporates
a diversity of perspectives, including the Human Relations Movement, Simon’s Model of
Decision-making , Theory of Organizational Humanism, and Contingency Theory.
The approach grew out of the criticism against the traditional approaches which laid emphasis
on descriptive analysis rather than substantive one.
According to James Fesler the following characteristics can be ascribed to behavioral approach:
It entails the study of actual behavior, usually taking the individual as the preferred unit of
analysis.
It is multi-disciplinary in focus.
It calls for ‘rigor’ in the use of scientific procedures.
It proscribes prescription (that is, it is primarily descriptive in intent).
In the sphere of Public Administration, Behavioralist dates back to 1930’s with the Human
Relations Movement and was later popularized by Chester Irving Barnard, Herbert Alexander
Simon  and others.
Simon argued that ‘Administrative behavior’ is part of behavioral science movement and the
only difference lies in the subject-matter of various disciplines. He said, ‘before a science can
develop principles, it must possess concepts’ this was however, after critically examining the
principles of public administration. In his book, administrative behavior, Simon rejects the
traditional approach and holds that public administration should be concerned with the study
of human behavior in organization.
Behavioralists observed that the conduct of administration is greatly influenced by human
sentiments, perceptions, and the environment in which administration operates. It is
interdisciplinary in nature as it draws on sociology and psychology.

ROLE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN MODERN SOCIETY

The critical role of public administration as defined by John Rohr (a leading scholar of the US
Constitution and its relation to public administration and civil servants) is governing the society.
The authors have also argued that a government can exist without a legislature, even without a
judiciary but never without administration. The government will become as dysfunctional as a
lame horse in a derby race.
 Public administration as a part of Government has existed since the time of the monarchies,
ancient India’s most prominent political scientist and economist Chanakya (373-283 BCE) in his
treatise Arthashashtra; dedicates substantial chapters to Statecraft or the public administration
of a state.

Public administration provides numerous services to the public and serves their interests in
many ways. As explained by Felix A Negro, the real core of administration is the basic service
which is performed for the public. It is the administration which ensures the security and
protection of life and property of the members of the society by maintaining proper law and
order.

The economic, cultural and even spiritual progress for that matter; of a society depends on the
public administration. The day to day functioning of the Government machinery, external affairs
and the most important of all, the national defense are the other important functions
performed by the public administration of the country.

In the modern state, the role and scope of public administration is ever expanding and all
encompassing. We are way past the laissez-fare state which was responsible for maintaining
law and order only. The modern state which expects government to provide much more has
seen the role of public administration change dramatically, since those times.

The current role and functions adopted by public administration owes its origin to the
changes which the human history has witnessed in the last couple of centuries. The first
important change was the industrial revolution which resulted in the urbanization of the large
cities of the world. Secondly, there was a change in the political philosophy from minimalist
state intervention (or laissez-fare) and individualism to social welfare. The two World Wars
combined with the changing international scenarios with new countries, alliances and
organizations like the formation of United Nations, generated a need to reform the goals of
administration in the society; not just of within a nation but also with respect to the world.

Lastly, the increasing population of the world means tremendous pressure on the available
resources. The role of providing for basic amenities like food and shelter has therefore fallen
into the lap of the Government.

According to E N Gladden, there are three characteristics of an efficient public administration:

 It needs to meet the functional aims for which it has been created
 It must be able to meet the long-term needs which might arise due to change in
administrative techniques or the changes in social environment which are more
important and influential
 It needs to conform to a centralized plan but also accommodate the specific and special
demand of particular department units
 SCOPE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Public administration is an evolving applied social science. It is still in the process of
evolution. Hence, the scope of public administration is not completely clear and realized.
However, it is obvious that public administration is an activity done by the human beings for
human beings living in the society. As in the case of its definition there is also argue over the
scope of public administration between the traditional and modern views of the followers.

1. Traditional view:
The traditional writers restricted the scope of public administration to the executive
branch of government only. In narrow sense public administration covers the primarily the
organization, personnel, practices and procedures essential to effective performance of the
civilian functions entrusted to the executive branch of the government.
2. Modern view:
The modern writers have extended the scope of public administration to all the three
branches of government, according to them; public administration is the whole government in
action. In a democracy all major administrative policies from the legislative in the form of laws
and the legislature also exercise control over administration with the view to see that the
policies are implemented as it intends. The judiciary has the power to restrain public
administration from
the unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary acts. Therefore, all three branches of government are
part of the study and practice of public administration.
By the scope of public administration, we mean the major concern of public
administration; as an activity and as a discipline.

1. As an activity
Broadly speaking, Public Administration embraces all the activities of the government.
Hence, as an activity the scope of public administration is no less than the scope of state
activity. In the modern welfare state people expect many things –a wide variety of services and
protection from the government.
Several writers have defined the scope of public administration in varying terms. Luther Gulick
has given the elements of administration as an activity in the acronym that is
POSDCoRB which means:
P= Planning,
O= Organizing
S= Staffing
D= Directing
C= Coordinating
R= Reporting and
B= Budgeting.

According to Gulick the POSDCoRB activities are common to all organizations. They are the
common problems of management which are found in different agencies regardless of the
nature of the work they do. POSDCoRB gives unity, certainty, and definiteness and makes the
study more systematic.

This element is not enough as scope of public administration. The scope of public
administration as activity (wider or narrower) depends upon the state activities. In the modern
welfare state (especially in developing countries) people expect many things from the
government. Public administration of a welfare state provides a number of welfare and social
security services to the people and public administration has to perform regular activities of the
state as like to take care of private sector and corporate organization as well as activities of
NGO/INGO. Public administration covers every area and activity of government. In this sense it
includes all operations of exploration of outer space to sweeping the streets.

2. As a discipline

We all know that public administration deals not only with the processes but also with
the substantive matters of administration, such as Defense, Law and Order, Education, Public
Health, Agriculture, Public Works, Social Security, Justice, Welfare, etc. These services require
not only POSDCoRB techniques but also have important specialized techniques of their own
which are not covered by POSDCoRB techniques. For example, if you take Police Administration
it has its own techniques in crime detection, maintenance of Law and Order, etc., which are
much and more vital to efficient police work, than the formal principles of organization,
personnel management, coordination or finance and it is the same with other services too.
Therefore, the study of public administration should deal with both the processes (that is
POSDCoRB techniques and the substantive concerns).

The scope of public administration as a discipline (subject matter); i.e., particular subject of
study in public administration are:
Public Administration compromises of the following elements
 Organization
 Management of personnel
 Method and procedure.
 Public Finance
 Administrative Accountability
Organization
This involves the Structuring of individuals and functions in to productive relationship. It
represents the Static part of the administration. It is called as the anatomy of public
administration.
Management of Personnel
This is concerned with the direction of individuals and functions to achieve the
predetermined ends. It represents the dynamic aspect of Administration and it may be
called the Physiology of administration.
Method and Procedure
This represents the technique of administrating, the process of working, and the law of
administration.
Material and supply
This includes the tools with whose help the administrative Work is carried on.
Public Finance
This is the material without which Personnel cannot be employed and work cannot be
performed. This is the chief determining factor in public Administration, in fact, in the
whole government, as the efficiency and the prestige of the administration depends upon
it.
Administrative Accountability
This is the accountability of the administration both in terms of internal Control as well as
external responsibility to the judiciary, the legislative and the People.

We can conclude that the scope of public administration with the statement of Lewis Meriam:
“Public administration is an instrument with two blades like a pair of scissors. One blade may
be knowledge of the field covered by POSDCoRB, the other blade is knowledge of the subject
matter in which these techniques are applied. Both blades must be good to make an effective
tool”.

EXECUTIVE-LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS

The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government wherein power is equally
divided among its three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The government seeks to
act in the best interests of its citizens through this system of check and balance.

One basic corollary in a presidential system of government is the principle of separation of

powers wherein legislation belongs to Congress, execution to the Executive, and settlement of
legal controversies to the Judiciary.

The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and repeal them through the power
vested in the Philippine Congress. This institution is divided into the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
The Legislative Branch enacts legislation, confirms or rejects Presidential appointments, and has
the authority to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of
Representatives) and several agencies that provide support services to Congress.
The Senate is composed of 24 Senators who are elected at large by the qualified voters of the
Philippines.
The House of Representatives is composed of about 250 members elected from legislative
districts in the provinces, cities, and municipalities, and representatives elected through a
party-list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.
The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per cent of the total number of
representatives including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the
ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall
be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor,
indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by
law, except the religious sector.

The Executive branch is composed of the President and the Vice President who are elected by
direct popular vote and serve a term of six years. The Constitution grants the President
authority to appoint his Cabinet. These departments form a large portion of the country’s
bureaucracy.
The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It includes the President, Vice President,
the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, boards, commissions, and
committees.
The President leads the country. He or she is the head of state, leader of the national
government, and Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. The President
serves a six-year term and cannot be re-elected.
The Vice President supports the President. If the President is unable to serve, the Vice President
becomes President. He or she also serves a six-year term.
Cabinet members serve as advisors to the President. They include the Vice President and the
heads of executive departments. Cabinet members are nominated by the President and must
be confirmed by the Commission of Appointments.

Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches as follows:
 The President can veto laws passed by Congress.
 Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and can remove the
President from office in exceptional circumstances.
 The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are
appointed by the President. 
The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review as the power
to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance or regulation unconstitutional.

References: Internet Websites( All government agency websites)