1

To my teachers for their selfless

support, giving me the best of their time and
knowledge to develop me professionally.

2
 INDEX

COVER......................................................................................................... 1
DEDICATION................................................................................................2
INDEX...........................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................4
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.........................................................................5
DEFINITION..................................................................................................5
ITEMS...........................................................................................................6
PRIVATE ADMINISTRATION.......................................................................7
SIMILARITIES...............................................................................................7
DIFFERENCES.............................................................................................7
CURRENTS THAT STUDY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION............................. 9
CURRENTS OF REFORM............................................................................9
HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.......................10
HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF ADMINISTRATION.........................................17
CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................18
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................19
ANNEXES.....................................................................................................20

3
 INTRODUCTION

The study of public administration has a remote origin. The current

administrative conceptions are the result of a process that began at the very
dawn of humanity and that has been evolving and acquiring its own profiles
through different times and stages.
This administrative process began as a mandatory fact when two
individuals had to coordinate their efforts to do something that neither of them
could do alone and evolved until it became a prior, carefully planned and
rational act that allows achieving objectives with the least efforts. possible and
with the greatest satisfaction for individuals.
The historical study of this administrative evolution shows us the
approaches that this science had in Egypt, China, Greece and Rome, and the
influence that certain procedures used in those places had on some current
practices in the field, among them the functional organization of the powers of
the State.
Since ancient civilizations, human societies have had to provide the
resources with which they did and do meet their constant needs. Initially the
group that controlled power in the community was the same one that
determined what was the best way to satisfy communal requirements.
Public Administration is the set of Administrative Bodies that develop an
activity to achieve a goal (General Welfare), through Public Services (which is
the means available to the Public Administration to achieve General well-being),
regulated in its structure and operation, normally by Administrative Law.
Public Administration is the essential content of the activity
corresponding to the Executive Branch, and refers to the management activities
that the holder of the same carries out on the assets of the State to supply them
immediately and permanently, to satisfy the needs public and thereby achieve
the general good
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

DEFINITION

4
 Public administration is defined as the set of tasks performed by those
who work in government, state or local agencies. This concept includes non-
profit organizations (hospitals, modules, schools, etc.); It is the coordination of
efforts to carry out a specific economic policy and, in general, a social policy
whose guidelines are set by the government of the nation.
Consequently, it primarily means the work of the civil companies that are
in charge, by legal mandate, of processing the public works that have been
assigned to them. However, public businesses can cover different political
spheres and in this way public administration can be international or national in
nature; It can be state or departmental, municipal or urban. It can also cover
legislative activities, since there is a lot of administration in the making of laws.
It also covers the functions of the courts in their role as administrators of justice;
to civil and military offices that depend directly or not on the executive, etc.; of
the executive branch, of the legislative branch, of the judicial branch, of the
military branch, etc.
Regarding the specific activity of the application, it could, in turn, refer to
personnel, budget, materials, financial administration, etc.
Administration concentrates its study on those aspects of organization,
procedures and method that are common to most administrative offices. The
application of the body of knowledge of this discipline to any special function
such as health can lead us from the municipal level to the state level, to the
national level and even to the international level. It can have identical problems
in different areas, such as health, education or communications, or it can range
from a government function, such as the arrest and detention of a criminal, to a
quasi-governmental or quasi-commercial function, such as the maintenance of
a power plant.
ITEMS
The elements of administration are;
 1. Objective.- That is, the administration is always focused on achieving
goals or results.
 2. Efficiency.- It consists of achieving objectives by satisfying the
requirements of the product or service in terms of quantity and time.

5
 3. Efficiency.- It is doing things well, achieving the objectives by
guaranteeing the available resources at the minimum cost and with the
maximum amount.
 4. Social group.- It is necessary that there be a social group
 5. Productivity.- It is the relationship between the amount of inputs
necessary to produce a certain good or service.
There is an indissoluble link between politics and public administration; the
former provides the fundamental principles on which the activities of the latter
are carried out.
Within the political process, the objectives are discussed and the priorities of the
activities are established, taking into account needs and resources.
Gabino Fraga defines public administration from two points of view:
 1. Formal.- Public body that has received from the political power the
competence of the means necessary for the satisfaction of general interests.
 2. Material.- Activity of this organism
Public administration is carried out through activities that have the following
content:
 Maintain public order
 Meet the needs of the population
 Conduct economic and social development always starting from the legal
basis
This corresponds to the task of managing and administering the state's
assets, which are the powers and functions, that is, understanding as attribution
the content of the state's activity and the function as well as the way in which
that activity is carried out. The objective is the realization or provision of public
services for the benefit of the community.
PRIVATE ADMINISTRATION
Private administration has been formed as a science, having its own
principles and rules, as well as its own object, purpose and methods.
The private administration is linked to the public administration since it
will always be able to fulfill its attributions, faculties or entrustments through the
flow of resources.

6
 In private administration we have companies, organizations, some
individuals, that is, physical or legal persons that carry out or intervene in the
different aspects of public administration.

SIMILARITIES
 When in an organization people act together to achieve common
purposes, aspects related to planning, organization, personnel
management, labor relations and other typical components of
administrative action will always be present.
 To resolve administrative problems, certain general principles are
produced that include: Division of work, organization of functions and
responsibilities, planning, programming and budget rules, accounting
controls and other aspects that are useful in all types of administration.
and adaptable to the particularities of each organization.

DIFFERENCES
 Public administration is a set of powers, organization, personnel and
methods that is responsible for carrying out the will of the State. Private
administration, for its part, is a system that is concerned with the
organization, personnel and methods related to the achievement of
business objectives, and obtaining adequate profit margins.
 The popular idea is that government administration is "bureaucratic",
characterized by paperwork, influence and indolence, and some further
point out that it requires unnecessary expenses, is inefficient, slow and
procedural. The counterpart to this is the business, which apparently is
efficient, fast in its processing and can exhibit performance consistent
with profitability.
 The public power provides social services for the entire community.
Many of these services are intangible, for which the consumer public
does not pay fees.

7
 The objective of the government is to provide service to the entire
community, seeking collective well-being, safeguarding its institutions
and ensuring the continuity of services.
 On the contrary, private administration, governed by the profit to be
obtained, serves a part or sector of society.
 Public administration is characterized by rigid regulations, which cannot
change the will. Responsibility before the Executive and its interference,
controls and application of laws by courts and tribunals of the judiciary,
are characteristics that give public administration little resemblance to
private businesses.
 The action of the political process has a greater and direct influence on
public administration, even though public policies also affect private
administration.
 There is a greater tendency for public administrators to ensure that their
actions comply with regulatory and legal requirements. In the case of the
private sector, it also consults "codes and regulations" to proceed for a
different purpose, not to know what it is going to do, but to find a way to
do what is proposed without being sanctioned. In other words, laws serve
the public administrator to know: What he should do, and the private
administrator: What he should not do.
The public administrator is not subject, at least in the administration of
central government agencies, to the presentation of Profit and Loss Statements,
which does not mean that they are exempt from fiscal control. On the other
hand, the private administrator is interested in knowing exactly his profits and
losses and, therefore, this means the periodic presentation of the respective
financial statements.

CURRENTS THAT STUDY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

 a) Vienna School : The greatest exponents of this current were
Hans Kelsen and Adolfo Merkl, they formulated the gradualist theory or the pure
doctrine of law. For this school, every function of the State is a creative function

8
of law; It is what has been called the "theory of the formation of law by
degrees", and which finds its image in Kelsen's pyramid.
 b) French School : Its creators León Douguit and Mourice
Hauriou, who consider that administration is the state activity aimed at
achieving the functioning of public services. Duguit considers that the
differentiation between state functions arises from the content of the acts,
without taking into account the organ from which they emanate, postulating the
existence of three types of acts: Rule Acts, Condition Acts and Subjective Acts.
 c) Italian Doctrine : The Italian authors point out the satisfaction
of public interests and the conservation of law as the purposes of
administration. Some theorists were Guido Zanabini, and Professor Massino
Severo Giannini,
 d) Author's Criterion : The term Administration applied to the
State, in an objective sense is the activity or function of the State and in a
subjective sense, a body or group of authorities, officials and agents, in general
State bodies regularly in charge of exercising the expressed activity. or function.

CURRENTS OF REFORM
 Guarantee : This reforming current has its origin in the ideals of
freedom and justice of the Liberal State of law. Its objective is "action subject to
the law", that is, the administrative act according to a regulatory framework, not
only that regulates it but also that directs it or is a means for action.
In other words, this is the underlying vision of the reforms aimed at fighting
corruption, through the "reduction of the discretion of public operators." That is,
greater accountability or endogenous control, that is, of the system itself
through enforcement agencies. control in the performance of public officials, of
a horizontal nature. This means parallel control and agencies that have
sufficient power to rigorously control the public function regardless of the range
it faces.
In summary, this current bears the imprint of legality and limits any structure or
action within the administration under some legal system based on control
agencies. Ex. : anti-corruption office.

9
  Efficientist : The efficientist current refers to what Ariznabarreta
calls "scientific management", whose pattern of behavior is the conversion of
resources to results. It is the current that takes up classic concepts of
administration such as those mentioned by the author: accounting and
management control techniques, the budget, financial analysis, purchasing
management, inventory management, job classification, evaluation. of
workloads, etc. But this trend requires a high degree of professionalization of
the agents, and they must have broad authority to use the resources.
 Contractualist : This last current is characterized by promoting
anti-bureaucratic management guidelines, without losing sight of the economic
rationality of resources; fundamental characteristic of the previous trend.
Its ideological foundations are public choice thinking, public choice theory,
business organization theories and modern economic theory of organization.
The consequence is a vision focused on replacing hierarchical coordination with
contractual and more flexible coordination that allows the adaptation of
management to specific circumstances.

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Administration has its origin in man's need to satisfy his own demands
and those of the group with which he lives. It represents a means to promote
the production of goods and for economic and social action. Administration is an
activity inherent to human life constantly. We are applying administration in
different daily activities. We manage time, resources and work. Depending on
the type of administration applied, success or failure will be achieved, not only
in business and institutional activity, but also in the personal and professional
lives of human beings. These depend on organizations and organizations
depend on the work of people. In this sense, Chiavenato (1996) states that
people are born, grow, are educated, live, work, have fun, heal and die within
organizations with different characteristics and structures. All activities
dedicated to the production of goods or the provision of services are directed
and controlled within organizations. These organizations need to be managed

10
and this requires a set of people at various hierarchical levels who deal with
different issues.
Administrative practice begins when man becomes sedentary and groups
into tribes. There arises the need to manage the functions of the government
and the economy of the state. In the first civilizations such as the Aztecs,
Mayans, Incas, Egyptian (in which the construction of the pyramids evidences
the existence of a complex organization), Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman,
Chinese (Approximately in the year 800 BC. C. Chow's constitution was
published. It describes the positions and responsibilities of the entire population
in the service of the emperor. Persians, among others, show the knowledge and
use of administration in their cultural, economic, political and social
development. Philosophy had great influence on the first manifestations of
administration: in Greece the philosopher Socrates in his theories of the state
exposed the importance of government administration. On the other hand, Plato
in his book "The Republic" exposes principles about the democratic form of
government and the administration of public affairs. Also Aristotle in his book
"Politics" proposes three forms of public administration: Monarchy, Aristocracy,
Democracy.
In Roman civilization the implementation of administration is also
demonstrated. This is evident in the great expansion of the empire and in the
activities of the government. On the other hand, the Romans are the creators of
universal law, laying the fundamental foundations of administrative law. In turn,
the Catholic Church from its beginnings has demonstrated the use of
administrative principles in its organization.
In the Middle Ages Machiavelli expounded four principles for the survival
of any organization:
 Approval of the masses, here the hierarchy of authority arises.
 Cohesion. This principle recognizes the need for the people to know what
they can expect from the government and what they can expect from the
government.
 Leadership. The government is an administrator and must lead the
people toward achieving the highest purposes.

11
 Right to survival. When survival is in danger the government must take
appropriate measures.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626). English philosopher and statesman brings to
administration the principle of the prevalence of the accessory.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). I develop the theory of the contractual
origin of the state. The state imposes order and organization in social life.
Jacob Rousseau (1712-1778). He developed the theory of social
contracting.
Starting in 1776 with the invention of the steam engine by James Watt
and its application in production, a new conception of work emerged, completely
modifying the social and commercial structure of the time. This industrial
revolution gave rise to the industrial, technological, social, political and
economic context of the situations, problems and variables from which the
classical theory of administration begins. The first movements emerge to raise
awareness in relation to administrative problems. At this time, there is a need to
look for new approaches to improve business administration. Several pioneers
of administration emerge, such as Charles Babbage (1883), Andrew Ure
(1835), Adam Smith (1776) and Alfred Marshal, who contribute valuable ideas
to administration. Karl Marx (1818-1883). He explains that all historical
phenomena are the product of economic relations between man and
encouraged the study of the objective laws that govern the economic
development of society. In 1867 Marx published "Capital" and then his theories
regarding surplus value, based on the theory of work. The ideas of Marx and
Engeles promoted the rise of socialism and unionism.
But it was from the 20th century onwards that the development of a
modern theory for business administration began. Based on the contributions
left by Frederick Taylor, Luther Gulick, Frank and Lilian Gilberth, James Money
in the United States, Henry Fayol in France, Linda Urwick and Olivia Sheldon in
Great Britain. These have been the precursors of administration and its
principles. They guide the theory of administration during the first decades of
the 20th century. At this time, scientific administration emerged with the
contributions of Frederick Taylor and Henry Fayol. Frederick Taylor (1856-

12
1917), American engineer, carried out extensive studies of all production
components. He used observation and measurement through controlled
experiments, his theory consisted of applying the scientific method to
administration. The initiative to create a science of management began with an
emphasis on the tasks and study of workers' work. Then he defined the
principles of administration applicable to all company situations. The national
organization of work was based on the analysis of operational work, on the
study of times and movements, on the fragmentation of tasks and on the
specialization of the worker. Frederick Taylor stated that "The objective of
administration is to ensure maximum prosperity for the employer together with
maximum prosperity for the worker, noting that maximum prosperity for both
constitutes the basic objective of the administration of any company. Three
major propositions stand out in Taylor's work:
 That there is a better way to execute an operation.
 That this way must be found through scientific experiments.
 That it is the duty of the administration to take the initiative and the
responsibility of discovering it.
His administration philosophy is summarized in four categories that are
permanently valid:
 Each job has its method: “a science must be created for each element of
the worker's work.” That is, you have to plan the work that each person
has to do, this is the task of the administrator, who must plan the work of
his workers in advance.
 The worker must be trained for the specific task that he or she will be
required to perform. It is necessary to make a scientific choice and then
train it. It will be the manager's task to observe and tabulate the initiative of
his subordinates and teach them the best way to do things under their own
direction or supervision.
 The administrator must be a participant in the work carried out by his
subordinates and collaborate cordially with the workers to ensure that all
work is done in accordance with the principles of the science that has

13
 been created. This collaboration already highlights the importance of the
practice of human relations in any company.
 In every company there must be two elements: Whoever exercises
management, defines the policy and indicates what should be done. And a
group that follows those guidelines and executes them. Responsibilities
are divided between the administrator and the workers.
To conclude, Taylor establishes his principles and his great contribution to
scientific administration, pointing out that administration is:
 Science and not rule of thumb.
 Harmony and non-discord.
 Collaboration and non-individualism.
 Maximum performance, rather than restricted performance.
 Training of each man until he reaches his greatest efficiency and
prosperity.
Henry Fayol (1841-1925).
French engineer, born in Constantinople. Creates a movement called
Fayolism (or school of chiefs). In his theory he places a marked emphasis on
executive function. His administrative doctrine is outlined in his basic work
“industrial and general administration.” It can be summarized by saying that all
administration means: forecasting, organization, control, direction and
coordination. For Fayol, the function of administration is distributed between the
head and the members of the social body. Every company has to carry out a
series of operations that are common to it and that Fayol summarizes in six
aspects:
 Technical Operations: (production, transformation, manufacturing)
 Commercial operations: (purchases, sales, exchanges).
 Financial operations: (search and capital management)
 Security operations: (protection of property and people)
 Accounting operations: (inventory, balance sheet, cost price,
statistics)
 Administrative operations: (forecasting, organization, direction,
coordination and control).
14
 This last operation is the most important since through it you can
articulate the work of a company, coordinate the group's efforts and harmonize
actions. Fayol incorporates other principles into administration, which are
permanently valid in the field of administration, these are:
 The division of labor : This principle allows specialization and
therefore greater performance, since attention is not dispersed towards multiple
activities. Allows the separation of functions and powers.
 Authority - responsibility: Authority is the right to command and the
power to be obeyed. He points out two types of authority, one dependent on the
“statuary” function and a “personal” one, which implies a leadership function,
but both have to be united to fulfill the directive function. Fayol identifies
authority with responsibility, pointing out that responsibility is a corollary of
authority.
 Discipline order : It is an essential factor for the functioning of any
institution. It is necessary to establish standards and principles that all staff
must comply with.
 Unity of command : For any action, an agent should not receive
orders other than from a single boss to avoid anarchy, the duality of instructions
that this entails for the personnel. There must be a hierarchy that allows fluidity
of communications.
 Subordination of particular interests to the general interest :
Individual interests must be sacrificed for the benefit of the interests of the
company with which one must be fully identified.
 Staff remuneration : it is the payment given to the worker for the
service provided and it must be equitable so that it produces personal
satisfaction that will translate into benefits for the company.
 Hierarchy : Every organization has to establish a hierarchical
order. It is the route that guarantees the transit of communications and unity of
command in a company.
 The union of staff : The fundamental premise of every
administrator will be to achieve harmony between all members of the

15
organization. Fayol contemplates other principles that are equity, initiative,
stability and order.
At the beginning of the 1930s and 1940s, new contributions to
administration emerged from several researchers such as Chester Bernard,
Mary Parker Follet and Elton Mayo, who studied human behavior within the
company. In the 1930s, importance was given to the following aspects of
administration:
 People as an important factor in administration.
 Establishment and achievement of objectives through and with
people.
 The interpersonal relationships.
 Leadership and human relations.
 Interrelation of administration with other behavioral sciences such
as psychology.
In the 1950s, other important studies and contributions emerged, such as
Maslow with his theory of human needs, Douglas Mc. Gregor with his XY theory
and the Johnson group, Kast Rosenweig with his studies on systems
administration.
Another contribution to administration is the use of mathematics, due to
the emphasis given to quantitative methods of analysis. In addition, the
sampling theory of statistics is applied to solve certain administrative problems.
Probability theory is also used, concentration of attention is applied in decision
making and the study of administration through the systems approach.

HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF ADMINISTRATION

Taxpayer Main contributions
Period
5000 ac Sumerians They established written records for
commercial and government use.
4000-2000 BC c. Egyptians They carried out inventories. They kept daily
sales and taxes; They developed an elaborate
bureaucracy for large-scale agriculture and
construction, employed full-time
administrators, and used projections and
planning.
4000 BC Hebrews They applied the principle of exception and

16
 departmentalization, the Ten
Commandments, long-term planning and the
span of control.
2000 – 1700 BC c. Babylonians They reinforced laws for conducting business,
including standards, wages and obligations of
contractors.
500 BC c. Chinese They established the Chow Constitution and
Confusio laid the first foundations for good
government.
500-200 BC Greeks They developed work ethic; the universality of
administration (Socrates); They initiated the
scientific method to solve problems.
200 BC – 400 AD Romans They developed systems for manufacturing
weapons, ceramics and textiles; they built
roads; they organized winery companies;
using specialized labor; they formed the
guilds; They employed an authoritarian, role-
based organizational structure.
300 AD - Twentieth Catholic Church Decentralized hierarchical structure with
century strategic control and centralized policies.
1300 Venetians They established a legal framework for
commerce and business.

CONCLUSIONS

 Public Administration is at the service of citizens and is based on the

principles of honesty, participation, speed, efficiency, transparency,
accountability and responsibility in the exercise of public function, as a
branch of administrative science, it has vital importance for being the
instrument that the State uses to carry out its functions and objectives, such
as satisfying the needs of the community based on national development.
That is why the study of this discipline is essential for the participants of the
Administration Career, and with greater emphasis in the current moments,
when due to the problematic situation of the country, we are all obliged to get
involved directly, so that Venezuela can face and overcome the changes of
all kinds (political, economic and social), which will be taking place in the
short term, in the entire scope of the Public Administration and the
Venezuelan State.
 Therefore, for the team: Management is the process of creating and
designing with a scientific discipline and must maintain an environment in
17
 which people, working in teams, efficiently achieve selected goals. With
adequate use of available resources, which is used to achieve the general
well-being or the common good of the Public Service.
 "Public Administration is at the service of citizens and is based on the
principles of honesty, participation, speed, efficiency, transparency,
accountability and responsibility in the exercise of public function, with full
submission to the law and the right"
 Today, most of the States in the world have formed their governmental
structure according to the guidelines of the division of powers; which was the
answer that Montesquieu found to offer a solution to the despotic absolutism
that prevailed in Europe until the end of the Middle Ages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Antonio Pinilla Public Administration: Ibero-America from editorial sa1981

 Illustrated Universal Encyclopedia Espasa Calpe SA: Espasa Calpe –
Madrid
 Theory of Public Administration – Author: Jean Baptiste BONNIN
 ARIZNABARRETA, Koldo. "Vindication of administrative reform: meaning
and conceptual models" in the CLAD Magazine "Reform and
Democracy". No. 18. October 2000. Caracas.
 GARCIA PELAYO, Manuel: "Bureaucracy and Technocracy", Editorial
Alianza, Madrid, 1974.
 GROISMAN, Enrique: "Criteria and Strategies for Administrative
Reform", in EL BIMESTRE, December 1988.
 HIRSCH, Joachim: "GLOBALIZATION: Transformation of the state and
democracy", Special edition conference held in Córdoba in March 1997
 IACOVIELLO, Mercedes: "The political game and Human Resources
strategies in public organizations." Notebooks of the CEPAS (Center for
Studies of Politics, Administration and Society), Nº4, September 1996.

18
 KLITGAARD, Robert. "Adjusting to reality." Editorial Sudamericana,
Buenos Aires, 1994.


ANNEXES

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20