FUNDAMENTALS OF PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION

BIRENDRA BAHADUR CHAND

 Concept of PA
• Woodrow Wilson’s article “The Study of
Administration”, published in 1887, is considered as
the origin of public administration as a discipline. This
article is very important in the history of the
emergence and evolution of public administration.
• Because Wilson was the first who promote the
concept of ‘Science of Administration’. The word
administration is important for the need to increase
the organizational and systemic excellence of
government functions.
 Concept of PA
• It is Wilson’s view of administration that defines the
individual sphere of public administration, and
perhaps we can discover the idea of how public
administration began to emerge as a separate
discipline from the latter half of the nineteenth
century.
 Concept of PA
• Woodrow Wilson defined public
administration as “detailed and
systematic execution of public law,
every particular application of general
law is an act of administration”. He
divided government institutions into
two separate sectors, administration
and politics.
 Concept of PA
• The term ‘Administer’ is derived from Latin word
‘ad’ + ‘ministrare’ which means to serve, to direct,
to control and to manage affairs.
• “Administration is a long & slightly pompous word,
but it has a humble meaning, for it means to care
for or to look after people, to manage affairs.”
E.N. Gladden
• The definition offered by FA Nigro & LG Nigro is
illustrative of the modern comprehensive view of
Public administration. According to Nigros PA is
 Concept of PA
• Co-operative group effort in a public setting,
• Covers all three branches- executive, legislative and judicial and their
inter-relationships,
• Has an important role in the formulation of public policy & is thus a
part of the political process.
• Is different in significant ways from private administration &
• Is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals in
providing services to the community.
 Concept of PA
• According to integral view (L.D. White) PA comprises all types of
operations undertaken by all persons, ranging from the lowest to the
highest, in order to implement public policies. Acceptance of this view
makes the scope of PA vast and unwieldy because it includes a
heterogeneous mass of activities.
• According to managerial view (Gullick), PA focuses principally on the
Planning, organizing, directing, controlling and coordinating of govt
operations. This view regards PA as getting things done, not doing
things.
 Concept of PA
• “PA is primarily concerned with the executive
branch of government”
-Luther Gulick

“PA is the use of management (executive), political

(legislative), legal(judiciary) theories and process to
fulfill legislative, executive and judicial mandate for
the provision of governmental regulatory and
service functions. ”
-Roosen Bloom and Kravchuck
 Concept of PA
Prewomb to Post tomb functions

Peculiar characteristics of P.A.: (J.E. Caiden)

• Unavoidable
• Legal monopoly of coercive power
• Priority activity (police, ambulance)
• The largest Single multipurpose organization (without competitor)
• Political direction (supervision, direction)
• Unmeasurable purpose (security, health, education)
• Higher expectation (towards state)
 Scope of Public administration

• The traditional view: scope of PA to the executive branch only. Thus,

PA is not given any role in legislative and judicial functions. This
traditional view is unduly restrictive as an explanation of the scope of
PA.
• The modern view: modern writers come to the obvious conclusion
that all three branches of government are part of the study & practice
of PA. this view is more realistic.
“Womb to tomb”
“Welfare state”
• It includes all operations of govt ranging from the exploration of
outer space to sweeping the streets. Thus the scope of PA as an
activity is very wide in the modern state.
 Scope of Public administration

• The POSDCoRB processes: Gullick believed that these 7 functional

elements of the work of the chief executives constitute the scope of
PA.
• Substantive concerns: PA deals not only with the processes but also
with substantive matters of administration such as defence,
education, health, social security & welfare, agriculture, industry,
police, fire-protection and so on.
• Organization theory: Deals with formal structure, internal functioning
& performance of orgns.
 Scope of Public administration

• Public personnel administration: concerned with human resource

planning & establishment of rank/position-classification system. It
also covers matters as recruitment, training, pay-scales, promotion,
retirement, employer-employee relations etc. The efficiency of admn
depends on the efficiency of the persons employed.
• Public financial administration: execution of budget, accounting and
auditing. Since every administrative activity involves money, the
volume of administrative activity depends on the volume of money
available to govt & its proper spending.
 Scope of Public administration

• Comparative public administration: cross-national & cross-cultural

administrative studies.
• Development administration: concerns admn of devt plan &
programmes undertaken by the developing nations. The main aspect
of DA is improving the capability of admn for developmental
activities.
• Administrative ecology: interaction between PA & its political,
economic & socio-cultural env. It is an emerging new area of study
within PA.
• Public policy analysis: policy making, its implementation & the policy
outputs.
Scope of Public administration
Scope of Public administration
Scope of Public administration
Scope of Public administration
Evolution of Public Administration
 Evolution of Public Administration

• As an activity PA is as old as political society but as an academic study of

PA, it is only near about 100 years old & hence one of the younger social
sciences.
• But it doesn’t mean that nobody thought about PA in ancient times.
• Kautilya’s “Arthashastra” discussed principles & machinery of PA.
• Plato’s “Law” & Aristotle’s “Politics” contained some reflections on the art of PA.
• In 16th century-Machiavelli’s “Prince” dealt with administrative problems
• In 18th century-The Cameralists (an economist who strongly emphasizes political
factors in recommending economic policy) of Germany & Austria showed interest in
the study of PA.
• Above named different scholars emphasized the descriptive studies of governmental
structures & procedures as well as professional training of public administrators.
 Evolution of Public Administration
• Northcote-Trevelyan report (UK) commissioned in 1853 & published in
Feb,1854.
(Commissioned in 1853 and published in February 1854, the report
catalysed the development of Her Majesty's Civil Service in the United Kingdom.
Influenced by the Chinese Imperial Examinations, it recommended that entry to the
Civil Service be solely on merit, to be enforced through the use of examinations)

• The Pendleton civil service reform act, 1883- USA

(The Pendleton Act provided that federal government jobs be awarded on
the basis of merit and that government employees be selected through
competitive exams. The act also made it unlawful to fire or demote for political
reasons employees who were covered by the law.)
Charles Julius Guiteau murdered former USA president Garfield
 Evolution of Public Administration

In the end of the 19th century ‘Woodrow Wilson known as father or

founder of the discipline of PA’ defined PA as the implementation of
public laws which are determined by political officers & delineated PA
as a separate discipline of the study. (In 1887-essay entitled “The study
of administration” in the journal Political Science Quarterly originated
the doctrine of Politics-administration dichotomy by focusing
distinction between political activity and administrative activity.)
 Evolution of Public Administration

• In the beginning of 20th century (1900) another pioneer of PA Frank J.

Goodnow elaborated the Wilsonian dichotomy in his “Politics &
administration”. He said that-
• “Politics has to do with policies or expressions of the state will” while
• “Administration has to do with the execution of these policies.”
• Locus of admn is executive branch of govt and bureaucracy as well as
• Locus of political activity is identified in the legislature.
• In 1926- LD White’s textbook “Introduction to the study of Public
administration” known as first stage in the evolution of PA as a distinctive
subject of study commenced and dealt with comprehensively and
systematically.
 Evolution of Public Administration

The second stage:

In 1927 W.F. Willoughby inaugurated rightly the new principle approach. He wrote “ Principles of Public Administration”. The line of thought was further
taken by
• Henry Fayol: industrial and general management
• J.D Mooney & A.C. Reiley: Principles of organization
• Luther Gullick and Lyndall Urwick: papers on the science of administration
POSDCoRB
• Twin objective of their theories: economy and efficiency
• Division of work
• Specialization
• Coordination
• Scalar principle
• Unity of command
• Span of control
• are some principles of Public Administration.
Evolution of Public Administration
 Evolution of Public Administration

The third stage: human relations school led by Elton Mayo

• While the classical writers emphasized the structural aspects of orgns,

the HR school focused on the importance of human factor/relation,
importance of group behavior to management.
• Orgns gets affected by the attitudes, feelings, sentiments, and social
relations of the workers.
• HR school led to the discovery of the effect of the informal orgn on
the formal structure.
 Evolution of Public Administration

The fourth stage: after II world war, PA was greatly influenced by behavioural
approach.
• Chester Barnard: functions of executive
• Herbert Simon: administrative behaviour
• Robert Dahl: the science of PA-three problems
• Chris Argyris
• Douglas Mc Gregor & Rensis Likert
• F.W. Riggs: Comparative PA
• ‘psychological character of orgns forms the foundations of their theories.’
 Evolution of Public Administration

The fifth stage: PA is influenced by the devts of computer technology.

The concept of “generic administration & management science”
emerged at this period. At this stage PA was experiencing the crisis of
its identity.
• PERT (Programme evaluation & review technique)
• PPBS
• OR (Operations research)
 Evolution of Public Administration

The final stage: focused on public policy analysis and decision making
process.
• 1968: Minnowbrook conference (sponsored by Dwight Waldo) NPA
concept emerged.
• 1970s: public choice theory ‘the economic theory of politics’ by
Vincent Ostram.
• This theory is not only an economics-based but also a consumer-
oriented approach. Ostram proposes a debureaucratizing of all
administrative units, which means replacement of bureaucratic
administration to democratic administration.
 Evolution of Public Administration

• Mid 1970s: ‘public management’ theory- ‘mgmt.’ implies efficiency

and achievement whereas ‘admn’ signifies delay, authoritarianism,
non-achievement. The term ‘public management’ suggests a
fairness & efficiency.
• 1980s: NPM
• 2000s: NPS Denhardt and Denhardt: public servents do not deliver
customer service; they deliver democracy.
• NPG 2007
 Evolution of Public Administration

The NPA, public choice theory and public management have clearly
shown that the founding father’s doctrine of Politics-administration
dichotomy is not relevant today. They clearly indicate the emerging
trend towards the integration of administration with politics.
 Evolution of Public Administration

• Northcote-Trevelyan report (UK) commissioned in 1853 & published in Feb,1854.

(Commissioned in 1853 and published in February 1854, the report
catalysed the development of Her Majesty's Civil Service in the United Kingdom.
Influenced by the Chinese Imperial Examinations, it recommended that entry to the
Civil Service be solely on merit, to be enforced through the use of examinations)

• The Pendleton civil service reform act, 1883- USA

(The Pendleton Act provided that federal government jobs be awarded on
the basis of merit and that government employees be selected through
competitive exams. The act also made it unlawful to fire or demote for political
reasons employees who were covered by the law.)
Evolution of Public Administration
Evolution of Public Administration
Evolution of Public Administration
Evolution of Public Administration
 Politics-administration dichotomy
• Woodrow Wilson was born in Virginia (1856-1924).
• Received Ph.D in 1886
• Studied politics, government and law.
• Worked as professor of political science from1886 to 1902 at Princeton
University.
• Governor of New Jersey (1910-1913) &
• President of the USA (1913-1921)
• Seminal essay entitled “The study of Administration” published in the “Political
Science Quarterly” in 1887, marked the emergence of Public administration as a
separate and independent field of study.
• “Spoils system” (introduced by Andrew Jackson) was maladministration due to
rampant political corruption.
• Based on the notion that “to the victor goes the spoils”. Only the loyal political
supporters of the party victorious at the polls were appointed to administrative
posts.
• As a consequences less qualified & sometimes unqualified, people entered the
public service & contributed to the increasing inefficiency of PA.
 Politics-administration dichotomy
• Prevailing political situation called for reform, professionalization as a
consequence, civil service reforms were effected (e.g. the Pendleton
Act, 1883 which established merit system in the U.S. civil service) to
end the evils of political patronage, corruption & inefficiency in
administration.
• Wilson, in his essay, divided govt into two separate spheres of politics
and administration. In his opinion, while politics dealt with questions
of policy formulation, administration was concerned with carrying
them out. He defined PA as “detailed & systematic execution of public
law” but, admn is neither law nor politics.
• He said “The field of administration is a field of business…removed
from the hurry & strife of politics”.
 Politics-administration dichotomy
• He again stated that “administration lies outside the proper sphere of
politics. Administrative questions are not political questions. Although
politics sets the tasks for administration, it should not be suffered to
manipulate its offices”.
• He further observed that “PA is a part of the political life only as the
methods of counting house are a part of the life of society; only as
machinery is part of the manufactured product.” He wanted that
administrators should not involve themselves in the political process.
Thus he tried to establish the distinction between politics and
adminsstration.
• For strong democracy we need technically competent & politically
neutral administrative system. PA should be separate from the
political system.
• He said the study of PA, derived from the study of politics. It was to
be conducted in a political context.
Politics-administration dichotomy
• Wilson failed “to amplify what the proper relationship should be
between administrative and political realms”.
• The Politics-administration dichotomy initiated by Wilson was later
elaborated by Frank J. Goodnow & strengthened by Taylor’s Scientific
Management Movement, which was also known as classical approach
to the study of PA. Dwight Waldo argues that the essay is “The most
important document it the development of the field of PA”.
• This dichotomy approach provided the basis for much of the
managerial approach that was developed in the 1920s and 1930s by
such administrative thinkers as Henry Fayol, Gullick and Urwick.
Politics-administration dichotomy
In 1940s following scholars criticized politics-administration dichotomy:
• Herbert A. Simon
• Peter Self
• Marshall E. Dimock
• F.A. Nigro & james W. Fesler
• Nicholas Henry
• Paul Appleby presented a political approach & said that, “PA is policy-making & part
of the political process.”
• Fred W. Riggs says that officials in practice, perform both political & administrative
functions, especially in developing countries.
• In modern writer’s opinion, PA is both policy execution and policy
formulation.
• PA is the practical or business end of govt, removed from the hurry and
strife of politics.
Politics-administration dichotomy
Politics-administration dichotomy
Representative government: Political thought of J.S. Mill
Representative government: Political thought of J.S. Mill
 Advantages of representative government
The advantages of representative government are that the citizens can:
• Participate in the government
• Choose expert leaders for the government
• Remove unpopular or ineffective leaders
Representative government provides several advantages. One advantage allows the people
to participate in their government. Those representatives that create laws, policy, and taxes
would not exercise those powers if they were not selected by the people. The people can
communicate their opinions directly to their representatives through phone calls, emails
and letters. Some governments also allow the people to propose or vote directly on
legislation which is generally known as a referendum.
The citizens in representative governments also have the ability to choose expert leaders.
An average citizen may not have intricate knowledge of the political process. However, the
citizens can choose from experienced and intelligent politicians in most elections. This
allows the government, in theory, to run efficiently with qualified individuals leading it.
limitations of representative government
The limitations of representative government are:
• The majority can overwhelm a minority
• Representatives can cater only to those who support their beliefs
• Political inefficiency can occur
• Communication with representatives can be difficult
Despite the many advantages, there are several limitations to representative government. One limitation is
that the beliefs of the majority can override the beliefs of the minority. Many social issues have strictly divided
opinions and if the representatives of a nation generally support the concerns of the largest group, then the
concernsns of the minority group can become repressed. This can be seen in elections, social issues, tax
policies, declarations of war, and so on. In some cases, the opinions of the majority and their representatives
could be morally or ethically flawed. This could pose a great threat to the minority.
There is also a tendency for the representatives to cater only to the constituents who support their beliefs. This
is especially common in a nation that employs a multi-party system. A citizen who is a member of a different
political party than their representative might not benefit much from the decisions the representative makes.
This could lead to a strong and potentially hostile social division among the citizens and representatives of
opposing political parties.
Active and Passive. Representative bureaucracy
• Passive Representative bureaucracy
the degree to which the social characteristics of the bureaucracy reflect the social
characteristics of the populations the bureaucracy serves.
• Active Representative bureaucracy
Active representation is a function that concludes represented groups benefit from
representative bureaucracies. Most active representation is concerned with how
representation influence policymakers and implementation and assumes
that bureaucrats will act purposely on behalf of their counterparts in the general
population. An example being, women and men working beside one another within
a bureaucracy, women are more likely to actively promote issues and agendas that
benefit women in the general population. Potential barriers to active representation
are peer pressures that appear within work environments as well as social ones. The
pressures placed on bureaucratic of a primary group to conform are notorious
within any environment.
• Passive
• Representative bureaucracy in the passive sense is the degree to
which the social characteristics of the bureaucracy reflect the social
characteristics of the populations the bureaucracy serves. Studies of
passive representation examine whether the composition of
bureaucracies mirrors the demographic composition of the general
population. Passive representation exists when bureaucracy's
demographic characteristics demonstrate the demographic
characteristics of the population.Passive representation can have
again different types such as "perfect over representation", "over
representation", "proper representation", "under/nominal
representation" & "No representation".
representative bureaucracy
• The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a public
workforce representative of the people in terms of race, ethnicity,
and sex will help ensure that the interests of all groups are considered
in bureaucratic decision-making processes. The theory posits that the
active representation of group interests occurs because individual
bureaucrats reflect the views of those who share their demographic
backgrounds.
• Through this mechanism, bureaucratic policy processes become more
inclusive, and the power of the bureaucracy is better reconciled with
the requirements of democracy.
The Theory of Representative Bureaucracy
• Mosher (1968) argued that a bureaucracy can be representative in two
ways.
• First, passive representation occurs when an organization includes
individuals from specified groups, such as racial or ethnic minorities and
women, within its ranks. Thus, a bureaucracy is passively representative to
the extent that it employs minorities and women in numbers proportionate
to their shares of the population, or at least proportionate to those parts of
the population with qualifications requisite for employment. Researchers
have focused precisely on the extent to which passive representation
occurs, the determinants of that representation across government
departments and agencies, and the real and perceived benefits of that
representation
The Theory of Representative Bureaucracy
• The second type of representation identified by Mosher (1968) is observed when
a bureaucrat “press[es] for the interests and desires of those whom he is
presumed to represent”. This is the concept labeled active representation. It
implies that bureaucrats will act, either consciously or unconsciously, to see that
the interests of individuals who share their group identities are not overlooked
when policy-relevant decisions are made. Active representation occurs, it is
theorized, because bureaucrats share core attitudes, values, and beliefs with the
social groups from which they are drawn. Their views are the product of common
socialization experiences shaped in important ways by, for example, racial, ethnic,
and gender identities. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that
when bureaucrats exercise discretionary authority, their decisions are a function,
in part, of the attitudes, values, and beliefs they have formed on the basis of their
social backgrounds (Krislov & Rosenbloom, 1981; Meier, 1993a; Saltzstein, 1979).
In other words, passive representation is expected to lead to active
representation.
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
CRITICISM OF PA
 New Public Management: measures and
effects

a) Structural
b) With regard to personnel
c) Functional
d) Other
 Structural measures and effects

- Reduction (lean state; privatisation, budget reduction,

reduction of the level of social rights, etc.)
- Forms of private and third sector participation in public
affairs (PPP, outsourcing, concessions, etc.)
- Loosening structural tights (fragmenting state;
agentification, decentralisation, greater autonomy of
public sector organisations, etc.)
- Problems: accountability, coordination, strategic policy,
ethics, local self-government, costs
 Measures and effects with regard to
personnel
- More mechanical measures (reducing the number,
pays reduction, flexibilisation, private sector managers
engagement, greater autonomy of public managers
with regard to remuneration, pay and career system,
etc.)
- Human potentials development (education, in-service
training, organisational culture building, ethics,
orientation towards results and the needs of citizens)
- Problems: instability, insecurity, organisations as
psychic prisons, unsuccessful organisations,
consumerism, etc.
 Functional measures and effects

• Marketisation of the state; public market

• Competitiveness
• Real prices
• Services of general economic interest (liberalisation and
privatisation)
• Deregulation
• Debureaucratisation (removing procedural obstacles to
private sector subjects and citizens; management by results)
• New budgetary solutions; internal and external audit, etc.
 Social consequences

• Reinvigorating capitalism (state failure)

• Crisis of social state: poverty and lower level of social
services, unemployment rate is increasing
• Democratic deficit: weakening democratic legitimacy of the
state
• Anomy (crime, social conflicts, disregarding legal
regulations)
• Positive effects?