Basics of Public Administration and Renowned Authors Views

After having a look at the concept of Administration we are going to have an idea regarding what Public Administration means specifically.

{Public Administration as an Organization can be divided into 2 broad divisions - 

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION.

Structure can be concrete or analytical.

Functions can be Apparent(which we can see) or Latent(which we can not see).}

{ PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION = PUBLIC + ADMINISTRATION

Here PUBLIC means GOVERNMENT &

ADMINISTRATION means ADMINISTERE = to serve and to manage. }

{ GOVERNMENT = EXECUTIVE + LEGISLATURE + JUDICIARY

Executive deals with Plan Implementation.

Legislature deals with Plan Formulation.

Judiciary deals with Interpretation of Law & Distribution of Justice. }

# So on basis of above facts we can sum up that Study of Government is termed as Public Administration.

{ Now logically a question strikes our mind that when did public administration started?

The simple answer to this question would be that when man started to live a community life the concept of Public Administration was born. }

# Public Administration is defined as a study of the Government.

# Normally, Government of any country performs 2 types of functions - Military and Civil. This topic of Public Administration deals with the Civil aspect of Public Administration.

# Civil form of Administration include - 

1. Legislative Responsibilities
2. Administrative Responsibilities
3. Economic and Financial Responsibilities
4. Welfare Responsibilities
5. Development Responsibilities
6. Law and Order Responsibility
7. Judicial Responsibility
8. Maintaining Culture and Social Fabric of the country.
9. External and Internal Security Responsibility.

Views of Renowned Authors on Public Administration

J.S. Hodgson says “Public Administration comprises all activities of persons or groups in governments or their agencies, whether these organizations are international, regional or local in their scope, to fulfil the purposes of these governments or agencies.”

James W. Fesler says “Public Administration is policy execution and policy formulation, public administration is bureaucracy and public administration is public.”

Woodrow Wilson says “Public administration is detailed and systematic execution of law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration. Administration is the most obvious part of the government; it is the government in action; it is the executive, the operative, the most visible side of the government.”

Simon says “Public Administration is the activities of the executive branches of the national, state and local governments.”

Pfiffner says “Public Administration consists of doing the work of the government whether it be running an X-ray machine in a health laboratory or coining money in the mint. Public Administration consists of getting the work of government done by coordinating the efforts of the people so that they can work together to accomplish their set tasks.”

Willoughby says “The term administration may be employed in Political Science in two senses. In its broadest sense it denotes the work involved in the actual conduct of governmental affairs, regardless of the particular branch of government concerned. It is, thus, quite proper to speak of the administration of the legislative branch of the government, the administration of justice or judicial affairs, or the administration of the executive branch as well as the administration of the affairs of the administrative branch of the government, or the conduct of the affairs of the government generally. In its narrowest sense, it denotes the operations of the administrative branch only. As students of Public Administration we are concerned with the narrowest meaning of the term.”

D. Waldo says “Public Administration is the art and science of management as applied to the affairs of the State. The process of public administration consists of the actions involved in affecting the intent or desire of a government. It is thus the continuously active, ‘business’ part of a government, concerned with carrying out the law as made by legislative bodies (or other authoritative agents) and interpreted by the courts, through the process of organization and management. The field of study - putatively a science or  discipline - of public administration focuses upon public administration focuses upon public administration  as a process.”

M. E. Dimock says “Public Administration is the fulfilment or enforcement of public policy as declared by the competent authorities. It deals with the problems and powers of the organization and techniques of management involved in carrying out the laws and policies  formulated by the policy-making agencies of government. Public administration is the law in action. It is the executive side of a government.”

E. N. Gladden says “Public Administration is concerned with the administration of the government.”

H. Walker says  “The work which the government does to give effect to a law is called Public Administration.”

John A. Veig says “Administration signifies the organisation, personnel, practices and procedures essential to effective performance of civilian functions entrusted to the executive branch of the government.”

P. McQueen says “Public Administration is administration related to the operations of Government whether central or local.”

Merson says “The administrator gets thing done, and just as the science of politics is an enquiry into the best means whereby the will of the people may be organised for the formulation of policu so the science of Public Administration is an enquiry as to how policies may best be carried into operation.”

Corson & Harris says “Public Administration is the action part of the government, the means by which the purposes and goals of the government are realized.”

F. A. Nigro says  "Public Administration -

(i) is a cooperative group effort in a public setting; 
(ii) covers all the three branches - executive, legislative and judicial, and their inter-relationship; 
(iii) has an important role in the formulation of public policy and is thus part of the political process; (iv) is different in significant ways from private administration; and 
(v) is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals in providing services to the community.”

James W. Davis says “Public Administration can be best identified with the executive branch of a government.”

Frank Goodnow says “Administration includes the function of executing the law as well as the semi-scientific, quasi-judicial and quasi-business or commercial functions.”

Ridley says “Public Administration is administration in the public sector. It is the administration by the state. Public Administration is governmental administration. It is administration by public authorities. Public authorities are authorities which administer according to the rules of public administration. Public administration should be the study of administration, descriptive, theoretical and normative.

M. Ruthna Swamy says “When administration has to do with the affairs of a state or minor political institutions like a Municipal or County Council, or District Board, it is called Public Administration.”

Dimock and Dimock says ” Like the study of politics, the study of public administration is a study of what people want through government and how they go about getting it. In addition, administration also emphasizes the methods and procedures of management. Thus, public administration is as much concerned with what government does as it is with how it does it. Public administration is the area of study and practice where law and policy are recommended and carried out.”

J. Greenwood and D. Wilson says “Public Administration is an activity, a set of institutions and a subject of study.”

Rosenbloom says “public Administration does involve activity, it is concerned with politics and policy-making, it tends to be concentrated in the executive branch of government, it does differ from private administration, and it is concerned with implementing law. Public Administration is the use of managerial, legal and political 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.”

F.M. Marx says “Public Administration has come to signify primarily the organization, personnel, practices and procedures essential to effective performance of the civilian functions entrusted to the executive branch of government.”

L.D. White says “Public Administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfilment or enforcement of public policy.”

Luther Gullick says “Public Administration is that part of the science of administration which has to do with government and thus concerns itself primarily with the executive branch where the work of government is done, though there are obviously problems in connection with the legislative and judicial branches.”