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INTRODUCTION Learning Objectives By the end of this chapter, the student will be able to: (1) Understand the nature and scope of public administration in the modern state, (2) Explain its significance in modern times and identify the various factors contributing to its importance, (9) Discuss its role in the developing societies and explain why it is Unable to play its role and suggest suitable remedies, (4) Identity what distinguishes public administration from private ‘administration and what brings the two together, (5) Discuss to what extent public administration is an art, a science, and a philosophy, (6) Trace the evolution of the study of public administration since its birth symbolically in 1887, the year of publication of Woodrow Wilson’s seminal essay entitled “The Study of Administration’, and discuss the present status of the discipline, (7) Discuss state versus market debate and define their distinct roles in the society, (8) Explain the context, meaning, features of New Public ‘Administration, which was the outcome of Minnowbrook | and find out in what respects Minnowbrook II is similar to and different from the Minnowbrook |, and (9) Identity the important features of the New Public Management and the features of entrepreneurial government and compare the New Public Management with the New Public Administration. Public Administration 1, MEANING, NATURE AND SCOPE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 1.1 Introduction Public Administration has come to occupy a central place in the complex and fast changing modern society. Its scientific study is concerned with the role of administration in such a society. Its actual role consists in the provision of services and regulation of inter-group relations in society. Maintenance of Jaw and order, defence, welfare of society, application of science and technology, and eradication of poverty in the developing countries engage the attention of public administration in the modern administrative state. In other words, the security and independence of the state and social and economic welfare of the people depend upon the effective and efficient functioning of public administration. As Prof. C.P, Bhambhri says, “When public administration is so important in our daily life, its study is naturally worth undertaking. In this context, it may be mentioned that public administration is an important aspect of a more generic concept, administration. Hence, it is necessary to grasp first the meaning of the term administration before we proceed to discuss the meaning of the term public administration 1.2 Meaning of Administration ‘The English word ‘Administer’ is derived from a combination of two Latin words, ‘ad’ + ‘ministrare’ which means to serve, to direct, to control, to manage affairs. In the words of E.N. Gladden, “Administration is a long and slightly pompous word, but it has a humble meaning, for it means to care for or to look after people, to manage affairs.” He defines it as “determined action taken in pursuit of conscious purpose Administration is a rational human activity, which is inherent in any ‘organized social life—public or private. It occurs even in such a simple activity as “when two men cooperate to roll a stone that neither could have moved alone.” It consists of all those operations, which aim at the achievement of some purpose shared by two or more people. To put it differently, administration is a cooperative human effort towards achieving some common goals. It is thus a goal-oriented, purposive, cooperative, and joint activity undertaken by a group of people. ‘Administration, therefore, excludes non-purposive and non-cooperative group activities such as two men fighting with each other or watching a stone. In this example, the two men are not mutually involved in a joint endeavour. Administration also excludes those operations that concern a single individual, e.g. one man moving a stone. This one-man activity is not administration because it lacks cooperative effort made by two or more people is, wh @ Gi Gil eration wmplex ith the wision nce of ology, tion of words, fare of oning public ‘worth is an . it is re we of two ontrol, a long 0 care mined in any etivity moved ent of wards rative, ative ning : joint single is not people {Insroduction 3 %© accomplish a common goal. Thus, we can understand what administration 4s, what it is not, According to George E. Berkley, administration is (0 People; because without the presence of people there can be no administration, (i) Action; people have to do doing something before administration can center the picture; and i) Interaction; administration is people interacting with other people 10 accomplish tasks. Joint activity is an essential part of all administration. In its generic sense, administration is a universal process that can be found in various institutional settings such as a business firm, a hospital, a university, a government department and so on. All these diverse organizations use commonly the same administrative processes (e.g. planning, organizing, coordinating, etc.) as well as the human and material resources to achieve their respective goals. Thus, administration is concerned with means to achieve prescribed ends. It is not an end in itself. This view of administration disregards ‘what kind of administration is in question. In this sense, the term administration covers both public and private organizations. 1.3 Definitions of Administration ‘Some of the important definitions given by writers in public administration are quoted below: (1) According to George E. Berkley, “...Administration is a process involving human beings jointly engaged in working toward common goals.” (2) Luther Gulick observes, “Administration has to do with getting things done, with the accomplishment of defined objectives.” (3) Felix A. Nigro says, “Administration is the organization and use of ‘men and materials to accomplish a purpose.” (4) According to L.D. White, “The art of administration is the direction, coordination and control of many persons to achieve some purpose or objective.” (5) John A. Vieg defines administration as “The systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use of resources, aimed at making those things happen which we want to happen and simultaneously preventing developments that fail to square with our intentions.” (©) Pfifiner observes, “Administration is the organization and use of men ‘and material resources to achieve desired ends.” (7) Herbert Simon says, “...Administration is the activities of groups ‘cooperating to accomplish common goals.” 4 Public Administration 1.4 Meaning of Public Administration In order to understand the term public administration, we must first be clear what we mean by the adjective ‘public®*The word public is used in a Variety of meanings, but here it means ‘governmental’, Public administration, therefore, simply means governmental administration that operates in a political setting. Its focus is specifically on puiblie bureaucracy. As Nicholas Henry says, “The study and practice of public bureaueracy is public administration.” ‘The public aspect of public administration lends special character to it. ‘What is crucial in public administration is that it is an agency of the public. 1t-concems the management of public agencies that carry out public policies in order to fulfill state purposes in the public interest. Since government Provides services for the people in the public interest, the administration of governmental affairs is known as public administration. According (o Simon, Smithburg and Thomson, “Public administration refers 'o the activities of groups cooperating to accomplish the common goals of government.” Such common goals include defence, safeguarding the frontiers, ‘maintenance of law and order, fire protection, communications, public health, education and many others we enjoy. In managing public affairs, public administration focuses principally on the (@) planning, (ii) organising, (ii) directing, (iv) coordinating and (v) ‘controlling governmental operations. 15 Definitions of Public Administration As ENN. Gladden says, “The field of public administration is mainly a ‘debate over definitions.” Despite more than a hundred years of development, Public administration lacks a significant definition that is acceptable to all students of public administration, Various scholars have defined it in different ways. While the traditional writers have defined public administration in its narrower sense, the modern scholars have defined it in its wider sense. Let us examine both the views by quoting some important definitions. 1.5.1 Traditional definitions Some of the important definitions of public administration, which reflect the traditional view of the discipline are as follows: (1) “Public administration is detailed and systematic execution of law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration.” Woodrow Wilson. According to Wilson, “Administration is the most obvious part of government; itis government in action; itis the executive, the operative, the most visible side of government.” HSPOURERR OS BOweee inistration st first be ased ina nistration, a political las Henry istration.” eter to it he public. € policies ernment tration of ion refers | goals of frontiers, jie health, ipally on g and (v) mainly a elopment, ple to all different jon in its se, Let us ch reflect 1 of law, ; Wilson, s part of aperative, Introduction. 5 (2) “Public administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy.” = LD. White (3) “By public administration is meant, in common usage, the activities of the executive branches of the national, state and local governments.” — Herbert A. Simon (4) “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 administrative problems also in connection with the legislative and judicial branches.” — Lather Gulick (5) “Public administration is the action part of government, the means by which the purposes and goals of government are realized.” — Corson and Harris (6) “In its broadest sense, it (public administration) denotes the work involved in the actual conduct of governmental affairs, regardless of the particular branch of government concemed. In its narrowest sense, it denotes the operations of the administrative branch only.” — WE Willoughby Administration consists of getting the work of government done by ‘coordinating the efforts of people so that they can work together to ‘accomplish their set tasks,” a — Pfiffner The definitions quoted above reflect the narrow traditional point of view ‘of public administration. This view locates public administration in the executive branch of government. Its main business comprises all those activities that are involved in carrying out public policies as expressed in laws made by the legislature and interpreted by courts. It is denied any role in both legislative Ge. policy making) and judicial functions. Its main business is to get things done and not to decide what things to do. Public administration is thus identified with the administrative side of government as opposed to the legislative and judicial sides. Therefore, the traditional view is unduly restrictive as an explanation of the scope of public administration. It emphasizes the locus but not the focus of public administration, It is also not true to the facts of administrative practices in democratic governments. The reason is that administration not only carries out public policy but also recommends it. Administration is also concerned with the hearing and deciding cases and controversies not allocated to the judiciary. For all these reasons, the traditional view presents too narrow, formalistic and legalistic picture of public administration 6 Public Administration 1.5.2 Some modern definitions Some modem textbook writers such as M-E. Dimock, James Fesler and FA. Nigro have used the term “Public administration’ in its wider sense. In their opinion, public administration fas some responsibility in formulating governmental policies, besides executing them. The definitions quoted below are illustrative of the modem broader view of public administration: (1) “...Public administration is the area of study and practice where law and policy recommended are carried out.” — ME. Dimock and G.0. Dimock bic administration is policy execution and also policy formulation.” — James. W. Fesler @)" (3) “Public Administration: (O is cooperative group effort in a public setting, (ii) covers all three branches—executive, legislative, and judicial— and their interrelationships, (iii) has an important role in the formulation of policy and is thus part of the political process, (iv) is different in significant ways from private administration, and (») is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals in providing services to the community.” — RA. Nigro and L.G. Nigro ‘The definition offered by the Nigros is illustrative of the modern comprehensive view of public administration. It summarizes the essential nature of public administration, as it is understood today. 1.6 Characteristics of Public Administration ‘An analysis of both the traditional and modern definitions of public administration quoted in the preceding pages show what public administration stands for and what are its important characteristics. These aspects are briefly stated as follows: (1) Public administration is the non-political public bureaucracy operating in a political system under the direction of political leadership. (2) It is the monopoly of the state, As such, it deals with the ends of the state, the sovereign will, the public interests and laws, the coercive ‘element in a society. (3) Although public administration tends mainly to be concentrated in the executive branch, it is the whole government in action. Since government is a big affair, public administration is also naturally a big and complex organization. (4) As the business side of government public administration is concerned with policy execution, but it has also some responsibility in policy making. fministration + Fesler and er sense. In formulating poted below ion: ¢ where law 0. Dimock ormulation.”” s. W. Fesler i judicial— ind is thus a tration, and d individuals 1 L.G. Nigro the modern sential nature as of public dministration ts are briefly acy operating dership. e ends of the the coercive pirated in the tion. Since aturally a big is concerned lity in policy | Introduction 7 (5) Public administration is a means to an end, and not an end in itselt. It is merely a tool of government to implement its policies and provide various services for the people at the minimum cost in order to attain 00d life. In a sense, itis service for the people rendered by government. (6) It differs significantly from private administration, especially in its emphasis on public good, but it finds partial analogies in private administration. (7) Itis interdisciplinary in theory, as it embraces in its fold several social sciences such as political science, sociology, psychology, economics ‘and management science. (8) Public administration is practical discipline, be it an art or a science; it has nexus with political and state activities, which become all- pervasive. It has an applied nature focusing mainly on the problems of society and polity. (9) It is an ongoing process. There is no end to it. If one activity is completed, a new one will crop up. 1L7 Administration, Organization and Management ‘The terms administration, organization and management are not synonymous. Though they are distinct from each other, they are closely related. ‘Administration is a determinative function. It lays down the objectives and policies. Organization is the structure for the attainment of the objectives of ‘administration. As George E. Berkley says, “All administration requires an ‘organization of some shape, size or kind and all organizations carry on some measure of administrative activity.” If administration is a determinative function, management is an executive function. It is primarily concemed with carrying out the broad policies laid down by the administration. Administration and management are related by means of organization. Organization is the machinery through which coordination is established between administration and management. Thus, the three concepts — administration, organization and management — are interrelated. 1.8 Nature of Public Administration ‘An important question regarding the nature of public administration is: What comprises the administrative activities? There are two divergent views ‘lating to this question: The first is the integral view and the second, managerial view. 1.8.1 Integral view ‘According to the integral view, public administration is viewed as doing the work of government. Administration is regarded as the sum total of all the 8 Public Administration activities—manual, clerical, mental, technical and managerial, which are undertaken to realize the objectives of public policies. If we accept this view, all the activities of government employees from the peon in a remote office to the secretaries to government and head of a state at the capital constitute Public administration ‘A staunch supporter of the integral view of administration is L.D. White. According to him, “Public administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy.” Accordingly, public administration covers many operations performed by different agencies of government in the fields of law, justice, social welfare, health, education, science, technology, etc. J.A. Veig and Dimock are other important supporters of the integral view. Acceptance of the integral view makes the scope of public administration vast and unwieldy because it includes a heterogeneous mass of activities. As 4 result, public administration may not develop into a distinct academic discipline. 1.8.2 Managerial view According to the managerial view, public administration is viewed as getting the work of government done. This view regards public administration as consisting of the managerial functions of top public administrators who are engaged in getting the work of government done. It, therefore, emphasizes the basic POSDCORB functions of managers, namely (1) Planning, (2) Organizing, (3) Staffing, (4) Directing, (5) Coordinating, (6) Reporting, and (7) Budgeting ‘Thus the managerial view denotes the work of the chief executive as a general manager. It excludes the activities of the non-managerial personnel such as a eon or a cletk from the purview of public administration. The work concerned with management unites and controls the activities of all others as parts of coordinated endeavour in an enterprise ‘The managerial approach regards administration as getting things done, not doing things. Luther Gulick is an important champion of the managerial view of administration. He writes, “Administration has to do with getting things done with the accomplishment of defined objectives.” The other important subscribers to this view are Henri Fayol, Herbert Simon, Smithburg and ‘Thomson, ‘The managerial view gives unity to administration. It lays emphasis on ‘managerial techniques, which are common to all types of administration, Those ‘who define public administration in managerial terms and take a business like approach to it, tend to minimize the distinctions between public and private administration, In their view, public administration is essentially the same as big business and ought to be run according to the same managerial principles barge RSeSBB B44 which are @ this view, mote office | constitute LD. White. jons having cordingly, nt agencies _ education, t supporters ministration tivities. As 1 academic viewed as ministration ors who are phasizes the Organizing, | Budgeting. as a general el such as a k concerned s parts of a ings done, managerial with getting er important ithburg_ and smphasis on ation. Those yusiness like and private the same as al principles Introduction 9 sand values. The advocacy of business like public administration eventually became the orthodox or classical view of how the public service should be Differences between integral and managerial views ‘The integral view differs from the managerial view in certain respects. The integral view is wider than the managerial view. The former presents an all-inclusive view of administration, covering both managerial and non- managerial activities, while the latter restricts administration to the work of ‘managers only, ie. directive and supervisory personnel. The distinction between the two views relates to the difference between the operation and management, ‘or doing things and getting things done. However, the integral and managerial views are not mutually exclusive to each other. Public administration is both a process and a vocation. As a process, public administration is concerned with all the steps from the first to the last faken in the implementation of public policy. As a vocation, it is concerned ‘with the management of the activities of others (i.e., organizing and directing) ‘in a public agency. According to Dimock, “Administration is concerned with ‘what’ and *how" of the government, The ‘what’ is the subject matter, the technical knowledge of afield, which enables the administrator to perform his tasks? The "how" is the technique of management, the principles according to which cooperative programmes are carried out to success. Each is indispensable, together they form the synthesis called administration.” 1.9 Scope of Public Administration By the scope of public administration is meant its major interests and ‘commitments as a discipline and as an activity. It is both a subject of study and practice. Hence, the scope of public administration refers to its boundaries as an activity, a set of institutions and a subject of study. Although public administration has more than a century of development, there is no consensus among its writers about its meaning, nature and scope. All these have become matters of much debate and controversy. The reason is that the field of public administration features heterodoxy rather than ‘orthodoxy. This is because public administration is perhaps a fast growing iscipline constantly enlarging its scope of interests and commitments. However, for our purpose, the scope of public administration may conveniently be analyzed under two heads: (1) as a discipline, and (2) as an activity | 19.1 The scope of public administration as a discipline By a discipline, we mean a particular area of study such as politcal | science, economics and sociology. In this sense, public administration is also 10 Public Administration 1 discipline. Unlike other disciplines, public administration, as already stated, lacks consensus about its scope. Consequently, various writers have expressed different opinions on its scope. Hence, its scope can be examined from different viewpoints In his book “General and Industrial Management", Henry Fayol defined administration in terms of the five key functional elements: (1) Planning, (2) Organizing (3) Commanding (4) Coordinating (5) Controlling. Similarly, in his POSDCORB formula, Gulick identified seven functional elements: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. In his opinion, these elements stand for different branches of the subject of administration. (These will be elaborated a little later in the book) ‘According to P. MacQueen, the scope of administration consists of only three factors, namely men, material and methods. In his book “Principles of Public Administration”, Willoughby divided the scope of public administration into the following five categories: (1) General administration, i.c., who is to perform the function of direction, supervision and control over administration. (2) Organization, i.e., building up of the structures for the actual performance of the administrative work. (3) Personnel, i., who are to manage different services. (4) Materials and supply, iie., the tools with which the work of administration is carried on. (S) Finanee, i.e,, determination of, and making provision for, the financial needs of administration. This is the crux of all the above-mentioned problems. fiffner divides the scope of public administration under two broad heads (1) Principles of public administration and (2) Sphere of public administration Walker divides the scope of public administration into two parts: (1) administrative theory and (2) applied administration. It may be said that all the views on the scope of public administration are ‘mutually overlapping and can be studied as complementary and supplementary to each other. From the preceding lines, it becomes clear that the scope of public administration can be examined from different angles. The different viewpoints about the scope of public administration are explained as follows. ‘The traditional narrower view: According to some traditional writers, the scope of public administration is restricted to the activities of the executive branch of the government only. In their opinion, public administration is what the executive branch does, ic., implementing the laws, made by the legislature. It is not given any role in legislative and judicial functions. In the words o' EM. Marx, “Public administration covers primarily the organization, personne! ministration eady stated, e expressed pm different yol defined lanning, (2) a functional ting and ches of the a the book) ists of only divided the function of the actual Ne work off he financial] s-mentioned] road heads: ninistation o parts: (1) istration are plementary) © of public t viewpoints onal. writers, he executive tion is what legislature he words of 0, personnel Inuroduction " [Practices and procedures essential for the effective performance of the civilian functions entrusted to the executive branch of the government.” An important supporter of this view is Luther Gulick. This view of public administration is also shared by Simon, Smithburg and Thomson when they said: “By public administration is meant, in common usage, the activities of the executive branches of the national, state and local governments.” The modern broader view: Many modern writers have rejected the traditional narrower view of public administration as unduly restrictive as an explanation of its scope. Hence, they have identified public administration with the whole government in action, -c., the activities of all the three branches of the government— legislature, executive and judiciary. In modern democracies, public bureaucrats not only execute policies but also participate in their formulation and also perform some quasi-judicial functions, Further, the nature of administrative operations are affected and shaped by the nature ‘of policies (laws) made by the legislature as well as the interpretation given to them by the judiciary. The legislature exercises control over administration ‘with a view to sce that the policies are implemented as intended by it. The judiciary has the power to restrain public administrators from unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary acts. In doing so, the judiciary is determining what kind Of public services can be rendered and under what circumstances. Legislature and courts are thus a part of the environment within which public administration ‘must function, Hence, F.A. Nigro and L.G. Nigro have come to the obvious conclusion that all three branches of government are part of the study and practice of public administration. ‘Though the narrower view is widely accepted one, the broader view is more realistic as it reflects the reality of the fast growing dynamic field of today’s public administration, Hence the wider view of the scope of public ‘administration is acceptable to us in India, The POSDCORB view: In the book “Papers on the Science of Administration” (1937), edited by Gulick and Urwick, Gulick propounded the POSDCORB view of the scope of public administration. In the 1930s, he created to acronym POSDCORB that contains the first letters of the following seven elements of administration: (1) Planning (2) Organizing (3) Staffing (4) Directing (5) Coordinating (6) Reporting (7) Budgeting 12 Public Administration Gulick believed that these seven functional elements or branches of public administration, constitute its scope. ‘The POSDCORB view, no doubt, gives unity, certainty and definiteness to the study of public administration. It makes the study of public administration ‘more systematic, ‘Limitations of the POSDCORB view: The POSDCORB view suffers from certain limitations (1) This view is considered to be a narrow emphasis on the techniques of administration only. The POSDCORB techniques can be neither the sole subject matter of public administration nor even the most important part of it. They fail to give us the knowledge about the various fields ‘of administrative activity (e.g. police, education, health and agriculture) in which the POSDCORB techniques are applied. Intimate knowleds of the subject matter with which an administrative agency is primarily concerned with is indispensable to an effective and intelligent administration Mach of administration concerns policies and programmes. But the POSDCORB formula does not contain any reference to the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes. For this reason, the POSDCORB view is said to be farther from reality. ‘The POSDCORB view ignores the human factor in administration. It ‘emphasizes the techniques of administration, and not the human beings who use those techniques. It is not enough for the present-day administrator to specialize administrative techniques only. There is a need to specialize in spe: subject areas such as public policy-analysis, personne! administration or financial management. ‘The POSDCORB view is inadequate in explaining the complex activities of the present-day administrator. He is concerned with such things as communication, leadership skills and decisionmaking. He is also concemed with group process and power relationship in his agency and his government unit. It also fails to cover the emerging new areas of study such as the comparative public administration, development administration, problems of human behaviour in organizations, administrative ecology and. so on. ‘The various limitations of the POSDCORB view, stated above, have ridiculed the confinement of the rapidly growing dynamic field of public administration to the POSDCORB techniques only. Although the POSDCORB formula was a useful and necessary development in the 1930s, it proved to be too limited in explaining the full scope of the dynamic field of today's public administration tration ques of her the portant § fields imarily lligent But the ulation on, the tion. It beings pecific ration mplex h such He is ag: ncy as the ration, cology have public CORB dito be public sroduction 1.9.2 Subject matter v Public administration deals not only with administrative techniques but also with the substantive fields of administration such as defence, education, agriculture, police, fire protection, and so on. These substantive services are provided for the people by the various public health, social welfar overnmental line a ies. The nature of the various governmental ind the services they perform are not similar They differ. For instance, the work involved in the admini ration of the education de from artment diffe he work involved in the admini dey specialized techniques of their own, This aspect is ignored ration of police department or public works iment. ‘They have their respective specific administrative problems and y the POSDCORB esses the common administrative techniques applicable to all of the subject matter with which an icy is concerned is very essential for the effective view, which str nizations. Hence, the knowled administrative administration of that agency. This shows the need to study the substantive fields of administration along with the POSDCORB techniques. mn shows that both the POSDCORB view and the subject matter view are complementary to each other. Both the views constitute The precedi the proper scope of the study of public administration. As Lewis Merian ‘on is an instrument with two blades like ir of scissors. One blade may be a knowledge of the field covered by POSDCORB, the other is knowledge of the subject matter in which these techniques are applied. Both blades must be ly observes, “Public administr ;ood to make an effective tool. 1.9.3 Expanding scope of public administration The subject of today’s public administration is vast and varied, It covers area and activity governed by public policy. Public administration also operates at the national, state of re ial and local levels such as districts, blocks and villages. Hence, it is “related to the operations of government or local.” The scope of public administration discipline, therefore, includes the entire administrative system, its structure, functions, processes nd behaviour at different levels mentioned in the preceding line. of the scope of public a ‘The scope of public administration as a discipline includes the following traditional as well as emer Various ares iministratio new areas of study: (1) Principles of administration: Administrative principles such as chy, unity of command, span of control, Coordination, and delegation and so on form traditionally part of the study of public administration. The comer stones of these principles are efficiency, economy and equity. Th is to develop a value fre of administration, Public Administration (2) Public personnel administration: Public administration deals with the problems of public personnel management. It is concerned with manpower planning and the establishment of position-classification system. It includes such matters as recruitment, training, morale and motivation, discipline retirement, employer-employee relations and other related matters, The efficiency of Administration depends upon the efficiency of the persons mployed. Hence, the importance of personnel administration. (3) Public financial administration: Financial administration deals broadly with budgeting process, control of public expenditure, accounting and auditing, Financial management is very important because no public programme can exist without funds. Further, every administrative activity depends on the volume of money available to goverment and its proper spending. Hence. the scope of public administration includes the problems of financial ‘management. (4) Administrative accountability: In the moder administrative state, public administrators exercise enormous powers. There are aspects of their jobs that can lead to misuse or abuse of their powers and corruption as well. Hence, in 1 democratic government, public administrators must be held accountable to the people they serve for their actions and behaviour, Administrative accountability is secured by means of administrative self regulation and a comprehensive system of external controls—legislative, executive, judicial and popular. All these types of controls form part of the scope of the study of public administration, The citizen's charter, a recent concept, is another instrument of ty. It empowers the citizens as users to demand from the government and the service organizations (e.g. hospital, postoffice, etc.) the fundamentals of accountability, transparency, and quality and choice of services supplied to them. (5) Comparative public administration: The comparative public administration studies constitute an important area of specialization within the discipline of public administration. These are cross-national and cross-cultural administrative studies. Their aim is to focus on common elements in different kinds of administrative systems in the world. (©) Development administration: It is mainly administration of planned change. It concems administration of developmental plans and programmes undertaken by the developing nations. An important aspect of it is the development of administration (7) Organization theory: \t is an important emerging area of study in public administration as a discipline. It deals with the formal structure, internal functioning and performance of organizations, their external environment and the behaviour of groups and individuals within them administrative accountabi burea depar effect by appre behan appro for Henc scope expec f to be has v absol c Work swith the manpower 1 includes liscipline, The Is broadly j auditing he volum . Hence ate, public - jobs that Hence, in art of the ment of » demand ostoffice © public within the s-cultural different f planned study in e, internal ment and fnsroduction Organizational theories and procediires involve the operation of the large bureaucratic networks. Organizations in the public sectors such as government departments, public corporations, commissions etc, get the business of government done. (8) Public policy analysis: Public policy analysis is another important emerging sub-field of the study of public administration. Public policy-analysis refers to the study of the process of policy making and policy outputs, ic, the effects of policy implementation. Public policies are made and implemented by government to achieve certain goals The scope of public administration is enlarged by the emergence of new approaches to its study and new concepts. These, for instance, include behavioural, social, psychological, and ecological systems, and public choice approaches and new paradigms such as new public management, entrepreneurial government, good governance, and so on. (9) Scope of public administration as an activity: Public administration is only @ means to attain the ends of state. It is the handmaiden of government for carrying on its activities in the fulfillment of the purposes of the state. Hence, the scope of public administration as an activity is determined by the scope of governmental functions. The volume of governmental activities in tum depends upon people’s expectations from government. But what people expect from government varies from time to time. In the 19th century, for instance, laissez-faire state people expected chiefly to be left for themselves unhampered. In such a state, public administration has very little to do because the activities of government are kept down to absolute minimum— law and order, defence and revenue collection. Contrastingly, in a welfare state, which emerged at the end of the Second World War, people expect many things from government. Consequently, the state activities encompass many socio-economic welfare services for the people. There are hardly any instances where the arm of administration is not felt by the people from the womb to the tomb. It includes all operations of government ranging from the exploration of outer space to sweeping the streets. Hence, in welfare state, public administration has almost everything to do, The enormit of modem welfare state activities means inevitably more administrative activity, more administrative agencies and more officials, Hence, in a welfare state, wwe scope of public administration as an activity is very wide. Again, from the 1990s to the 21st century, people are expecting good governance in the era of globalization and liberalization and privatization, An important element of good governance is minimal state. Privatization and liberalization implying decontrol and delicensing have resulted in shrinkage in the functions of government, As a result, public bureaucracy has had to shed some of its functions and weight. Hence, the scope of public administration 6 Public Admi as an activity is very limited ibe state that adopts privatization and alization, Pub of institutions in the corporate sector, \ ic administration today extends to all those operations and activities nich depends upon the governmental funding ‘Thus, “public in public administration has also been expanded to include any administration that has considerable impact on the public. A Bidyut Chakravarthy and Mohit Bhattacharya ha Electric Supply Corporation, though private company, ve said The Calcutta ily be an appropri i The pre, theme for discus: edi on in public a discussion shows that the scope of public administration as s with people’s expectations from government and their concep\ of good life. Further, its scope is in direct relationship with the scope of overnmental functions as politically decided 1.9.4 Is the scope of public administration over expanding? Now the question is: Whether the scope of public administration is over expand () Th (ii) The nature of policies adopted The answer to this question can be examined from various an philosophy or ideology of state function ent, and (iii) The intellectual horizons of the discipline of public “administration. The first two factors determine the scope of public administration as an activity, while discipline.” last one determines the scope of public administration a First, what the government and its administ le system should do or should not do depends upon the philosophy or ideology of state functions (e.2 laissez faire or welfare state) as adopted by the political leaders in power. W. have already seen the impact of these two ideolo scope of public administration as an activity Again, if a state embraces the policy of nationalization, it leads to incr in the scope of admi strative activities of the government. On the other h if a state adopts the policies of privatization, liberalization, deregulation anc they demand the rollback of th in the fu de-licensin shrinkag tions of jovernment and in the scope of its administrative activities The increase or decrease’ of the scope of public administration activity depends on the nature of ideology followed as well as the natu policies as politically decided and impleme Since the publication of Woodrow Wilson's classic essay in 1887 on the development of public administration as a serious area of study, its intellectual horizons have be in 188 n ever expanding. Since its formal birth as a separate study a number of new paradigms, theories, approaches, and concepts have nificantly enlarged the scope of administrative study. The expanded horizons he discipline of public administration have invaded related social sciences lines such as political science, sociology, psychology, economics, ete., as as the philosophy of science, epistemology and ethics. Thus, it has become ter-disciplinary in nature In recent times, holars in public administration all over the world ave been attempting to develop value-oriented and normative public administration. Such an attempt has opened new vistas in the field of public ministration, L10 Conclusion To conclude the discussion, we may say that public administration has two i aspects, namely (1) the doing of Public ministration (i.e. the activities of public administration) and (2) the thinking about public administration (ie. the intellectual inquiry about administrative tivities). The former provides the basis for the latter. One any discipline of public administration without thinking about its ield sctivity. Administrative theories, therefore, are largely deductions from empiric uations. In other nbserv walistic. Ag rds, administrative theories are formulated on the basis tion of the field of administrative activity and hence, they are largely pd theory is one which is based on facts and practices and thus pser {0 reality Administrative theories, in their tum, are also useful to administrative tivity. Administrative theories provide a disciplinary framework and enceptual clarity for administrative actions. Thus, administrative theory and ministrative practices are closely related. As Nicholas Henry says, “Public administration is a broad ranging and amorphous combination of theory and ractice.” While administrative theory deals with generalizations and principles f public administration, administrative practice deals with their application to various fields of administrative Although administrative theory and administrative practice are closely Hated, they are nevertheless separate and different. According to Prof. Waldo, The difference between administrative theory and administrative practice is a difference similar to that between biology as the study of organisms and the LI Advantages of the Study of Public Ad The study of public administration as a field of activity and an area of ellectual inquiry have both utilitarian and intellectual objectives. The original purpose of the study of public administration was not to cultivate knowledge its own sake. Instead, its purpose was explicitly utilitarian. The study of 18 Public Administration administration was directed at the twin pursuits of reforming government and training civil servants Woodrow Wilson was the first to articulate the principles underlying the civil service reform movement in the USA, Wilson declared that the central Purpose of the study of public administration was to discover and establish a set of valid principles and the most efficient ways of org and runnin; the executive branch of government, Administrative theory, thus, grew in the late nineteenth century and the carly twentieth century with the primary objective of making government more effective and economical in its working. This goal is still important. However, gradually, the study of public administration has also acquired certain intellectual objectives. The benefits or the advantages of the study of public administration may be briefly stated as follows. The study of public administration (@ Helps the student to learn the basic concepts, principles and theories of public administration, i) Helps to explain the purposes, functions, and continuation of government bureaucracy, (iii) Provides knowledge of public organizations and the context in which and the methods by which they operate (iv) Promotes a superior understanding of government and its relationship with the society it governs and thus it enables us to learn more about how our country is governed, ful as training for citizenship and for preparing citizens for an active participation in the process of democratic governance, (vi) Makes us learn how to promote the public interest more effectively, (vii) Promotes among the people an awareness of the importance of the administrative activities in their lives, (ili) Is useful to make public pol needs, (ix) As an applied discipline, provides kowledge which is helpful to the Policy makers and to those who implement policies, an (2) Prepares students for employment in the government service and mak them aware of the opportunities and challenges of the public service and thus is useful as a @ ies, which are more responsive to public serving investment SIGNIFICANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Public administration lies at the centre of modern society, which has witnessed the emergence of the ‘Administrative State’. In the administrative state, public administration has become all encompassing and affects the lives Of the people from ‘the womb to the tomb’, Since the end of the Second World geaae SERRA BRahOR. apaa BRB Seaear mment and lying the he central establish a id runni y and the emment important d certain of public of public vation of in which lationship. Fe about ns for an of the to public ful to the nd makes c service hich has nistrative the lives nd World Inuroduction 9 War. governmental activities have increased manifold and became more complex sd pervasive. Public administration has undergone far-reaching changes both ‘mits objectives and functions. Consequently, public administrators have entered sew functional areas. They are grappling with new problems in administer public affairs Ikis recognized that public administration plays crucial role in all societies developed and developing. In the modern administrative state, public administration has become so significant that our development, upliftment and progress depend mainly upon the efficient functioning of public administration ‘The different roles played by public administration in the modern society may be analyzed under the following heads. 21 Basis of Government Public administration serves as the basis of government. A government can exist without a legislature or an independent judiciary. But no government an exist without administrative machinery, Paul H Appleby remarks, “Without administration, government would be a discussion club, if indeed it could exist at all.” All nations, irrespective of their system of government, require some sort of administrative machinery for implementing public policies. Thus, public administration has been the instrument of ancient empires, of monarchies, of oth democracies and dictatorships, and of both developed and developing nations. As an activity, public administration cuts across different political ideologies such as capitalism or socialism. Administrative principles ais such hhave no particular ideology at heart. Administration is conceived as a purely neutral instrument 22 An Instrument for Implementing Laws and Polici Public administration is responsible for implementing the laws and polices of government. In doing this, public administration plays a crucial role, By carrying out laws, it regulates the behaviour of the people in society. By implementing public policies and programmes, it delivers the promised and services to the intended beneficiaries. The ideals and objectives of government may be very popul for national development may be extremely progressive, and resources of the country may be abundant, but without administration nothing can be achieved. In other words, even the good objectives of the best policies and laws of a government may remain as mere paper declarations of intent, if the administrative machinery does not function efficiently and honestly. An efficient public administration can avoid waste, limit the consequences of incompetence, or responsibility while the plans efficient implementing laws and public policies. Thus, public administration acts as an 20 Public Administration instrument for trans! s, laws and policies into reality. As A.D. Gorwala remarks, " na democracy, there can be no successful planning without a cle. efficient and impartial administration 2.3 Participation Policy Formi According to Dimock and Dimock, “In the modern world, bureaucracy is the chief policy maker in government.” It is a source of facts and experien: as well as of ideas and solution of public problems. In modern democ! public administrators participate in policy making by to ministers and providing them the necessary information (i.e., facts and figures), which is relevant for policy formulation. As Sir Josiah Stamp says, “The officials ‘must be the main spring of the new society, su esting, promoting and advising at every stage.” The administra sks of public bureaucracy inclu formulation of policies and plans, executing and monitoring down laws, rules and regulations, which walks of life ject human actions in almost all 2.4 A Great Stabilizing Force Society Public administration acts as a great stabilizing force in society. It settles social tensions and conflicts and thus creates soci unity and harmony. This ‘ole of public administration is of particular significance in the newly ministrators solve social problems. ‘Thus, public administration stabilizes social structure, social organization and social relationship. As Paul Pigors says, “The main purpose of administration is to preserve the status quo in society.” The administrative independent A fro-Asian developing countries. Public function “ensures the continuance of the existing order with a minimum of effort and risk. Its fundamental aim is to carry on rather than to venture along new and untried paths. Administrators are, therefore, the stabilizes of socie and the guardians of tradition, 5 Provides Continuity when Governments Change Public administrators carry on government when rulers change every now and then owing to elections or revolutions or coups. Accordi Muir, “While and go, ministers may rise and fall, the administration of a country goes on for ever. No revolution can change it and ‘no upheaval can uproot it” It is a proven fact of history that public adminis tration survives even revolutions and coup d'etat or change of a regime g to Ramsay overnments may com 2.6 Provides a Wide Variety of Services in t Public administration in the modern welfare state provides a larg wide variety of services for the people. Felix A. Nigro remarks, “.... The real of administration is the basic service which is performed for the public je administration provides a number of services in the public interest 1 Protective functions First of all, public administration protects the life and property of the People by maintaining law and order. The survival and progress of human ment of Jaws against law Beings in society depend on the proper enforc eeakers. As CP. Bhambbri remarks, *,... The m he most primary and crucial role of public administration.” This is because lic administration fails to perform iis function effectively, National defence is another protective function of law and order of jungle will prevail in society, if p med by public administration. This function is essential for the nance of the independence of the nation and protecting its frontiers. In recent times, protection of environment is added to the protective jons of government mentioned in the preceding lines, As a result of rapid Sedustrialization, there is the problem of environmental pollution, which aiens our lives, and civilization. Befouled air, water and earth affect our Bealth and lives. Now almost all governments are making efforts at the meement of environmental quality, The environmental administration ‘th with its environment, It must intain the quality of air, the uses of the ocean, and the purity of ti wns. It considers man’s spiritual and physical survival 2, Facilitative services Public administration ow-a-dlays provides facilitative services such as f, and so on, portation, communications, supply of pow 243 Management of public enterprises Public administrators manage public enterprises and public utilities in the est of socio-economic justice, Public utilities are either publicly owned or y regulated in most countries. Government also imposes controls over economic and business activities in the public interest 244 Welfare services The welfare services provided for the people include social security, old pensions, welfare of the weaker sections, family planning, health, seemployment relief, poverty alleviation, housing, ete. 245 Promotion of agriculture, industry, etc. Public administration promotes agriculture, industry, internal and national trade, banking, insurance. etc 2 Public Administration 2.6.6 Cultural services In the cultural sphere, public administration undertakes certain functions: provision of education, promotion of science and technology, encouragement of arts and ideology, ete. 2.6.7 Maintenance of political system Public administration is concerned with the maintenance of the nation’s political system and national unity. It is a cont the activities of the government. To be brief, itis concerned with the pre of the polity. The wide variety of functions performed by public administration is influenced by developments in the political, economic and social spheres. The preceding discussion indicates that public administration has become 1 part of the social, economic, political and cultural life of the people How well we enjoy the services provided by government depend, in la part, on how well they are administered. Hence, in simpler societies of early days, good administration was important but in modern complex societies ‘good administration is essential. It has to play a very important role not only as an instrument of governance but also as an important means to achieve the {goals of socio-economic progress and nation building. As Appleby says, “The heart of administration is the management of programmes designed to serve the general welfare. uous process in determining srvation a 2.7 An Instrument of Social Change and Economic Development 1 Public administration is “ publicly defined societal values. Latin America, public admi economic development, The de agricultural societies without adequate basic amenities of good life. These yncerned with managing:change in pursuit of | © Tn the developing nations of Asia, Africa and | simi stration acts as an instrument of social change and oping nations are mostly traditional and poor nations are anxious to achieve modernization of society and economic development and realize welfare goals. The state is called upon to achieve these goals. These objectives have placed challenging tasks on public administration such as formulation of economic plans and their successful implementation to realize economic growth and social change and welfare goals. The accomplish: ment of these goals requires honest and competent public administrators. Without efficient administration, socio-economic progress cannot be achieved. It is expected today to be the accelerator of economic and social change. 2.8 Public Admi Publ civilization.” The tration : Essential for the Development of Civil administration has been described as “the heart of modern vilized life that we live today depends upon the proper » nation’s pheres become ple. Lin larg s of early not only hieve the ays, “The | to serve nt pursuit of ‘rica and mange and; and poor fe. These jeve these nistration| atation to) mplish: vilization| modern proper: imtroduction 2B functioning of public administration. Civili ed life implies security to life, of the benefits that are the result of ilable 10 people by public administration. The great accomplishments in various fields are due to advances in administration as well as in science and technology Civilized life is not possible if there is a breakdown of public administration Without public administration, contemporary civilization cannot function, urban society would be unbearable, law and order mea development impracticable, world trade impossible, and egalitarianism tunattainable. Public administration is highly essential to preserve and promote humanistic civilization, Since public administration fulfils many needs of civilized life in society, # will most likely continue to prosper and evolve. C. Merriam regards administration as the evolution of another human technology leading to man’s adaptation to his complex environment. How man will use public administration —its enormous powers of coercion and persuasion—to preserve and conceivably enhance his place in the universe depends only on man, berty and property as well as enjoymer advances in modern science and technology. These are made at igless, socio-economic 29 Reasons for the Growing Importance of Public Administration A number of factors have contributed to the significance of public administration in the modem society. They are briefly stated as follows. 29.1 The sciemific and technological developments The scientific discoveries and technological advances have greatly contributed to the vast increase in the scope of the activities of public administration. The developments in modern science and technology have led fo revolutionary changes in transportation and communication system. The vention of telephone, telegraph, railways, and airways has made big wernment and large-scale administration possible. The introduction of mechanical devices in the office administration such as typewriters, tele printers, and calculators, photocopying machines, personal computers, fax and the electronic mail has brought about even more revolutionary changes in the ways and methods of administration, These devices have facilitated the management of big and complex modern organizations with ease and speed. 2.9.2 Industrial revolution Industrial revolution, a consequence of the scientific inventions and technological developments, brought about certain changes in society. It led to the growth of large-scale industries and factory production, over-crowded industrial towns, and urban slums. The factory system also resulted in such evils as the growth of capitalism, large-scale unemployment, exploitation of labour, longer hours of work and lower wages, employment hazardous occupations, health hazards, ete. In the interest of socio-economic justice, governments in the developed and developing countries have been compelled to assume new responsibilities to set right the bad effects of the ibove evils. As a result, the tasks and responsibilities as well as the importanc ministration have vastly increased, of public 2.9.3 Economic planning Economic planning is another factor that has contributed to the increasing importance of public administration, particularly in the developing nations of Afrc Africa and Asia, Modern governments have resorted to planning of achieving economic development and goals of welfare state, T Asian developi tions have undertaken development planning to reshape their economies and societies, The new responsibilities relating to plan activities, ic., plan formulation and implementation, and creation of elaborate necessary administrative machinery have naturally widened the sphere of public idministration. However, in the wake of the new liberalized economic reforms, planning as a method of ecoriomic development and the administrative function relating to it are gradually g ting. diminished, 2.9.4 Wars Wars have also contributed to the importance of public administration, In times of war, public administration is entrusted with the responsibility of mobilizing necessary manpower and resources for the purpose of war. Certain tivities acquired by public administration during war-time may continui even after the termination of war. For instance, the Second World War had an impact on the availability of food (shortage of food) and the prices of good: Consequently, the government introduced the system of controls and quotas on the distribution and consumption of certain essential goods and commoditie The same systems have been with the public authorities in India until the introduction of the new policy of economic liberalization in the 1990s. Thus, wars have their impact on the sphere of activities of public administration ir providing goods and services for the people. 5 Calamities and crises Natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, droughts, and cyclones have also enhanced the importance of public administration. In the event of occurrence of such natural calamities, 1 quickly property of the affe e public administrators have to act 1d undertake rescue operations in onder to prevent loss of life and d people. Thus, crisis management is an important function of public administration. To give an example, a crisis managemen oup was formed to deal with the situation in Maharashatra and Karnataka ich were rocked by an earthquake on September 30, 1993, The crisis Secretary pordinated and supported the activities of the various central ministries and janagement group, under the chairmanship of the Union Cabine departments. An emergency control room was also set up in the Home Ministry monitor the situation, The purpose of all these arrangements was to provide peedy relief to the victims and survivors of the earthquakes disaster. In the third world countries, very often, the public authorities have to nage the recurring crises resulting from social upheavals such as class and sste conflicts, communal riots, tribal and ethnic violence. These dark forces hreaten social harmony and peace and the fabric of society. Government ha: sponsibili control such antisocial forces; and in times of cris ting from their activities, the public administrators have to act quickly to pe Public administration has also increased its importance and protect the lives and properties of the people. This role of 2.9.6 Rapid growth of population and the problems of metropolitan cities ” » The rapid growth of population in almost all the countries of the world specially in the developing countries, has compli ed the problems of providing food, shelter, education, health and sanitation, transport facilities ditional and the like to the people. ‘The tackling of these problems has placed fowth of metropolitan citi hem. Some of the problems of the metropolitan cities include congestion. ter supply, inadequate n, increasing urban crime rate and violence, etc. The responsibility i these acute social and economic problems has devolved upon 2.9.7 Emergence of welfare state The emergence of welfare state in modern times has added’ many ities and responsibilities to the existing functions of public bureaucracy, welfare state is a Social service state. Its motto is promotion of humar od life for the ps fare and ple. In the interest of socio-economic justice, ovider of essential commodities, a manager of key industries and banking rvices, and a controller and regulator of private economic enterprises and vities. Thus as Herman Finer hardly a gap.” Waldo says, “Public pmplex, und it is not only acted upon, but also acts, It is indeed a great ays, “The state is everywhere, it leaves idministration is a part of the cultura ive force with man's welfare as its ideal.” This change in the politica losophy of state from negative to positive role has naturally increased the ice of public administration 26 Public Administration 2.9.8 Developments in the 1990s: Their impact ‘The new liberalized economic reforms in the 1990s: liberalization and privatization—have demanded the roll back of the welfare state, As a result, government has had to shed some of its functions and weight. Government is now being called upon to play more and more ‘enabli role than the traditional “doing” role. It no longer plays the role of a direct provider of goods and services. Instead, Government may operate indirectly as enabler, allowing non-government agencies to operate directly in a wide ra of social activities. Thus, the functions of the state have been reduced to the 2.10 New Agenda Items As a result of major developments taking place throughout the world people’s aspirations and needs keep changing. One significant trend is towards the steady emergence of a “new politics” agenda items. These items include isques relating to environmental management, child labour, gender equality social equity, human rights, and ethnic minorities, aids, epidemic, tribal development, etc. These issues have emerged from societal demands articulated by new groups that look to government for protection and development. Public administration can ill-afford to ignore these burning social issues. Their increasing importance might impel governments to undertake more and more functions instead of shedding them. In other words, they move governments towards an expansionist version. Changing circumstances may thus falsify the claim of state minimalist theoreticians. Social engineers welcome public administration’s extension as a means of eliminating selfish private interests that exploit the common welfare. They contemplate public administration as the instrument of achieving societal goals by a rational and responsive ordering of communal actions. In a moral and basic sense, public administration has to serve “a higher purpose.” In a sense, ‘as Ordway Tead says, “Administration is a moral act and administrator is. a moral agent.” 2.11 Opinions of some Eminent Scholars on the Importance of Pub Administration (1) Alexander Pope: “For the forms of government, let fools contest whatever is administered best, is best 2) Edmund Burke: “Without proper management, your commonwealth is no better than a scheme on paper and not a living, active, effective constitution. Administration is there under all situations. There would be no existence without administration.” balization the welfare gctions and nabling of a direct ndirectly as wide range ced to the ne world tis towards sms include er equality, emic, tribal s articulated nent. Public sues. Their and more. alsify the. a means off fare, They xcietal goals : moral and) In a sense istrator is al e of Public ols contest J, effective! There would! fesroduction a (3) Charles E. Beard: “Administration is the science of contemporary outlook, roductive necessary mnsuitable nherited lopment ween the in almost stives of As Prof, mimes is remarks, echanics gstem in cers: and S urgent ures of ness of y needs mber of ms and st their cities wwe the ivities, geested roadly : some ations, Jnsroduction 38 Therefore, the rigid rule bound bureaucracies should be changed into flexible action-oriented and more responsive instruments of social change. The bureaucrats have to be positive, persuasive and innovative, (2) The civil service must be made fully professional, dynamic and equal to the task through appropriate methods of recruitment and training. ‘The civil servants should combine administrative skills with modern ‘management techniques for greater effectiveness and responsiveness in administration. Creating right values and attitudes in the administrators. They are required to be less oligarchic and closer to the ordinary people. Thus, what is required is change in the behavioural orientation of public administrators. ©) Simplification of rules, regulations, procedures and reduction of red {ape in the implementation of developmental policies and programmes. This is also necessary for the convenience of the public at the cutting- ‘edge level of public administration. To be more precise, the following are some of the important ‘commendations made by the expert committees and commissions for Sssiructuring the administrative system of a developing society like India: (@) De-emphasis of hierarchy in the administrative structure (©) Collegiate decision making (©) Giving precedence to the achievement of goals over strict adherence to rules and regulations (@) Decentralization of authority (e) Democratization of administration ® Creation of new work culture and encouraging creativity {s) Elimination of archaic office procedures and the use of such technological devices as Fax, personal computer and the electronic ‘mail in administration (h) Adoption of modern management techniques such as management by objectives (0 Elimination of corruption so as to secure clean, honest, impartial and efficient administration () Effecting the needed attitudinal and behavioural changes in the bureaucracy through proper recruitment system and orientation training (4) Securing integrity of administrators (® Promoting efficiency, economy and public cooperation (m) Specifying tasks and responsibilities for better implementation of plans and programmes and {n) Facilitating expeditious dispatch of government work. 36 Public Administration 3.7 Conelusion Implementation of administrative reforms has not always received any top) Priority in the developing countries. In fact, very few recommendations out of ‘many suggested by committees and commissions have been implemented India. However, the national administrative reformers in the developing nations have given importance to inculcate new skills in the civil servants and strengthen their capabilities in relation to planning and developmental tasks. As Padma Ramachandran says, “Administrative reforms to be effective must be built into the existing administration and should be a dimension borne in the mind of each administrator as he goes about his work: There is great need in the developing countries to pay much attention to the development of vitality in public administration. It is not enough to have ‘200d policies unless we should have equally good civil service, to implement them effectively. Public administration must adapt itself to changing circumstances if it is to be a mechanism for development process. Such adaptability is possible through a continuing process of administrative reforms. 38 Differences between Public Administration in Developed and Developing Societies Most countries in the world are either developed or developing. The nations of Western Europe, North America and English-speaking dominions of the British Commonwealth are usually recognized as developed societies, The newly independent poor countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America are called developing countries We should bear in mind that public administration is ecological and culture bound, Hence, the nature and role of public administration are greatly influenced by the environmental conditions of the society in which it functions. For this reason, the role played by public administration in developed countries differs from the role played by it in developing countries. Now let us note briefly the ‘main differences between the roles of public administration in the developed and developing societies. ‘The main differences in the roles of public administration in the developed and developing countries are as follows: (1) In the developed post-industrial societies, public administration plays! 4 limited role. In these societies, the highly developed and widespread) infrastructure is owned and managed by private organizations, The Public administrators regulate private sector to promote accelerated development and to provide services to the people efficiently In the developing countries, public administration has a major and significant role to play in bringing about the much-needed socio- ‘economic changes in society. In the developing societies, the government Introduction 37 is required to create the necessary infrastructure and manage it. Agencies and organizations have to be established by governments for rendering social welfare services. There is high degree of reliance on public administration as an instrument to achieve developmental goals. In the developed societies, public administrators have to tackle the problems of increasing crime and serious social problems such as rape, violence, drug addiction, etc., which pose threats to the public welfare. ‘They deal with complex problems, which demand complex solutions. he mind ‘They have to solve such problems with the help of advanced technological techniques. They have to perform increasingly complex attention t managerial tasks. In other words, the difficult challenges faced by ugh to ha public administrators demand unprecedented expertise and sensibility implement oon their part. » changing Contrastingly, the problems faced by public administration in the jess. Sue developing societies are quite different. They include such problems as ve reform: poverty, unemployment, poor health, low agricultural and industrial productivity, etc. These problems have “posed a formidable challenge’ for public administrators of the developing societies. Usually, the bureaucracies are deficient in skilled manpower for developmental The nation programmes. Public administration of the developed societies is influenced by developments of science and technology. Hence, public administrators smerica have to familiarize themselves with fast changing scientific discoveries and technological techniques for managing human affairs. ‘and cultu In the developing countries, public administration is greatly influenced pinfluenc by underdeveloped economy and the challenges of socio-economic development. The developing countries depend on their governments for all crucial decisions regarding economic developments. These societies have limited material and human resources for development. Because of scarcity of resources, governments of the developing societies intervene in social life by laying down major priorities and goals of government. Public administration in developed societies is pragmatic and production oriented. Public administrators are loyal to the organization and committed to achieve its objectives. Bureaucracy no longer conforms to the traditional Weberian model. It is passing through the post- Weberian phase of development. Bureaucracies in the developing societies emphasize orientations that are other than production directed. Much of the bureaucratic activity is diverted towards the non-developmental goals and non-productive operations. Loyalty to the organization or its mission is not a powerful Public Administration ethic among the bureaucrats in the developing societies. In the developing societies, bureaucracy is Weberian in form but not in content. ‘The officials use administrative methods to extend their personal power without reference to the goals of the organization, In many developed countries of the West, an egalitarian and democratic culture has emerged and it has developed a feeling of equality among participants in administrative decision-making. In these societies, a subordinate is not aftaid of expressing his difference of opinion with his superior on an administrative problem. Contrastingly, in the traditional hierarchical developing societies, opinions of superior cannot be challenged and questioned by the subordinates, This is because developing societies lack traditions of equality and democracy. In the developed societies, public administration has acquired the ‘capability of implementing the laws of the land. On the contrary, public administration in the developing societies has not yet developed the capability of fully implementing the laws, and in consequence many laws enacted by legislators remain on paper. In the developed countries, public administrators usually do not violate law because they are afraid of the consequences of such an act. On the contrary, in the developing societies, public administrators, while implementing the laws, do not hesitate to violate them. Violation of law by the law enforcing authorities is quite usual in the developing countries. In the developed countries, corruption in public administration is ‘marginal, whereas corruption is all pervasive in the public administrative systems of the developing societies. In the developed societies, administrative roles are highly specialized and differentiated; spheres of competence are well defined and hierarchical relationships are thoroughly understood. The bureaucracy is not an autonomous unit in the political system. However, it is responsive to external controls from legitimized political authority, although there are tendencies within the bureaucracy toward evasion and self-direction. Contrastingly, in the developing societies, there is overlapping in the political and administrative structures and in their functions. Bureaucracy enjoys aan unusual degree of operational autonomy. This is because of bureaucracies near monopoly on technical expertise in administrative matters. The bureaucrats enjoy maximum power without effective control over it. ‘The preceding discussion clearly shows that public administration is not the same thing in developed and developing societies. The specific roles played Ts Fy TheTiey 6S ape istration s. In the p content, al power mocratic y among ieties, a jon with ocicties, | by the ons of ired the y Public ped the © many violate On the + while tion of eloping tion is strative lized and mcracy zit is hority, vasion in the enjoys cies ucrats is not layed tion 39 & in different countries are greatly influenced by their respective “ronmental conditions. Hence, the study of public administration should ignore the specific and concrete context of administration, ‘Some writers maintain that the main distinction between administration in countries and in underdeveloped countries lies in differences in their ive economic environments. Although economic environment plays an t role in influencing the functioning of administration, socio-cultural Political environment also influences its role in any society, in which it ions. As Riggs points out, administrative systems evolve in accordance their social, economic, cultural and political contexts, New Liberalized Economic Policies: Their impact on public ‘administration in the developing countries Towards the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, certain t events took place on the international stage. The most important of are the end of the cold war generally, but specifically the collapse of lunism in the Soviet Union and Eastem Europe. The breakdown of their inist political and economic system unleashed the worldwide forces of ization and economic liberalization. As a result, almost all the countries she world including the communist China have been passing through these liberal economic reforms. They have introduced competitive markets and liberalized foreign trade, After the severe foreign exchange and financial of 1991, India too cannot but follow the new liberal economic policies fhe economic sphere. Before we examine the impact of these policies on lic administration, Jet us understand what the terms globalization, ization and privatization stand for. Globalization ‘What is globalization? According to Kofi A. Annan, “Essentially, it means foday, more than ever in the past, groups and individuals interact directly frontiers without necessarily involving the state, This happens partly se of new technology and partly because states have found that prosperity Detter served by releasing the creative energies of theit people than by ing them. To put it differently, globalization implies an open global market where and services can pass freely across national boundaries. Thus, in the of globalization, there are a few legal obstacles to international trade ‘commerce. Globalization is said to have certain benefits. According to Kofi Annan, benefits of globalization are obvious: faster growth, higher living Is, new opportunities.” However, unless these benefits are equally a0 Public Administratio distributed among nations globalization cannot be a success. The success o globalization requires the developed countries to open their own markets t the products of the developing countries. The developing countries must t enabled to export their way to prosperity ‘The process of globalization is not free from defects. It may lead to th exploitation of the developing countries by the developed nations. As state economic policies are increasingly governed by global imperatives of expo: carnings and international financial markets, states fail to deliver social welfare services and the general well being of their national populations. 3.9.2 Liberalization Liberalization is an important consequence of the phenomenon o! globalization. Liberalization of the economy implies decontrol and delicensing. It aims at free flow of the capital, technology and services by eliminating th restrictive regulations, licenses and controls over the economy. All this is intended to create a climate for a competitive environment, The policy of economic liberalization lays greater stress on the market forces. It results in openness of the economy and exposes it to the processes of globalization. It not only favours the free play of market forces but al encourages economic activity independent of the state. Markets and private enterprises have suddenly become a universal solution to economic maladies. ‘The upsurge of liberal economies forces the civil society to confront the market forces, 3.9.3 Privatization ‘In many ways, privatization is simply a new word for denationalization, the removal from government control of monopolies both in the service secto and in manufacturing industry.” It implies conversion of public sector enterprise to private sector. This conversion process takes many forms such as selling th assets of public enterprise to private industry at fixed prices, contracting ou specific services such as hospital and transport services, and disinvestments in the public enterprises. ‘The last form of privatization is quite popular in India, By this policy, government sheds its majority stake but still keeps a portion of its equity. ‘The growing interest in privatization is a direct consequence of the maladies of public enterprises. The high-cost public enterprises are non-competitive. ‘Their non-performance, the continuous heavy losses incurred by them and too much political interference in their functioning are some of the important defects of public enterprises. Privatization is regarded as one of the reform strategies to enhance the efficiency and accountability of public enterprises and motivate them to achieve ition 4 mic growth by improving productivity. Privatization encourages them to in the international market in providing quality goods and services at itive prices. Thus, as a result of privatization, public sector enterprises themselves in a competitive and challenging environment. 24 Impact of liberal economic reforms on the role of the state and public ‘administration in developing countries ‘The new momentous liberal economic reforms mentioned in the preceding have affected the role, structures, processes of the government system ‘well as the behaviour and attitudes of public bureaucracy. Their impact may briefly noted as under. Impact on the role of the state: The liberal economic reforms demand ‘oll back of the welfare state. The state has 10 retreat from its expansionist interventionist agenda. It has to shed public sectors extra weight and those economic activities that are more appropriate to private enterprise. the state has to come down from the commanding heights of the economy. yment’s role has to shift from that of an investor and owner of industry ‘shat of an overall regulator and umpire, These policies result in the minimal and thus decrease in the scope of its functions and least interference in lives of the people. ‘The new changed role of the state: (1) Even under the new liberal economic policies, the withdrawal of state from the economy is not total or indiscriminate. It can still influence the market without giving up its direct role in the key economic sectors. It-can play the role of promoter of economy by developing and providing the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the development of agriculture and industry. ‘The state can strengthen the institutional framework, particularly in the financial sector such as banks, cooperative societies and so on. Further, its role in modernizing technology and promoting its application in the public systems is bound to be prominent. The state has also the responsibility to regulate and control the market forces and private enterprises in the public interest. It has the responsibility to prevent the unscrupulous private business enterprises from exploiting the consumer. For this purpose, the state has to establish regulatory and control institutions on the pattern of the independent regulatory commissions in the U.S.A. Such controlled institutions are highly essential to safeguard the interests of the consumer. In the emerging economic set up, the state and its bureaucracy will have to ‘emerge as the defender of citizens’ rights and privileges. Thus, the state's intervention in economic affairs is justified only on grounds of public interest rather than mere political judgement. 2 Public Administration (4) The role of the state in human resource development will not shrink. ‘The government of a developing society has to deploy its resources more for human resource development by providing education, health and the like. (5) The government of a developing society continues to have an important role in distribution of essential commodities such as rice, wheat, edible oil, and kerosene, Bureaucracy plays an important role in catering to the basic living of the poor by regulating the equitable distribution of the above-mentioned items. The government cannot ignore the welfare of the weaker sections in society. The government’s role in public distribution system (PDS) is more, while its role in production is less in the altered economic conditions. (6) The role of the state in tackling the problems of rural and urban poverty, unemployment, inequalities and regional imbalances would continue to be significant in the foreseeable future. Impact on public bureaucracy: The new liberalized economic policies affect the size, role, status, values, attitudes and skills of government bbureaiicracy. These policies ultimately result in shrinkage in the administrative apparatus of government and the size of its bureaucracy. The new economic policies demand de-licensing and deregulation, and in consequence debureaucratization of administration. As a result, bureaucracy's control over the economy is loosened. Once controlling and licensing becomes unnecessary, the bureaucracy suddenly becomes irrelevant in its usual role in the economy. Bureaucracy has to shed some of its functions and weight. However, “the fading away of controls, regulation and superintendence of the economy will not make the bureaucracy weak or ineffectual but confer upon it greater moral responsibility to see that the new system strikes root and functions without undue interference.” Under the new economic reforms, the bureaucrat is required to be investor friendly, responsive, competitive and accountable. He has to act as an entrepreneur who is to be result oriented, He has to play the role of an honest broker in relation to powerful business houses and corporations, which compete against each other. Need for training of bureaucracy: But by its very nature, public bureaucracy is tragically ill-equipped to play effectively the role, which is required of it by the policy of economic liberalization and privatization. Control may go and yet control mentality may not. Such a likely contradiction requires to be prevented. It will be most desirable to change the mindset of bureaucrats Bureaucrats at all levels of government are in need of training to bring about the much-needed attitudinal changes and build up competence and the required skills in them, Training should: ¢ shrink. ssources. 1 health nportant t edible ering to ution off welfare: 1 public nis less d urban, $ would policies; ernment istrative conomic, quence rol over without investor, [as an | honest smpete’ publie! hhich is Control quires aucrats, o bring and the Introduction 4B (@) Bring home to the bureaucrats, the need for quality improvement and cost efficiency consciousness, (@ Familiarize them with the social side effects of privatization and liberalization. (iii) Develop in them an ability to make a social system function well with the least state interference in the lives of the individuals, (@) Help strengthen the social security administration and fortify it against the possible risks of economic liberalization and privatization, Impact on planning: The new liberal economic reforms have their greatest Smpact on the socio-economic planning system. The approach and emphasis of fis type of planning are bound to get transformed into indicative planning. Under this type of planning, “stress is more on persuasion than on regulation ad control of the private sector.” In other words, the centralized planned ‘sconomic system is replaced by market-oriented economic system. As a result, ‘here is less central direction of the economy by government ‘The implementation of the policies of liberalization and privatization ‘equires the necessary administrative reforms. The much-needed administrative ‘ssforms should aim at elimination of redundant practices, red tape, irrationalities sed coruption, which are counter-productive forces for effective implementation ef liberalization and privatization policies. 4 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ADMINISTRATION: DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES As a universal process, administration is common to both public and Private sectors. It involves the effective utilization of human and physical Fsources to achieve specified objectives. Although administration as a ‘SPoperative group effort occurs in both public and private settings, its nature aries with the nature of the institutional setting with which its is concerned. ‘On the basis of the nature of the institutional setting, public administration can ‘ughily be distinguished from private administration, Public administration is that part of the broader field of administration hich deals with governmental affairs and operates in a political setting. It felates to the activities carried on by central, state and local governments Private or business administration, on the other hand, consists in the Sanagement of private business enterprises owned and operated by private ‘dividuals. The business concerns of the Tatas and the Birlas are examples ‘of private administration. ‘There has been an enduring debate about the question of how public “=iministration is similar to and different from private (business) administration ‘We shall now proceed to examine the differences and similarities between the ‘Seo types of administration, 44 Public Administration 4.1 Differences between Public and Private Administration Although there are several aspects of public administration that are generic, it differs from private administration in certain respects. In the opinion of such writers as Wallace Sayre, Paul H. Appleby, Sir Josiah Stamp and Peter Drucker, public administration is different from private administration in certain respects Public and private administration differ in their purposes, objectives, values and the environments in which they operate, In the opinion of Peter Drucker, “Public administration is different in its purpose, it has different values. It needs different objectives. And it makes a different contribution to society. ‘Performance and results’ ate quite different in a service institution from what they are in a business institution. “Managing for performance’ is one area in which the service institution differs significantly from business institution.” ‘According to Dimock and Dimock, “Public administration is distinctive from private administration because it deals with the ends of the state, the sovereign will, the public interests and law, the coercive element in society.” In the opinion of Rosenbloom, “Public administration is concerned with administration of the public interest. It is constrained by constitutions and relatively unconstrained by market forces and itis considered as a public trust exercised on behalf of the Sovereign.” George Berkley says that the significant differences between public and private administration “largely hinge on the greater legal accountability of the former as compared to the greater flexibility of the latter: ‘According to Sit Josiah Stamp, four important characteristic features of public administration distinguish it from private administration, These ate: (The principle of uniformity (ii) The principle of external financial control (il) “The principle of ministerial responsibility (iv) The principle of marginal return or service motive In the opinion of Paul Appleby, important aspects of public administration which differentiate it from private administration are: (@ Breadth of scope, Gi) Impact and consideration, (iii) Public accountability, and (iv) Political nature ‘According to Herbert Simon: (i) Public administration is bureaucratic, whereas private administration is business like, (i Public administration is political, whereas private administration is non-political, and tion Introduction 45 (iii) Public administration is characterized by red tape, whereas private administration is free from it. It might be useful to spell out the significant ways. in which public administration differs from business administration, The important differences between the two types of administration are as follows: 4.1.1 Public interest (service motive) The main aim of public administration is to serve public interest with altruistic motive. Its guiding consideration is promotion of public welfare. It undertakes such expensive services as defence, law and order, public health, postal services, etc., with service motive even if they result in financial loss to the public exchequer. These services are essential for the life of the people in society On the contrary, private business is almost invariably conducted for profit, which tends to become the driving force for private administration. Private (business) administration would not continue an unprofitable activity, even if it is essential for the public good. In the business world, profit is viewed as social and economic good, and service to the public is only an incidental benefit of the main business activity. ‘The main beneficiary of public administration's activities is, thus. the entire community, whereas that of the business administration is the owner of the business himself. In other words, the ends of public administration are communal, while those of private administration are personal, 41.2 Political direction According to Herbert Simon, public administration is political, whereas private administration is non-political. Paul H. Appleby also remarks, “All ‘administration and all policy making within the government are political.” Public administration operates the political environment and under the Girection of the ruling group of political leaders. Public policy and every aspect of administrative operations are affected by political factors. In a emocracy, the public administrators are supposed to do in ways as decreed bby the representatives of the people. In contrast, private (business) administration is marginally affected ty political factors. It is not subjected to political direction, except in times of the ‘gravest emergency. It largely operates under the influence of market forces ‘22d economic conditions. Its objectives generally do not depend iypon political ‘Gecisions. The ends it pursues are of its own device. Exposure to political setting and direction is, thus, the most obvious aspect ‘ef public administration, which distinguishes it from private administration. Political environment is the central fact of administrative life for government ‘officials in a democratic system. 46 Public Administration 4.1.3 Legal framework According to J.M. Pfiffner and Robert Presthus, “The pervasive legal context is among the principal distinctions between public and private cemterprise.” Public administration operates within a legal framework prescribed by the constitution, laws, rules and regulations. This legal system defines the jurisdiction, authority, legal rights and obligations of public officials. They ‘must always act within their legal powers while discharging their duties By contrast, private administration is subject to less legal constraints Business executives can usually do anything that is not forbidden by law. In other words, “in private administration, the law generally tells the administrator only what he cannot do; in public administration, the law tells can do.” 414 Red tape ‘The greater legal accountability coupled with the rigid and complica office procedures result in the existence of some red tape: in public administration, On the other hand, business administration is free from red tape. Private enterprises are flexible enough to shift direction, change Procedures, and revamp operations in accordance with changing market condition with a view to make profits. 4.1.5 Public accountability Public administration differs from private administration by the way in which it is subject to public scrutiny and outcry. Government organizations operate in a “goldfish bowl”; they are constantly subjected to outside scrutiny by politicians, the media and other private groups and individuals. This makes Public administration responsive to public opinion and public needs. It is Fesponsible to the people for its actions because it uses taxpayer's money. Its ‘accountability is enforced by means of legislative oversight and review, judicial review, ete. On the other hand, private administration is not responsible to the public parliament for what it does or fails to do. Private enterprises are accountable ‘at best to their shareholders but not to the public at large. Their internal ‘operations are to a large extent their own business, and not that of the general Public or parliament. Hence, no private organization can ever be exactly the same as a public one. 41.6 Equality of treatment Public administrators should observe the principle of uniformity in its treatment of the public. A public official is under legal obligation not to Practice any discrimination in his dealings with the public in the interest of Be RPT RG ee EC RVLERER Bee F legal ivate ribed s the They mts ¥. In rator it he Sraroduction 47 feimess and equality. An official cannot show favour to some people and ‘isfavour to others. If a clerk in a post office sells stamps on credit to some people, all others are entitled to similar treatment, On the contrary, in business administration, the small customer and the ferge customer are not treated alike. As Richard Warmer says, “A private ‘administration need not worry very much about uniformity in treatment. It can ‘cater for various special needs and purposes, charging often what the traffic ‘ill bear, without raising the storm of public protest.” But, in the case of ‘public administration, the storm of public protest and legislative censure would ‘snmediately arise if in government one law were devised for the benefit of the ‘Sch and another for the poor.” “41.7 Breadth of scope and impact Public administration differs from private administration in its breadth of scope. impact and consideration. Public administration is a large-scale ‘siministration, It is larger than any big business concer in terms of size, ‘complexity and diversity of activities. The activities of the organized government ‘affect the entire socio-economic structure of the society. Again, they are, fam, affected by practically everything that exists or moves in society. It ‘evolves policies and actions of immense complexity. Government employs a large army of officials and spends huge amounts of money to carry out its ‘amerous policies and programmes, which are, intended to serve the needs of ‘he public. ‘Contrastingly, the scope of activities of even the largest business enterprise & limited in terms of size and diversity. Its activities affect a limited number ‘ef people who are its customers. 418 Coercive element State is sovereign and public administration as its instrument deals with ‘te coercive element in society. The public administrator can rely upon the sovereign coercive power of the sate in enforcing laws and policies. Private sxiministration is not connected to the issue of sovereignty. Therefore, the ‘sctions of business firms cannot be enforced through legitimate coercive power ‘of government. 41.9 External financial control ‘The finances of public administration are controlled by the legislature, an agency external to the executive. Usually, the legislature acts as the manager ‘ofthe nation’s finances and authorizes the executive to raise and spend money: in private administration, the finances of the business enterprise are undet the ‘control of the owner of the business himself. No external agency is allowed 48. Public Administration to control its finances. Thus, in public administration, there is divorce between finance and administration which is absent in private administration. 4.1.10 The principle of efficiency {In comparison to public administration, efficiency in private administration can be easily measured. This is because private business is almost invariably conducted for profit, and this forms an automatic measure of its efficiency. A Private business enterprise is considered to be more efficient if it earns more profits. But, in most instances, the test of profit cannot be applied to measure the efficiency of performance of public agencies. Usually, the services rendered by public administration are guided by the consideration of “public good”, the value of which cannot be measured in terms of monetary gain or loss. There is no market price for the activities of public administration, Further, the complex environment of public administration also accounts for the difficulty in measuring organizational performance and programme effectiveness. There is no direct comparison between the government agency's costs and the value of its services to the public. 4.1.11 Monopolistic nature and essentiality of some public services Public administration has monopoly in certain areas of activity such as national defence, law making, coinage and currency, and such others. For instance, government is sovereign and it alone can make laws which are binding on all people, In this area of activity, government has no real ‘competitors. These services mentioned above are also vital to the very existence of the nation and the community itself. On the contrary, in the private business world, monopoly is very rare. The private firms face markets in a far more direct way under competitive conditions. A business firm has to compete with other business firms producing goods or providing services, which are similar or substitutes, Such goods, for example, clothes, cosmetics, shoes and other luxury items, are produced on competitive basis. Further, they are also not essential for the survival of society. 4.1.12 Anonymity In public administration, officials always remain in anonymity while discharging their duties. A government official never acts in his’ personal capacity. He acts impersonally as an agent of government. He discharges his duties in the name of government. In a parliamentary government, under the principle of ministerial responsibility, the minister concemed is held responsible {o parliament for the work of the officials under him. The principle of anonymity does not apply to business administration. Very often, the private business BRE SBOUREE BRBELUEBES F RE E inistration between nistration nvariably ciency. A ms more asure the rendered ood”, the ss. There ther, the difficuity ss. There he value such as ers. For hich are no real istence are. The nditions goods or ample, petitive y while ersonal rges his ader the ronsible anymity usiness troduction 49 ‘are named after the names of their proprietors, the proprietor is lly held responsible for his business activities, and not to anybody. Similarities between Public and Private Administration ‘The distinction between public and private administration need not be too far. The differences between the two are one of degree rather ‘of kind. Administrative thinkers such as Henry Fayol, Lyndall Urwick Mary Parker Follet did not make any distinction between public and ‘administration. In theit opinion, there is only one administrative science, ‘can be applied equally well to both public and private affairs. The basic ples and processes of administration are much the same for a government nt, or a factory or a school or a church. All these organizations administration to achieve their goals. ln the opinion of Henry Fayol, *... The field of administrative science. not only the public service, but enterprises of every size and ion, of every form and every purpose. All undertakings require planning, ion, command, coordination and control, and in order to function all must observe the same general principles. We are no longer with several administrative sciences, but with one which can be ‘equally well to public and private affairs.” also opposed to the distinction between public and private in. He says, “The attempts to subdivide study of management or tration in accordance with the purpose of particular forms of 4S. Hodgson says, “Administration is a kind of activity found in both and business affairs.” In recent times, the similarities between public ‘private administration are greatly stressed. The important similarities the two types of administration are as follows: @ Both public and private organizations achieve results through the mobilization and effective utilization of human and material resources. 1G In both types, the key to successful operation is the working relationships ‘of human beings because administration is a cooperative group effort {89 Both types of administration are much alike because both are practical ‘and provide services to the people. @) Both rely on common managerial and techniques such as planning, ‘organizing, control coordination, and budgeting. Thus, the principles ‘of general management and emphasis on efficiency and economy engage the attention of both types of administration. {@) Both use common skills such as accounts keeping, maintaining files, noting, and statistics. (9 The hierarchically organized bureaucratic structure is common to most large-scale organizations in both public and private sectors. 30 Public Administration (vii) Public and private administration are learning many lessons from the Practices of each other in many ateas of administration, For example, many Personal practices in private industry such as the use of {examinations in’ the Selection process and pension plans for retiring employees have been borrowed from public administration. Public corporations are modelled in their structure on the private commercial companies. ‘There are many gray areas where the line of separation between the Public and private administration is not very marked. For instance, a Public organization like a milk dairy or a state transport undertaking hhas to function on business or commercial lines. It has to emulate ‘some of the methods and practices of business management, In other words, government also cannot ignore business like efficient ‘management approaches in carrying on its operations, Unlike in the past, private business administration today is not very much private, Private enterprises have also to operate, to some extent, within legal context. Private business enterprises are subject to governmental regulations in certain matters such as quality control and Prices. There is increasing governmental regulation of private business activities and practices in the public interest, ‘Today, profit making is also accepted as a laudable objective of public enterprises. Further, the bottom line for business is no longer merely Profit making. Big business houses ae also accepting the responsibility for tackling social sector problems. This forces business companies to stretch their capabilities to produce innovations that have business as well as community pay offs. It is said that the big private business managements can ignore the larger public interest only at its peril Public administration and private administration are not opposed to each other: Today, what is needed is “public-private partnership” and Goexistence based on cooperation. As a result of globalization and Privatization, many countries in the world are practicing the concept of “government by contract.” Consequently, much of governmental erations are accomplished with the collaboration of numerous private groups and individuals. In many ways, public sector is dependent upon the private sector for the supply of goods and services, This is more 0 in a capitalist country such as the USA. In fact, many governments in the world encourage the supply of goods and services through private organizations. “Public” in public administration hs also been expanded to include any administration that has considerable impact on the public, Hence. 4s Prof. M. Bhattacharya says, the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, though 4 private company, can easily be an appropriate theme for from the example, use of “retiring . Public mmercial yeen the ance, a ertaking emulate In other fficient ject to trol and uisiness {public merely sibility nics to ness as usiness peri sed to p” and on and cept of mental private upon : more iments private nclude Hence, ration, ne for Introduction 31 discussion in public administration. Given the growing complexity of Public administration, its wider connotation serves a useful purpose. It would, therefore, not be proper to maintain the distinction between public and private as rigidly as it was construed earlier. In a situation in which ‘public’ is being appropriated for ‘private’ ends, the narrow ‘meaning of public is not adequate to explain the reality, shaped by the apparently not visible social forces and interests. According to Dimock and Dimock, “The differences between public and private administration diminish... as the similarities and overlapping increase, for technology encourages professionalization and bureaucratization in business ‘and government alike.” In the words of F.A. Nigro and L.G, Nigro “...Indeed, the line between ‘Private’ and ‘public’ has now become so blurred that it is difficult to tell ‘where government leaves off and private business begins.” In today’s fast ‘changing world, there is a movement towards a blurring and mixing of the two “thus the distinction between public administration and private administration 4 no longer a sharp one.” Both types of administration have been changing ‘in many ways. ‘Conclusion From the preceding discussion, one should not come to the conclusion ‘hat public and private administration are alike in every respect. Though there ‘az similarities between the two, they are alike in all unimportant matters. The ‘Similarities between them are often relatively unimportant in conveying the essence of each, Waldo observes that public and private administration “have special values and techniques of their own which give to each its distinctive character.” Public administration is distinct in that it reflects the peculiar ‘sharacteristics of government activity and the political setting in which it functions. As Dimock and Dimock have observed, “Public administration cannot Sgnore what general administration has to teach; but at the same time ‘sdministration in a political setting has its own special features and problems, for it must deal with politics and policy if it is to be realistic.” 5. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AS AN ART, A SCIENCE AND A PHILOSOPHY Is public administration an art or a science? This question is often raised ‘and debated by both students and scholars in public administration. But different ‘epinions have been expressed on this issue. To understand the extent to which Public administration is an art and a science, we must understand the meaning of the two key words— ‘art’ and ‘science’. We shali now examine the question of public administration as an art and a science, 52 Public Administration 5.1 Public Administration as an Art Artis skilful and systematized practice. It is a practical skill applied in producing something such as beautiful painting. It thus lays emphasis on practice rather than theory. In this sense, public administration is an art without any doubt. E.N. Gladden opines that the claim of public administration to be regarded as an art is rarely challenged. He says, “Administration is a distinct y calling for specialized knowledge and techniques.” It brings together the organized relationship of individuals and groups closer to each other. The ability to administer other people is a skill, an art Public administration is a practical art because marily an activity. Itis concemed with the doing of deeds with some pra the act of doing things, which make it an art. M. Ruthnaswamy says, “As administration consists of deeds or acts with a practical end in view, it is an art.” The art of administration is the action part of government. ‘A successful administrator is also a skilful administrator. An administrator, who does things and solves practical problems, requires skill of a high order ‘Thus, the work of an administrator is more practical than theoretical. According to Charlesworth, administration is an art because it requires fineness, leadership, eal and lofty conviction. In “the Art of Administration”, Ordway Tead writes, “Administration is the comprehensive effort to direct, guide and integrate associated human strivings which are focused towards some specific ends or aims. Administration is, in short, a fine art, because it summons an imposing body of special talents on behalf of a collaborative creation which is integral to the conduct of civilized living today.” Prof. Dimock also opines that ‘administration is an art of a high order. 5.2 Public Administration as a Science Sciences may broadly be divided into two groups: (1) exact sciences like Physics and chemistry, and (2) inexact social sciences like politics and economics. Public administration belongs to the family of social sciences There is a controversy about the claims of public administration to the status of science. Some writers believe that public administration already is a science, or else it is going to be one shortly. But there are others who think ‘hat public administration is not a science, and never will be one. Thus, there are two diametrically opposite views on the question of public administration as a science. In this context, we should remember that the question whether Public administration is a science depends upon the meaning that is given to the term ‘science’, The term ‘science’ is used in both the narrower and wider senses. In the narrower sense, the term ‘science’ may be defined as a precise knowledge characterized by the ability to formulate accurate general principles, on the istration plied in asis on without m to be distinct gether er. The ctivity. Ww. It is ys. “As itis an strator, | order. cording ership, writes, legrate nds or posing megral that 33 is of which results can largely be predicted. Science allows experimentation verification of facts and the truth of scientific aws. In this sense, publi tion, or for that matter, any social science can be regarded as a In this sense, only physics and chemistry can be regarded as sciences, In its wider sense, the term “science” may be defined as a systematized ‘of knowledge derived from experience and observation. In this sense, » Economics, public administration and other social sciences are called - Now we shall proceed to examine the various arguments for and the science of public administration. Arguments for Public Administration as a Science Jn his seminal essay, “The Study of Administration” Woodrow Wilson to the ‘science of public administration’. Charles A. Beard, a pioneer ‘he field of public administration, and classical writers like Luther Gulick believed that there is a science of public administration. Now, we shall ine some of the arguments advanced in support of the claims of public tion to be regarded as a science. (2) Today, public administration has emerged ‘as a self-conscious’ study and gained recognition as an independent field of study. Charles A. Beard maintained that public administration is a body of “exact Knowledge derived from experience and observation,” He further said that public administration “is as much a general science as economics ‘or psychology or biology, and more of a science than history or politics.” In the opinion of some classical writers public administration is a science because it has developed a set of principles, which possess a fair degree of exactness and certainty. They argued that these principles, which are developed on the basis of experience, observation and research, can be applied in different administrative environments. In hhis “Principles of Public Administration”, Willoughby asserted that there are certain fundamental principles analogous to those of any science. Luther Gulick said that like physics or chemistry, administration was governed by laws or principles. It isthe job of the administrative scientist to discover such principles. The object of administrative principles is to achieve efficiency in getting things done. 3) Public administration is science because it can be studied by employing scientific methods of investigation. Modern scholars in public administration are employing behavioural and comparative methods as ‘well as sophisticated statistical techniques and computer technology. By using such methods, it is possible to collect and analyse facts relating to administration, and on the basis of such tabulated and ‘observed facts generalizations can be arrived at, cn Public Administration ‘54 Arguments against Public Administration as a Science Many modern writers do not accept the view of classical writers that there is a science of public administration. They give the following arguments to Prove that public administration has not yet become a science. (1) In his “Administrative Behaviour”, Herbert Simon has dismissed the so-called principles of administration as mere proverbs, He questioned their scientific basis and found them to be mutually contradictory Robert Dahl, another modern writer, said that the principles enunciated by classical writers were limited 10 a few examples in a few national and historical settings. Hence, itis said that such unscientific principles ‘without universal validity cannot make public administration a science. In his “The Science of Public Administration: Three Problems”, Robert Dahl points out the impossibility of excluding normative considerations from the problems of public administration. Public administration is Not value free, since public administrators often face the ethical considerations in doing their dutics. As a result of the influence of values, the researcher in public administration cannot be completely objective. Since public administration is value-laden, it cannot be regarded as an exact science. Robert Dahl also points out that public administration is not a scien because it deals with certain aspects of human behaviour in Organizations. Human behaviour cannot be examined in controlled experiments in a laboratory setting Public administration is not a science because it is largely influenced by cultural factors. The influence of culture on public administration ‘makes if vary from country to country. In the opinion of Dah, public ‘administration cannot claim the status of science, unless itis studied ‘on a comparative basis. Afler examining the pros and cons of the science of public administration, cone thing becomes clear. Public administration is not an exact science like physics or chemistry. It is an inexact social science like politics or economics Itis both an art and a social science. Stephen Robins says “Administration should be recognized as both a science and an art” It has a systematized body of theory, which represents the science part of administration. The ability to apply the theory correctly is the art of administration, 5.5 Public Administration as a Philosophy Prof. Dimock opines that public administration is a philosophy also. According to him, “Philosophy is a body of belief and practice aimed at achieving better performance. It is good policy and technique. But most of all, itis a real integration, a blending of everything that is important.” Administration inistration. that there uments (0 issed the} uestioned radictory. punciated - national principles | science, Robert derations, tation is ® ethical uence off mmpletely annot be 1 science rin ontrolled| fluenced) istration, I, public studied stration, ace like nomics. istration ed body bility to ry also, imed at tof all, istration srroduction 35 ‘based on science and ethics and this combination constitutes a philosophy sidministration. Now the question is: What is the area of activity covered the philosophy of administration? Again, in the words of Dimock, tion is mow so vast an area that a philosophy of administration close to being a philosophy of life.” The aim of administrative philosophy to produce amenities for the people and to promote their welfare. It thus ibutes to community happiness. In other words, the philosophy of istration rests upon a philosophy of service to society. EVOLUTIONS AND STATUS OF THE DISCIPLINE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Public administration is both an ancient governmental activity and a fairly academic discipline. The literature and teachings of great figures from it times to the present contain ideas, which sound like principle of inistration. As Gerald E Caiden observes “... Public administration is as 8s civilized society: almost every prominent figure in human history has ssed his thoughts on the nature of politics, government and public inistration at some time in his life, and all great books devote some space the conduct of public affairs and reflect on the nature of public istration.” Public Administration in Ancient Times As an aspect of political philosophy and statecraft, public administration @ long history. Such great thinkers as Confucius in China, Kautilya in Aristotle in Greece and Machiavelli in Italy and their great books had to say about administration, In about $00 BC, the Chinese philosopher, eit, described the principles and methods of recruitment and training state officials. He also suggested certain rules of public administration in to bring benevolent rule. In ancient India, Kautilya’s Arthasastra (written about 321-320 BC) is tially a treatise on the art of government and is by nature, instructional. ‘E was a book of practical advice to kings on the best method of governing ir kingdoms and building up their power. It discussed principles and hinery of public admininistration and outlined the duties and responsibilities ‘various state functionaries. (Kautilya was the prime minister of Chandragupta ‘@). The Mahabharata and the Ramayana also contain many insightful tions about the organization and working of government, In about 4" and 3" centuries BC, in Greece, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle ‘had much to say about administration. Aristotle's “Politics” contained some jons on the art of public administration. = Public Administration 6.2 Public Administration in the 16th and 18th Centuries In the 16% century, the Italian thinker, Machiavelli, dealt with administrative problems in his book, “The Prince.” He recognized the importance of a well- organized central administration for a nation state. In the 18" century, the Cameralists of Germany and Austria showed much interest in the study of Public administration. The purpose of their study was to train candidates for civil service. They emphasized the descriptive studies of governmental structures, principles and procedures of administration as well as the code of conduct for public officials. George Zinke was the most distinguished scholar of the cameralist group. 6.3 Public Administration in the 19th and 20th Centuries In the 19% century, in France, Charles Jean Bonnin published his “Principles d’ Administration Publique” in 1812. This. work is considered as the first separate treatise on the subject of public administration. Francoils Auguste Viven published his “Etudes Administratives” in 1859. Thus, from time to time, some works on public administration have been published in both the East and the West. These works contained scattered thoughts, which have Provided the directions into its evolution. But none of them can be taken as the beginning of the discipline of public administration, It is only in the 20" century much academic attention has been given to administrative activity that goes back to the beginnings of civilization Consequently, public administration has developed as an independent and

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