PA 101 INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Administration
- Is a universal practice and also of universal importance.
- Administration exists whenever people cooperate to achieve the goals of their groups and such
achievements require planning, organization, command, cooperation and control.

Public Administration
- May be considered both a field of action and a field of study.
- As a field of action, public administration refers to the mechanics and structures through which
government policies are implemented.
- As a field of study or discipline, public administration refers to the academic discipline which
studies the mechanics and structures through which government implement its programs.

According to:
 Woodrow Wilson - is a detailed and systematic application of law. Every particular application of
law is an act of administration.
 Dwight Waldo - Public Administration is the art and science of management applied to the
affairs of the states.
 Luther Gullick - Public Administration is that part of science of administration which has to do
with the government and thus concerns itself primarily with the executive branch where the
work of government is done.

Characteristics of Public Administration:

 Organization and Direction and material resources into an organized structure. This organized
entity is well guided to attain. Here Public Administration brings together human acceptable
goals for the interest of all.
 The issue of cooperationity of purpose for the welfare of all; Public Administration is a collective
caring process for the welfare and well-being of all. It, therefore, involves the harmonization of
personal and group goals. It harmonies personal and group goals.

Nature of Public Administration

- May be narrow and management whereby it is defined only as the Action Side of government or
mainly the activities of the executive arm of government.
- It deals with the functions of the Manager or the Chief Executive Officer only.
- Embraces the tree organs of government being the executive, legislative and the judiciary.
- It reflects the collective caring activities of the three organs of government. Furthermore, it
involves the role of the least personnel to the highest in a work situation.

Scope of Public Administration

- the formulation and implementation of public policies;
- the executive arm of government;
- the involvement of problems concerning human behavior at government level; and
- a field that is differentiated in several ways from private administration.
However, Public Administration is broad and cannot be restricted to a specific detail. It is multi-
discipline because students and practitioners’ alike need to draw from several discipline, like political
science, psychology, sociology and especially the science in order to reach the truth about a particular
administrative problem or before the best decision can be taken and implemented.

Psychology and Public Administration

Psychology
- the science of the mind.
- Mental Activity: to guide the behavior of an individual

Public Administration is able to master human behavior to a reasonable degree due to the assistance
of psychologist and the knowledge of psychology in a work place would definitely produce well-
motivated and happy workers.

Law and Public Administration

Law
- carefully established rules and regulations that are made to regulate conduct and performance
of individuals and groups.

In democratic process under the separation of power, checks and balances, rules and regulations are
analyzed by the Legislature. The Judiciary is well known by the function of judicial reviews. Therefore,
every political settings and administrative processes in public administration has legal connotations in
law making, execution and interpretation.

Philosophy and Public Administration

Philosophy

The knowledge of philosophy enables public administration to systematically accumulate knowledge

and wisdom from all fields of human undertakings. This enables administration to guide, teach, lead
and serve the human society in the creation of pleasant world for the benefit of the entire humanity.

Religion and Public Administration

Religion
- A social science which deals with human relationship with the Supreme Being. In all contents
and purposes, the essence of religion is to truly identify with the Almighty. Religion is one
instrument of peace and obedience to constituted authority which public administration
symbolizes.

ART or SCIENCE

Art - is the knowledge acquired by learning and practice

Science - is the act of doing an activity in a systematic way.

But Public Administration can be viewed as a Science base on certain criteria

Principles of Public Administration
- Planning
- organizing
- staffing
- directing
- coordinating
- reporting
- budgeting
-
The outcome of good administration can be predicted to be efficient work force and efficient and
productive output. Therefore, the art to determine future occurrence through present indices makes
Public Administration Science-oriented in nature.

Approaches in Public Administration

Approach - to come nearer or closer to something

Judicial Approach
- Oldest
- Assumes that Public Administration carried out primarily by the executive organ of government
is nothing more than the implementation of rules and regulations as passed by the legislature.
nce of government and is the knowledge of the laws which every society is regulated.
- Public Administration originated from the study of the judiciary or Administrative Law.

Scientific Approach
- Fredrick W. Taylor: father or Scientific Management;
- To develop public administration into a science from principles within the engineering and
management sciences.
- Taylor's desire was to increase production by motivating the workers to work harder.

Comprehensive Approach
- Public Administration is considered as the total performance of governmental functions or
organizational functions by those placed in position to do so.
- Sees both the functional and the administrative tasks as Public Administration and hence, the
term “comprehensive”.

Administrative Process Approach

- Sees administration as the make-up of some processes or functions which include policy,
organization, personnel, finance procedures and control.

Conventional Approach
- transition from the comprehensive and the administrative process approaches
- a distinction is drawn between specialized professional and the “generalists” or the
administrative staff.
- The question that arises here is, the generalists or administrators as the technical experts, who
is “fit” to head the organizations?
Economy and Efficiency Approach
- Economy is replaced with the issue of efficiency.
- There is a strong relationship between the scientific approach and the economy and efficiency
approach.
- the efficiency approach largely introduces and applies these management principles in the
organization of men in the public and private sectors of a political system

History Approach
- sees Public Administration from the perspective of historical developments or events in a
nation's public service.
- Nigerian civil service from 1922 till date: growing and getting refined due to the several reforms
she has undergone to make it what it is today.

Equity Approach
- Public officials should become sensitive to the needs, desires and aspirations of the public.
- The outcome of the widespread disorder experienced in the United States of America in the
fifties and especially the development and spread of ideologies of Socialism which emphasized
equity of human beings - have the concept of equity.
- aimed at rectifying man's injustice or inhumanity towards man by encouraging the American
public servants to discard self-interest and to be sensitive towards man's social problems.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Principles
- are sources for action or essential regulations or fundamental truths capable of guiding human
conduct or behavior and performance. Public Administration has capacity to organize and direct
human and material resources to achieve set goals.

Basic Principles
1. Hierarchy
- orderly arrangement and distribution of power, functions, positions and authority in an
organization. Here, the objectives of the organization are subdivided into sub-objectives: tasks
are broken into smaller units, power and authority delegated downwards.
2. Political Direction
- Public Administration obtains leadership from politics. A political system is a set of interaction,
abstracted the totality of social behavior through which authoritative values are allocated to the
society.
3. Unity of Command
- each member of the organization should receive order from only one supervisor. This is to
avoid conflict and confusion.
4. Public Responsibility
- ensures the exercise of certain power and authority in the execution of specified duties of
functions for the benefit of the people. It also stipulates the need for accountability to the
people.
5. Unity of Direction
- Organization is effective when members work together towards achieving same objectives.
There must be subordination of individual interest of the organization. Members should not
work at cross-purposes with the organization.
6. Public Relations
- a means through which people are informed about the policies and intention of the
government.
7. Chain of Command
- This is the power and authority linkage order and power must flow from the top to the bottom
in an unbroken order that makes for proper communication of decision taken at each level of
authority.
8. Social Necessity
- Public policy goes to express the will of the people through providing them the civic amenities
as well as developing them socially, economically and politically.
9. Span of Control
- number of the people that a supervisor should conveniently control.
10. Division of Labor
- division of work or specialization which gives room for higher productivity.
11. Authority and Responsibility
- right to give orders to subordinates and be responsible and accountable for such orders. They
should also be responsible for the consequences of such orders.
12. Discipline
- respect for or obedience of rules and objectives of the organization.
13. Efficiency
- power to accomplish expected result. Must have efficient personnel to execute public
programs, satisfy the needs of the society and promote its expansion and growth.
14. Organization
- observable levels of government at the local, state and federal government. In addition to this
organization, public administration is also organized into legislature, the executive and the
judiciary.
15. Equity
- kindness and justice based on pre-determined conditions which must be known to all workers.
The management should not be partial and should treat all workers fairly and as equals.
16. Esprit-de-Corp
- This is unity. Union is strength: workers must cooperate and regard themselves as one in an
attempt to achieve the organizational goals and objectives.