What is the classical school of thought in public administration?

The classical theory projects public administration as a science. Both these authors argued that
like the stream of engineering became science through methods of empirical observation,
systematic finding and recordings over a period of time similarly, public administrators can
create the science of administration.

Important Figures in Public Administration Theory

Max Weber

Max Weber was a German political economist, social scientist, and renowned Philosopher is an
important father to the theory of Public Administration and the bureaucratic side of it. He did
extensive research studying ancient and modern states to gather a better perspective of
bureaucracies in multiple eras for his Magnum Opus Economy and Society published in 1922.

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson defined public administration as a detailed and systematic execution of public
law, he divided government institutions into two separate sectors, administration and politics.
According to him politics is dealt with policy formulation and questions regarding such, whereas
administration is equipped with carrying said policies out. In his own words in his early essay,
Frederick Winslow Taylor
Frederick Taylor was an engineer by profession who saw much of life from a scientific aspect.
He is a popular less conservative contributor to the Theory of Public Administration in that he
produced his own, very popular, theory of traditional public administration, The Scientific
Management Theory. He was concerned with finding the best and most efficient way to
complete a task for a particular job, reducing the overall labor a worker had to exert with the
least amount of movements.

Henry Gantt

Henry Gantt, an associate of Taylor, developed the Gantt Chart, a bar graph that measures
planned and completed work along with each stage of production. This visual display chart has
been a widely used control and planning tool since its development in 1910. Following is a
sample of Gantt Chart……..
Henry Fayol

Henry Fayol’s Universal Process theory

One of the oldest and most popular approaches, Henry Fayol’s theory holds that administration
of all organizations – whether public or private, large or small – requires the same rational
process or functions.

Fayol identifies fourteen universal principles of management, which are aimed at showing
managers how to carry out their functional duties.

Universal principles of Managers Functional Duties

management
1 Specialization of labor This improves the efficiency of labor through specialization, reducing labor
time and increasing skill development.

2 Authority This is the right to give orders which always carry responsibility
commensurate with its privileges.

3 Discipline It relies on respect for the rules, policies, and agreements that govern an
organization. Fayol ordains that discipline requires good superiors at all
levels.

4 Unity of command This means that subordinates should receive orders from one superior
only, thus avoiding confusion and conflict.

5 Unity of direction This means that there should be unity in the directions given by a boss to
his subordinates. There should not be any conflict in the directions given
by a boss.

6 Subordination of According to this principle, the needs of individuals and groups within an
individual interest to organization should not take precedence over the needs of the
common good organization as a whole.

7 Remuneration Wages should be equitable and satisfactory to employees and superiors.

8 Centralization Levels at which decisions are to be made should depend on the specific
situation, no level of centralization or decentralization is ideal for all
situations.

9 Scale of chain The relationship among all levels in the organizational hierarchy and exact
lines of authority should be unmistakably clear and usually followed at all
times, excepting special circumstances when some departure might be
necessary.

1 Order This is essentially a principle of organization in the arrangement of things

0 and people.

1 Equity Employees should be treated equitably in order to elicit loyalty and

1 devotion from personnel.

1 Personal tenure Views unnecessary turnover to be both the cause and the effect of bad
2 management; Fayol points out its danger and costs.

1 Initiative Subordinates should be encouraged to conceive and carryout ideas.

3
 1 Esprit de corps Team work, a sense of unity and togetherness, should be fostered and
4 maintained.

Criticism of Classical theory

some of the important criticisms are as follows:

 These are just theories that are not scientifically proven

 We can find the neglect of the human dimensions in the theory
 These theories neglect the sociological aspects
 These theories neglect the psychological aspects
 Represented principles in the theory are based on the economic motivation of the
workers, there are no principles that represent the emotional motivation of the workers
to the office or other staff

Significance of Classical Theory

 We can find in the theories that public administration is expressed as a science at the
start and the end of the theory it is expressed as art, there can be principles that are not
applicable universally but their application depends on the personality of the in-charge
 These theories promote the use of administration deficient departments like reporting,
accounting, and budgeting
 These theories can play an important role in the industrial organisation because it gives
an overview of how we can make an organisation by assembling different departments

Conclusion

 Classical theory can be considered as the theory for establishing any organisation in
public administration. This theory explains how we can design an organisation and run it
to complete a predefined aim.

So our next reporter will be our reporter 2, ma’am?.............