Evolution of The Study of Public
Administration
Public Administration is both an activity and a subject of study
or intellectual discipline. As an activity, it is as old as social life
itself. In the spheres of the family, the clan, the tribe and even
the differentiation between the public and private aspects of
affairs did not assert itself for a long time.
The management of the public concerns mixed up with that of
the private concerns of the head, leader, or the ruler. Gradually
the state emerged as a separate entity from the lesser forms of
associated life and the management of its affairs-public
administration - also came to be recognized as an independent
activity.
The principal stages of that evolution are well known. The river
valleys of ancient Egypt, China, India, and Mesopotamia which
were the earliest cradles of civilization were also the regions
where public administration took first a distinct form. They
became seats of strong kingdoms and empires. The need to
regulate the waterways and water supply of the Nile, the life-
giving artery of Egypt resulted in the development of the
earliest system of centralized bureaucratic administration in that
country. China evolved a civil service recruited by competitive
examinations as early as the 3rd century B.C.
In the village communities, republics, and kingdoms of the Indo-
Gangetic valley, we find evidence of a fairly well-developed
system of administration from a very early date. The city-states
, of ancient Greece evolved administrative systems with peculiar
features of their own such as the use of lots in filling up public
offices, plural executives, and manning of the lower civil
services with slaves. Rome contributed legal norms and forms
to administration. Medieval feudalism introduced an anarchic
decentralization in administration, but its broken threads were
picked up and gathered together again by the rising national
monarchies in France, England, Prussia, and Russia.
The expansion and consolidation of kingly authority and the
stress of their warlike policies led to an increase in the size of
the establishment of the royal households. Prussia was the first
country to organize its civil service based on qualification and
merit and her success attracted the attention of other countries
which followed suit in due course. The industrial revolution and
the growth of democracy raised many complex issues for and
demands on administration with the result that its organization
and methods became more technical than before and its fields
of operation were considerably extended.
The upheaval caused by the two world wars created many
urgent problems of reconstruction and relief and the
administration had to tackle them. Alternating periods of
economic depression and soaring prices necessitated remedial
action by the administration. The demands of social justice,
security, and fair play have demanded administrative
interference in fields hitherto deemed to be the exclusive
concern of individuals and have forced on administration the
stupendous task of the management of the entire life of the
community. Until the days of World War 1, the administration
used to be mainly national in its scope. The advent of aviation,
wireless, and the radio brought the countries of the world so
close together that none of them could effectively manage their
Administration
Public Administration is both an activity and a subject of study
or intellectual discipline. As an activity, it is as old as social life
itself. In the spheres of the family, the clan, the tribe and even
the differentiation between the public and private aspects of
affairs did not assert itself for a long time.
The management of the public concerns mixed up with that of
the private concerns of the head, leader, or the ruler. Gradually
the state emerged as a separate entity from the lesser forms of
associated life and the management of its affairs-public
administration - also came to be recognized as an independent
activity.
The principal stages of that evolution are well known. The river
valleys of ancient Egypt, China, India, and Mesopotamia which
were the earliest cradles of civilization were also the regions
where public administration took first a distinct form. They
became seats of strong kingdoms and empires. The need to
regulate the waterways and water supply of the Nile, the life-
giving artery of Egypt resulted in the development of the
earliest system of centralized bureaucratic administration in that
country. China evolved a civil service recruited by competitive
examinations as early as the 3rd century B.C.
In the village communities, republics, and kingdoms of the Indo-
Gangetic valley, we find evidence of a fairly well-developed
system of administration from a very early date. The city-states
, of ancient Greece evolved administrative systems with peculiar
features of their own such as the use of lots in filling up public
offices, plural executives, and manning of the lower civil
services with slaves. Rome contributed legal norms and forms
to administration. Medieval feudalism introduced an anarchic
decentralization in administration, but its broken threads were
picked up and gathered together again by the rising national
monarchies in France, England, Prussia, and Russia.
The expansion and consolidation of kingly authority and the
stress of their warlike policies led to an increase in the size of
the establishment of the royal households. Prussia was the first
country to organize its civil service based on qualification and
merit and her success attracted the attention of other countries
which followed suit in due course. The industrial revolution and
the growth of democracy raised many complex issues for and
demands on administration with the result that its organization
and methods became more technical than before and its fields
of operation were considerably extended.
The upheaval caused by the two world wars created many
urgent problems of reconstruction and relief and the
administration had to tackle them. Alternating periods of
economic depression and soaring prices necessitated remedial
action by the administration. The demands of social justice,
security, and fair play have demanded administrative
interference in fields hitherto deemed to be the exclusive
concern of individuals and have forced on administration the
stupendous task of the management of the entire life of the
community. Until the days of World War 1, the administration
used to be mainly national in its scope. The advent of aviation,
wireless, and the radio brought the countries of the world so
close together that none of them could effectively manage their
