THEORIES AND CONCEPTS OF PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
Meaning of Public Administration
Public Administration as a subject of study is only a little more
than a century old whereas activity is as old as humanity itself.
Before we learn the subject, we need to understand the
meaning of the term 'administration'. It comes from two Latin
words 'ad' and 'ministaire' meaning to serve 'public' denoted by
governmental and the social authorities. Governmental
administration of the earlier days differed considerably in its
structure and goals from the administration of the modern era.
The administration of the state in the ancient and medieval
periods was authoritarian, patriarchal, and elitist. Maintenance
of law and order, collection of revenue, etc were critical
functions whereas welfare activities were purely incidental and
optionally undertaken. Administrators were small in number and
were selected at the discretion of the Monarch. But with the
advent of modern democratic states, the nature of the functions
of public servants also changed.
In a welfare state, the role of the government servants makes
all the difference. Today we have government servants,
selected based on public laws, performing within legal
framework tasks which are more and more public-oriented.
Public Administration emerged as an area of unique academic
interest in such a complex society because its sole concern is
the government and its capacity to implement public policy.
Hence it is often said that the present era is of the
administrative state.
A few writers have tried to differentiate administration and
public administration. According to Simon Smith Bourg and
, Thompson "In its broadest sense administration can be defined
as the activities of groups cooperating to accomplish common
goals". Z. A. Vieg says "In simplest term administration is
determined action taken in pursuit of a conscious purpose".
When we pass on from administration to 'Public Administration'
more complications are added.
The word public denotes that which pertains to the people as a
whole and public administration accepts, the specially acquired
meaning governmental. In modern society, the government is
the only association in which people of any given territory are
included without exception. How much governmental function is
to be considered in 'Public Administration' is again a question
with many controversies.
Four meanings of the Term
In common parlance, the word administration appears to bear
at least four different meanings according to the context in
which it is used, namely (1) a synonym of the word 'cabinet' or
some such other body of persons in supreme charge of affairs
as, for example, when We say that the first Nehru
administration included the leaders of all the major political
parties in India
(2) the name of a branch of learning or intellectual discipline eg.
when we say that public administration is one of the social
sciences, (3) the sum-total of the activities undertaken to
implement public policy or policies or to produce some service
or goods as, for example, when we speak of the Indian
Administration, railway administration', 'educational
administration' etc, and (4) the art of management
Eg . When we say that so and so has no capacity or aptitude
for administration. These four meanings differ from one another
so widely that it is difficult to combine them into a single
definition of administration. Some more definitions may explain
the meaning of the term further. It is often stated in broad terms
ADMINISTRATION
Meaning of Public Administration
Public Administration as a subject of study is only a little more
than a century old whereas activity is as old as humanity itself.
Before we learn the subject, we need to understand the
meaning of the term 'administration'. It comes from two Latin
words 'ad' and 'ministaire' meaning to serve 'public' denoted by
governmental and the social authorities. Governmental
administration of the earlier days differed considerably in its
structure and goals from the administration of the modern era.
The administration of the state in the ancient and medieval
periods was authoritarian, patriarchal, and elitist. Maintenance
of law and order, collection of revenue, etc were critical
functions whereas welfare activities were purely incidental and
optionally undertaken. Administrators were small in number and
were selected at the discretion of the Monarch. But with the
advent of modern democratic states, the nature of the functions
of public servants also changed.
In a welfare state, the role of the government servants makes
all the difference. Today we have government servants,
selected based on public laws, performing within legal
framework tasks which are more and more public-oriented.
Public Administration emerged as an area of unique academic
interest in such a complex society because its sole concern is
the government and its capacity to implement public policy.
Hence it is often said that the present era is of the
administrative state.
A few writers have tried to differentiate administration and
public administration. According to Simon Smith Bourg and
, Thompson "In its broadest sense administration can be defined
as the activities of groups cooperating to accomplish common
goals". Z. A. Vieg says "In simplest term administration is
determined action taken in pursuit of a conscious purpose".
When we pass on from administration to 'Public Administration'
more complications are added.
The word public denotes that which pertains to the people as a
whole and public administration accepts, the specially acquired
meaning governmental. In modern society, the government is
the only association in which people of any given territory are
included without exception. How much governmental function is
to be considered in 'Public Administration' is again a question
with many controversies.
Four meanings of the Term
In common parlance, the word administration appears to bear
at least four different meanings according to the context in
which it is used, namely (1) a synonym of the word 'cabinet' or
some such other body of persons in supreme charge of affairs
as, for example, when We say that the first Nehru
administration included the leaders of all the major political
parties in India
(2) the name of a branch of learning or intellectual discipline eg.
when we say that public administration is one of the social
sciences, (3) the sum-total of the activities undertaken to
implement public policy or policies or to produce some service
or goods as, for example, when we speak of the Indian
Administration, railway administration', 'educational
administration' etc, and (4) the art of management
Eg . When we say that so and so has no capacity or aptitude
for administration. These four meanings differ from one another
so widely that it is difficult to combine them into a single
definition of administration. Some more definitions may explain
the meaning of the term further. It is often stated in broad terms
