Public Administration
📝Short And Crisp Notes :
📚 Section 1: Administrative Theories & Thinkers (Complete and Crisp)
🔹 1. Public Administration: Meaning and Scope
Definition: The management of government affairs and implementation of public policy.
Woodrow Wilson (1887): Considered the Father of Public Administration.
Famous Essay: “The Study of Administration”
Key Idea: Politics-Administration Dichotomy → administration should be separate from
political influence for efficiency.
Scope (Broad View):
Policy formulation and execution
Welfare services
Regulation and law enforcement
Budgeting and personnel management
🔹 2. Classical Theories of Administration
,🔸 A. Scientific Management Theory – F.W. Taylor
Focus: Efficiency, time-saving, productivity
Principles:
Time and Motion Study
Standardization of tools and processes
Scientific selection and training of workers
Differential Piece Rate System
Criticism: Ignored human element and over-mechanized work.
🔸 B. Administrative Management Theory – Henri Fayol
14 Principles of Management:
Division of Work, Authority & Responsibility, Unity of Command, Unity of Direction, etc.
5 Elements of Management: POCCC – Planning, Organizing, Commanding, Coordinating,
Controlling
🔸 C. Bureaucratic Theory – Max Weber
Ideal Bureaucracy Features:
Hierarchy
Rules and Regulations
Impersonality
Technical Competence
Merit-based recruitment
Record-keeping
,🔹 3. Human Relations Theory
🔸 Elton Mayo – Hawthorne Experiments
Shifted focus to workers' psychology and social needs.
Findings:
Productivity increases with attention and care.
Informal groups and human emotions matter.
🔸 Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y
Theory X: People are lazy, need control.
Theory Y: People are motivated, responsible if encouraged.
🔸 Chris Argyris: Maturity-Immaturity Theory
Organizations should promote employee growth and independence.
🔹 4. Behavioural and Decision-Making Approaches
🔸 Herbert Simon – Decision-Making Theory
Public Administration = Decision Making
Introduced:
Bounded Rationality: Decisions are made within constraints (time, information).
Satisficing: Choosing a good-enough solution.
Criticized POSDCORB as proverbs, not science.
🔸 Chester Barnard – Acceptance Theory of Authority
Authority is valid only if accepted by subordinates.
, Importance of informal organizations.
🔹 5. Systems Approach – Katz & Kahn, Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Organization = System of interrelated parts
Inputs → Process → Outputs → Feedback → Adjustments
Emphasizes environmental interaction and feedback loops.
🔹 6. Contingency and Ecological Approaches
🔸 Contingency Theory:
No one best way to manage.
Structure and leadership should adapt to situational variables.
🔸 Ecological Approach – Fred Riggs
Ecology = Environment + Administration
Administrative systems differ in different societies due to cultural, political, and social
factors.
🔹 7. Riggsian Models (Comparative Insight)
Fused Society: Traditional, no role differentiation.
Prismatic Society: Developing, overlapping functions, administrative dualism.
Differentiated Society: Modern, clear structures.
🔹 8. New Public Administration (NPA) – 1968
Focus: Equity, participation, responsiveness, change
Rejected value-neutrality
Important Names: Dwight Waldo, Frank Marini
Key Concept: “Social relevance over efficiency”
📝Short And Crisp Notes :
📚 Section 1: Administrative Theories & Thinkers (Complete and Crisp)
🔹 1. Public Administration: Meaning and Scope
Definition: The management of government affairs and implementation of public policy.
Woodrow Wilson (1887): Considered the Father of Public Administration.
Famous Essay: “The Study of Administration”
Key Idea: Politics-Administration Dichotomy → administration should be separate from
political influence for efficiency.
Scope (Broad View):
Policy formulation and execution
Welfare services
Regulation and law enforcement
Budgeting and personnel management
🔹 2. Classical Theories of Administration
,🔸 A. Scientific Management Theory – F.W. Taylor
Focus: Efficiency, time-saving, productivity
Principles:
Time and Motion Study
Standardization of tools and processes
Scientific selection and training of workers
Differential Piece Rate System
Criticism: Ignored human element and over-mechanized work.
🔸 B. Administrative Management Theory – Henri Fayol
14 Principles of Management:
Division of Work, Authority & Responsibility, Unity of Command, Unity of Direction, etc.
5 Elements of Management: POCCC – Planning, Organizing, Commanding, Coordinating,
Controlling
🔸 C. Bureaucratic Theory – Max Weber
Ideal Bureaucracy Features:
Hierarchy
Rules and Regulations
Impersonality
Technical Competence
Merit-based recruitment
Record-keeping
,🔹 3. Human Relations Theory
🔸 Elton Mayo – Hawthorne Experiments
Shifted focus to workers' psychology and social needs.
Findings:
Productivity increases with attention and care.
Informal groups and human emotions matter.
🔸 Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y
Theory X: People are lazy, need control.
Theory Y: People are motivated, responsible if encouraged.
🔸 Chris Argyris: Maturity-Immaturity Theory
Organizations should promote employee growth and independence.
🔹 4. Behavioural and Decision-Making Approaches
🔸 Herbert Simon – Decision-Making Theory
Public Administration = Decision Making
Introduced:
Bounded Rationality: Decisions are made within constraints (time, information).
Satisficing: Choosing a good-enough solution.
Criticized POSDCORB as proverbs, not science.
🔸 Chester Barnard – Acceptance Theory of Authority
Authority is valid only if accepted by subordinates.
, Importance of informal organizations.
🔹 5. Systems Approach – Katz & Kahn, Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Organization = System of interrelated parts
Inputs → Process → Outputs → Feedback → Adjustments
Emphasizes environmental interaction and feedback loops.
🔹 6. Contingency and Ecological Approaches
🔸 Contingency Theory:
No one best way to manage.
Structure and leadership should adapt to situational variables.
🔸 Ecological Approach – Fred Riggs
Ecology = Environment + Administration
Administrative systems differ in different societies due to cultural, political, and social
factors.
🔹 7. Riggsian Models (Comparative Insight)
Fused Society: Traditional, no role differentiation.
Prismatic Society: Developing, overlapping functions, administrative dualism.
Differentiated Society: Modern, clear structures.
🔹 8. New Public Administration (NPA) – 1968
Focus: Equity, participation, responsiveness, change
Rejected value-neutrality
Important Names: Dwight Waldo, Frank Marini
Key Concept: “Social relevance over efficiency”
