UNIT 2 IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION .

Structure
7.0 Objectives 1.I Introduction
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1.2 3.3 .2.4 2.5 2.6

The Practical Concern The social Science Perspective The Third World Perspective
Liberal Studies for Citizenship. Contributions of Public Administration
2.6.1 Epistemological 2.6.2 Technical 2.6.3 Omhudsmanic

2.6.4 Liberal-Educational 2.6.5 Professional

2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10

Let Us Sum Up Key Words Some Useful Books Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

Public Administration is of practical significance to every citizen in the

contemporary society. In this unit we shall discuss the importance of the study of
Public Administration. ~ f i estudying r this unit, you should be able to:

describe how Public Administration responds efficpntly to diverse public needs and
pli~ys pragmatic problem solving role explain how Public ~dministrationf as a
Social Science, organises knowledge about governmental structure and processes I
recognb and describe the ,emergence of the sub-discipline of Develop,ment
Administration; and state its contributions to creative citizenship.

In the first unit you were introduced to the discipline of'Public Administration.
You have read &out its meaning, scope, character as well the distinction between
Public'Administration and Business Administration. In this unit we will explain to
you the importance of the study,of Public Administration in modern society. The
importance of Public Administration as a specialised subject gf study was well
brought out by Woodrow ~ i l s o nthe i founder of the disaiplirie. In his
celebfated essay on 'The Study of Administration' published in 1887, he
characterised government a'drninistration as the practical or business end of
government that could be separated fram the rough and tumble of 'politics'.
Urging .for the establishment of an autonomous field of academic inquiry, Wilson
observed: "There should be a science of administration which shall seek to
straighten the paths of government, to make its business less unbusiness like, td
strengthen and purify its organisation, and to crown its duties with dutifulness."

2.2

THE PRACTICAL CONCERN

Since government ha$ to respond to diverse public needs, Public Administratign's

first and Ibremost objective should be to efficiently 'discharge the publi.c!s
business. The Wilsonian
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The Nature of Public Administration

definition of the subject as an efficiency-promoting, pragmatic field was the first

explicitly articulated statement on the importarlce of a separate discipline of
Public Administration. This view of the discipline emerged at a time when there had
been a felt need for increased for a positivistic role of the govemment as the
chief regulator of the social prod~ctivity~and social order and a facilitator of
socio-economic development. Classical administrative theory about \;hich we wciuld
discuss in detail in the next block, reigned uninterrupted for about three decades
since the beginning of the :sent century. It laid special emphasis o n improvement
in the machinery of governmer.,. 4 s the tasks of modem administration
increased,enormously, it was just proper tb look into the cau5es of apmlnistrative
incompetence. tie Haldane Committee Report (1919) Management (1937) in the in
Britain and the Pre.sident's Committee on ~dmihistrative United States are examples
of official efforts to streamline Public Administration to make it a fit agency of
social development. In India, also several committees had been set up during the
British period as well as after independence. One of such major effort was
undertaken by the Administrative deforms Commission (1966) which was set up with
the identical purpose of making Public Administration a suitable agency for
effective and efficient socio-economic development. The overdependence of
administration on "po~itidsw was criticised by the reformers of Public
Administration. On the basis of studies made by the practising administrators and
'academicians, a iew'faith was- born in t h i f o 6 of a 'science' of
administration that would have great applied value in scientific restructuring of
Public Administration. The classical 'principles' of administration have severely
been criticised. Despite criticisms they have never been totally discarded. These
were the precursors of later-day sophisiicated methods and techniques of
administrative improvement such as cost-benefit. analysis, .operations research,
etc.
* With increasing social complexity and international tensions, governments
everywhere had gradually come to assume more and more interyentionist postures.
Trade. ' Cominerce and Industry eiparided and new kinds of productive enterprise
sprang up. . There were increasing social demands for State intervention in
industrial regulations. ' Poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and other social evils
had becoqe central concerns of public policy. The era of the laissez-faire state
had thus come to an end. Instead, it positivist-interventionist welfare,state has
emerged steadily.

The State's increasing concern for social regulation and general social welfare
meant a quantum leap in governmental activities. The academic interest in the study
of , , govemment and administration accompanied this historical expansion in state
activities.
As Leonard White has put it: "In their broader context, the ends of administration
are the ultimate object of the state itself-the maintenance af peace and order, the
progressive achievement of justice, the instruction of the young, protection
against disease and insecurity. the adjustment and 'compromise of conflicting
groups and interests-in short, the altainment of the good life".
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Rising popular demands and expectations from government coincided with a lively
interest in 'efficiency' in Public Administration. How can governmental activities
be made more cost-effective? How can the budgqary practices in govemment be
streamlined and made more and more management-oriented? Are there better ways of
organidng the administrative machinery? What could be done to ensure a steady and
timely flow of skilledmd motivated personnel within the governmental machinery?
After all, it is popular satisfaction and fulfilment of popular demarids that
provides the , rationale for Public Administration. So, what methocis could be
invented to monitor popular reactions to administrative action? How can people's
satisfaction be measured? Apart from these, larger issues of public policy
formulation, policy execution and monitoring and evaluation of policy outcome had
come to assume crucial significance in governmental operations. After the seminal
contribution of H&beft Simon to decision-theory, Public Administratjon has received
policy science prientation. This has greatly enhanced the utility of the discipline
for practical policy analysis and policy improvement in the government. Writers
like Dmr and Dye have greatly enkched policy analysis as a major area of Public
Administration.

* These objectives and practical requirements of govemment gave a fillip to the

academit: development of the new discipline af Public Administration.
The'importance of the new
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discipline came to be recognised, as sustained academic inquiry and interest

started ,.producing new techniques and methods of improving governmental
performance. Public Administration's increasing practical concern for publii'
problem-solving has steadily legitimised its.place in the larger family of Social
Sciences. Complexity and larger scale of governmental operations have prompted
innovations in organisational designs, In order to meet the needs of rapidly
changing $cia! situations, governments have been groping for new.organisational
formats that would'match the specific situational needs. Organisation theory has,
in recent years, assumed the character of a well-developed discipline. The theories
of organisat ion have Reen co-ppted by Public Adminisqation and there is widespread
application now of organisation theories to adm'~istrative design problems. The
organisation theory . . perspectrve is now an integr I part-of Public'
Administration discipline. 'This hiis made the discipline much more useful then
ever before for organisational development and structural experimentations in
govemment. Thus in recent years the discipline has . ' acquired considerable
strength. It is in a position tb suggest'~lternative ways (if organising
governmental activities to optimise the results. Application of &havioural science
knowledge 9 3 s also facilitated more sophisticated analysis of public personnel
systems. Research as bn motiv~tionand morale. group and intergroup behaviour, and
interpersonal relationships have produced .rich.conceptual and theoretical toolkits
that are currently being uskd b> Public Administration-analysts, The crucial
importance of the human element.in administration,'which was. large1y ignored in
the classical model, is currently being emphasised. As i n applied science, Public
Administration has thus been of direct use in public personnel management.

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Imporlilrce of Publk Administration

A SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE

. So far we have presented Public Administration as a pragmatic and problem-solving
discipline. This is a one-sided analysis. Now we will examine an equally important
fact$ of Public ~dministrationri:., it:; social-scientific status. Since government
touches on almost all aspects of life in the contemporary world, how the government
is organised and how it operates in practice should naturally attract our
attention. The importance of public Administration as social science lies in its
methddical study of government and in attempts to organise knowledge about
governmental structure and operations. In'this role, Public Administration as'a
discipline is more interested in providing scientific explanations rather than
merely solving public problems.
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Administration is looked at, in this perspective, as'asocial activity. Hence the

concern of academic inquiry would be to understand the impact of government
policies and operations on the soc'iety. What kind of sociely do the policies
envis~ge? To what'extent administrative action is 'class' oriented:' In other
words, how is Public . i Administration and what are the immediate and long term
effects o f governmental action on the'sociai structure. the economy and polity?
From this social science perspective, Public ~dministration, as a discipline, has
to draw on a variety olkirlcrr dijciplines {uch as History, S(xit)lopy. Economics,
etc., the aUwtive,being to "explain" find not just to "prescribe".
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Check Your progress 1 . . Note : i) Use the space below for your answers. ii) Check
your answkrs with those given at the end of the unit. I ) Explain how the
interventionist role of Government is increasing.
ÿ he ~ i t u r of e Public

Administration

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How do behavioural sciences help in the analy\i\ of Public Administra~lon'

. .3) How adrnini51ratlon I \

ioob.ed a i

&,or &a! ~LIIVII)'!

2:6 THE THIRDbWORLD PERSPECTIVE

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Plrblic Administration's special status in the "developing countrie~"has been u ~ d

e l j acknowledged. The post-colonial, "third world" countries have everywhere
embarked upon speedy socio-economic development. These countries have naturally to
rely on the government to push through speedy 'development'. This means Public
Adminlstration,has to be organised and operated to increase productivity quickly.
Similarly social welfare activities have to be efficiently and effectively
executed. The government-sponsored 'planned development activities have
necessitated the birth of new sub-discipline of "Development Administration", about
which you would know more in Unit 5. Ba\ed on u series of country studies.
Development Administration has emerged as an extremely u\eful field that has great
practical utility in the special circumstances of the developing countries.
The'emergence of 'Development Administration' is indicative of a felt need f i x a
body of knowledge about how to study the thlrd world administration and at the \ame
time to bring about speedy socio-economic dev,$opment with government intervention.
All the developing countries in the third world depend on the gcvemment's
aggressive role in nation-building and socio-economic reconstruction. Development
Administration, therefore has emerged as a special sub-discipline to serve the
cause of development. This is a distinct branch of the discipline, sewing a
distinct cause, viz. development.

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LIBERAL .STUDIES FOR CITIZENSHIP

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Another general utility of Public Administration as a'discipline lies in its

contribution to credtive citizenship. In a democracy, the citikns must be well-
informed about what the government does or does not do. Governmental literacy is a
sine-qua-non of good citizhnship. People must get. to 'know about the organisation
of government, the activities it. undertakes and the manner in which these are
actually performed. As a discipiinel,~ublic Administration has ample scope to
educate the lay citizens a b u t the machinery and procedure of-work in the
government. '

CONTRIBUTIONS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

As already stated. the expanding role of government in every country, especially in
the develbping nations, has encouraged many-sided inquiries into governmental
,operations. - .; Since government touches on almost every conceivable'aspect of
lifp in a democratic , society, the citizens must have access to informqtion about
government and about how.it is' I ,
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actually orgeised and pressed into social regulation and citizens' welfare. Public
Administration as an intellectual discipline has, therefore, been gaining in
importancejwith the increasing interventionist role of goveniment in social life.
The importance of a well-developed discipline of Public Administration' lies in its
five kinds of major contributions to organised social life which we will discuss
iiow;

Imporl:~ncc of [4uhlic

.idrnini>tr;~lion

* epistemological * technical
e
e

ombudsmanic liberal-educational, and professional.

The fiist type of contribution arises out of the discipline's capacity to build up
a rigorous. systematic and scientific body of knowledge about governmental
structure and operations. Publio Administration alone has the exclusive
responsibility to study the government in action in all its aspects. In dischargihg
this responsibility, it has been striving to collect reliable information and data,
analysl: administrative structures and operations, and build explanatory theories
for enhancing knowledge about administrative practices.

2.6.2 Technical
The second type of technical contribution of the discipline flows from its first
major role as stated above. Since the days of the pioneers like Woodrow Wilson, it
has been the endeavour of Public Administration specialists to apply knowleqge to
act~ial-public problem solving. With reliable theoretical equipment and on the
basis of "clinical" studies of administration situation, the technical consulting
capacity of the experts in the discipline has increased considerably. Advising
government and solving practical problems in administration are legitimate
expectations from Public Administration analysts.

.The third type of contribution of the discipline can came out df investigative
studies of critical sectors of administration. Case studies on citizens'
grievances, administrative red tape, corruption, etc. may be widely circulated to
familiarise the general public,.the press and the legislature about the actual
goings-on inside the bureaucracy. By disseminating , knowledge and information, the
experts in Public Administration can play a socially useful role akin to the
ombudsmanic institution as established in many countries.

2.6.4 Liberal Educational

Public Administration as a discipliqe has the fourth important responsibility to
create enlightened citizenship. In a democracy, knowledge of how the government and
the administration functions must be universally disseminated. This is what can be
called governmental-administrative literacy. Public Administration is the only
social science discipline that,can perform this role of a universal educator of
"government and administration" for all the citizens.

2.6.5. Professional
Public Administration has also served the cause of vocationalism. The discipline
has been greatly useful in training civil servants and equipping students to join
the professional stream of practising administrators. Institutes and schools of
Public Administration, Public Affairs and Public Policy Analysis are engaged in the
ofganisation of professional courses,
Check YOU; Progress 2 Note: i) Use the space below for your answers.

ii) Check your answers wih those given at the end o f the unit. '.
1) Why Public Administration is of special importance in developing countries?
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2) In which a r m a n Public.Administration contribute to o~anised slciallife? :

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2.7 LET . US . SUM

UP

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The importance of Public Administratioh as a discipline has been highlighted in

this unit. ' Subsequent developn~ents in the discipline in response to both
practical problems and academic:questions have further enhanced its importance as
an autonomous field. In the contemporary world, the burden of public duties on
government has been steadily i increasing. To expect that the days of,laiskz-faire
wobld return again is mere daydreaming, The positivistic-interventipnistrole of
government would automatically find reactions ih academic inquiry. And as history
has shown, the importance o f Public Administration as a discipline has been
closely associated with the increasingly activist role of govemment everywhere., As
regards the 'de;eloping* or 'thidworld' countries, 'Development Administration' as
a sub-discipline has a special role to play to systematise knowledge about
'development' as . well as to facilitate successful and effective governmental
intervention in radical socioeconomic 'reconstruction.
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2.8 KEY WORDS

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Laissez-faire : Policy of non-interference.

Ombudsmaniq: Investigation of individual's complsints against public authorities.
Positivist : One who recognises only positive facts and observable phenomena.

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2.9 SOME USEFUL BOOKS .

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~hattacharya,Mohit. 1987. Public Administration: Chapm-Z: The World b s s Rivae

Ltd:: Calcutta. d Golanbiewski, Robert T,1977. PLMic ~ckinistratim as a ~ ~ e i o
bisc&liie; g n ~ Vol,J; . Marcel b k k e ~New : Yo*.' .~enri. Nicholas. 1975.
Public A&ninistratioy and Public ~ffdirs: Rcntia Hall. Englewood-Cliffs: New
Jersey. I

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N i p . Felix A. and Niw. Lloyd 0. 1980. Modern Public Adminirtration; -Harperand

Row: New Yotic. . While, LSDe. 1968. In!rodrcrion to the Study o f P ~ I
Ahinistroion; ~ C @unriahblishing House: New Delhi: . -., ,

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EXERCISES
check Your l~rGress1
1 ) See Section 2.2

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2) See Section 2.2 3) See Section 2.3

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CheckYourProgrcess2
1 ) See Section 2.4
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2) See Section 2.6