Public Administration Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Topic: Public Administration
• Definition of Administration:
  • Derived from Latin words "ad" (to) and "ministrare" (to serve/manage)
  • Simple meaning: Management of affairs or looking after people
  • Concerned with organizing men and materials to achieve desired ends

Types of Administration

• Universal Process: Occurs in various institutional settings
• Divided into:
  • Private Administration:
    • Activities of private organizations (household, clubs, corporations)
  • Public Administration:
    • Activities of the state (central, provincial, local government)

Definition of Public Administration

• Aspect of the larger field of administration within a political system
• Focuses on accomplishing goals and objectives formulated by political decisions
• Also known as governmental organization

Key Definitions

• Edo Wilson: Public administration is the detailed and systematic execution of public law.
• L.D. White: Public administration consists of operations fulfilling/enforcing public policy.
• Luther Gulick: Part of administration science related to government, focusing on the executive branch.

Sense of Public Administration

• Wider Sense: Includes activities of all branches of government (legislature, executive, judiciary).
• Narrow Sense: Includes only the executive branch activities.

Nature of Public Administration

• Two views:
  • Integral View: Encompasses all activities (managerial, technical, clerical, manual) for objectives.
  • Managerial View: Focuses solely on managerial activities.

Scope of Public Administration

• Defined by various writers:
  • Luther Gulick:
    • Planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, budgeting.
  • Covers organizational theory, public personnel administration, public finance, comparative and development administration, public policy analysis, etc.

Significance of Public Administration

• Operative and most visible part of government
• Instrument of governance and mechanism for community welfare
• Vital process for implementing significant objectives

Conclusion

• Importance of understanding public administration in governance and community impact.