Different Perspectives of the Study of Public Administration
(Scope of Public Administration)
The Public Administration can be studied with respect to the various perspectives like -
Based on the origin of Knowledge -
- Francophone (L.D. White, Dwight Waldo) - more powerful Administrative System - prevalent in France & Germany
- Anglophone - control of people over the Administration - works under the broader view of Democracy - prevalent in England as well as in India
Francophone Tradition -
- In the Francophone tradition, the administration is well developed with high level of precision and rationality.
- It can act independently because it is highly evolved and can be considered as enjoying parallel powers with respect to other organs of the system (state).
- A well developed administrative system with less political control may increase the efficiency bit it can misuse the powers for its own interest.
Anglophone Tradition -
- Contrary to the Francophone tradition, is the Anglophone tradition where the democratic control over the administration is more desirable than efficiency.
- The administration must be duly controlled by the political system even if it results in inefficiency.
- As per the Anglophone tradition, wills of people were given greater importance than the optimal usage of resource, i.e., efficiency.
- It is dominant in India.
With respect to the View or Scope of Study
- Narrow View
- Broad View
Narrow View -
- The narrow view is the traditional approach to the study of Public Administration.
- It views administration as an instrument or a subsidiary system of the executive branch only.
- Here, the scope of the study of the Public Administration is restricted to the Executive-Administration interaction.
Broad View -
- As per the broad view perspective, the administration is considered as being directly in interaction with all the three branches of the state, i.e., Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.
- The broader view of the Public Administration is also visible in reality today.
- For example - The emergence of variety of institutions where administrators are playing quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial role is quite evident. One such example is the appointment of administrators as judges in tribunals.
Theory VS Practice approach
- Theory - Science of Public Administration
- Practice - Arts of Public Administration
There is always been a debate regarding the scope of Public Administration as a Science or as an Arts.
Science → facts & knowledge → Action → which is objective
Arts → Action → which helps in acquiring experience → i.e., based on skill & knowledge of the administrators → which is subjective
Science of Public Administration -
- The Science aspect of the Public Administration is generally associated with the knowledge building, conceptual and theoretical development and its study at an intellectual level.
- The Science of Public Administration would means an exact body of knowledge based on empirical study (i.e., scientific study).
- The empirical study involves scientific observation, experimentation, data collection and further verification.
- Most of the Social Scientists like Comte and Spencer were inspired from the influence of Positivism, i.e., use of scientific methods of develop knowledges in the Social Science.
- Positivism - The tendency/approach to create empirical knowledge in Social Science is known as Positivism. It involves the influence of Natural Science on Social Science.
- Comte is known as the 'Father of Positivism'. He is also considered as the 'Father of Sociology'.
- Other Positivists includes Spencer, Durkheim, Kant, etc.
- Positivism believes that whatever knowledge worth acquiring is the factual knowledge which is amenable to the sensory perception.
- No doubt, the positivism was the initial influence and the most dominant over the initial phase of the Public Administration as a discipline.
Arts of Public Administration -
- The study of Public Administration can't be purely scientific. It involves the study of society, human beings, culture and political system which are not amenable to a scientific experiment.
- A major part of the Public Administration was also influenced by non-positivist knowledge which is the Arts of Public Administration.
- Even though we can't deny the existence of the Science of Public Administration, there is an equal space for the Arts of Public Administration.
Dwight Waldo commented, "It is better that Public Administration should not be defined since definitions instead of providing clarity are more confusing and are restricted to limited perspective. Administration is a dependent variable. It is never static rather ever changing and evolving."
He also commented, "Every single sentence or paragraph on definition of the Public Administration is a mental paralysis rather than enlightenment and stimulation."
i.e., all the knowledge is provisional and purely provisional as the knowledge which was developed today might not be relevant tomorrow (i.e., knowledge changes with changing space and time/context).
In short -
Science → during study (theory)
Arts → during implementation (practice)
Question for practice
How do you define the term administration? Is it synonymous to the term management? Comment.
The term Administration is derived from words 'ad' and 'ministiare' which means 'to serve'. It is usually associated with the word public. Thus, Public Administration in general terms means to serve the people or public.
Public administration can be defined under various perspective. Usually, it is viewed as an instrument or a subsidiary system of executive branch only which mainly deals with the implementation of policies at ground level. However, the scope of the administration is very dynamic due to the emergence of various new institutions where administrators are now playing quasi-judicial or quasi-legislative role.
Whereas Management is the art and science of managing the resources efficiently. It is the administration of an organisation whether it is business, a non-profit organisation or a government institution. Thus, Management can be referred as a sub-set of administration.
Similarities between Administration and Management
- Both Management and Administration involve the basic function of planning, organising and controlling.
- Management is a subset of administration. They are not separated. Both are concerned with the achievement of organisational goals.
Differences between Administration and Management
- The term Management usually deals with the tangible outcomes like efficiency, effective utilisation of resources, profit, cost effective, etc whereas the Administration deals with intangible outcomes like Social justice, public interest, welface, inclusion, etc.
- Administration is usually associated with the power (authority) whereas Management is associated with the utilisation of resources.
- Management is generally viewed as an economic concept whereas Administration is a non-profit institution and is used as a social concept.
- Management is usually associated with companies, factories, organisations, etc whereas Administration is associated with the governmental institutions.
- Management is usually associated with middle or lower level of authority whereas Administration is associated with higher level of authority.
Though theoretically both Management and Administration are different terms but they are used simultaneously because of their overlapping functions.
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Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own.
Hope! It will help you to achieve your dream of getting selected in Civil Services Examination 👍
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