POLS 721
Introductionand Getting a Handel on
Public Administration
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
A Question (okay two)
 What is public administration? Why?
 What is Public Administration? Why?
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
PA Themes - Bureaucracy
(Goodsell)
 A position to be debated…
“The quality of public service in the United States is vastly
underrated. Our government’s administrative agencies
and those who work in them are commonly portrayed as
inefficient, incompetent, and wasteful - and often uncivil
and devious as well. This is simply not true.”
(Goodsell, p.xi)
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Trends in Public Service:

Spoils and Patronage
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Scientific Management and the Progressives

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Marble-cake federalism and unfunded mandates
Government and Business

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Waldo - an inherently political activity
Simon - neutral, professional Implementers
Changing Shape of Federalism


Bureaucracy and the New Deal
Politics/Administration Dichotomy


Woodrow Wilson
The difference between honest and dishonest graft
Privatization and competitive government
Public Administration or Public Management
Governance


Third party service delivery
boundarylessness
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Some Definitions
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Some Definitions:
The Etymology of Public Administration
 Main Entry: et·y·mol·o·gy
Pronunciation: -jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: Middle English ethimologie, from Anglo-French, from Latin
etymologia, from Greek, from etymon + -logia -logy
 1 : the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development
since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by
tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its
component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it
and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Some Definitions…
Profession
 Main Entry: pro·fes·sion (http://www.m-w.com)
 Pronunciation: pr&-'fe-sh&n; Function: noun; Etymology: Middle English professioun, from
Old French profession, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin profession-, professio, from
Latin, public declaration, from profitEri
1 : the act of taking the vows of a religious community
2 : an act of openly declaring or publicly claiming a belief, faith, or opinion : PROTESTATION
3 : an avowed religious faith
4 a : a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation b : a
principal calling, vocation, or employment c : the whole body of persons engaged in a calling
 An occupation that requires extensive training and the study and mastery of
specialized knowledge, usually has a professional association, ethical code and
process of certification or licensing.


Examples law, medicine, finance, military, nursing, clergy & engineering.
Classically, only four professions: the church, the military, medicine, and law.




held a specific code of ethics,
members were almost universally required to swear some form of oath to uphold those ethics
Each profession also provided and required extensive training in the meaning, value and importance
of that oath in the practice of the profession.
George Bernard Shaw characterised all professions as "conspiracies against the laity“
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profession)
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Some Definitions…
 Discipline


Branches of knowledge or of teaching
c.1225, from O.Fr. descepline, from L. disciplina "instruction given to a disciple," from
discipulus (see disciple). Sense is from "order necessary for instruction."

disciple: O.E. discipul (fem. discipula), Biblical borrowing from L. discipulus "pupil," from
*discipere "to grasp intellectually, analyze thoroughly," from dis- "apart" + capere "take"
(see capable).
 Academic Discipline



Disciplines = Academic = liberal or classical rather than technical or vocational.
Meaning "branch of instruction or education" is c.1386. Meaning of "orderly conduct
as a result of training" is from 1509.
Branch of knowledge which is formally taught

disciplines are usually defined and recognized



by the academic journals in which research is published,
by the learned societies to which their practitioners belong
Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines

Branches and lines are often arbitrary and ambiguous.
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Some Definitions…
Public


Main Entry: 1pub·lic
Pronunciation: 'p&-blik; Function: adjective; Etymology: Middle English publique, from Middle French,
from Latin publicus; akin to Latin populus the people
1 a : exposed to general view : OPEN b : WELL-KNOWN, PROMINENT c : PERCEPTIBLE, MATERIAL
2 a : of, relating to, or affecting all the people or the whole area of a nation or state <public law> b
: of or relating to a government c : of, relating to, or being in the service of the community or nation
3 a : of or relating to people in general : UNIVERSAL b : GENERAL, POPULAR
4 : of or relating to business or community interests as opposed to private affairs: SOCIAL
5 : devoted to the general or national welfare : HUMANITARIAN
6 a : accessible to or shared by all members of the community b : capitalized in shares that can be
freely traded on the open market -- often used with go
 Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a
nation, state, or community; opposed to private; as, the public treasury, a road or lake.




also defined as the people of a nation not affiliated with the government of that nation.
also refers to the general body of mankind, or of a nation, state, or community;
also, a particular body or aggregation of people; as, an author's public.
Aggens (1983) "The is no single public, but different levels of public based on differing levels of
interest and ability". (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Some Definitions…
Administration
 Main Entry: ad·min·is·tra·tion
Pronunciation: &d-"mi-n&-'strA-sh&n, (")adFunction: noun
1 : performance of executive duties : MANAGEMENT
2 : the act or process of administering
3 : the execution of public affairs as distinguished from policy-making
4 a : a body of persons who administer b often capitalized : a group constituting the
political executive in a presidential government c : a governmental agency or board
5 : the term of office of an administrative officer or body
 From the Middle English administracioun, deriving from the French
administration, which is itself derived from the Latin administratio: a
compounding of ad ("to") and ministratio ("to give service").
 In modern usage, the word has particular meanings in particular contexts,
but all retain this sense of service provision. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Public Administration Field of Study???
 Theory

1592, "conception, mental scheme," from L.L. theoria
(Jerome), from Gk. theoria "contemplation, speculation, a
looking at, things looked at," from theorein "to consider,
speculate, look at," from theoros "spectator," from thea "a
view" + horan "to see." Sense of "principles or methods of
a science or art (rather than its practice)" is first recorded
1613. That of "an explanation based on observation and
reasoning" is from 1638. The verb theorize is recorded
from 1638.
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Public Administration Field of Study???
 Practice
 1392, "to do, act, or perform habitually," from O.Fr. practiser
"to practice," from M.L. practicare "to do, perform, practice,"
from L.L. practicus "practical," from Gk. praktikos "practical."
The noun is from 1421, originally as practise, from O.Fr.
pratiser, from M.L. practicare. Also as practik, which survived
in parallel into 19c. Practiced "expert" is from 1568;
practicing (adj.) is recorded from 1625 in ref. to professions,
from 1906 in ref. to religions.
 Praxis

1581, from M.L. praxis "practice, action" (c.1255, opposite of theory),
from Gk. praxis "practice, action, doing," from stem of prassein "to do,
to act."
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Back to the Beginning
DOCUMENTING THE FIELD
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Constitutional / Legal Foundations
 The Declaration of Independence: The Principles Espoused
 Political thinking of the day
 Political thinking for our day
 Constitution: Key Values Operationalized
 Popular Sovereignty
 Rule of Law
 Separation of Powers
 Federalism
 Others…
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Constitutional / Legal Foundations
 The Federalist Papers
 51 – Interests
 72 – First Paragraph
 77 – links between sound government and high-ranking administrative
personnel
 What does the Constitution say about administration?
 Explicit
 Implied
 Inherent
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
What is Public?
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Public vs Private
No Distinction
 Mixed, Intermediate and Hybrid Forms

Things just look alike
 Doing the Same Things

General managers, secretaries, IT,
auditors, personnel, maintenance…
 Blurred Interrelations

Government contractors, Defense
industry, privatization
 Business serve their communities too

And public policy is made and
implemented throughout society
Clear Distinction
 Politics
 Accessibility
 Groups inject themselves readily
into the inner workings of the org.
 Resource Allocation Decisions
 Public Scrutiny
 More ???
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes
Public vs Private
Ownership
Funding
Mode of Social
Control
Example
Bureau
Public
Public
Polyarchy -political
hierarchy
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Gov’t Corp
Public
Private
Polyarchy
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation
Gov’t Sponsored
Enterprise
Private
Public
Polyarchy
Corporation for Public
Broadcasting
Regulated
Enterprise
Private
Private
Polyarchy
Private Electric Utilities
Government
Enterprise
Public
Public
Market
Government Printing Office that
must sell services to Gov’t
agencies
State-owned
Enterprise
Public
Private
Market
Airbus
Government
Contractor
Private
Public
Market
Grumann; Lockheed Martin
Private Enterprise
Private
Private
Market
IBM; Gateway
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes-
Meaning of Public
 From the Greek
 Public
Pubes: Maturity – physical and emotional; Moving to an adult state and
understanding relationships of others and oneself
 Koinon: Common (like the common weal, commonwealth, held in common)
 Kom-ois = to care with




Importance of relationships and commonly caring with others
public was a polis where all citizens participated in a political community
Private

Not engaged with others, only able to see their own world, and “idiot”

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin idiota ignorant person, from Greek idiOtEs one in a private
station, layman, ignorant person, from idios one's own, private; akin to Latin suus one's own -- more at
SUICIDE
OR

Oikos, meaning family and household (root of economy)
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes
 English
 Private = to be deprived of public life; Very disagreeable state
 Public = all people in society
 Modern usage
 Public has come to = politics or government


Is this too vague and useless
Utilitarians: replaced Greek thinking – turned public to mean an
aggregation of private interests

Has this contributed to a loss of an ennobling concept of public
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes –
Five “Publics” that have the
Public Interest in Mind
1. Public as interests groups – the pluralist perspective

Net result of group interaction constitutes a definition of the public interest
2. Public as rational chooser – public choice perspective

Community interest is sum of the individual interests of those who compose it
3. Public as “the represented” – the legislative perspective

Public’s elected representatives are the clearest single manifestation of the public perspective
4. Public as customer – service providing perspective

Those the bureaucrats serve; Bureaucrats become advocates of their customers
5. Public as citizen


Informed citizenry; Not only self interest but the pursuit of the public interest
PA moved from citizenship emphasis to a purely administrative one in 1930s
Who are (should be) Public Administrators responsive to?
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Administration and Reformers
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes
 Main Entry: ad·min·is·ter
Pronunciation: &d-'mi-n&-st&r
Function: verb; Inflected Form(s): -is·tered; ad·min·is·ter·ing /-st(&-)ri[ng]/
Etymology: Middle English administren, from Middle French administrer, from
Latin administrare, from ad- + ministrare to serve, from minister servant -more at MINISTER; date: 14th century
transitive senses
 1 : to manage or supervise the execution, use, or conduct of <administer a trust
fund>
2 a : to mete out : DISPENSE <administer punishment> b : to give ritually
<administer the last rites> c : to give remedially <administer a dose of
medicine>
intransitive senses
1 : to perform the office of administrator
2 : to furnish a benefit : MINISTER <administer to an ailing friend>
3 : to manage affairs
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Typical PA Administration Themes
 In the Beginning…
 Government Reform
Movement
Efficiency
 Scientific precision
 Effectiveness
 Objectivity
 Political separation
 Data-driven decisionmaking
 From the 60-70’s on…
 Efficiency
Operational Efficiency
 Social Efficiency

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Technical Expertise
 Effectiveness

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Limited
 According to the above
Responsiveness
Open and accessible
 Social Equity

Provision of Services

Competence

More active Bureaucrat

Equity added as a key value
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes
 Is Public Administration part of the problem
Reduced itself to equal decision-making
 Comparing itself to Business administration
 Efficiency, economy and order as fundamental values
 Seek to do good by not doing evil
 See quote page 28

 Is there an obligation to carry out laws, but also a
responsibility to constantly exercise an ethic of concern
for our neighbors and fellow citizens?
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Public Administration Themes
 Potential General Theory of “the Public” for PA
 Constitution


Principles and values form the foundation
Virtuous Citizen

Enhanced notion of citizenship
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Responsiveness to Collective and non-collective publics

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Understands founding documents
Belief in American regime values
Taking individual moral responsibility
Civility: Forbearance, Tolerance
Systems and procedures for hearing and responding to interests of the
collective and non-collective public
Benevolence and love

Purpose of government is to extend the protection of regime values to all
citizens
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Some Authors and Readings…to help
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Classic Beginnings: Wilson 1887
The Study of Administration (Woodrow Willson, 1887)
 There is a political aspect to Government
 There is an administrative aspect to Government
 Studying each separately would help you understand
government better

How to write and how to run a Constitution
How do you see the Politics/Administration Dichotomy?
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Henry’s Five Paradigms of Public Administration
Ebb and Flow of the PA Stream
 The Politics/Administration Dichotomy, 1900-1926
 The Principles of Administration, 1927-1950
 Public Administration as Political Science, 1950-1970
 Public Administration as Management, 1956-1970
 Public Administration as Public Administration, 1970 - ???
Locus and focus:
the where …hence the what
and what …hence the how
of the profession
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Henry’s Five Paradigms of Public Administration
 The Politics/Administration Dichotomy, 1900-1926
 Woodrow Wilson, Frank Goodnow, Leonard White

Politics


Administration


has to do with policies or expressions of the state will
Has to do with the execution of these policies
Where should PA be?
Executing policy
 “There is no Republican or Democrat way to build a road…”
 Neutral and professional

Universities began to teach PA
 Values/Facts

Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Henry’s Five Paradigms of Public Administration
 The Principles of Administration, 1927-1950




PA had high reputation during this period
POSDCORB, Gulick and Urwick
“Scientization of the Democracy”



W.F. Willoughby
Relying on science, Isolating from Politics
Focusing on administrative principles (Org ideas that worked in all settings),
Two Main Challenges

Waldo’s Challenge of the Dichotomy - 1938-1947



The dichotomy is fiction; does not play out in the practice
Facts AND values needed to be understood
Herbert Simon’s (and others) Challenge of Principles - 1947-1950


No such thing as a principle of administration (like of span of control and chain of
command)
• For every principle there is a counter-principle, therefore no such thing as a principle.
Purer science is needed: focus on decision making; analysis; facts
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Henry’s Five Paradigms of Public Administration
 Public Administration as Political Science, 1950-1970
 Reestablishing the links to Political Science


PA referred to again as an emphasis, not a field
Where is PA…
Budgets and personnel policies?
 Involved in the grand work of government?
 Explore sociology, business, social psychology…?


Focus on Bureaucracy and Policy Implementation


Lots of Case Studies
Democratic Theory and Administration

Beginning to see grander societal impact of PA practice, but not
endorsing it yet
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Henry’s Five Paradigms of Public Administration
 Public Administration as Management, 1956-1970
 A Part of a more general trend in studying management
Fundamentally Alike in all Unimportant Respects
 Government and Business


Where did the “Public” go?
Institutional Definition – management of tax-supported agencies
 Normative Definition – phenomena that affect the public interests
 Organizational Definition – public/non-profit sector vs business sector


The Separatists movements
Public Policy – esp. science and technology
 New Public Administration – normative social equity
 Practitioners – intellectuals don’t help and usually don’t know

Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Henry’s Five Paradigms of Public Administration
 Public Administration as Public Administration, 1970 -
???

No longer Political Science

No longer Management

A Separate field of study and practice taking into account all
the complexities of “Public” “Administration”
Matthew
MatthewR.R.Fairholm,
Fairholm,Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Nigro and Richardson: Unsentimentality
 The Old Rural and the New Urban Progressivism (1880s-1930s)
 Public administration studies (mostly as local government studies) arose
for







History of the polity


Focus on political, constitutional, and institutional history
Comparisons



Industrialization
Population growth
Urbanization
Reform of public health
Strive for efficiency
Weeding out corruption
European experience – centuries of work with local governments
Federalist and Anti-Federalists – look to past to flesh out future
Wilson

Politics and administration – two sides of the same coin
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Nigro and Richardson: Unsentimentality

Two strands of progressivism


General: progressivism was to create a less corrupt and more responsive government
Old progressivism





New Progressivism




Grounded in communal action
Mary Parker Follett
• Machine versus man-made
• Democracy the goal to be achieved through steps and science
• Rather, democracy is a continuous process of interaction between individuals in an organic
society
• Each individual is a complete expression of the whole
• Impossible for a machine metaphor
• Growth of democracy – growth of individualism in association with one another
Association and interaction
Anti-federalist
Reform through enhancing efficiency of government and strengthening the executive at the federal
level to establish a positive administrative state
• Study of administrative history in terms of organization, policies, civil service reform and high
office at the federal level was paramount
Federalist perspective
New progressivism won the day and still has dominated much of our training and thought
Gulick, Wilson, White, Mosher
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Nigro and Richardson: Unsentimentality

Rationalism (1930s-1970s)

From early 1900s on, business administration wielded more influence over PA
 Fear of private power more than public power


Rise of regulations and business interventions, protection of labor…
Business-like administration
 Managerial principles
 Substantial counterweight to purely managerial approach to administrative history
 Usable knowledge was the key and managerialism seemed to win out.

Case study approach emerged



Important themes







Middle-range theories rather than grand theories
Use history to help eek out usable lessons
Budget
Public finance
State and local government reform
Civil service reform
Policy areas
Nation building
Scientific approach and behavioralist in nature
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Nigro and Richardson: Unsentimentality

The Unlimited State (1980s)

Focus on the growth of American administrative state along three lines




Role and position of the state in society
• Intergovernmental relations
• Sub-national governments
Growth and development of American Welfare state
Origins and development of administrative thought
Approaches


Past had been on description and theories to compare
This period marks the use of a neo-institutional approach
• Rational approach tha emphasizes transaction costs
• Historical-interpretive approach that analyzes social evolution as a
path-dependent phenomenon
• This approach caught hold in PA
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Nigro and Richardson: Unsentimentality

Demise of the Old and/or the Advent of the New (1990s)



More interest in administrative history
More need to re-interpret the past to understand the present
Routes of interpretation




Reinterpretation of modernity
• Science has blinded us to understanding current challenges
Reinterpretation of out time as epochal change
• Entering the global age
Reinterpretation of the discourse in public administration
• No more dichotomous thinking
• More communal thinking
A setting the record straight
• Bureau men versus settlement women
• Feminist critique
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
Kass and Catron
For Practical Fun: 7 Public Administration Images
Images: conceptually distinct, not mutually exclusive; developmental frame not a typology
1.
Functionary: PAer is entirely subordinate and instrumental to politically defined ends; cogs in
a machine
2.
Opportunist/Pragmatist: PAer is seen as self-interested, goal seeking, and utility-maximizing not elevated to any concern with the public interest
3.
Interest Broker/Market Manager: PAers correct market deficiencies where necessary and
design programs consistent with consumer preferences; public choice theory
4.
Professional/Expert Technician: PAers defined by functional specialization and expertise;
5.
Agent/Trustee: PAers bear the responsibility to protect the public interest – guardians; steward
6.
Communitarian Facilitator: PAers must “reinvent” themselves and shift attention from the distal
environment of the clientele to the proximate environment of the face-to-face work group;
community building through discourse
7.
Transformational Social Critic: PAers serves as the monitor of social and political process on
behalf of the citizens because of strategic location in society and the public nature of the work;
PAer serves as critical thinker
competent analyst
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
So What…
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.
So What
 Key Ideas
 What
is “Public”…
 How do you define “Administration”…
 Why is this work a Profession…
Your answers determine much of your
practice…
Matthew R. Fairholm, Ph.D.