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ISSUES IN PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
Theories of Public Administration
MPA 509
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Introduction
• Public administration has been called many
things; a subset of political science or at least its
Offspring.
• Public administration is a process and as such
has been around as long as governments have
existed.
• As a discipline, it is primarily an American idea
that grew out of the late nineteenth-century
movement for government reform
Ann Prentice 1984
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Introduction
PA has a relationship to political science in
that its field of endeavor is the body politic, but
where political scientists look at the political
aspect of an activity, public administrators deal
with the implementation of policy for the
smooth operation of departments, programs
and activities that are the outcomes of policy
decisions made by the bodies politic. Public
administration may be more profession than
discipline, in that it combines theory and
practice and is both science and art.
Ann Prentice 1984
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What is Public
Administration?
Public Administration is a species
belonging to GENUS
ADMINISTRATION, which
in turn belongs to a FAMILY which
we may call COOPERATIVE
HUMAN ACTION
(WALDO, 1955)
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Public Administration Theory
PA theory is the amalgamation of history, organizational theory,
social theory, political theory and related studies focused on the
meanings, structures and functions of public service in all its forms
PA often recounts major historical foundations for the study of
bureaucracy as well as issues associated with public service as a
profession and as an academic field.
Important figures of study include: Max Weber, Frederick Winslow
Taylor, Luther Gulick, Mary Parker Follet, Chester Barnard, Herbert
A. Simon, and Dwight Waldo.
In more recent times, the field has had three main branches: new
public management, classic public administration, and postmodern
public administration theory.
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Context
1. Classical PA
Politicized
bureaucracy
Corruption
Spoils system
Inept
government
Popularization
of scientism in
management
Key Values
/Principles/Issues
(Late 1800-1950’S)
Politics & administration
Dichotomy
Preservation of
Democracy
Promotion of Efficiency
(doing things right),
effectiveness (doing the
right things) and
economy (least cost) in
the government
Classical approach
o Unity of command,
hierarchy, division
of labor, one best
way rule
o Mechanistic view
of the organization
o Closed system
view of the
organization
Proponents
Dominant/Theories/Themes
/Sub-Concepts
Frederick Taylor
(1856 -1915)
Robert Owen (17711858)
Classical PA is based on the classical
theories of administration (scientific
management, bureaucratic model and
administration management)
Scientific Management
o Focused on lower level of
management
o One-Best-Way vs. Rule of
Thumb
o Time & Motion Studies
Max Weber (18641920)
Herbert Simon
Theory of Bureaucracy
o Max Weber’s ideal Type
Bureaucracy or Rational -Legal
Bureaucracy (hierarchy, division
of labor, formally written rules
and procedures, impersonality,
neutrality)
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Context
1. Classical PA
Key
Values/Principles/Iss
ues
(Late 1800-1950’S)
Proponents
Dominant/Theories/Themes
/Sub-Concepts
o Henri Fayol’s principles of
Henri Fayol’s1916
a French industrialist, is now
administration (division of labor,
authority, discipline, unity of
recognized as the Father of
Modern Management. In year command, unity of direction,
subordination of individual
1916 Fayol wrote a book
interest to general interest,
entitled "Industrial and
remuneration of employee,
General Administration". In
centralization, scalar chain,
this book, he gave the 14
order, equity, stability of tenure
Principles of Management.
of personnel, initiative, esprit de
These 14 principles of
corps)
management are universally
accepted and used even today.
According to Henri Fayol, all
managers must follow these 14
principle
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What is Administration?
ADMINISTRATION is a type of cooperative
human effort that has HIGH DEGREE OF
RATIONALITY
The significance of HIGH DEGREE OF
RATIONALITY lies in HUMAN
COOPERATION which varies in effectiveness
of goal attainment whether we think of formal
goals, the goals of leaders, or of all who
cooperate
(WALDO, 1955)
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What is Administration?
Administration is a PLANNED
APPROACH to solving of all kinds of
problems in almost every individual or
group activity, both public and private
(DIMOCK, DIMOCK, AND KOENIG, 1960)
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What is Administration?
In its broadest sense
ADMINISTRATION can be defined as
the activities of groups cooperating to
accomplish common goals
(SIMON, 1991)
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What is Administration?
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The study of administration is concerned with questions such as:
1. How the method was chosen?
2. How the men, working towards attainment of goals, were
selected and induced to cooperate in carrying out such task?
3. How the task was divided between them?
4. How each one learned what his particular job was in the total
pattern?
5. How he learned to perform it?
6. How his efforts are coordinated with the efforts of the other?
(SIMON, 1991)
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What is Administration?
Most persons, while they are engaged in everyday
ADMINISTRATION, SELDOM think formally about the
process.
They SELDOM deliberately set out to consider the ways in
which the cooperative activities of groups are actually
arranged; how the cooperation could be made more effective
or satisfying; and what are the requirements for the continuance
of the cooperative activity
(SIMON, 1991)
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The Universality of
Administration
Since ADMINISTRATION is concerned with all patterns
of cooperative behavior, any person engaged in an activity
in cooperation with other persons is engaged IN
ADMINISTRATION
Since everyone has COOPERATED with others in his
life, he has some basic familiarity with
ADMINISTRATION and some of its problems
(SIMON, 1991)
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Characteristics of
Administration
The characteristics of administration are best
conveyed under two terms
1. ORGANIZATION and
2. MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT are the two faces of the
same coin
(WALDO, 1955)
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Characteristics of
Administration
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ORGANIZATION is the ANATOMY,
MANAGEMENT is the PHYSIOLOGY, of
administration
ORGANIZATION IS THE STRUCTURE;
MANAGEMENT IS THE
FUNCTIONING of administration
(WALDO, 1955)
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Context
1. Classical PA
Key Values
/Principles/Issues
(Late 1800-1950’S)
Proponents
Gulick - POSDECORB
(Planning, organizing,
staffing, directing,
coordinating,
reporting, budgeting
Dominant/Theories/Themes
/Sub-Concepts
In 1937, Luther Gulick and Lyndall
Urwick published their classic
collection of Papers on the
Science of Administration.
In the opening essay in this
collection, Gulick asked the question:
“What is the work of the chief executive?
What does he do?” Gulick summarized
his answer in the acronym
POSDCORB, which stands for: Planning,
Organizing, Staffing, Directing,
Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting.
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Context
1. Classical PA
Key Values
/Principles/Issues
(Late 1800-1950’S)
Proponents
Herbert Simon Administrative Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_Behavior
Dominant/Theories/Themes
/Sub-Concepts
o Administrative Behavior: a Study of
Decision-Making Processes in
Administrative Organization is a book
written by Herbert A. Simon (1916-2001).
It asserts that “decision- making”
is the heart of administration, and
that the vocabulary of administrative
theory must be derived from the logic
and psychology of human choice," and it
attempts to describe administrative
organization "in a way that will
provide the basis for scientific analysis.
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PA Toward Systems Analysis
This change in viewpoint, which was a response to social and
technological change, poses problems in outlining the
intellectual boundaries of public administration.
Administration of activity in the public sector is still at the
core, but the full implications of this work are not fully
recognized.
This is only one indication of the shift in public
administration away from structures and
processes and toward systems analysis.
Ann Prentice 1984
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Context
Key Values
/Principles/Issues
Proponents
Neo -Classical
Neo-Classic
Mary Parker Follet
Approach
o Importance of
(1868- 1933)
Barnard (1886-1961)
human behavior
o Socio-psychological
Elton Mayo
Abraham Maslow
dimension of the
organization
Frederick Herzberg
o Interdependency to
Douglas McGregor
its internal parts
Chris Argyris
Rensis Likert
and relation to the
external part
environs were not
taken into account
Dominant/Theories/Themes/SubConcepts
NEOCLASSICAL THEORY OF
ORGANIZATION (1920’s to 1930s) Neoclassical PA derived its concepts
from this school
Commonly referred to as the human
relations or human behavior school
Attempted to improve on the
classical concepts
Follet - importance of the informal
system and exercising leadership
rather then wielding power to
motivate workers
Elton Mayo (late 1920s to 30’s)
experiments - worker’s anchor of
security and productivity has greater
influence on employee productivity
rather than management demands;
workers are obliged to adhere to
their group norms
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Context
Key Values/Principles/Issues
Proponents
Abraham H. Maslow felt as
though conditioning theories
did not adequately capture the
complexity of human behavior.
In a 1943 paper called A Theory
of Human Motivation, Maslow
presented the idea that human
actions are directed toward goal
attainment. Any given behavior
could satisfy several functions
at the same time; for instance,
going to a pub could satisfy
one’s needs for self-esteem and
for social interaction.
Dominant/Theories/Themes/SubConcepts
Abraham Maslow - Hierarchy
of Needs (1943) psychological, safety, social,
ego, self-actualization
Abraham H. Maslow felt as
though conditioning theories
did not adequately capture
the complexity of human
behavior. In a 1943 paper
called A Theory of Human
Motivation, Maslow
presented the idea that
human actions are directed
toward goal attainment.
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Context
Key
Values/Principles/Issues
Proponents
Dominant/Theories/Themes/Su
b-Concepts
Frederick Herzberg - (1959) The Father of "Job Enrichment"
Motivation hygiene theory and the originator of the
"Motivation-Hygiene Theory
In 1959, Frederick Herzberg
developed a list of factors which
were developed closely based on
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, except it
more closely related to work.
Herzberg theorized that hygiene factor
present in the job before motivators ca
used to stimulate the workers:
Hygiene or Dissatisfiers:
Working conditions
•Policies and administrative practices
•Salary and Benefits
•Supervision
•Status
•Job security
•Fellow workers
•Personal life
Motivators or Satisfiers:
•Recognition
•Achievement
•Advancement
•Growth
•Responsibility
•Job challenge
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Context
Key Values/Principles/Issues
Proponents
Douglas McGregor –
Theory X &
Theory Y (1960)
Dominant/Theories/Themes/SubConcepts
Douglas McGregor, an American social
psychologist, proposed his famous X-Y
theory in his 1960 book 'The Human Side
Of Enterprise'. Theory x and theory y are
still referred to commonly in the field of
management and motivation, and whilst
more recent studies have questioned the
rigidity of the model, Mcgregor's X-Y
Theory remains a valid basic principle
from which to develop positive
management style and techniques.
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Context
Key Values/Principles/Issues
2. Development Administration 1950’s - 1960’s
Underdevel
Nation building
opment
Economic Development
Poverty
Institutional Strengthening
Involvement of people in
development
Proponents
Goswami
(1955)
Riggs
Weidner
Roman Dubsky
J.Net
O.P. Dwivedi
George Gant
Dominant/Theories/Themes/
Sub-Concepts
Concept of DA was
coined by Goswami and
popularized by Riggs and
Weidner
Refers to almost
exclusively to developing
countries in Asia, Africa,
Conceptual foundations
were western (US)
particularly, influenced
largely by scientific
management and
administrative reform
(traditional PA)
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
To deny people their human rights
is to challenge their very humanity.
Nelson Mandela