The University of the West Indies

St. Augustine

GOVT 1006 –
INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

LECTURE # 1:
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: MEANING, AIMS
OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND DIMENSION.

ANTHONY KHAN
Email: anthony.khan@sta.uwi.edu
 The Administrative branch, described as civil service or
bureaucracy is the most significant component of
governmental machinery of the state.

 Administer is an English word with its origins from the Latin

word “ad” and “ministrare” which means to serve or to
manage. Administration means management of affairs,
public or private.

 Definitions of Public Administration from a traditionalist

perspective are related to the functions and actions of
administration.

 These theorists include inter alia: Woodrow Wilson and L.D.

White
 Definitions of Public Administration:
1. Professor Woodrow Wilson- “Public Administration
is a detailed and systematic application of law”.

2. L. D. White- “Public Administration consists of all those

operations having for their purpose the fulfillment of
public policy as declared by authority”.

 Other perspectives would define Public Administration which

emphasizes the value based character and as a science and art
of administration.

 These theorists' would include inter alia: Dwight Waldo,

Marshall E. Dimock and Luther Gullick
1. Dwight Waldo- “Public Administration is the art and
science of management as applied to the affairs of the
state’.

2. Marshall E. Dimock- “Administration is concerned

with “What” and “How” of the government: The “What”
represents the subject matter, the technical knowledge of
a field which enables the administrator to perform his
tasks.
The “How” is the technique of management according to
which co-operative programmes are carried to success.

3. Luther Gullick- “Public Administration is that part of

the science of administration which has to do with
government; thus it concerns itself primarily with the
executive branch where the work of government is done”.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:
i. It is that part of the Executive branch of government;

ii. It is related to the activities of the state;

iii. It carries out public policies;

iv. It realizes the aspirations of the people as expressed in law;

v. Public administration behaves in a mechanical, impersonal

and inhumane way;

vi. Public Administration is politically neutral.

SCOPE OF PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION:
 There are three (3) important perspectives with regards to the
scope of Public Administration:

i. The Narrow perspective of POSDCORB perspective;

ii. Broad perspective of subjective matter view;

iii. Prevailing view.

THE NAROW OR POSDCORB PERSPECTIVE:
 Luther Gulllick is the main exponent and he suggests
that the scope of Public Administration is narrow or
limited.

 He suggests that Public Administration is concerned

only with those aspects of administration which are
related with the executive branch and its seven (7)
types of administrative functions.

 These seven (7) functions which shows the scope of

Public Administration are:
i. Planning- working out the broad outline of the things
that are needed to be done.

ii. Organization- the establishment of the formal structure

of authority through which the work is sub-divided for the
defined objective.

iii. Staffing- the recruitment and training of the staff and

maintenance of favorable conditions of work for the staff.

iv. Directing- the continuous task of making decisions and

embodying them in specific and general order and
instructions.
v. Co-ordination- interrelating the various parts of the
organization such as branches, divisions, departments of
the work and elimination of overlapping.

vi. Reporting- informing the authority to whom the

executive is responsible with regards to what is going on.

vii.Budgeting- accounting, fiscal planning and control.

BROAD PERSPECTIVE OR SUBJECTIVE MATTER:
 Professor Wilson and L. D. White are the main exponents of
this perspective. According to them:
a. Public Administration covers all three (3) branches of
government and their relationship; i.e. the Legislative
makes the laws, the executive implements the law and the
judiciary interprets the law. There is interrelationship
between these organs.

b. It consists of all personnel from class one officer to class

four employees.

c. It is part of the political process, it participates in the

formulation of public policy from national to grassroots.
PREVAILING VIEW:
 Divides the scope of Public Administration into two (2) sub-
categories:
a. Administration Theory
b. Applied Theory.

 Administration Theory includes; organizational theory

(structure, function), behavioral and Public Personnel
Administration (recruitment, selection, promotion,
training).

 Applied Theory includes: Political functions, legislative

and financial functions, defense, educational, social welfare,
economic, foreign administration and local administration.
 Scope of Public Administration

Three perspectives

1 2 3

Narrow perspective Broad perspective Prevailing view divides

Or The scope into two parts
POSDCORB
1. Covers all three branches
of the government
1. Planning
2. Like a cooperative group
2. Organization
3. Part of political process
3. Staffing
exponent-
4. Directing
Woodrow Wilson
5. Co-ordination
View- Subject oriented.
6. Reporting
7. Budgeting
Exponent- Luther Gullick
Administrative Theory Applied administration
View- Technique Oriented
1. Organizational Theory 1. Political functions
2. Behavior 2. Legislative
3. Public personal 3. Financial
Administration. 4. Defence
5. Educational
6. Social Welfare
7. Economic
8. Foreign Administration
9. Local
 Role and Important of Public Administration- The
role and importance of Public Administration are as follows:
1. It is the basis of government;
2. It is the instrument of change in the society;
3. It is an instrument for executing laws, policies,
programmes of the state.

 It is the basis of Government- it is possible for a state

to exist without a legislature or judiciary; but not without
administrative machinery. The modern welfare state is
expected to provide more services and amenities to the
people. Public Administration is the machinery used by the
state to place itself in a position to make plans and
programmes that can be carried out.
 It is the instrument of change in the society- Public
Administration is regarded as an instrument of development.
The burden of carrying out these social changes in a planned
and orderly way rests upon the Public Administration.

 It provides continuity- Public Administration is carried

on by civil servants who are the permanent executives.
Political executives i.e. ministers may come and go, systems
of government or constitutions may under go change but
administration goes on forever.
 SO THAT’S WHAT A
BUREAUCRAT
DOES

Article from Newsweek, June 23, 1986

SO LET’S REVIEW:
What is Administration?

 Administration denotes Management.

 Administration refers to activities of management:

◦ Organizational institutionalization;
◦ Organizational establishment.

 Administration refers to the rational operationalization of

an organization.
What are the functions of administration?

 To execute, implement, and carry-out policy

directives;

 To coordinate activities to satisfy organizational

goals.
What are the Goals of Administration?

 Establishing organizational aims;

 Establishing a formal hierarchy;

 Coordinate activities in the organization;

 Install and implement decisions towards goal

attainment.
Definitions of Public Administration:

 1. "The detailed and systematic execution of public

law" (Woodrow Wilson - 1887).

 2. "Public administration is the organization and

management of men and materials to achieve the
purposes of government." (D.Waldo)
◦ Interpretation : purpose of government is to
maximize public goals based on rational action.
◦ Administration is rational:- i.e. action calculated
correctly to ensure equal goal attainment through
the optimization of both human and capital
resources.
 3. "Public administration is the art and science of
management as applied to the affairs of the
state."(D.Waldo)

◦ Interpretation : science is the intellectual field

of inquiry - systematic analysis of practice and
procedures; testing of hypotheses. This is a
study of man. The art aspect relates to the actual
practice of administration.
 4. Public Administration is the broad ranging and
amorphous combination of theory and practice. Its
purpose is to promote a superior understanding of
government in its relationship with the society it
governs, as well as to encourage public policies to
be more responsive to social needs. It seeks to
institute managerial practices attuned to
effectiveness, efficiency and the fulfillment of the
deeper human requisite of the citizenry.
(Nicholas Henry)