Introduction to Public Administration (UGBS

105)
Dr Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi
(Lecturer UGBS)
• Meaning, Nature & Scope of Public Administration
What is Public Administration?

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 What is Public Administration?
• Defining Public Administration has
been complex

• Attempts made by scholars to define

PA over the years can be likened to the
path taken by the six blind-folded men
who tried to describe the nature of an
elephant by touching different parts of
the elephant

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 Meaning, nature & scope of Public
Administration
• Public Administration covers a very wide range of issues which makes it difficult to
find a single worldwide accepted, definition for it.
• Dwight Waldo observed “no single, and authoritative definition of public
administration is possible”.
– This is due to its eclectic nature
– It has a broad scope and so debatable
– The definitions are often skewed depending on who does it – sociologist, economist, engineer,
and political scientist.

• To properly understand it therefore, one must view it from different dimensions.

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 Defining PA - What is public?
• Something that is open to everybody

• Communal

• Unrestricted

• Easy access

• Can refer to the citizens of a given area i.e., the people of a town or country
• Public in general terms refer to something that belongs to the people as a whole.

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 What is Administration?
• Administer originated from Latin word – ministiare which means to serve

• To administer therefore means to look after, or manage the affairs of people

• ‘The organization and direction of human and material resources to achieve desired
ends.’ (Pfifner & Prethus)

• ‘A systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use of resources aimed at

making those things happen which we want to happen and simultaneously
preventing developments that fail to square with our intentions.’ (Fritz Morstein
Marx 1946)

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 What is Administration?
• Administration generally refers to the day-to-day management of activities to
achieve a goal.

• According to Herbert Simeon et al, ‘When two men cooperate to roll a stone that
neither could have moved alone, the rudiments of administration have appeared’.

• Thus, administration was born when two people decided to take an action to
achieve a goal.

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• This means that for any two people to take action for a fruitful aim, the following
ingredients of administration must be in place.
– -People - must be present and agree to take the action
– -Action - A step must be taken regarding what to do.
– -Interaction - The two must agree to relate and combine their efforts to take action.

• Administration thus focuses on the activities of a group of persons cooperating

among goals.

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• Administrators therefore engage in cooperative activities; they cooperate with
others to accomplish tasks.
• However, not every activity that involves cooperation of people is administration.
• Administration is a process which involves human beings jointly engaged in working
toward common goals.
• Whenever an activity involves more than two people it becomes complex.
• To be an expert in administration one should know the principles.
• This principles work in any form of administration.

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• The harmonious combination of men and material resources to produce expected
results is what we call administration.
• Administration is a collective activity towards the realization of defined goal.
• A collective activity involving rational organization & management of men and
materials.
• This may occur at all levels ranging from social clubs, individual businesses levels,
corporations, institutions like the university, the state etc.
• Administration may be private – club, companies; or public – state, regional, local
government levels

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 What is Public Administration?
• It is the action part of government, the means by which the purposes and goals of
governments are achieved.

• It is principally concerned with the organization of government policies and

programs as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally
responsible for their conduct

• the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day"

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 Selected Definitions of PA
• "Public Administration is detailed and systematic execution of public law" - L.D.
White.

• Public Administration is "the art and science of management applied to the affairs of
the State" - D. Waldo.

• Public Administration is the process by which resources are marshaled and then
used to cope with the problems facing a political community (Grover 1998: 10)

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 Selected Definitions of PA
• “the use of managerial, political and legal theories and processes to fulfill legislative,
executive and judicial governmental mandates for the provision of regulatory and
service functions for the society as a whole or for some segments of it”. (David 1986:
6)

• PA “consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or
enforcement of public policy” (Leonard 1955: 3)

• Public Administration is “the art and science of management applied to the affairs of
the state” (Waldo 1967)

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• Simply put, PA is the means by which the policy decisions made by political decision
makers are carried out. It is the means by which the purposes and goals of the
government are realized.

• Public administration is the management of the scarce resources, that is, financial,
human and material of a community, by elected and unelected public officials to
benefit the community in question.

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• Inferring from the various definitions above, Ghana's public administration system is
therefore the part of government through which the government of Ghana
actualizes whatever vision, goals, objectives it sets for itself.

• Public administration is an art, which strategically combines these resources to

maximize their utilization in the interest of the citizens within a governed
jurisdiction.

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 Domain and scope of PA
• Public Administration is the complex of governmental activities that are undertaken
in public interest at different levels such as the central, regional/state /provincial
and local.
• It covers the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that
studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work
• As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal... is to advance
management and policies so that government can function.“

• The discipline of PA aims at a systematic study of these activities.

• The scope of PA is wide and covers both public and private activities. This is
important to respond to the complex social realities of today.
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 Characteristics of PA
• The 'Public' aspect of Public Administration gives the discipline a special character.
• Public Administration is government administration, focusing on the public
bureaucracy.
• It is a cooperative group effort in a public setting.
• It covers all three branches – legislative, executive and judicial - and their inter-
relationships.
• It plays an important role in the formulation of public policy, and is thus a part of the
political process.
• It is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals in providing
services to the community.
• However, it is different in significant ways from private administration.

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• Similarities and Differences between Public and
Private (Business) Administration

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 Public Administration vrs and Private Administration
• The distinction between the public and the private sector is influenced by the
political philosophy (socialist/capitalist) of each nation.
• In the USA, for instance, the private sector plays a very important role in the
American economy and society and the public sector is in many ways dependent on
the private sector for the supply of goods and services. Hence, the tendency in that
country is toward a blurring of lines rather than a distinct divergence of
responsibilities.
• In India, by contrast, the public sector is slowly emerging as the dominant sector in
the context of mixed economy. The steady expansion of the public sector in India is
systematically drawing a sharper distinction between the public and private
management

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 Similarities

• Set up by people
• Established to achieve certain defined goals (purpose)
• Some element of profit making
• Government intrusion (of late, investment by the state)
• Policy implementation
• Hiring and firing of personnel
• Concerned about public welfare

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 Differences between PA & BA
• Different purposes
– Whereas private administration is primarily set up for profit making, public administration is to
serve the interest of the of the public. The major purpose of PA is to serve and deliver public
welfare. BA is basically oriented toward earning profit for the business proprietors because
inability to earn profit drive a private enterprise out of business.

• Employment & Dismissal (hiring and firing)

– The hiring and firing of workers in private administration is swift and merciless. In public
administration it is slow and humane. Public administrators/servants enjoy security of tenure and
they are employed till death or retirement. Their jobs are protected by law compared to BA

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 Differences between PA & BA
• Legal framework
– Public Administration has to operate strictly according to law, rules and regulations. Adherence to
law brings in a degree of rigidity & operation in the public sector. There is always the fear of audit
or accountability that acts as a constraint on performance. PA is accountable to the public for
every aspect of official activity . On the contrary BA is relatively free from such constraints of law
and regulations. Although there are general laws regulating businesses individual firms have
considerable flexibility to adapt their operations to changing situations.

• Political Direction
– Whereas Public administration is subject to the control of politicians, taking place in a political
context, private administration is not under the control of politicians and therefore non-political.

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 Differences between PA & BA
• Public scrutiny
– The actions of PA is exposed to the public gaze and the public closely watches it. An achievement
rarely gets publicity, but a little fault becomes widely publicized. Organizations like the police, tax
agencies etc are always under public scrutiny and officials are on their toes to make sure that their
operations do not incur the public wrath. On the contrary this wide publicity is not to be found in
BA, nor is it so very closely watched by the public and the media.

• Treatment of beneficiaries
– In PA, any show of discrimination or partiality is prohibited and abhorred by the public. PAs are
therefore required to be very consistent and impartial in their dealings with the public. In BA,
discrimination is freely practiced due to competitive demands. In choosing of products and in
fixing prices, BA visibly practices discrimination which is almost a part of business culture.

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 Differences between PA & BA
• Monopolistic and Essential Services:
– In the field of public administration, there is generally a monopoly of the government and does
not allow private parties to compete with it. E.g. national security, foreign relations, law and
order, mint and currency.

• Anonymity of officials:
– In public administration, even the most senior officials remain anonymous and their identity is
not disclosed. This is so because whatever they do, they do in the name of the government and
not in their own name. In BA the identity of officials are known and they are held responsible for
their actions

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 Differences between PA & BA

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 Differences between PA & BA

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 Importance of Public Administration
• Implementation of public policies
– Public Administration as the instrument of national governance serves as the means of initiating
and implementing public policies to optimize the welfare of citizens.

• Provision of social services

– Through the public administration system, governments provide basic needs like education,
shelter, health, road infrastructure for the citizenry.

• Enforcement of law and order

– Public Administration is as an instrument for enacting and enforcing rule of law to ensure
peaceful development. It creates legally binding institutions that regulates the behaviour and
development of all actors in the society in a coordinated manner.

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 Importance of Public Administration

• Management of resources
– Public administration helps governments to manage national resources efficiently.
– Public Administration promotes equity and fairness in the distribution of resources, especially in
welfare states.

• Basis of the government

• No Government can function effectively and efficiently without the existence of a public
administration system. Public administration is the pillar and backbone that supports the people
and the Government and providing legitimacy to actions in the state.

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