Exceptional Proff only

As a profession, public administration refers to the daily business of government, focused on using organization and management to implement and execute the laws, rules, and regulations passed by legislative bodies and other authoritative agents.

A FIELD OF STUDY

As a field of study, public administration researches and reviews the processes through which the profession of public administration is involved in the creation and interpretation of laws, rules, and regulations. This includes understanding the appropriate ways for public administrators to be involved in the process, helping ensure that public interest is protected, with government business conducted in a manner that is efficient and effective, as well as fair and just to citizens.

Public interest  refers to the welfare of the general public, or society as a whole. Being responsive to the public interest, as opposed to the interest of only a few groups or individuals, is a primary concern of public administrators working in all levels of government.

A  public administrator  is an individual who works in public administration, at all levels of government. Public administrators differ from politicians because they are hired or appointed to their positions, rather than being elected by the citizens. Generally,  appointees  are selected by politicians or other government officials and named to a specific position, such as department director, following approval by a legislative body or committee. Generally, other employees are selected through a competitive hiring process that requires them to successfully complete actions, such as submit an application or résumé, pass relevant tests, interview with those overseeing the hiring process, and pass a background check.

Public administrators, as well as elected politicians, often are called public servants.  Public service  refers to the work that is done in government as well as work performed in service organizations, such as homeless shelters. Generally, public service involves work that is performed with the goal of helping people as opposed to earning a profit. Since the government does not exist to earn a profit, public service accurately describes government’s work.

Brief History of Public Administration

Early days and Woodrow Wilson

Public administration as a recognized discipline and profession began with an essay written by young Woodrow Wilson in 1887, over 20 years before he became the United States’ 28thPresident in 1913. Wilson advocated for the need for the federal government to create and use a non-political, career civil service that would enable the government to implement policies in a manner that was honest and efficient. Wilson argued that it is more difficult to run a constitution than to write it (Wilson, [1887] 1953). He noted that until the nineteenth century, the government was predominantly concerned with political philosophy, constitutional arrangements, and making laws. But, as society became more complex and the United States’ economic system grew, the size of government and the activities it was involved in also grew, making it necessary for the government to broaden its focus.

Wilson suggested that the United States should follow the examples of public administration in Europe and begin to train public administrators as well as implement a scientific study of public administration. Wilson did not want the United States to mimic Europe in its monarchical or autocratic approach to government. But he felt the United States could use some aspects of the European methodology—such as treating public administration as a science—to improve the United States’ republican-democratic constitutional system. Wilson supported strengthening the administration of government and running it more efficiently like an organization (Wilson, [1887] 1953).

Early Acts

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the public administration did develop as an academic study at major universities and as a political reform movement within federal, state, and local governments. For example, the Pendleton Act of 1883 began merit-based testing and hiring for federal jobs. Gradually, state and local governments adopted similar reforms. This changed many entry-level government jobs from politically appointed positions to civil service positions that were filled largely on the basis of applicants’ scores on standardized tests.

During the twentieth century, the field of public administration sought to apply the methods and approaches of business administration to the government. The intent was to make public administration more cost-efficient and effective, practicing business-like management of government’s resources, including its budgets and personnel. This included adopting some of the principles of scientific management as advocated by Frederick Taylor. Some of the formal efforts to achieve this included the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the recommendations of the Brownlow Committee in 1937, the recommendations of the Hoover Commission in 1947, and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

Textbooks in early public administration

On the academic side, this new approach to public administration was promoted in early textbooks such as Leonard D. White’s Introduction to the Study of Public Administration (1926), which argued that with an increasingly complex and interdependent society, public administration was an important function. White (1926) also stressed the importance of public administration operating efficiently and effectively while relying on the principles of scientific management.

Another prominent textbook was W. F. Willoughby’s Principles of Public Administration (1927). This book focused on the financial and budgetary aspects of public administration, including a section that discussed the more mundane activities of public administration, such as purchasing and storage. Willoughby’s textbook also promoted the need for principles, which, at the time, were regarded as guidelines for how to practice public administration efficiently and effectively, based on what public administrators had learned from previous experience.

Principles, policies, and procedures

Principles , which can be defined as rules or theories that provide the foundation for beliefs and actions, are still important to the public administration. They are the basis for the written policies and procedures that guide most of the work performed by public administrators at all levels of government. This will be discussed in more detail later in this course.  Policies , as they pertain to public administrators’ daily work, are the objectives that guide government’s work, explaining what the work is intended to achieve.  Procedures  are the specific actions and steps that public administrators should follow as they complete specific tasks.

History of Public Administration: The Shift to Privatization and Ethics

Over the years, this approach to public administration was criticized. For example, in the 1940s, Dahl (1947) argued that public administration was focused too strongly on being scientific, completing work efficiently and effectively. He argued that this approach failed to give adequate consideration to the psychological aspects of public administration inherent in both the people who worked as public administrators as well as the citizens served by government agencies. Dahl (1947) felt that public administration tended to treat people as machines without regard for human behavior. Others, such as Simon (1947), argued that public administration had not achieved its goal of functioning in a scientific manner, and he suggested that given public administration’s relationship to politics, this was not possible.

In later years, public administration was influenced by movements to further change its approach. For example, in the 1960s, studies of the public administration focused on organizational behavior and how to apply systems theory to the practice of public administration. In the 1990s, governments at all levels were influenced by then-Vice President Al Gore’s report, Reinventing Government (1993), which promoted privatization as an alternative way for accomplishing government business.  Privatization  refers to the process of transferring government property, programs, and/or operations to the private sector, allowing private entities to assume control of government business.

More recently, as will be discussed later in this course, public administration has focused on the importance of ethics and has sought ways to make ethics a priority in government. This has included finding ways to make public administration more responsive to citizens and more capable of meeting their needs.

This discussion is not intended to offer a comprehensive review of the history of public administration. It is intended to provide students with some context and help them understand that public administration, as both a discipline and a profession, has existed for many years. During that time, the field has experienced a variety of changes as its paradigms have shifted when its leaders became more knowledgeable and experienced. It also has undergone changes in its efforts to better meet society’s needs.

The Politics-Administration Dichotomy

One goal of Wilson’s essay ([1887] 1953) was to separate the business side of government from politics. Wilson and other scholars, such as Goodnow ([1900] 2005) argued that government can be divided into two separate functions—politics and administration. In the context of government,  politics  can be defined as the activities that are carried out to gain and sustain power and influence in the execution of governmental affairs.  Administration  can be defined as the process of managing an organization and its resources. Goodnow ([1900] 2005) equated politics with policies; however, administration involves executing policies. In other words, politics focuses on deciding what government is to do, and administration focuses on doing it.

This theoretical approach to government as two distinctly separate functions became known as the  politics-administration dichotomy . Under this theory, on the political side of government, democratic processes, such as voting and organizing political parties, are relevant and necessary activities to express the will of the people and determine what government should be doing. On the administration side, to ensure that government business is conducted efficiently and effectively while serving the public interest in a fair and just manner, a scientific approach to organization and management is necessary.

The politics-administration dichotomy attempted to reconcile the goals and objectives of democracy with the preferences for efficiency and effectiveness in governmental affairs. Those who advocated for this approach sought to maintain the activities of public administration as politically neutral, concerned only with accomplishing government work in an objective manner that yielded efficient and effective results (Goodnow, [1900] 2005).

Later scholars argued that the politics-administration dichotomy was an unrealistic approach to government work. For example, Waldo (1948) expressed doubt that public administration could have principles and be conducted in a scientific manner. He argued that given public administration’s close relationship with governmental politics, it was impossible to stop politics from influencing public administration’s activities. As such, Waldo (1948) described the work of public administration as both art and science.

Waldo (1948) advocated for a different approach to public administration, which he described as  administration-as-politics . With this approach, Waldo (1948) suggested that those in government must recognize that politics affects the administration and political issues must be considered when public administrators make decisions. He agreed that public administrators must conduct their work as efficiently and effectively as possible. But he also argued they must consider the political ramifications of their work and ensure they act in a way that protects democratic principles.

Over the next few years, Waldo’s ideas were embraced by other scholars such as Appleby (1952), Redford (1958), and Long (1962) also argued that the political process greatly influences public administration. This included recognition that the development of public policy is an important function in public administration.

Public Policy as a Function of Public Administration

As noted previously, public administrators are involved in the development and implementation of  public policy , which refers to the laws, rules, and regulations that are intended to protect the health and well-being of the public interest. Public policy is generally established by elected officials. It is reflected in budget appropriations and agency authorizations that give public administrators the means and authority to develop and implement the government programs and activities that enact public policy.

According to Meier and Bohte (2007),  policymaking , which is the process of establishing public policy, is a necessary function of public administration for four reasons. These can be summarized as follows (Meier & Bohte 2007, pp.45-53):

Nature of Politics in the United States

Legislative bodies, such as the U.S. Congress, are responsible for making the decisions to establish public policy. But, they generally lack the resources necessary to develop government programs with the policies and procedures needed to put public policy into action. As such, they must rely on public administrators to fill this role.

Government organization

Elected officials generally serve limited terms, and the membership of legislative bodies is constantly in a state of flux. Once the public policy is enacted through government programs and activities, those must be maintained until it is determined that they have met intended needs and fulfilled their purpose. This means that many government programs are sustained for many years, long after the elected officials responsible for the public policies that led to the programs have moved on. By contrast, the bureaucracies operated by public administrators have more permanence, making them ideal to run government programs for extended periods of time.

Task demands

The programs and activities established to enact public policy tend to be complex. The tasks that must be completed to accomplish the goals and objectives of government programs tend to be large and demanding. For example, consider the activities of public safety as performed by local police forces and the U.S. Armed Forces. The tasks handled by these organizations, as well as other government organizations, require expertise and formal organization with careful management to ensure they are carried out appropriately. Legislative bodies do not have the tools and resources needed to accomplish this. Public administrators do.

Nature of bureaucracy

When they pass legislation to establish public policy, elected officials usually know the goals and objectives they hope to achieve with the policy, but they often do not know how to achieve those goals and objectives. They also may not know how to enforce the laws pertaining to the policy. Often, the policies will be somewhat vague and cannot be enacted until they have been given more substance. Generally, legislative bodies rely on public administrators to accomplish this.

The Public Policy Process

The public policy process is a lengthy process that involves the interaction of various groups, including interest groups and the media, as well as political parties, politicians, courts, and public administrators. Scholars, such as Dye (2016) have identified several theories about how public policy is made. These include the following:

ELITE THEORY The elite theory argues that a small group of people, known as the elites, hold power in society and decide what policies will be established and enacted.

GROUP THEORY Group theory argues that interest groups, working with allies in government, compete for power. The groups that gain power use that leverage to motivate elected officials to enact policies that promote interest groups’ issues and respond to their concerns.

RATIONALISM Rationalism argues that governments have a variety of options when establishing public policy. Government officials decide which policies to enact based on which ones will provide the greatest benefits to society for the least amount of costs.

KINGDON-GARBAGE CAN MODEL Kingdon-Garbage Can Model argues that the public policy process is not rational. Instead, government officials are confronted with a variety of problems, and these problems, along with solutions and options, are dumped haphazardly into the policymaking process, which produces haphazard results depending on the information, time, and resources available to devote to addressing the problems.

INCREMENTALISM Incrementalism argues that when confronted with problems, instead of establishing new policies, government officials make changes to existing policies and programs that are intended to address new issues and concerns. This occurs because the development of new policies and programs creates uncertainties and may lead to undesirable consequences.

PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY The public choice theory argues that self-interested individuals join forces with other self-interested individuals to influence the public policy process and gain mutual benefits.

INSTITUTIONALISM Institutionalism argues that government institutions determine what policies will be established and implemented.

SYSTEMS THEORY Systems theory argues that the public policy process is cyclical and is a function of its environment. As such, the political system, and the public policy process responds to forces in society, including culture, economic events, natural disasters, world events, and so forth.

Regardless of which theory one argues correctly explains how public policy is made, scholars such as Dye (2016), and Kraft and Furlong (2017) agree that the public policy process generally occurs using the following steps:

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Problem identification is the process of recognizing that a problem exists in a society that requires government attention to resolve it.

AGENDA SETTING Agenda setting is the process of defining the various problems that government has been tasked to address and prioritize them in the order that they will receive government attention.

POLICY FORMULATION Policy formulation is the process of identifying and reviewing various options for how to address a problem and determining the options that are preferred to handle the problem.

POLICY ADOPTION Policy adoption is the process of passing the laws, rules, and/or regulations needed to formalize a policy.

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION Policy implementation is the process of establishing the government programs and other actions necessary to carry out the policy.

POLICY EVALUATION Policy evaluation is the process of reviewing the government programs and other actions taken by public administrators to determine if they have achieved the goals and objectives of the policy. The evaluation process uses performance measures and other standards to establish how the programs and other activities should be carried out. Evaluators compare what is actually happening to what should be happening to determine if changes are needed.

An in-depth discussion of the public policy process is beyond the scope of this lesson. The above information is intended to provide students with an introduction and overview of how public policy is made in the United States.

Conclusion

Public administration is an important function in governments at all levels. Public administrators ensure that the laws and policies passed by legislative bodies are carried out through government programs and other actions. Without public administrators, public policies could not be enacted, and the government could not be a tool to solve society’s problems. This lesson provided an introduction to public administration and public policy. The remainder of this course will provide a more in-depth look at public administration and its role in United States’ governments.

References

Appleby, P.H. (1952). Morality and Administration in Democratic Government. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

Dahl, R. A. (1947). “The Science of Public Administration: Three Problems.” Public Administration Review. 7:1-11.

Dye, T.R. (2016). Understanding Public Policy, Fifteenth Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Goodnow, F.J. ([1900] 2005). Politics and Administration: A Study in Government. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.

Gore, Albert Jr. (1993) The Gore Report on Reinventing Government: Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less. California: Three Rivers Press

Kraft, M.E., & Furlong, S.R. (2017). Public Policy: Policy, Analysis, and Alternatives, Sixth Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Long, N.E. (1962). The Polity. Chicago: Rand Mc-Nally.

Redford, E.S. (1958). Ideal and Practice in Public Administration. University: Univ. of Alabama Press.

Meier, K. J., & Bohte, J. (2007). Politics and the Bureaucracy: Policymaking in the Fourth Branch of Government. Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth.

Simon, H.A. (1947). Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-making Processes in Administrative Organization, Second Edition. New York: Macmillan.

Waldo, D. (1948). The Administrative State: A Study of the Political Theory of American Public Administration. New York: Ronald Press.

White, L. D. (1926). Introduction to the Study of Public Administration, Fourth Edition. New York: Macmillan.

Willoughby, W. F. (1927) Principles of Public Administration. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press.

Wilson, W. ([1887] 1953). “The Study of Administration.” In Dwight Waldo (Ed.), Ideas and Issues in Public Administration (pp.65-75). New York: McGraw-Hill.