INTRODUCTION
The word administration has been derived from Latin word “ad” and “ministiare” which means to serve or to manage. In easy language it means the “management of affairs” or “protection for people”. Administration is thus distressed with proper organization of men and material to achieve needed ends. It requires of ‘doing the work’ or ‘to get the work done by others’. Administration is necessary activity of every human grouping. It may be called the technology of social relationship.
TYPES OF ADMINISTRATION
Administration is a common process and happens in diverse institutional settings. Based on its institutional setting, administration is divided into private administration and public administration
1. Private administration – When it refers to activities of a Household, club, corporation or company (which are private organizations), is known as private administration.
2. Public Administration – When it refers to the activities of the state performed by the central, provincial or local Govt., it is called Public Administration.
WHAT IS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION?
Lewis Meriam defined public administration as “an instrument with two blades like a pair of scissors one blade might be the knowledge of the fields covered by POSDCORB, the other blade is knowledge of the matter in which these techniques are applied. Both blades must be sufficient to make an effective too”.
Public administration is a feature of the vast field of administration. It exists in a political system for the accomplishment of the goal and objectives formulated by the political decision maker. It is called as governmental organization because the adjective of the word “public” in the word “Public administration” means Government administration. Hence, the focus is on public bureaucracy, i.e. bureaucratic organization of Government.
Thus, Public Administration is a management of affairs of government by an organizational structure which acts on behalf of people, attempt to achieve a common goal, accessible, transparent and accountable to public at large.
Many jurists has defined the meaning of word public administration in different ways-
Luther Gulick (American Political Scientist) has defined the Public Administration as it is the part of the science of administration which has to do with the Government and thus concerns itself at its place with the executive branch where the government has completed its work.
L.D. White (American Historian) defined “the public administration as it comprises of all those operations having for their motive, the fulfillment or enforcement of Public Policy”.
Nigro and Nigro has defined “the public administration with a modern view that is, it is cooperative group effort in a public setting which covers all the three branches- executive, legislative and judiciary and their inter-relationships. It plays an important role in the formulation of policy and is thus a part of the political process, and is different in various ways from private administration and is associated with the number of private groups and individuals in giving services to the community.”
The customary definitions of public administration, which are mentioned above, display the idea that the public administration is only for carrying out the policies and programs of the Government. But today the term Public Administration is used in a broader sense that it is not only involved in carrying out the programs of the Govt. but it also plays an important role in policy formation and covers the three branches of the Government.
NATURE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Public Administration has been stated in two senses i.e. wider and narrow sense.
Wider sense – In the wider sense, Public Administration involves the activities of all the three branches of the Government, i.e. Legislature, executive and Judiciary.
Narrow sense- Public Administration in the narrow sense comprises of the activities which includes only the executive branch of the Government.
There are two altogether different ideas regarding the nature of public administration
1. The Integral view- Public administration encompasses all the activities which are undertaken to accomplish the given objective.
2. The managerial view- Public Administration in this context, encompasses only the managerial activities and not the technical, clerical and manual activities which are non-managerial in nature. Luther gulick has given the concept of POSDCORB i.e. Planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting( activities of administrator or manager)
SIGNIFICANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
The present day age, which has felt the need of the emergence of ‘administrative state’ Public Administration has become an important part of society and an authoritative factor. The functions it brings into play to perform, have increased in scope and nature, and what is more, are frequently expanding. Most of them are more efficacious in nature because they keep an eye for the essential requirements of Human Life. It is, therefore, an innovative factor, with its aim being ‘human welfare’. The functions are over and above its regulatory functions. The view points of eminent scholars, reflects the significance of public administration-
Woodrow Wilson: “Administration is the clearest part of government, it is government in action, and it is the executive, the operative and the most visible aspect of government”.
Brooke Adams: “Administration is an essential human faculty because its main work is to create such type of environment which can bring the social change so smoothly and to cushion the stock of social revolution
W.B. Donham: “If our civilization fails, it will be mainly because of breakdown of administration”.
Paul H. Appleby: “Administration is the basis of government. No government can exist without administration”.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN VARIOUS ASPECTS IS STATED BELOW
1. An instrument for providing services- Public Administration is mainly concerned with the performance of various activities performed by government in the public interest.
2. An instrument for implementing policies-: Modern governments go a long way in formulating and adopting sound policies laws and regulations. It should be remembered that such policies, laws, etc. are not merely printed papers. Such paper statement of purpose is changed into reality by public administration thus changing words into action and form into substance.
3. An establishing force in society-: Public administration is a major force for bringing stability in society. It has been noticed that though government often changes, but violent change is perhaps experienced by administration. An element of progression between the old and the new orders has been given by public administration. It does not hold true only of constitutional changes of government in democratic countries, but is also displayed when there are revolutionary conversions in the form and character of government.
4. An instrument of social change and economic development-: Public administration’s role as a change agent is particularly crucial in developing nations. It is expected of the state at present to work for accelerating socio- economic change and not to be a passive agency to maintain the current status.
5. Technical Character-: The present day government is expected to provide various services to its population. The increase in the number of functions undertaken by the government requires highly specialized, professional and technical, services. Today’s public administration generally represents a galaxy of all of nation’s occupations.
It provides continuity to government i.e. government may come and go but their policies are continued by the administrators. It necessarily tide over negative development as industrialization resulted in evils such as unemployment, long hour of work, child labour etc. it is the additional responsibility of public administration to overcome these negative developments. Importance of Public Administration as a subject is an instrument of national integration particularly in developing countries which are facing the challenges of sub- national, classmates, and secessionism and so on.
According to the views given by Gerald Caiden, public administration has assumed the following crucial roles in contemporary modern society like Preservation of polity, Maintenance of stability and order, Institutionalization of socio economic changes, Management of large scale commercial services, Ensuring growth and economic development, Protection of weaker section of society, Formation of public opinion and Influencing public policies. Thus it can be concluded that public administration promotes human welfare.