Janet L.

Pito
Block A-PA 200

Approaches, Roles and Scope of Public Administration

Approaches on Public Administration

In the book Public Administration in the Globalizing World: Theories and

Practices, Chand, P. and Chakrabarty, B. (2012), said that public administration is
a generalized human activity, concerned with the ordering of men and materials
required to achieve collective social ends.

According to Chand, P. and Chakrabarty, B. (2012), since the birth of public

administration, its study has been growing in different directions and involves
complex concerns and functions. Thus, in an attempt to define the different aspects
of public administration, these are described in relatively distinct approaches that
grow out of the different perspectives that shape its structures and functions. Each
approach gives a particular point of view of administrative activity. These different
approaches are best regarded as ways in which to approach the study of public
administration. The following are nine (9) approaches to the study of public
administration:

1. Institutional Approach - Emphasizes formal relationships and the separation of

powers among the three branches of the government.

2. Structural Approach – Public administration is a non-political and a purely

technical organization based on certain scientific principles.

3. Behavioral Approach - Applies the knowledge of social psychology,

anthropology, psychology and many other disciplines in an effort to secure a
better understanding of the actual human behaviour within organizations.

4. System Approach - Views public administration as a system of interrelated and

interdependent parts and forces where demands from the people are considered
as inputs and the goods and services rendered by the government are the
outputs.

5. Ecological Approach - Views public bureaucracy as a social institution which is

continuously interacting with the economic, political, and sociocultural sub-
systems of a society.

To understand the administrative system, the various environmental factors

influencing it must be identified and understood first.

6. Comparative Approach - The administrative structures of different nations are

compared with the different cultural settings.

7. Public Policy Approach - A systematic and scientific study of public policy

concerned with the public and their problems, to shape the society for its
betterment.

8. Political Economy Approach - The application of economic methods to political

problems like the influence of elections on the choice of economic policy.
9. Public-choice Approach - A method to study the decisional processes for the
allocation of scarce resources in the society where the actions of the government
should be consistent with the values and interests of its citizens.
Janet L. Pito
Block A-PA 200

Nature and Scope of Public Administration

Sri, Jipson, V. Paul (2011) in his book, Public Administration: Theory and
Practice, articulated that there are two divergent views regarding the nature of
Public Administration, viz:

1. Managerial View

Under this view, public administration involves only the work of those
engaged in performing managerial functions in an organization, namely,
(POSDCORB): P – Planning, O – Organizing, S – Staffing, D – Directing, CO –
Coordinating, R – Reporting, and B – Budgeting.

Under this view, it is “Getting things done, not doing things.”

2. Integral View

Public administration is the sum total of the manual, clerical and

managerial activities.

Scope of Public Administration

According to Chand, P. and Chakrabarty, B. (2012) in the book Public

Administration in the Globalizing World: Theories and Practices, there is also much
debate between the followers of the traditional and modern views over the scope of
Public Administration: Evolution of a Discipline public administration. By scope,
we mean the two major concerns and areas of the public administration:

1. The traditional writers restrict the scope of public administration to the

executive branch of the government.

2. The modern writers have extended the scope of public administration to all the
three branches of the government. According to them, public administration is
the whole government in action. They argue that the activities of the legislature
and the judiciary also affect and shape the functioning of public administration
considerably. Thus, the study of public administration includes the activities of
the executive branch as well those aspects of the legislative and judicial
activities that have considerable impact on the functioning of public
administration.

The second view is more acceptable today (Chand, P. and Chakrabarty, B.,
2012).

Roles of Public Administration

According to Sri, Jipson, V. Paul (2011), in his book, Public Administration:

Theory and Practice, public administration is important not only as an instrument
of governance, but also as a mechanism for preserving and promoting the welfare of
community. It has a great impact upon the life of the people as well. It is a vital
process charged with the implementation of great objective.

The importance of public administration may be studied as follows:

Janet L. Pito
Block A-PA 200

1. Its importance to the people.

It is the branch of government that touches more directly and more strikingly
than any other the lives of human beings. All people use the service of public
administration almost in their in their activities, like employment, industries,
medical and agriculture.

2. Its importance in a democracy

The ideals of democracy, i.e., progress, prosperity and protection of the common
man can be obtained only through impartial, honest and efficient
administration.

3. Importance of Public Administration as a Subject

Almost for all his needs the citizen depends upon public administration. In view
of the important role of public administration in the life of the people, its study
cannot be ignored by the citizen of a state. The study of public administration
will help the people to become better administrators.

References

Chand, P. and Chakrabarty, B.(2012), Public Administration in the Globalizing

World: Theories and Practices.
Sri, Jipson, V. Paul (2011). Public Administration: Theory and Practice