Defining Public Administration

Public administration is a segment of the larger field of administration. It is simply

regarded as bureaucracy, heedless to the fact that bureaucracy as a particular
organizational form is not only found in the government, but also in private and third-
sector organizations (Dhameja, 2003, p. 2). Public administration is a discipline which is
concerned with the organization and the formulation and implementation of public
policies for the welfare of the people. It functions in a political setting in order to
accomplish the goals and objectives, which are formulated by the political decision
makers. It is also called governmental administration as the adjective 'public' in the word
'public administration' means 'government'. The focus of public administration, thus, is
on public bureaucracy, i.e., bureaucratic or administrative organization of the
government.

Different scholars have defined public administration in different ways, which needs to be
discussed here in order to get a clear picture as to what actually is meant by public
administration. Some of these definitions are as follows:

 Woodrow Wilson, father of Public Administration, has defined it as “detailed and systematic
execution of law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration" ().Wilson,
1953, pp. 65-75

 L.D.White in his book defined Public administration as a discipline which “consists of all
those operations having for their purpose the fulfilment or enforcement of public policy"
().White, 1958, p.1

 According to Corson and Harris, "public Administration is decision making, planning the
work to be done, formulating objectives and goals, working with the legislature and citizen
organizations to gain public support and funds for government programmes, establishing
and revising organization, directing and supervising employees, providing leadership,
communicating and receiving communications, determining work methods and procedures,
appraising performance, exercising controls, and other functions performed by government
executives and supervisors. It is the action part of the government, the means by which the
purposes and goals of the government are realized"().Corson and Harris, 1963, p.12

 Like Corson and Harris, Pfiffner too gives a very comprehensive definition of Public
Administration. According to him, "public administration consists of doing the work of the
government whether it be running an X-ray machine in a health laboratory or coining
money in the mint... Public Administration consists of getting the work of government done
by coordinating the efforts of the people so that they can work together to accomplish their
set tasks…..It also involves managing, directing and supervising the activities of thousands,
even millions of workers so that some order and efficiency may result from their efforts…"
().Pfiffner, 1946, p.6

 In the words of M.E. Dimock"administration is concerned with 'what' and 'how' of the
government. The 'what' is the subject matter, the technical knowledge of a field, which
enables the administrator to perform his tasks. The 'how' is the technique of management,
the principles according to which cooperative programmes are carried to success. Each is
indispensable; together they form the synthesis called administration"()., Quoted in Sharma
and Sadana, op.cit. pp.6-7
  According to Luther Gulick, "public Administration is that part of the science of
administration, which has to do with government and thus concerns itself primarily with the
executive branch where the work of government is done, though there are obviously
problems in connection with the legislative and judicial branches"().Gulick,1937, p.191

 Similarly, Herbert Simon too defines “public administration as concerning the activities of the
executive branches of the national, state and local governments"().Quoted in Sharma and
Sadana, op.cit. p.6

 F.A.Nigro has defined public administration in the following words:

“ (a) it is a cooperative group effort in a public setting; (b) covers all the three branches—
executive, legislative and judicial, and their inter-relationship; (c) has an important role in
the formulation of public policy and is thus part of the political process; (d) is different in
significant ways from private administration; and (e) is closely associated with numerous
private groups and individuals in providing services to the community"().Nigro,1971, p. 21

 Nicholas Henry defines public administration as “a device used to reconcile bureaucracy with
democracy. It is a broad-ranging and amorphous combination of theory and practice; its
purpose is to promote a superior understanding of government and its relationship with the
society it governs, as well as to encourage public policies more responsive to social needs
and to institute managerial practices attuned to effectiveness, efficiency, and the deeper
human requisites of the citizenry” (, .Henry, 2007p.17)

On the basis of the above definitions, thus, it can be said that public administration is
concerned with the determination, formulation and implementation of public policies for
the welfare of the people. It is the principal agency of the State which delivers the public
goods and services in an efficient and economical manner as also provides continuity to
the policies of the government.

In a nutshell, it can be said be said that public administration is nothing less than the
whole government in action. It is an instrument through which the goals and objectives
of the government are fulfilled. In other words, it is “the action part of government, the
means by which the purposes and goals of government are realized’ (Chakrabarty and
Bhattacharya, 2003, p.2). In fact, Public Administration lends itself to two usages: it is
an activity; and it also refers to the discipline (or subject) of intellectual inquiry and
study. Before proceeding to the nature of public administration, it becomes pertinent to
define the three terms, viz., administration, organization and management, which are
used interchangeably. Though the three terms are used interchangeably, yet there is a
specific difference in their meanings.

This distinction is made clear by William Schulze (2010). According to him,

"administration is the force which lays down the object for which an organization and its
management are to strive and the broad policies under which they are to operate. An
organization is a combination of the necessary human beings, materials, tools,
equipment and working space, appurtenances brought together in systematic and
effective co-relation to accomplish some desired object. Management is that which leads,
guides and directs an organization for the accomplishment of a pre-determined object."
Administration, thus, is a broader concept and includes within its fold both organization
and management.