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IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

THE PRACTICAL CONCERN Given that government must address a variety of public needs, the primary objective of public administration should be to efficiently 'discharge the public's business. Wilson's definition of Public Administration as an efficiency-oriented, pragmatic field was the first explicit statement of the subject's importance as a distinct discipline. This perspective on the discipline emerged at a time when there was a perceived need for increased social productivity and for the government to play a more positive role as the primary regulator of social order and facilitator of socioeconomic development. It placed a premium on improving the government's machinery. As the administrative responsibilities of modern administration increased exponentially, it was only natural to focus on the causes of administrative incompetence. The Haldane Committee Report (1919) in the United Kingdom and the President's Committee on Administrative Management (1937) in the United States are examples of official attempts to streamline Public Administration in order to make it a more effective agent of social development. In India, numerous committees were established throughout the British period and after independence. One such major effort was made by the Administrative Deforms Commission (1966), which was established with the identical goal of transforming the Public Administration into an effective and efficient agency for socioeconomic development. The overdependence of administration on politics" was criticised by public administration reformers. On the basis of research conducted by practising administrators and 'academicians, a new faith in administration was born in the form of a'science' of administration that would prove extremely useful in scientific restructuring of Public Administration. The traditional 'principles' of administration have come under fire. Despite criticisms, they were never completely abandoned. These were the forerunners of more sophisticated administrative improvement methods and techniques such as cost benefit analysis, operations research, and so on.

As social complexity and international tensions increased, governments worldwide gradually adopted more interventionist postures. The expansion of commerce and industry resulted in the emergence of new types of productive enterprises. There was an increase in social pressure for the state to intervene in industrial regulation. Poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, and other social ills had risen to prominence as policy priorities. As a result, the era of the laissez-faire state had come to an end. Rather than that, a positivist-interventionist welfare state has gradually emerged. The growing concern of the state for social regulation and general social welfare resulted in a quantum leap in governmental activities. Academic interest in revising government and administration has increased in tandem with this historical expansion of state activities. As Leonard White has put it: "In their broader context, the ends of administration are the ultimate object of the state itself—the maintenance of peace and order, the progressive attainment of justice, the instruction of the young, protection against disease and insecurity. The adjustment and 'compromise of conflicting groups and interests —in short, the attainment of the good life". Popular demands and expectations of government increased concurrently with a burgeoning interest in 'efficiency' in Public Administration. What can be done to make government activities more cost effective? How can government's budgetary practises be streamlined and made more management-oriented? Is there a more efficient way to organise the administrative machinery? What could be done to ensure a continuous and timely flow of skilled and motivated personnel within the government apparatus? After all, public administration is justified by popular satisfaction and fulfilment of popular demands. Thus, what methods could be devised to track public reaction to administrative action? How can the level of satisfaction of individuals be quantified? Apart from these, broader issues such as public policy formulation, policy implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of policy outcomes had taken on critical importance in governmental operations. Following Herbert Simon's seminal contribution to decision theory, Public Administration has taken on a policy science orientation. This has significantly increased the discipline's utility for conducting practical policy analysis and

policy improvement in government. Authors such as Dror and Dye have significantly enriched the field of policy analysis as a major subfield of public administration.

These governmental objectives and practical requirements aided in the academic development of the new discipline of Public Administration. The new discipline's importance became apparent as sustained academic inquiry and interest resulted in the development of new techniques and methods and the improvement of governmental performance. The growing practical concern for public problem-solving has steadily legitimised Public Administration's place within the larger family of Social Sciences.

The complexity and scale of government operations have necessitated organisational design innovations. To meet the needs of rapidly changing social situations, governments have been experimenting with new organisational formats that would be tailored to the situation's unique requirements. Organization theory has developed into a mature discipline in recent years. Organization theories have been appropriated by Public Administration, and they are now widely applied to administrative design problems. Organization theory is now an integral part of the discipline of Public Administration. ' This has increased the discipline's utility for organisational development and structural experimentation in government to unprecedented levels. As a result, the discipline has gained considerable strength in recent years. It is in a position to suggest alternative organisational structures for government activities in order to maximise results.

Additionally, the application of behavioural science knowledge has facilitated the development of more sophisticated analyses of public personnel systems. The study of motivation and morale, group and intercrop behaviour, and interpersonal relationships has resulted in the development of rich conceptual and theoretical toolkits that are now being used by Public Administration analysts. The critical importance of the human element in administration, which

was largely ignored in the classical model, is now being emphasised. As an applied science, public administration has thus been instrumental in the management of public personnel.

A SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE Thus far, we have portrayed public administration as a practical, problemsolving discipline. This is an asymmetrical analysis. Now we will examine another critical aspect of Public Administration, namely its social-scientific status. Given that government touches on nearly every aspect of modern life, the way government is organised and operates in practise should naturally attract our attention. The significance of Public Administration as a social science stems from its systematic examination of government and attempts to organise knowledge about governmental structure and operations. Public Administration as a discipline is more concerned with providing scientific explanations than with resolving public problems in this capacity. Administration is viewed through this lens as a social activity. Thus, the academic inquiry's objective would be to ascertain the impact of government policies and operations on society. What kind of society are the policies aiming for? How 'class' oriented administrative action is.' In other words, how is public administration structured, and what are the immediate and long-term consequences of government action on the social structure, economy, and polity? From this social science vantage point, public administration as a discipline must draw on a variety of sister disciplines such as history, sociology, and economics, with the goal of "explaining" rather than simply prescribing.

THE THIRD-WORLD PERSPECTIVE The unique status of public administration in "developing countries" has been widely recognised. Everywhere, post-colonial, "third world" countries have accelerated their socioeconomic development. Naturally, these countries must rely on the government to expedite 'development.' This means that Public Administration must be organised and operated in such a way that productivity can be increased quickly. Similarly, social welfare activities must be carried out

efficiently and effectively. Government-sponsored'planned development activities necessitated the establishment of a new sub-discipline known as "Development Administration" Based on the findings of a series of country studies. Development administration has emerged as a highly useful field with significant practical utility in the developing world's unique circumstances. The emergence of 'Development Administration' reflects a perceived need for a body of knowledge on how to reform third-world administration while also achieving rapid socioeconomic development through government intervention. All of the third world's developing countries rely on the comment's aggressive role in nation-building and socioeconomic reconstruction. Thus, Development Administration emerged as a distinct sub-discipline dedicated to the cause of development. This is a distinct branch of the discipline, dedicated to a distinct cause, namely development.

LIBERAL STUDIES FOR CITIZENSHIP Another aspect of public administration's general utility is its contribution to creative citizenship. In a democracy, citizens must be informed about the government's actions or inactions. Governmental literacy is a necessary but not sufficient condition for good citizenship. The public must be informed about the government's organisational structure, the activities it undertakes, and the manner in which these activities are carried out. Public Administration, as a discipline, has ample opportunity to educate lay citizens about the machinery and procedures of government work.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION As previously stated, the growing role of government in every country, particularly in developing countries, has prompted numerous investigations into governmental operations. Because government affects nearly every aspect of life in a democratic society, citizens must have access to information about government and how it is organised and applied to social regulation and citizen welfare. Thus, public administration as an intellectual discipline has grown in importance in tandem with the government's increasing interventionist role in social life. The significance of a well-developed public administration discipline

lies in the five major contributions it makes to organised social life, which we will discuss now. Epidemiological Technical Ombudsman Liberal-educational, and Professional. Epistemological The first type of contribution stems from the discipline's capacity to establish a rigorous framework. A systematic and scientific body of knowledge concerning the structure and operations of governments. Public Administration is solely responsible for revising government in action in all of its manifestations. It has been tasked with the responsibility of collecting reliable information and data, analysing administrative structures and operations, and developing explanatory theories for the purpose of advancing knowledge about administrative practises. Technical The discipline's second type of technical contribution stems from its primary role as stated previously. Since the days of pioneers such as Woodrow Wilson, public administration specialists have sought to apply knowledge to actual "public problem solving." The technical consulting capability of experts in the I discipline has significantly increased as a result of reliable theoretical equipment and "clinical" studies of administration situations. Public Administration analysts have a legitimate expectation of advising the government and resolving practical administrative problems. Ombudsmanic The discipline's third type of contribution may come from investigative studies of critical sectors of administration. Case studies on citizen grievances, administrative red tape, and corruption, for example, may be widely distributed to educate the general public, the press, and the legislature about the reality of bureaucracy. By disseminating knowledge and information, public administration experts can play a socially beneficial role akin to that of an ombudsman, as recognised in several countries. Liberal Educational The fourth significant responsibility of public administration as a discipline is to foster enlightened citizenship. In a democracy, information about how the government and administration work must be widely disseminated. This is what

governmental-administrative literacy entails. Public Administration is the only social science discipline capable of serving as an all-encompassing educator of government and administration for all citizens. Professional Additionally, public administration has aided the cause of vocational education. The discipline has been extremely beneficial in terms of training civil servants and preparing students for careers as practising administrators. Professional courses are organised by institutes and schools of public administration, public affairs, and public policy analysis....