- Key People:
- Napoleon I
- Justinian I
- Frederick II
- Catherine the Great
- Henry II
- Related Topics:
- Administrative law
- civil service
- bureaucracy
- e-government
- institutional performance
public administration
-
What is public administration?
Public administration is the implementation of government policies, encompassing the planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling of government operations. It is a feature of all nations, practiced at central, intermediate, and local levels. Traditionally, public administration has emphasized efficiency and economy in providing public services, though other values like responsiveness, justice, and citizen involvement are also important. The field also focuses on personnel, with civil service reforms historically aiming for meritocracy. The budget is a key tool for planning, managing programs, and ensuring accountability. The public policy approach examines how policy stages affect outcomes, and since World War II, international cooperation has highlighted the crucial role of effective administration in national development.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What does a public administrator do?
A public administrator is responsible for implementing government policies and often plays a role in determining those policies and programs. This involves the planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling of government operations. Public administration is a profession found in all nations, practiced at central, intermediate, and local levels. A key principle is efficiency, aiming to provide public services at the minimum cost, though other values like responsiveness and justice are also important. Public administrators, often part of the civil service, are expected to advise policymakers and organize the implementation of decisions.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is public administration different from private business management?
Public administration and private business management differ primarily in their objectives and accountability. Public administration focuses on implementing government policies and serving the common good, with efficiency and public needs as key values. It is accountable to the public and government bodies. Private business management, on the other hand, is driven by the profit motive. While both involve planning and organization, public administration operates within a framework of administrative law that grants specific powers for public service, distinct from private law.
7 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some important functions of public administration in government?
Public administration is crucial for implementing government policies and often involves determining those policies and programs. Its core functions include the planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling of government operations. A primary goal has historically been efficiency, ensuring public services are provided at the minimum cost.
Beyond efficiency, public administration also focuses on other values such as responsiveness to public needs, ensuring justice and equal treatment, and facilitating citizen involvement in government decisions. The public policy approach examines how policy stages affect outcomes, influencing remedies considered and the nature of decision-making processes. Effective administration is vital for national development, with governments increasingly acting as innovators and determinants of social and economic priorities. Transparency, or the capacity for outsiders to obtain valid information about government activities, is also a key aspect, promoting accountability and democratic processes.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do public administration policies affect people's daily lives?
Public administration policies directly shape people's daily lives by defining the services available, the rules they must follow, and the opportunities they can pursue. These policies influence everything from the quality of roads and public transportation to access to education and healthcare. The "public policy approach" examines how the conception and execution of policies impact their overall effectiveness and reach. For instance, how a problem is defined can influence the solutions considered, and the government's willingness to evaluate and adapt programs affects their outcomes. Ultimately, public administration is about planning, organizing, and implementing government operations to address societal needs and challenges.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What skills and qualities are important for someone working in public administration?
In public administration, key skills and qualities include efficiency, a focus on human relations, and strong communication. Professionals must be adept at planning, organizing, coordinating, managing, and evaluating government programs. An understanding of cost-benefit analysis is also valuable for making rational decisions. Furthermore, a commitment to justice, equal treatment, and citizen involvement is crucial, alongside the ability to adapt to changing societal needs and priorities. Ethical considerations, such as serving both clients and the public interest, are paramount.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
public administration, the implementation of government policies. Today public administration is often regarded as including also some responsibility for determining the policies and programs of governments. Specifically, it is the planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling of government operations.
Public administration is a feature of all nations, whatever their system of government. Within nations public administration is practiced at the central, intermediate, and local levels. Indeed, the relationships between different levels of government within a single nation constitute a growing problem of public administration.
In most of the world the establishment of highly trained administrative, executive, or directive classes has made public administration a distinct profession. The body of public administrators is usually called the civil service. In the United States, the elitist class connotations historically attached to the civil service were consciously abandoned or from the early 20th century, with the result that civil servants were recognized as professionals and valued for their expertise.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Traditionally the civil service is contrasted with other bodies serving the state full time, such as the military, the judiciary, and the police. Specialized services, sometimes referred to as scientific or professional civil services, provide technical rather than general administrative support. Traditionally, in most countries, a distinction is also made between the home civil service and those persons engaged abroad on diplomatic duties. A civil servant, therefore, is one of a body of persons who are directly employed in the administration of the internal affairs of the state and whose role and status are not political, ministerial, military, or constabulary.
In most countries the civil service does not include local government or public corporations. In some countries, howeverâparticularly those unitary states in which provincial administration is part of the central governmentâsome provincial staffs are civil servants. In the United States, all levels of government have their own civil servicesâfederal, state, and localâand a civil service is specifically that part of governmental service entered by examination and offering permanent tenure.
Certain characteristics are common to all civil services. Senior civil servants are regarded as the professional advisers to those who formulate state policy. In some countries entry requirements for a career in the higher civil service stress qualifications in technical fields such as accounting, economics, medicine, and engineering. In other countries legal training is deemed appropriate, and in others no specific technical or academic discipline is required among candidates for senior posts. Whatever their precise qualifications, senior civil servants are professional in the sense that their experience of public affairs is thought to provide them with the knowledge of the limits within which state policy can be made effective and of the probable administrative results of different courses of action. Civil servants in every country are expected to advise, warn, and assist those responsible for state policy and, when this has been decided, to provide the organization for implementing it. The responsibility for policy decisions lies with the political members of the executive (those members who have been elected or appointed to give political direction to government and, customarily, career civil servants). Customarily, civil servants are protected from public blame or censure for their advice. The acts of their administration may, however, be subject to special judicial controls from which no member of the executive can defend them.
Civil services are organized upon standard hierarchical lines, in which a command structure rises pyramid-fashion from the lowest offices to the highest. This command implies obedience to the lawful orders of a superior, and in order to maintain this system the hierarchy of offices is marked by fixed positions, with well-defined duties, specific powers, and salaries and privileges objectively assessed. In some countries there may be direct appointment to higher office of persons not previously employed by the service, but even then a recognized system of internal promotion emphasizes the nature of the hierarchical pyramid.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
This article discusses the growth of public administration through history as well as its development under different political systems. Special attention is paid to the problems of administrative law and bureaucratic structure. For discussion of a subject integral to public administration, see government economic policy. For further discussion of the various regimes under which public administration operates, see political system.