What Is PA

In the private sector, it does not matter much if you get it wrong 30 percent of the time so long as you
can turn a profit at the end of the year and the bottom line remains healthy. In the public sector it does not matter much if you get it right 95 percent of the time because the focus will be on the 5 percent of the time you get it wrong. Donald Savoie Governing from the Centre (1999, p. 54)
What is public administration? What is interesting about it?
Public administration is the use of managerial, political, and legal theories and processes to fulfill legislative, executive, and judicial government mandates for the provision of regulatory and service functions for society as a whole or for some segments of it.
D. H. Rosenbloom and D. O. Goldman, Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997).
Public administration is the production of goods and services designed to serve the needs of citizens/consumers.
M. Dimock, G. Dimock, and D. Fox, Public Administration (NewYork: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983).
The practice of public administration involves the dynamic reconciliation of various forces in government's efforts to manage public policies and programs.
M. J. Dubnick and B. S. Romzek, American Public Administration: Politics and the Management of Expectations (New York: Macmillan, 1991).
Public administration: The process by which resources are marshaled and then used to cope with the problems facing a political community.
G. Starling, Managing the Public Sector (Chicago: The Dorsey Press, 1986).
Public administration is centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programs as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct.
C. H. Levine, B. G. Peters, and F. J. Thompson, Public Administration: Challenges, Choices, Consequences (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1990).
Public administration is a field of academic study derived from several disciplines, including political science, business administration, sociology, psychology, law and economics. But it is also a set of administrative practices and institutional arrangements geared toward the provision of public services and regulations as realized through the public bureaucracy.
G. Inwood, Understanding Canadian Public Administration (Toronto: Pearson, 2003).
Features of public administration

1. A public setting 2. The executive branch of government (not legislative or judicial) 3. The formation and development of programs and policies 4. Implementation of programs and policies 5. Service to citizens, the community, and country 6. The behavior of government officials and agencies
Public Administration and

1. Political Power 2. Public Policy 3. Institutions 4. the Public Service 5. Democracy 6. Evaluation 7 Ethics 8. Accountability 9. Management
D. Johnson, "Public Administration's Top Ten List," in John James Guy, ed. Expanding Our Political Horizons: Readings in Canadian Politics and Government, (Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1997).
1. Public Administration and Political Power

Politics (political power) concerned with deciding what government should do; while administration is concerned with how to do it Politics-administration dichotomy
Public Administration and Political Power

Goal of public administration therefore different from private administration - not profit maximization - more diffuse and contradictory goals
Dimensions of government action: 1) scope of government policy -- On what matters does government make decisions? 2) means -- What instruments, techniques, tools does the government have? 3) distributive dimension -- Who gets what? To what extent does policy re-distribute incomes from wealthy to poor?
2. Administration and Public Policy

The role of public administrators in proving policy advice (developing options, making recommendations) Importance of knowledge and technical expertise What/where should the policy capacity of the government lie? Note: politics-administration dichotomy
Why do we get the policy that we have? 1) Environment demography, geography, technology, urbanization, closeness to U.S.A., etc. 2) Power the pattern of policy is determined by which groups have power in Canada 3) Ideas dominant ideas, values, theories, etc. (equality of genders, individual freedom, bilingualism, capitalism, etc.)
4) Institutions the formal rules and regulations of politics and administration (The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Parliament, Cabinet, federalism, etc.) 5) Process of decision-making the process by which institutions make policy (role of interest groups, bureaucrats, politicians, courts, etc.)
From: Richard Simeon, Studying Public Policy
3. Public Administration and Institutions

Public administration occurs within a particular type of institution: large-scale, formal organizations (also called bureaucracies) and associated features such as the constitution There are a number of features associated with institutions/bureaucracies (formal rules, etc.) Max Weber Institutions become givens cannot be changed by individuals
The impact of bureaucracies

The bureaucratic organization of the modern state requires that work be organized differently than ever before: large scale rationally, efficiently. As a result bureaucratic organizations came into being, based on principles that were different from the way work was done in the past: impartial, hierarchy, impersonal, etc.
Working in such organizations is stifling (too many rules and regulation, no creativity, etc.) and dehumanizing Bureaucracies treat people like cases rather than unique individuals Thus people at work became only a small cog in a ceaselessly moving mechanism that prescribes an endlessly fixed routine
Hierarchical Structure
Deputy Minister Assistant Deputy Minister Assistant Deputy Minister
Director
Director
Director
Director
Alternatives?
Are there alternatives to the bureaucratic organization of public administration? What are these: - e-government - special purpose bodies - privatization
4. Public Administration and the Public Service

The people working in government permanent public servants Merit principle in hiring and promotion The government as both employer and regulator (especially important in labour relations, salary setting, etc.) Role of unions in public administration How representative should be public service be of the population?
Public Administration and the Public Service

Should the public service set higher standards for employment equity and pay equity than for the public sector? Can/should the public sector be used as a test case for specific types of management? What is professionalism in public administration? What are the values of the public service?
5. Public Administration and Democracy

What is the role of public administration in a representative democracy? What is the difference between public servants serving the government of the day, not the party in power? Are public administrator ultimately accountable to the public or to politicians?
6. Public Administration and Evaluation

How can the output of public administration be measured and evaluated? How is efficient and effective service measured? Especially in the absence of a market? - Note the politics-administration tension (political decisions vs. effective/efficient programs)
Public Administration and Evaluation

What or who provides incentives for changes in programs and administration (in the absence of market signals)?
7. Public Administration and Ethics

What is proper behaviour for public servants? How are conflicts of interests addressed? Who decides ethics and who enforces these? What is the role of patronage and patronage appointments in public administration (ambassadors, deputy ministers, heads of crown corporations, administrative tribunals, etc.)
8. Public Administration and Accountability

Greater scrutiny by the public, media, state institutions of public administration than for private administrators Accountable to whom? Politicians? Citizens? Interest groups? Role of central agencies as well as the Auditor-General, etc.? Can public administrators audit themselves?
9. Public Administration and Management

How different is public administration from generic management? Is management (of people, budgets, resources, etc.) not the same regardless of the setting; whether private or public? To what extent should government be business-like? How can this be accomplished? What are the implications?

What Is PA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Is PA

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Is PA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

In the private sector, it does not matter much if you get it wrong 30 percent of the time so long as you

What is public administration? What is interesting about it?

Features of public administration

Public Administration and

1. Public Administration and Political Power

Public Administration and Political Power

2. Administration and Public Policy

From: Richard Simeon, Studying Public Policy

3. Public Administration and Institutions

The impact of bureaucracies

4. Public Administration and the Public Service

Public Administration and the Public Service

5. Public Administration and Democracy

6. Public Administration and Evaluation

Public Administration and Evaluation

7. Public Administration and Ethics

8. Public Administration and Accountability

9. Public Administration and Management

You might also like