PUB1501 Theme 1
What is public administration?
The need in a society
Public administration is about providing for the needs of society.
A need can refer to an imbalance in circumstances.
A society is characterized by a variety of imbalance, for example:
o A high crime rate
Imbalance:
o Illiteracy
A shortage of law enforcers is an
o Poverty example of an imbalance that gives rise
o Epidemics to the need for increased security in
o Environmental pollution society.
When there is a need for something, there is a demand for it, it is
necessary, and sometimes there is even an inner desire for it.
Society
Citizenship refers to membership of a state.
The inhabitants of a particular geographic area form the citizens.
Public refers to a loose collection of individuals.
A community is a group of people who have a strong communal
interest that binds them together.
Society – the sum total of social relationships within specific
boundaries.
o The South African society is the sum total of all communities
and individuals who reside within the borders of South Africa.
Public administration deals with satisfying the many different
needs of society within the borders of a country.
What is a state?
An entity will be recognized as a state in the international
community only if it complies with the following juridical
requirements (constitutional and international law)
o Its own territory, population, government and sovereignty
According to Loxton, the state doesn’t exist for itself, but it exists in
order to provide each individual with the opportunity to live a “life of
natural perfection”.
What is public administration?
The need in a society
Public administration is about providing for the needs of society.
A need can refer to an imbalance in circumstances.
A society is characterized by a variety of imbalance, for example:
o A high crime rate
Imbalance:
o Illiteracy
A shortage of law enforcers is an
o Poverty example of an imbalance that gives rise
o Epidemics to the need for increased security in
o Environmental pollution society.
When there is a need for something, there is a demand for it, it is
necessary, and sometimes there is even an inner desire for it.
Society
Citizenship refers to membership of a state.
The inhabitants of a particular geographic area form the citizens.
Public refers to a loose collection of individuals.
A community is a group of people who have a strong communal
interest that binds them together.
Society – the sum total of social relationships within specific
boundaries.
o The South African society is the sum total of all communities
and individuals who reside within the borders of South Africa.
Public administration deals with satisfying the many different
needs of society within the borders of a country.
What is a state?
An entity will be recognized as a state in the international
community only if it complies with the following juridical
requirements (constitutional and international law)
o Its own territory, population, government and sovereignty
According to Loxton, the state doesn’t exist for itself, but it exists in
order to provide each individual with the opportunity to live a “life of
natural perfection”.
