CHAPTER 1: DEFINING PUBLIC ADMNISTRATION
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Number Learning Objective Page Range
1 Understand the political aspects of 6-11
public administration.
2 Understand the legal aspects of 11-14
public administration.
3 Understand the managerial aspects 14-17
of public administration.
4 Understand the occupational aspects 17-23
of public administration.
5 Understand the evolution of public 23-28
administration.
II. SUGGESTED LECTURE
A. Defining Public Administration: A single ineluctable definition of the term
“public administration will not suffice because the field encompasses a complex
set of interrelated concepts. It also draws from many different academic
disciplines, includes a variety of agencies, and is linked closely to several distinct
professions. The text has accordingly provided eighteen definitions to capture the
intrinsic richness and subtlety of the broad phrase “public administration.” These
are clustered into four main categories: political, legal, managerial, and
occupational.
B. Analyzing the Definitions of Public Administration:
Political – Public administration is what government does, within its political
environment. It is this political context that makes it “public.” Public
administration is about implementation of the public interest. It is also about
doing collectively what cannot be done as well individually.
Legal – The foundations of public administration in the United States are based
on law, and are bound by legal decrees. Public administration is law in action in
the form of constitutional law, legal statutes, regulations, ordinances, codes, etc.
Managerial – The executive nature of public administration enables the public
will to be translated into action by the people responsible for running the public
bureaucracy.
1
, Occupational – Public administration includes many occupational fields:
economics, medicine, engineering, social welfare, etc. It is within the framework
of each of these fields that the political, legal, and managerial aspects of public
administration are transformed by public administrators into the work of
government.
C. Public Administration is an Academic Field: Public administration within an
academic interdisciplinary context draws primarily from political science, law,
and management. It also incorporates other fields in the social, behavioral, and
natural sciences, including economics, sociology, anthropology, criminology,
psychology, engineering, medicine, and social work. The core content of
administrative theory, bureaucratic behavior, public finance and budgeting, policy
analysis, program evaluation, and administrative ethics, lie at the heart of the
study of this discipline. Public administration is also a cross-governmental field: It
deals with what the federal, state, and local governments do. For instance, the
federal government provides national defense and local governments maintain
city and county roads.
D. Public Administration is Both an Old and a Young Discipline: The earliest
civilizations--Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and others
provided guidance on the art and science of management. Our focus in this
textbook, however, is on the occupational specialty and academic discipline of
American public administration in recent times. As a scholarly discipline, public
administration is relatively young. We chart its beginning with the seminal article
“The Study of Administration” by Woodrow Wilson in 1887. His famous politics-
administration dichotomy, which lay at the core of this study, was misunderstood.
It was taken to mean that politics and administration should be separate. However,
in reality, what Woodrow Wilson was actually arguing was that “partisan”
politics must be kept separate from public administration. This is not easy, for
public administration is closely tied to its political environment.
E. Public Administration and the Cycles of Reform: Public administration is
continuously reforming itself, depending on the prevailing political climate and
theories within the academic disciplines that bear upon it. Some presidents have
criticized government itself as the problem in society and not as the solution to
public problems. In the 1990s, and specifically under the Clinton administration,
the cries for reform of government came to a head in what came to be known as
the “reinventing government” movement. In recent times, the public and the
media have become increasingly focused on a broad form of governmental reform
– the issue of ethics in government. Its proponents believe this will go far in
helping to restore the diminished public faith in public administration.
III. ASSESSMENT
Multiple-Choice Questions
2
,1. The authors define public administration in:
a. One single definition.
b. Four clusters.
c. Eighteen descriptions.
d. B and c.
Factual, pg . 6, d
2. In 1955, Dwight Waldo was the first to insist that analysts “see administration in
terms of its environment,” meaning essentially that
a. similar administrative acts may be performed differently in different cultures.
b. similar administrative acts are always performed similarly, even across
different cultures.
c. The environment is all about keeping air and water clean.
d. Both b and c.
Applied, pg. 7, b
3. This individual argued that was a need for a science of administration:
a. Leonard White
b. E. Pendleton Herring
c. Woodrow Wilson
d. Theodore Roosevelt
Applied, pg. 21, c.
4. When public administration is said to be the “king’s largesse,” this is an example of
a. the divine right of kings.
b. a big-city political machine that dispenses benefits, favors, aid and assistance
c. the regulatory role of public administration.
d. the duties of the public administrator.
Conceptual, pg. 12-13, b
5. Government regulation means that government creates:
a. Policies to control the social and economic activities of the citizenry
b. Policies to control the economic and social activities of private business
organizations
c. Policies to control the economic and social activities of public agencies
d. All of the above
Applied, pg. 12, d
6. Your Instructor says that an example of public administration as idealism in action is
the
a. notion of noblesse oblige.
b. concept of laissez-faire.
3
, c. rugged individualism
d. gravitas.
Factual, pg. 20, a
7. Which of the following is NOT among key assumptions for the study of public
administration, according to Leonard White?
a. Administration is a unitary process that can be studied uniformly at multiple
levels of government.
b. The basis for study is management, not law.
c. Public administration is a separate study from the study of politics.
d. Administration is still art, but the ideal of transformation to science is both
feasible and worthwhile.
Conceptual, pg. 21, c
8. You have learned that public administration is a profession. Professions are
characterized by specific criteria. To be defined as a profession, public
administration must meet three criteria. Which of the following statements does NOT
represent one of these criteria?
a. a body of academic and practical knowledge that is applied to the service of
society
b. a standard of success theoretically measured by serving the needs of society
rather than seeking purely personal gain
c. a system of control over professional practice that regulates the education of
new members and maintains a code of ethics and appropriate sanctions
d. a system of government that dispenses the kings largesse
Applied, pg. 22, d
9. When some public administrators, have described public administration as being
“Mickey Mouse,” we are referring to the
a. merit system.
b. The “red tape” that can exist in public administration.
c. Biased hiring processes and values of nepotism
d. Influence of the Disney Corporation on the discipline of administration
Factual, pg. 16, b
10. The author of the first introductory textbook in public administration, in 1926, was
a. David Lillienthal.
b. Robert Merton.
c. Leonard White.
d. Solomon Asch
Factual, pg. 21, c
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I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Number Learning Objective Page Range
1 Understand the political aspects of 6-11
public administration.
2 Understand the legal aspects of 11-14
public administration.
3 Understand the managerial aspects 14-17
of public administration.
4 Understand the occupational aspects 17-23
of public administration.
5 Understand the evolution of public 23-28
administration.
II. SUGGESTED LECTURE
A. Defining Public Administration: A single ineluctable definition of the term
“public administration will not suffice because the field encompasses a complex
set of interrelated concepts. It also draws from many different academic
disciplines, includes a variety of agencies, and is linked closely to several distinct
professions. The text has accordingly provided eighteen definitions to capture the
intrinsic richness and subtlety of the broad phrase “public administration.” These
are clustered into four main categories: political, legal, managerial, and
occupational.
B. Analyzing the Definitions of Public Administration:
Political – Public administration is what government does, within its political
environment. It is this political context that makes it “public.” Public
administration is about implementation of the public interest. It is also about
doing collectively what cannot be done as well individually.
Legal – The foundations of public administration in the United States are based
on law, and are bound by legal decrees. Public administration is law in action in
the form of constitutional law, legal statutes, regulations, ordinances, codes, etc.
Managerial – The executive nature of public administration enables the public
will to be translated into action by the people responsible for running the public
bureaucracy.
1
, Occupational – Public administration includes many occupational fields:
economics, medicine, engineering, social welfare, etc. It is within the framework
of each of these fields that the political, legal, and managerial aspects of public
administration are transformed by public administrators into the work of
government.
C. Public Administration is an Academic Field: Public administration within an
academic interdisciplinary context draws primarily from political science, law,
and management. It also incorporates other fields in the social, behavioral, and
natural sciences, including economics, sociology, anthropology, criminology,
psychology, engineering, medicine, and social work. The core content of
administrative theory, bureaucratic behavior, public finance and budgeting, policy
analysis, program evaluation, and administrative ethics, lie at the heart of the
study of this discipline. Public administration is also a cross-governmental field: It
deals with what the federal, state, and local governments do. For instance, the
federal government provides national defense and local governments maintain
city and county roads.
D. Public Administration is Both an Old and a Young Discipline: The earliest
civilizations--Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and others
provided guidance on the art and science of management. Our focus in this
textbook, however, is on the occupational specialty and academic discipline of
American public administration in recent times. As a scholarly discipline, public
administration is relatively young. We chart its beginning with the seminal article
“The Study of Administration” by Woodrow Wilson in 1887. His famous politics-
administration dichotomy, which lay at the core of this study, was misunderstood.
It was taken to mean that politics and administration should be separate. However,
in reality, what Woodrow Wilson was actually arguing was that “partisan”
politics must be kept separate from public administration. This is not easy, for
public administration is closely tied to its political environment.
E. Public Administration and the Cycles of Reform: Public administration is
continuously reforming itself, depending on the prevailing political climate and
theories within the academic disciplines that bear upon it. Some presidents have
criticized government itself as the problem in society and not as the solution to
public problems. In the 1990s, and specifically under the Clinton administration,
the cries for reform of government came to a head in what came to be known as
the “reinventing government” movement. In recent times, the public and the
media have become increasingly focused on a broad form of governmental reform
– the issue of ethics in government. Its proponents believe this will go far in
helping to restore the diminished public faith in public administration.
III. ASSESSMENT
Multiple-Choice Questions
2
,1. The authors define public administration in:
a. One single definition.
b. Four clusters.
c. Eighteen descriptions.
d. B and c.
Factual, pg . 6, d
2. In 1955, Dwight Waldo was the first to insist that analysts “see administration in
terms of its environment,” meaning essentially that
a. similar administrative acts may be performed differently in different cultures.
b. similar administrative acts are always performed similarly, even across
different cultures.
c. The environment is all about keeping air and water clean.
d. Both b and c.
Applied, pg. 7, b
3. This individual argued that was a need for a science of administration:
a. Leonard White
b. E. Pendleton Herring
c. Woodrow Wilson
d. Theodore Roosevelt
Applied, pg. 21, c.
4. When public administration is said to be the “king’s largesse,” this is an example of
a. the divine right of kings.
b. a big-city political machine that dispenses benefits, favors, aid and assistance
c. the regulatory role of public administration.
d. the duties of the public administrator.
Conceptual, pg. 12-13, b
5. Government regulation means that government creates:
a. Policies to control the social and economic activities of the citizenry
b. Policies to control the economic and social activities of private business
organizations
c. Policies to control the economic and social activities of public agencies
d. All of the above
Applied, pg. 12, d
6. Your Instructor says that an example of public administration as idealism in action is
the
a. notion of noblesse oblige.
b. concept of laissez-faire.
3
, c. rugged individualism
d. gravitas.
Factual, pg. 20, a
7. Which of the following is NOT among key assumptions for the study of public
administration, according to Leonard White?
a. Administration is a unitary process that can be studied uniformly at multiple
levels of government.
b. The basis for study is management, not law.
c. Public administration is a separate study from the study of politics.
d. Administration is still art, but the ideal of transformation to science is both
feasible and worthwhile.
Conceptual, pg. 21, c
8. You have learned that public administration is a profession. Professions are
characterized by specific criteria. To be defined as a profession, public
administration must meet three criteria. Which of the following statements does NOT
represent one of these criteria?
a. a body of academic and practical knowledge that is applied to the service of
society
b. a standard of success theoretically measured by serving the needs of society
rather than seeking purely personal gain
c. a system of control over professional practice that regulates the education of
new members and maintains a code of ethics and appropriate sanctions
d. a system of government that dispenses the kings largesse
Applied, pg. 22, d
9. When some public administrators, have described public administration as being
“Mickey Mouse,” we are referring to the
a. merit system.
b. The “red tape” that can exist in public administration.
c. Biased hiring processes and values of nepotism
d. Influence of the Disney Corporation on the discipline of administration
Factual, pg. 16, b
10. The author of the first introductory textbook in public administration, in 1926, was
a. David Lillienthal.
b. Robert Merton.
c. Leonard White.
d. Solomon Asch
Factual, pg. 21, c
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