Classical principles of public administration

Ø 1) Name the paragraphs which give information on classical principles of public administration.

 

(1) The study of public administration, unlike some social sciences, was often pragmatic throughout the 20^th century, that is why its theory wasn’t well developed. The interest towards this study appeared only in the mid-20^th century. It was connected with the theory of bureaucracy by German sociologist Max Weber.

(2) A prominent principle of public administration has been economy and efficiency, that is, the provision of public services at the minimum cost. This has usually been the stated objective of administrative reform. Despite growing concern about other kinds of values, such as responsiveness to public needs, justice and equal treatment, and citizen involvement in government decisions, efficiency continues to be a major goal.

(3) In its concern with efficiency and improvement, public administration has focused frequently on questions of formal organization. It is generally believed that administrative ills can be at least partly corrected by reorganization.

(4) Many organizational principles originated with the military, a few from private business. They include, for example: 1) organizing departments, ministries, and agencies on the basis of common or closely related purposes, 2) grouping similar activities together, 3) equating responsibility with authority, 4) ensuring unity of command (only one supervisor for each group of employees), 5) limiting the number of subordinates reporting to a single supervisor, 6) differentiating end-purpose activities from consultative activities, 7) employing the principle of management by exception (only the unusual problem or case is brought to the top), and 8) having a clear-cut chain of command downward and of responsibility upward.

(5) Some critics claim that these principles of public administration are useful only as rough criteria for given organizational situations. They believe that organizational problems differ and the principles applied to various situations should also differ. Nonetheless, these principles continue to carry force.

(6) Public administration has also laid stress upon personnel. In most countries administrative reform has involved civil service reform. Historically, the direction has been toward “meritocracy” - the best individual for each job, competitive examinations for entry, and selection and promotion on the basis of merit. Attention has increasingly been given to factors other than intellectual merit, including personal attitudes, incentives, personality, personal relationships, and collective bargaining.

(7) In addition, the budget has developed as a principal tool in planning future programs, deciding priorities, managing current programs, linking executive with legislature, and developing control and accountability. The contest for control over budgets, particularly in the Western world, began centuries ago and at times was the main relationship between monarchs and their subjects. The modern executive budget system in which the executive recommends, the legislature appropriates, and the executive oversees expenditures originated in 19^th century Britain. In the United States during the 20^th century, the budget became the principal vehicle for legislative surveillance of administration, executive control of departments, and departmental control of subordinate programs. It has a similar role in many of the developing countries of the world.

Ø 2) Find a definition to the term “meritocracy.”

Ø 3) Pick out the facts from the text that explain why the science of public administration doesn’t have a thorough theory.

Ø 4) Read out the facts that list the necessary qualities of personnel.

Ø 5) Name the facts that explain why budget is the principal tool of public administration.