MPA 401-PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN PAKISTANINTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Definitions, Academic Perspective and ScopeWhy PA Received Impetus as a Subject

ApproachesImportant Concepts

DEFINITIONS Occupational

• Public administration is an occupational category.• It is whatever public employees in the world do.

• Most of the public employees in the Pakistan would not describe themselves as administrators, but they are.

• Public administration is an essay contest.• People in bureaucratic careers tend to rise and fall on how well

they can write. In a game of shuffling paper, the person whose memorandum ends up on top wins.

• Oral presentations are also useful, but writing is more decisive.

DEFINITIONS

• Public administration is idealism in action.• Many people enter public service careers because

they are idealists; they believe in and seek to advance noble principles.

• Idealism draws people into public administration because it provides them with worthwhile and exciting things to do with their lives.

• It is an unconscious attempt to contribute in the collective utopia of the human race.

DEFINITIONS• Public administration is a profession.

• A body of academic and practical knowledge that is applied to the service of society.

• A standard of success theoretically measured by serving the needs of society rather than seeking purely personal gain.

• A system of control over the professional practice that regulates the education of new members and maintains both a code of ethics and appropriate sanctions.

DEFINITIONS• Public administration is an academic field.• The study of the art and science of

management and incorporates as its subject matter all of the political, social, cultural, and legal environments that affect the running of public institutions.• Cross-disciplinary – political science, sociology,

business administration, psychology, law, anthropology, medicine, forestry, and so on.

DEFINITIONS Academic

• “Public administration…. is the action part of government, the means by which the purposes and goals of government are realized”.

• “Public administration as a field is mainly concerned with the means for implementing political values.

• “It covers all the three branches --- executive, legislative, and judicial -- and

• their interrelationships.”

DEFINITIONS• “The process of public administration consists of the actions

involved in effecting the intent or desire of a government. It is thus the continuously active, ‘business’ part of government, concerned with carrying out the law, as made by legislative bodies (or other authoritative agents) and interpreted by the courts, through the processes of organization and management.” – thus,

• It is a cooperative group effort in a public setting;

DEFINITIONSTwo things definitely emerge from the mentioned definitions.

These are:-

1. The study of public administration overlaps a number of other disciplines, including political science, sociology, economics, psychology, and business administration, and

2. Public administration is the use of managerial, political, and legal theories and processes to fulfill the goals of government (welfare of public).

ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE• The study of public administration as a course that

prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state, and federal government and that focuses on the systematic study of executive organization and management.

• Includes instruction in the roles, development and principles of public administration; the management of public policy; executive-legislative relations; public budgetary processes and financial management; administrative law; public personnel management; professional ethics and research methods.

WHY PA RECEIVED IMPETUS AS A SUBJECT?

• Following were the reasons for the emergence of public administration as a subject:-

1. Expanding welfare role (distributive) of the government.

2. The emergence of private sector and regulatory role, of government.

3. The need for increased efficiency in the Organization.

4. Development of Science and Technology

5. Better management of public matters through training.

THE FUNCTION OF PA

1. Preservation of the polity (state, institution)

2. Maintenance of stability and order

3. Institutionalization of socioeconomic change

4. Management of large-scale commercial services

5. Ensuring Growth and Economic Development

6. Protection of Weaker sections of society

7. Formation of Public Administration

8. Influencing Public Policies

NATURE OF PA-THE TWO PERSPECTIVES

1. BROADER PERSPECTIVE

Include all the activities having for their purpose the fulfillment of public policy.

• “Public Administration is detailed and systematic application of law” (Woodrow Wilson, 1887)

• “Public Administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy as declared by a competent authority” (White, 1926)

NATURE OF PA-THE TWO PERSPECTIVES

2. NARROW PERSPECTIVE

Only the activities concerned with the executive

branch of government.

• The emphasis is on public administration with the functions and activities of the executive only.

• Emphasizes the managerial aspects

SCOPE OF PA• At its fullest range, public administration embraces

every era and activity under the jurisdiction of public policy.

• “By established usage, the term has come to signify primarily the organization, personnel practices and procedures essential to effective performance of the civilian functions entrusted to the executive branch of government.” (Marx, 1964)

APPROACHES TO PA1. The Managerial Approach

• Tends to minimize the distinction between public and private administration.

• PA is essentially the same as big business and ought to be run according to the same managerial principles and values.

• Rooted in the 19thcentury civil service reformers who complained at 'the spoils system' (corruption, inefficiency, and the emergence of a class of politicians)

• Appointment : based on 'merit' and 'fitness' rather than political partisanship

• Tenure : based on their efficiency and effectiveness

• Depend on the existence of politics and administration dichotomy.

APPROACHES TO PA

2. The Political Approach

• Public administrators participate in public policy making in the sense of practical reality.

• Stress the values of representativeness, political responsiveness, and accountability.

• Values and political approaches conflict with each other.

• Sometimes, hard to measure effectiveness

APPROACHES TO PA3. The Legal Approach

• Views PA as applying and enforcing the law in concrete circumstances.

• The movement toward the judicialization of PA .

• Administrative processes increasingly tend to resemble courtroom procedures.

• Derived from two main sources;-• substantive rights - equal protection of the laws - maximization

of individual rights and liberty as a positive good.• equity - stands for the value of fairness.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS• Institutions of State

The institutions of state are as follows:-

• Legislature: Parliament (National and Provincial Assemblies) makes laws for the organization.

• Judiciary: (Supreme Court & Provincial Courts) - and Session Courts) interpret laws.

• Executive ( National, Provincial) implements laws.

The Ministries, Division, Departments /Directorates are the organizations that function under the executive to implement law. For example the police department has the responsibility to maintain peace & order.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS• Government

Government is process of governing. It is the use of power derived from the law that is made/approve by the legislature. It is means, methods, manner, or system of governing society and organization.

The government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan derives its systems and methods from the Constitution (1973). Article 90-99 of the Constitution gives provision for Rules of Business. The Rules of Business 1973 provide. The roles, responsibilities and function of government organizations (ministries, departments etc).

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS• What is Democracy

When we talk of state and government it is important to mention that what form of government Pakistan has. Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy. The word democracy is a Greek word where “demos” mean people and “krates” means authority.

• Values of Democracy

Democracies have certain values and these are:-

• Individualism

• Equality

• Liberty

VALUES OF DEMOCRACY• Individualism

Individualism means that the dignity and integrity of individual is of supreme importance. It suggests that achieving the fullest potential of each individual is the best measure of the success of political system and government.

• Equality

All normal individuals are equal in their talents but also each individual has an equal claim to life, liberty and the pursuit to happiness.

• Liberty

Citizens should have the right to the maximum opportunity to select own purpose in life and choose means to accomplish these. The citizen should be facilitated rather than hindered in their pursuit to a meaningful life.

FEW IMPORTANT CONCEPTS IN PA

• Organization: The structure and framework created to perform certain functions to achieve goals.

• Management: Cooperative human effort to achieve goals.

• Process: a systematic mechanism to complete an activity.

• Efficiency: Efficiency = Output: Efficiency relates to maximization of goals.

• Government: A government is the process of governing, it comprise organization, system, rules etc.

• State: As State has territorial jurisdiction, it has people and institutions.

• Democracy: Democracy is a form of government in which people has authority and right to elect their representative.

• Democratic values: Democratic values are life, liberty, equality and individualism.