Public Administration: Approaches to Study

I. Traditional Approaches to Studying Public Administration

Seven traditional approaches are discussed:

1. Classical Theory:

   • Alternative Names: Formal Organization Theory, Mechanical Theory, Administrative Management Theory.
   • Key Thinkers: Henri Fayol, Luther Gulick, Urwick, Mooney, and Reyley.
   • Features:
     • Developed initial content of public administration.
     • Focused on formal organizations. (Context: around 1920s, driven by need to maximize production during wartime).
     • Supported economic/monetary motivation as primary driver.
     • Considered public and private organizations identical.
     • Viewed administration and management as synonymous.
     • Presented public administration as a science.
     • Focused on managerial levels of organization, with top-down authority flow.
     • Considered employees as "cogs in a machine".
     • Main objective: maximizing production.
   • Criticisms: Ignores human emotions and feelings; relies solely on monetary motivation; treats employees as mere components of a machine.
   • Contributions/Importance: Developed initial content; provided principles (e.g., Fayol's 14 principles, many still relevant); promoted research and development in public administration. The difference between public and private organizations is diminishing.

2. Scientific Management:

   • Key Contributors: Frederick Taylor and Gilbreth.
   • Taylor's Contributions:
     • W.S.C.D. Rule:
       • W (Work as Science): Develop work science; use experiment-based methods (time study, motion study, fatigue study) instead of rules of thumb.
       • S (Scientific Selection): Scientifically select employees.
       • C (Coordination): Coordination between work and worker, worker and management.
       • D (Division of Work): Use scientific methods and techniques for division of work.
     • Mental Revolution: Mutual support between management (providing fair wages and positive working conditions) and workers (exerting effort for maximized production). Result: cheaper, higher quality goods for consumers.
     • Management by Exception: Addressing only exceptional problems, saving management time for more important tasks (indirectly opposing labor unions).
     • Differential Piece Rate System: Different pay for different jobs.
     • Functional Foremanship: Opposes the unity of command principle.
   • Objectives: Increase output; improve cooperation and coordination; utilize scientific methods; promote economic efficiency.
   • Features: Emphasizes scientific methods and techniques; optimal use of resources; supports economy and efficiency; maximizes coordination; opposes the unity of command principle; focuses on contract systems and differential piece rate systems; opposes rules of thumb; opposes labor unions; emphasizes monetary motivation.
   • Criticisms: Treats employees as industrial robots; ignores human feelings; focuses solely on monetary motivation; irrelevant for small organizations; overemphasizes scientific techniques.
   • Contributions: Introduced scientific techniques and methods (e.g., CPM/PERT); supported scientific selection (e.g., UPSC CSE); supported contract systems; emphasized economic efficiency; indirectly opposed the unity of command principle.

3. Historical Method: Studying the evolution and history of administrative organizations and institutions. (Example: LD White's books on early American federal government).

4. Legal Method:

   • Woodrow Wilson's Definition: Public administration as detailed and systematic execution of public law.
   • Focus: Study of constitutional law (legislature, judiciary, executive) and administrative law (statutes, commissions, institutions like NHRC, CIC, SEC).

5. Biographical Method: Studying the autobiographies of administrators and politicians to learn from their experiences. (Examples: The Memoirs of a Civil Servant; Through the Broken Glass by T.N. Seshan).

6. Subject Matter Method: Studying the services provided by the government (education, health, etc.), commission reports, and departmental codes.

7. Political Method: Public administration executes political will and decisions; political stability leads to administrative efficiency.