An Understanding of Public Administration

Abstract

The purpose of this paper, An Understanding of Public Administration, is to provide the reader with an overview of the field and its application towards public programs, agencies, groups and other associations. It also provides a clear definition, introduces some principles associated with public administration along and how it is used in American society. Public administration allows public policies and actions, decision-making ability and day to day operations of an agency to be executed effectively in our environment. The reader becomes familiar with the historical and social aspects pertaining to the evolving field. Public administration does not have a definite age of existence but has been recognized as reliable tool used to perform public service in the United States for the past century. Following the overview of public administration, an example of a public agency is illustrated to further acquaint the reader to the practice of public administration and how it operates to service the public.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction – Brief Overview of Public Administration II. Body A. Woodrow Wilson B. Principles behind Public Administration C. Public Administration in the United States D. Luther Gulick and Functions in Management E. POSDCORB III. Community Action Agency- Brief Overview IV. Conclusion V. Bibliography

Introduction Public administration is encompasses the management of public agencies, organizations, associations, nonprofit and social services as well as various programs. The field is applied to all levels of government: local, state and federal. Public administration centers itself around organizing programs, policies, initiatives and day to day operations of an agency to allow it to run effectively proving its viability in our environment. Public administrators are primarily interested in managing all aspects of an agency therefore maximizing the productivity/outcome of public service. They are concerned with executing public policy effectively allowing the bureaucracy function smoothly without any obstacles. The people in this field are civil servants who work to sustain a high level of service within the framework of a governmental framework of an agency. Overall, the goal of public administration surrounds itself with the implementation of government policy and procedure. Through its work, public administrators promote democratic values and achieve the highest level of effectiveness in public service. Their commitment to the practice helps shape the future of society and contributes to the welfare of the citizens whom they are affecting. An effective service to the public yields a sense of “moral victory” for the people who are employed in this field of work. Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers as well as the third President of the United States illustrates this point: “I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty”. Even though public administration have been in existence since the beginning of time and civilization, it has been recognized as a legitimate field and brought to the forefront here in the United States as an antidote in managing public policy and interest.

Woodrow Wilson In the United States, Woodrow Wilson has been considered as the “Father of public administration” based off his reformist attitude towards the way the American government was ran. According to his 1887 essay, he “addressed the inefficiency and open corruption that had become a part of the government during the late 1880’s and to suggest certain remedies within the administration of government (Denhardt page 2). He argued that so much emphasis was being put into the institutions of government such as the executive, legislative and judicial that there no energy or motivation used to address various administrative questions. Because of this activity, Wilson concluded that” it was becoming harder to fun a constitution than to frame one” (Denhardt page 2). He felt that there was a need to change the day to day operation of the US government from a corruptive agency spiraling into a web of bureaucratic mess to a more productive governing system supported by the an administrative base that will be able to enforce public interest and policy. This scholar and later President wrote that “there should be a science of administration which shall seek to straighten the paths of government, to make its business less ‘unbusinesslike’; to strengthen and purify its organization, and to crown its duties with dutifulness” (Stillman page 8). Apparently, Woodrow Wilson favored the private sector’s interest in “businesslike” operations and its efficiency as a way to run the government and its agency. From his 1887 essay, he “favored the idea of concentrating power in a single authority atop a highly integrated centralized administrative structure (Denhardt page 2).

Principles behind Public Administration

Woodrow Wilson along with scholar Leonard D. White and others believed that this field would evolve and be interwoven within the fabric of American government, public agencies/programs, associations, and nonprofit organizations. Public administration is not concerned with politics or any associated with it however, the field promotes high level public service through management and properly educating its employees. Main principles/points that were outlined throughout Wilson’s 1887 essay were: 1. Improving the outcome of public service through management by training civil servants 2. Analysis of political groups and private organizations 3. The application of “businesslike” applications to daily operations of an agency 4. Separating the politics of the government from the administration that supports it Public administration provides a wide range level of support and serves a platform from which a government or agency can implement its actions. The analysis of political groups and private organizations are evaluated through proper administration. Applying “businesslike” attitudes towards to the functions of a public agency/organization ensures that it benefit from its service financially. Not involving political issues in the process of administration will relieve the pressure of satisfying certain groups or individuals to their best interests but to the population of the masses as a whole. There is no political party associated with public administration or any lobbying or interest groups attached to it but it works to promote the general welfare of the people it serves.

Public Administration in the United States

In this country, public administration has been effective in managing our democratic government. From the Denhardt text, the reader is reminded about democracy through the Greek origin of the words “demos, meaning ‘people’, and kratis, meaning ‘authority’ (Denhardt page 3). Our way of government is fashioned to preserve and protect the best interests of the people by a government “of the people”. Public administration works effectively under such a political system and supports the ideas of individualism, equality and liberty. Individualism concentrates around the significant importance of the individual and his/her well-beings and position in society. Public administration champions the full capability of the individual underneath a democratic political system or structure. Equality is defined at best that all people underneath democracy are the same or equal and are granted the basic rights and privileges. Regardless of income status or position in society, public administration works to enforce these rights and privileges to everyone on an even plane. Finally liberty indicates freedom. This is a motivation tool for individuals to go out and achieve their success underneath a democratic system. Public administration in a democracy enforces the freedom of the population as a whole and does not restricts opportunities for some groups in our society. “”Liberty is more than just the absence of constraints; it suggests the freedom to act positively in pursuit of one’s own ends.” (Denhardt page 3). The Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution further supports these points in its highly detailed writing. Public administration works effectively under its guidelines and promotes the ideology/philosophy behind both of these writings in the United States.

Luther Gulick and Functions in Management

An individual who works in public administration, regardless of position (i.e. public administrator, program manager, etc.) or field (i.e. technical, legislative, scientific, etc.) benefits from the highly developed theory that Luther Gulick (1892-1993), an expert on public administration, contributed to the field. He along with other early scholars of this field understood that managing public administration can be further synthesized to maximize results/outcomes of an agency. Managers in a public agency or an administration can reach its goals and objectives effectively through an organized method or approach created by Gullick. Luther Gulick was inspired by French management theorist and practitioner Henri Fayol who listed five major areas of management in terms of performance. “Henri Fayol (1949) identified five general functions managers should perform: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling” (Denhardt page 164). Luther Gulick then took that same approach to management and developed this list further to describe such functions in public administration. “Gulick, an advisor on federal government reorganization, described the functions of public management in terms of an acronym, POSDCORB: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting” (Denhardt page 164). Both scholars identified these “tools” necessary to perform the ongoing duties of a public agency with Gulick analyzing the list further. POSDCORB emphasizes professionalism, executive control functions, and organizational theory to governmental organizations for the sake of efficient management practices.

POSDCORB
Planning: involves the preparation for an organization to operate at desirable levels to achieve desirable outcomes. Decision making is involved to resolve various issues that may confront public administrators.
Organizing: describes compiling the activities an agency or organization may offer and create a reporting structure for the administration. Strategies for success are set in place to create a hierarchy within an agency.
Staffing: refers to the training of personnel to operate the agency’s activities. Skill sets along with the measurement of an individual’s progress in certain tasks. The development of human resources comes into play to acquire personnel for training, hiring and firing.
Directing: this management function involves leadership and the motivation of individuals to perform to the organization’s expectations. Interpersonal skills are needed by the management to lead the staff on a positive direction.
Coordinating: entails the many functions of a company and “channeling” them into one central managerial function. Problem solving is used in this function to combat issues that may arise while negotiating; another special skill is used to effective communicate and compromise terms to create a win-win scenario for parties that involved.
Reporting: analyzes the functions and daily activities of an organization to compile a report card of results for the organization. The performance based on this report card measures the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and offers opportunities for improvement.
Budgeting: deals primarily with the operating costs and financial assets of an organization or company. Managing the finances for the agency allows it to operate with efficiency and at a desirable, constant level.
Community Action Agency An example of a public administration or agency is the Community Action Agency that exists in several urban cities around the country. These agencies were formed as a result of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. “The Economic Act of 1964 made it possible for agencies to offer assistance for persons facing financial hardship that could result in homelessness, improve skills to obtain employment and reduce poverty in the communities it serves” (Carter page 3). Out of this legislation, The Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency along with other agencies was formed to combat President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. “Currently, the agency has an operating and program budget of $35 million, about 300 employees, a 21 member board. The agency is primarily funded by a Community Services Block Grant, monitored by the Department of Health and Human Services” (Carter page 3). The agency offers various services that can benefit neighboring communities and are listed as follows:
Head Start: provides school readiness to children of low income families supported by teachers on site who monitors their progression. Health screening along with medical examinations are provided in this procedure by trained specialists.
Community Services: offers assistance to those in need of developing job skills, knowledge and motivation to obtain self sufficiency. This is necessary for future employment of these individuals who may be lacking in skill sets. The CAA offers assistance with rent, mortgage, transportation, utility bills, vision care and food vouchers for those that are in need of emergency assistance.
Weatherization: this program allows low income persons to make home improvements to their properties in order to keep utility bills down. This includes weather stripping, caulking windows, installing bathroom heaters making these homes livable and keeping them up to code.
Community Action Agency (continued)

Transitional Housing: the CAA provides eight town unit homes for families that are in homeless shelters. The agency provides these persons shelter in efforts to help them “save money to move into a place of their own in the course of two years. The families are also taught job readiness, career counseling, GED services as well as workplace development and have access to Head Start and Youth Services” (Carter page 4).

The overall goals and objectives of the Community Action Agency are solely based upon the needs of the community as a whole. Services offered as well as the outcomes are constituted upon the funding sources for the year and the anticipated number of families that can be supported depending on the overall budget. The CAA is managed like major Fortune 500 companies (hence Woodrow Wilson’s idea of effectiveness) and is lead by a President/CEO. There are directors below him that manage the many program areas who then allows supervisors below them to have staff report to them in order to monitor the services offered and work hands on with the community. There is also a Board of Trustees that manages the programs outcomes and acts a reporting staff for the President/CEO for his/her evaluation of performance. The Board makes sure that the budget is in place and those public policies and procedures are executed properly to serve the community. The POSDCORB model set in place by scholar Luther Gulick, are addressed and followed in this highly dynamic organizational structure Community Action Agency has in place. The CAA (Cincinnati-Hamilton County) has made a difference in the lives of the children, adults, as well as elderly citizens through its services with its impact.

Conclusion:

The goal of this paper is to provide the reader with insight of this steadily growing field. The principles and points discussed provide orientation for an individual who may pursue this as a career interest or educational pursuit. Public administration has provided support to various government institutions, agencies, organizations on the state, local and federal levels. It works to provide a support or platform to allow public policy and interest to prevail. It provides an analytical and systematical approach to executing a service that is beneficial to the public and the environment it serves. The field of public administration is constantly developed and improved upon to justify a need to have such a practice in place to support democratic values in the United States. The historical and social values introduced in this writing are valuable in the management of agencies and validates public administration as an integral part of an organization.

Bibliography:

Denhardt, Robert D. & Janet V. (2009) Public Administration: An Action Orientation 2010 custom edition
Carter, Adriane-Allen (2009) Community Action Agency (Research Paper) Pages 3-7
Johnson, Clinton A., Director of Community Services for the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency. Interview by Adrian Allen-Carter on March 1, 2008