PUB AD NOTES

What is Administration?
The administration is a very important part of our life. When you go
to the highway, educational institutes, hospitals, etc, you
automatically enter the administrative systems.

The word Administration is derived from two Latin words ‘ad’ and
‘ministiare’ which means ‘to serve’, in simple words
administration means to look after people or to manage affairs.
L.D White rightly said that administration is a “process, common to
all group efforts; public or private; civil or military, large scale or
small scale. It is a process of work in a departmental store, a bank, a
school, a hotel or a city.”
We all know that man is a social animal. So all the activities of man
should be organized and managed. At first, men need organization
for achieving their needs and goals, then to manage that
organization, it is needed for administration.

So it can be said that Administration is the process of managing the

proper coordination of the relevant elements to achieve a specific
goal.

Administration can be private or public. Now the questions are which

administration is private and which one is public?

What is Private Administration?

Private Administration is the administration that deals with the
activities of a household, club, corporation, and private companies.
The purpose of private administration may be carried out by an
individual or a group. The ultimate goal of a private administration is
the maximization of profit.

What is Public Administration?

Public refers to the government so, public administration means
governmental administration. In simple language, public
administration is the management of governmental affairs and
activities.
 Must Read- 10 Key Differences Between Public And Private
Administration

Definition of Public Administration

In Political Science Quarterly, 1887, the famous line given
by Woodrow Wilson is that public administration is a “detailed and
systematic execution of public law. Every particular application of
general law is an act of administration”.
According to L.D White, Public administration is the activity
required for the implementation of public policy.
Felix A. Nigro defines public administration as-
 Co-operative group efforts in a public setting,
 Covers all three branches of the government that is
executive,
 The legislative and judicial branches of the government,
 Public administration has an important role to make
public policy and its implementation,
 It is also associated with various private groups and
provides public services to the people.
According to Luther Gullick, “Public Administration is that part of
the science of administration which has to do with Government and
thus concern itself primarily with the executive branch where the
work of the Government is done.”
In a simple way we can say that public administration is the
administration in which public policies are implemented. It is the
action part of the government.

From the above definitions you can find that there are two views
to define public administration, one is a broader view and the
second is a Narrow view.
Broader View
Public administration refers to the activities of all three branches (is
executive, legislative, and judicial) of the government. That means
in a broader sense public administration deals with all the work
processes of the three branches of the government.

The broader view has been taken by Woodrow Wilson, Pfiffner,

Marshal Dimock, L.D White, etc.

Narrow View
In the narrow view, Public administration refers to only activities of
the executive branches of the government. Gullick, Simon,
Willoughby, Fayol, and Ordway Tead discuss public administration as
only the activity of the executive branch of the government.

With the predominance of the above views, it can be said that for
the people, the implementation of bureaucratic policy outside the
party politics of the people’s government is called public
administration.

Public Administration also includes such questions such as-

 How are the laws implemented?

 Is Law justifiable or not?
 How are efficient our administrations dealing with those
laws?
 To whom public administration is accountable?
 What are the Roles of people in the process of
administration?

Nature of Public Administration

In terms of nature, there are also two divergent views on public
administration. The first one is the Integral view and the second one
is the Managerial view.
Integral View
From this perspective, Public administration refers to all activities
from clerical to the managerial activity of the administration. That
means the integral view proposes that administration is the sum
total of all activities manual, clerical, or managerial.

Simply we can say, all the work processes done by government

officials from peons to executive officers are part of public
administration.

L.D White and Woodrow Wilson, Marshal E. Dimock are the main
supporters of this view.

Managerial View
In the managerial view, Public administration refers to only the
managerial activity of the administration. That means in this view
administration constitutes the work of only those people who are
performing managerial functions.

Activities of clerical, manual, and also technical departments are

excluded from the range of public administration. Luther Gulick,
Henry Fayol, and Herbert Simon are the main supporters of the
managerial view.

Scope of Public Administration

When we are concerned about the scope of public
administration, basically we want to know the major concerns and
areas of public administration.
Traditional writers restrict the scope of public administration to only
one branch (executive) of the government. But modern
administrative thinker extends the scope of public administration to
all branches (Executive, Legislature, and Managerial) of the
government.

There are also two views on the scope of public administration.

These are the

 POSDCORB view and

 Subject Matter view.
POSDCORB View
The POSDCORB view in the scope of public administration is given
by the prominent administrative scholar Luther Gulick and
Lyndall Urwick.
According to them every administration has should seven
elements. These seven elements are acronym as POSDCORB. Each
letter of this acronym implies one element of administration.
They explain these seven elements of administration in the following
way-

P- Planning– It is the task of managers of every administration to

plan everything that needs to be done and the methods for doing
them to accomplish the purpose set for the enterprise.
O- Organizing- Every organization needs to be well organized.
Managers should allocate the task to their employees and other
subordinates by the proper techniques.
S- Staffing- Staffing refers to the whole personnel function of
bringing in and training the staff and maintaining favorable
conditions for work.
D- Directing- It refers to the continuous task of making decisions
and embodying them in specific and general order and instructions
and also serving as a leader to the enterprise.
CO- Coordinating- It is the important duty of the manager to
coordinate between coworkers and executives.
R-Reporting- It is referred to inform every report of the work to the
executives.
B- Budgeting- All that goes with budgeting in the form of fiscal
planning, accounting and control.
Subject Matter View
Subject matter view in the scope of public administration simply
refers to the subject matter of public administration.

M.E Dimock said that “administration is concerned with ‘What’ and

‘How’ of the government. The ‘What’ is the subject matter, the
technical knowledge of a field, which enables the administrator to
perform his task. The ‘how’ is the technique of management, the
principles according to which the cooperative programs are carried
to success. Each is indispensable; together they form the synthesis
called administration.”
Public Administration as a discipline consists of several branches or
subject matters such as-

 Organizational, Administrative Theories and Behavior

  Public Personnel Administration
 New Public Administration
 Comparative Public Administration
 Development Administration
 Public Policy
 Governance
 Good Governance
 E-Governance
 Corporate Governance
 Social Welfare Administration
 New Public Management
Significance of Public
Administration
after the knowing meaning nature and scope of public
administration, its time to the significance of public administration.
we are influenced by public administration from birth to death.

Public administration plays its role in many ways which makes the
public administration more significant to us. It plays an important
role-

1. As an Instrument for Providing Service

2. As an Instrument for Implementing the Laws and Policies
of the Government
3. As an Instrument for Development and socio-economic
change
4. As an Instrument for the Sustainable Development
5. As an Instrument for National Integration
6. As an Instrument for Community Development
7. As an Instrument for Public Safety
8. As a Separate Academic Discipline
1. As an Instrument for Providing Service
It provides several services to citizens such as education, health,
housing, social security, and a lot more. All these services affect
every moment of human life. Without public administration, the
services provided by the government can never reach the people.

2. As an Instrument for Implementing the Laws and

Policies of the Government
It plays a crucial role in the implementation of laws, public policies,
and programs made by the government. The government makes
laws and policies for the interest of the people. Public administration
puts them into reality.

3. As an Instrument for Development and socio-

economic Change
It is also responsible for the nation’s development and it’s socio-
economic change. After the second world war, there was a lot of
nations emerged. After independence, public administration played
a crucial role for their socio-economic development.

For example in India, it played a very important role by

implementing the poverty alleviation programs, employment
assurance schemes, community development programs,
electrification of remote villages, road construction, etc. which has
been more conducive to the overall improvement of India.

4. As an Instrument for the Sustainable Development

Development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs is called sustainable development.

That means economic development without harming the

environment. Administrators are playing a significant role in the
protection of the environment. All the environmental issues are
solved through public administration.

5. As an Instrument for National Integration

During the time of crisis, it helps to maintain the national
integration. For example, after the partition in India, there was a
crisis of national integration, and public administration played a very
important role to overcome this situation. It helped in the
rehabilitation process of the refugees and integrate the princely
states with Indian territory.

6. As an Instrument for Community Development

Different races and religions live in every country. Therefore, a
common policy for all does not apply effectively. Public
administration gathers neutral information about each community in
the society and based on that information the government makes
policies and the public administration applies those policies to that
particular community. So public administration also has a leading
role in community development.

7. As an Instrument for Public Safety

Above all, it has to admit that it provides us with social security. We
can never be safe without public administration. It provides a lot of
services that make citizens secure such as fire, police and medical
services, and more.

8. As a Separate Academic Discipline

As time goes by, the importance of public administration to the
people is increasing. Now it has become essential to study the
administrative system of the government. Therefore for better
understanding and its development, public administration as an
academic discipline has emerged. Nowadays a lot of universities
have prioritized this subject.

Conclusion
In light of the discussion of the meaning nature and scope of
public administration, it can be concluded that today, public
administration is a very important part of our life. It provides us all
the essential services that we need.
The goal of public administration is to protect the public interest and
to move forward with it in mind. So public administration is a kind of
people-oriented administration and its nature is democratic.

Let me share your experience with what you have learned

in “Meaning Nature and Scope of Public Administration”.

5 Phases of the Evolution of Public

Administration
the idea of public administration evolves from the beginning of
civilization. But the evolution of public administration as a
separate academic discipline started in the late nineteenth century.
Although public administration emerged in the late nineteenth
century as a separate academic discipline, it has its ancient root.
Every social system, political system, and economic system can be
observed as well as administrative system has existed in society
since ancient times.

Woodrow Wilson’s article “The Study of Administration”, published in

1887, is considered the origin of public administration as a
discipline. This article is very important in the history of the
emergence and evolution of public administration.

Because Wilson was the first who promote the concept of the
‘Science of Administration’. The word administration is important for
the need to increase the organizational and systemic excellence of
government functions.

It is Wilson’s view of the administration that defines the individual

sphere of public administration, and perhaps we can discover the
idea of how public administration began to emerge as a separate
discipline in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The evolution of public administration from the end of the

nineteenth century to the present has taken place in the
following 5 phases.
 Phase 1- Politics Administration Dichotomy (1887-1926)
 Phase 2 – Principles of Administration (1927-1937)
 Phase 3 – Era of Challenges (1938-1947)
 Phase 4 – Crisis of Identity (1948-1970)
 Phase 5 – Public Policy Perspective (1971- Onwards)

Phase 1 of the Evolution of Public

Administration
Politics Administration Dichotomy (1887-1926)
Woodrow Wilson’s “The Study of Administration” was the first to
present the demand for separation (Politics Administration
Dichotomy) between politics and administration.
His claim to distinguish between politics and administration was
reinforced in the early twentieth century with the publication of
Frank Goodnow’s book, “Politics and Administration: A Study in
Government” (1900). He is known as the intellectual father of
American Public Administration.
The fact that the administration is separate from politics and the
administration needs to be given a separate status for the sake of
politics is being propagated to the masses at this time.

It is said that while it is the responsibility of politicians to make

political decisions, politicians do not have the experience or
excellence needed to implement these decisions. Therefore, to
implement these policies (decisions) successfully, qualified and
trained employees are required. Only the administration can rely on
the efficient and sustainable implementation of government policy.

The scholars of this phase have practiced more on the (Locus) basis
of public administration. The bureaucratic institution of the
government is the mainstay of public administration.

The legislature decides in the discussion what the will is; the
judiciary resolves problems in the implementation of that state will
or policy; On the other hand, the administration applies that reality
with the help of statesmen.

Thus the division between public administration and politics is drawn

and this phase is marked as politics-administration dichotomy.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, public administration was

recognized as a separate discipline in American universities. At this
time the public administration staff had a very close relationship
with public administration theorists and researchers.

The New York Bureau of Municipal Research was established in 1906

to make local government work a success, and in 1911 the
organization established the first school of public administration
known as the Training School for Public Service.
The year 1926 is very important in the theoretical discussion of
public administration because this year L D White published his book
“Introduction to the Study of public administration”.
This book is considered as the first textbook on public administration
and this book highlights the politics-administration dichotomy more
clearly.

Phase 2 of the Evolution of Public

Administration
Principles of Administration (1927-1937)
1927 is considered to be the beginning of the second phase of the
evolution of public administration as the book “Principles of Public
Administration” by W F Willoughby was published in the same
year.
The book is considered the second most important publication in
public administration after White’s book.

In this phase of the evolution of public administration, discussions on

public administration have been tried as scientific discussions since
this time. It is thought that there are a number of scientific
principles in the discussion of public administration that need to be
disclosed.

If these principles are consciously applied by the administrators in

appropriate places, it is possible to increase work efficiency and also
develop public administration as a scientific discipline.

Frederick Winslow Taylor’s book Principles of Scientific

Management (1911) speaks to the application of four numbers of
principles to enhance the efficiency of the organization.
1. The development of a true science of work.
2. The Scientific selection, training, and progressive
development of the workman.
3. The close coordination between the science of work and
the scientifically selected and trained men.
4. Equal division of work and responsibility
In addition to Taylor, Gantt (Gantt chart), Gilbert (Flow Process
chart) and H. Emerson (The Twelve Principles Efficiency) similarly
spoke of applying scientific principles to repeat skills in the industry.
Overall, these ideas are called scientific management schools.

This phase is basically called the golden age in the history of public
administration. Because the aspect of the intellectual practice of
public administration peaked at this time.

The writings of several famous administrative theorists help to give

a different dimension to public administration.

Author Names Book Names Year

Henry Fayol General and Industrial Management 1916

 Mary Parker Follet Creative Experience 1928

Onward Industry, 1931,

James D. Mooney and Alan Reiley
Principles of Organization 1940

Papers on the Science of

Gullick and Urwick 1937
Administration

The writings of several famous administrative theorists in phase 2: Principles of Administration

Henry Fayol
He gives 14 principles for better outcomes from the administration.
These are –

1. Division of Work
2. Authority and responsibility
3. Discipline
4. Unity of command
5. Unity of direction
6. Subordination of individual interest to general interest
7. Remuneration
8. Centralization and Decentralization
9. Scalar chain
10. Order
11. Equity
12. Stability of tenure of personnel
13. Initiative
14. Esprit De Corps
Gullick and Urwick
Among the most common principles of administration, Gullick and
Urwick’s POSDCORB is particularly noteworthy. This is an acronym
for 7 functions of the administration. These are-

1. P- Planning
2. O- Organizing
3. S- Staffing
4. D- Directing
5. CO- Coordinating
6. R- Reporting
7. B- Budgeting
James D. Mooney and Alan Reiley
They also provide four principles for increasing administrative
efficiency.

1. Coordination
 2. Scalar Process
3. Functional Differentiation
4. Line and Staff
You can see that this phase of public administration focuses only on
the increase of efficiency in administrative work.

Mohit Bhattacharya rightly observes that “The ‘public’ aspect of

public administration was virtually dropped at this stage and the
focus was almost wholly on efficiency. This stage can be called the
stage of orthodoxy, as efforts were underway to delineate firmly the
boundaries of a new discipline of management. Public
administration merged into the science.”

Phase 3 of the Evolution of Public

Administration
The era of Challenges (1938-1947)
The way in which public administration has developed over the
years with its emphasis on principles has faced some intellectual
challenges with the publication of Chester I Barnard’s book “The
Functions of the Executive” in 1936.

In this phase of the evolution of public administration, basically, the

theoretical concept of public administration is challenged from two
perspectives.

First, a new generation of theorists thought that the dividing line

between politics and public administration was never possible.

Second, the administrative theories that have been published since

1940 criticize administrative principles. The question arises as to
whether there is a universal and ultimate principle in the
administration.

In the book “Elements of Public Administration”, edited by F M Marx,

all the writers, through their articles, point out the futility of the
dividing line between politics and public administration that has
been prevalent for so long.

The way in which public administration was portrayed as a value-

neutral issue is denied by each of these writers.
A new group has set out to promote the idea that scientific
management is not the last word in administration, but that social
and environmental factors are an effective force. This group is
known as the Human Relations School.
Modern scholars believe that the research that some researchers at
Harvard University started on the Hawthorne Plant, initiated by the
Western Electric Company in Chicago, started an ideological
revolution in administration and organizational theory.

Researchers such as Elton Mayo, and F. J. Rothlisberger concluded

from their research that innovation of principles and their
application alone do not lead to the improvement of production or
production methods.
The human component of management is also important. By human
elements, they mean the work environment, the intentions of the
director and staff, satisfaction, and so on.

Herbert Simon welcomes the application of scientific ideas in the

field of administration and management, but in this case, he
considers the principles given by the proponents of scientific
management or traditional writers as No more than proverbs.
He presented the Rational Decision Making Model by exposing
the ambiguity and inconsistency of the theory of scientific
management.
Robert Dahl also (like Simon) believes that it is not a matter of
inventing or applying advanced methods or techniques of
administration, but of judging the social, historical, sociological,
economic and other environmental forces in the social sphere in
which the administration is formed.

This is because the impact of this environmental force on the

development of the administration is particularly significant.

Dahl also has argued that there are three problems in the scientific
theory of public administration (classical theory of administration).

The exclusion of the normative elements from the administrative

theory.

There have no human aspects in scientific administrative theories.

Those Theories are only based on a few examples drawn from

limited national and historical settings. This proves that classical
theories are unscientific in nature.
 Phase 4 of the Evolution of Public
Administration
Crisis of Identity (1948-1970)
The politics and public administration dichotomy and the application
of universal principles in the field of public administration have been
abandoned by theorists of public administration since the 1950s.

Administrative theorists of this time recognized the relationship of

public administration with politics. As a result, public administration
became dependent on political science. In this situation, there is
confusion about what is the discussion area of public administration.

This is why this phase of public administration is called the crisis of

identity in public administration.

To overcome this identity crisis, public administration came to be

seen as an interdisciplinary subject.

In this phase, several sub-topics emerge in the subject matter of

public administration such as-

Emerging Concepts Contributors

Chris Argyris, Douglas McGregor,

New Human Relations theory
Rensis Likert, Warren Bennis.

Comparative Public Administration F.W Riggs and others

Development Administration Edward Weidner, F.W Riggs

Administrative Development F.W Riggs

Phase 5 of the Evolution of Public

Administration
Public Policy Perspective (1971- Onwards)
Another recent development of the administration is the discussion
of public policy perspective.

It gained popularity through pluralistic interpretations,

communication theories, and The Science of Muddling through.
The aim of this theory is to establish which social, political and
economic, or personal forces are effective in policymaking.

Robert A. Dahl, James Wilson, Charles E. Lindblom, Yehezkel Dror,

and Vincent Ostrom, all point out the mutual importance of different
forces (social, political and economic, environmental) in
policymaking.

During this time, the context of politics has gained special

importance in the discussion of public administration. Accusing the
conflict between politics and administration as narrow and self-
serving, the new writers have identified administration as a problem
of political theory. This was mainly in the United States and Europe.

Dwight Waldo, Wallace Sayre, Peter Self, and others have

emphasized the concept of administrative public policy. They want
to spread the concept that politics is the environment of
administration.

They are interested in judging the administration in terms of

relevance, values, democracy, and change as much as in politics.
This new trend of public administration is known as New Public
Administration.

Must-Read– New Public Administration: 4 Major Landmarks, And

Principles
It was said that the administration would play a more client-oriented
and effective role from the point of view of politics.

It should also be noted that since World War II, the discussion of
public administration has been incomprehensible not only in
developed countries but also in third-world countries. So the word
development administration is significant in administration today.

The third world countries are focused on comparative public

administration. The main goal of comparative public administration
is to study third-world countries’ public administration and theory-
building through comparative analysis.

How much active role the state can play in planning, policy
formulation, and policy implementation, how much priority can be
given to the policy of public welfare, and public cooperation in
administration is considered as the primary goal in development
administration.
F. W. Riggs, Donald C. Stone, John D. Montgomery, Edward Weidner,
Fredrick C. Mosher, and others who have conducted significant
research on development administration.

Thus it can be said that the concept of the development of the

science of administration, which began in the last half of the
nineteenth century, has become more mature in the latter half of
the twentieth century.

New interpretations and analyses have been developed in the field

of administration and management by utilizing the advancement of
science and technology.

Recent Trends in Public

Administration
In the age of globalization, the rise of information technology is
having an impact on people’s lives, as well as every part of the
system of government.

Because of this advancement, several concepts also have developed

in public administration in recent times.

The 1980s and 1990s saw significant changes in the administrative

systems of developed nations. From hierarchical, disciplined
bureaucratic administration to flexible, transparent, citizen-centric
administration is an important aspect of this change.

Naturally, with this in mind, the mentality of studying public

administration in a new way can be noticed from the 1990s. The
wave of change that was seen in the administrative activities was
also felt in the intellectual practice of the administration.

The trends of that new practice in public administration are-

 Managerialism
 New Public Management
 Market-based Public Administration
 Entrepreneurial Government
 Governance, Good Governance, and E-Governance
 Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

Conclusion
From the above discussion on 5 Phases of The Evolution of Public
Administration, it can be concluded that when the journey of public
administration as an academic discipline began in the late
nineteenth century, there was a tendency to separate public
administration from politics and make public administration a
science as like natural science.

But the great challenge to this division of public administration and

politics came in the 1930s. As a result, there is an identity crisis in
public administration.

However, in the aftermath of the Second World War, huge changes

took place in public administration. This time there is a deep
connection between politics and administration. As a result, the
concepts like new public administration, development
administration, and comparative public administration are
developed.

This change lasted until the 1980s. In the post-1980s, ideas such as
New Public Management, and governance, took place in public
administration to make public administration more transparent.

With the advancement of information technology, digital governance

or E-Governance as well as environmental issues (disaster
management) has taken place in public administration.

So it is seen that as the age of public administration has increased,

its subject matter has become wider and the subject has become
more prosperous.

Therefore, research on public administration will continue in the

days to come and their development as students of public
administration will be one of our main tasks.

10 Major Differences Between

Public And Private Administration
Although the importance of administration is recognized in both
public and private sectors, the form and style of public and private
administration are not the same. There are a lot of differences
between public and private administration.
 Differences Between Public and
Private Administration

Points of
Public Administration Private Administration
Comparisons

Sales of products and Private Administration refers to the activity of

Definitions
services privately owned organizations or institution

Goals and Objectives Public welfare Maximisation of profit

Legal Framework Governed by a statutory law Governed by the directors of the organizations

Accountable to the people Only accountable to the owner of the

Public Accountability
for its actions organization

Freedom of Action Limited freedom of action Its freedom of action is much wider

Run by political direction and

Political Character Completely separated from politics
regulation

Approach Bureaucratic approach Egalitarian approach

Revenue or Income Taxes, duties, fees, etc. Question of Control by economic interests

Scope Much wider in scope limited in scope

Fully depends on and controlled by Not controlled by any Fully depends on and is controlled by economic
economic interest economic interest interest

10 Major Differences between

Public and
Private Administration [Details]
There are some key differences between public and private
administration. Paul H. Appleby, Herbert A Simon, and Peter
Drucker have made a clear distinction between public and
private administration. They are –
1. Differences in the definition.
2. Differences in goals and objectives.
3. Differences in the legal framework.
4. Differences in public accountability.
5. Differences in discretion and freedom of action.
6. Differences in terms of political character.
7. Differences in approach.
8. Differences in revenue or income.
9. Differences in scope.
10. Differences in the question of control by economic
interests.
1. Differences in the Definition
When the word administration is used for government activities and
organizations, it is called public administration. (All government
offices)

On the other hand, private administration refers to the activities of a

private organization. (All privately owned companies or
organizations)

2. Differences in Goals and Objectives

The purpose of public administration is to perform its functions
keeping in view the interest or welfare of the people. The success of
government administration depends on the protection of the public
interest or the acceptance of the basic demands of the people. The
prime goal of public administration is to implement public policy
introduced by the government.

The private administration as a whole is not engaged in the public

interest. Here the administration is employed according to the needs
and interests of the management of a private or non-government
organization.

The main goal of the private administration is to fulfill the personal

aspirations of the owner of that particular organization. So it can be
said that private administration is a profit-oriented administration.

3. Differences in the Legal Framework.

Another fundamental difference between public administration and
private administration is that public administration is governed by a
statutory law, which is also created by a particular political
authority. Therefore, the activities of public administration are
limited to the limits of this particular law.

Although the administration of a private organization is governed by

law, there is no obligation to do so within the limits of the law. In the
case of private administration, the director may change the law if
necessary.

4. Differences in Public Accountability

Public accountability is the backbone of public administration. The
government is accountable to the people for errors in public
administration. The failure or success of the government depends on
the failure or success of the public administration. Public
administration is directly accountable to the government and
indirectly accountable to the citizens.
On the other hand, private administration is not accountable to the
people. Their prime goal is to generate maximum profits.

5. Differences in the Discretion and Freedom of Action

The discretion and freedom of action of public administration is
limited compared to the private administration. The executive
branch of the government directly controls public administration by
enacting several laws in the legislative branch of the government.

On the other hand, private administration is not controlled by the

government. Its freedom of action is wider than public
administration. Its rule regulations are frequently changing in terms
of their requirements.

6. Differences in terms of the Political Character

The most important thing which differentiates public administration
from private administration is its political character. Public
administration is run by political direction and regulation. The main
task of public administration is to implement public policies.

On the other side, private administration is completely separated

from politics. There is no political influence in the operation of
private administration. Its functions are directed by market forces.

7. Differences in Approach
The bureaucratic approach is used for running public administration,
but private administration has an egalitarian approach.

8. Differences in Revenue or Income

The main sources of revenue of public administration are mainly
taxes, duties, fees, etc. whereas private administration generates
their income from selling their products and services.

9. Differences in Scope
There is a big difference between public and private administration
in terms of their scope. Public administration is much wider than
private administration. The citizen can get almost every service from
public administration like food, health facilities, education,
communication, housing, transportation, and so on.

But on the other hand, private administration deals with those

sectors from which they earn profits.

10. Differences in the Question of Control by Economic

Interests
Public administration is usually not controlled by any economic
interest. As the goal of public welfare becomes the main one, in the
case of public administration, financial gain or profit-making does
not get special importance. The question of making a profit does not
arise in the case of police, defense, or government service activities.

On the other hand, the competence and efficiency of the

administration of a private organization are tested on how the
administration can raise the financial goals of the organization.

Similarities between Public and

Private administration
While there are some fundamental differences between public and
private administrations, there is no denying that there are
similarities between public and private administrations.

Many Administrative thinkers like Henry Fayol, M.P Follet, Luther

Gulick, and Lyndall Urwick deny the distinction between these two.
According to them all administrative systems, it’s either public or
private administration have to perform similar kinds of functions.
The similarities between public and private administration are-
1. Follow Same Principles
2. Training
3. Service-Oriented
4. As a Group Efforts
5. Facing Problems
1. Similarity in Functions
Both the administrations are governed by a number of general
principles. Henry Fayol speaks of 14 principles, Luther Gulick calls
this general principle as POSDCORB (Planning, Organizing, Staffing,
Directing, Coordination, Reporting, and Budgeting).

2. Training
Another similarity between the two administrations is that they
provide appropriate training to employees in need of special
administrative experience and skills.

3. Service-Oriented
The activities of some private administrations like public
administration can touch public life in terms of service. Privately
owned transport systems, power supply, etc. are as important as
public administration nowadays.

4. As a Group Efforts
In both the public and private spheres, the administration is a kind
of group effort, where different levels of employees execute a
particular objective through mutual interaction or means.

5. Facing Problems
Both public and private administrations may face a number of
specific problems such as decision-making problems, problems in
managing director-management relationships, and problems in the
production or supply of consumer goods. However, the form and
character of the problem may vary depending on the field and the
environment.

Must Read– Development Administration: Meaning, Features, and

Challenges
Conclusion
From the light of the discussion on differences between public
and private administration, it can be concluded that there are a
lot of fundamental differences between public and private
administration, but it is true that there are some similarities also.
Many emphasize the differences between public and private
administrations, while others emphasize the similarities between the
two. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) is very important today.
Many things in public administration today can be achieved with the
help of private administration. That’s why Recently, the line between
private and public concepts has not been clear.