Public Adniinistratiotr is a specialised academic field. I t essentially deals with the
Machinery and procedures of government activities. Adminiswation has been dcfined as a
Cooperative human effort towards achieving some common goats. Thus defined,
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Administration .can be found in various institutional settings such as a business firm, a I
Hospital, a university, a government department and so on. As an aspect of this more / I
Genkric concept, Public Administration is that species of administration which operates I
Within a specific political setting. I t is a means by which the policy decisions made by ihe I I
Political decision makers are carried out. Public Administration is decision making,
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Planning the work to be done, formulating objectives and goals, working with the
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"iegislla~ure acd citizen organisations to gain public support and funds for gtrvernmenl programmes, establtshing and revising organisation, d i ~ c t i n g and supervising employees,
providing leadership, communicating and receiving ccmmunications, determining work
mkthods and procedures,appraising performance, exercising controls and other functions
performed by government executives and supervisors. It is the action part of the government,
the means by which the purposes and goals of the government are realised.
Some well known definitions of Public Administration are:
4 "Public Administration is detailed and systematic execution of public law. Every
Particular application of law is an act of administration" - L.D. White.
Public Administration is "the art and science of management applied to the affairs of
The State" - D. Waldo.
4 "By Public Administration is meant in common usage the activities of the executive
Branches of the National, State and Local Governments'' - H. Simon.
M e 'Public' aspect of Public Administration gives the discipline a special character. It can
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Be looked at formally to mean government'. So, Public Administration is government
Administration, the focus being specifically on public bureaucracy. This is the meaninp
Commonly used in discussing Public Administration. Public Administration,in a wider sense,
Has sought to expand its ambit by including any administration that has considerable impact.
On the public. From this standpoint, a private electricity undertaking like the Calcutta Electric
Supply Corporation can be considered a fit subject of diwussion under Public Administration.
It is, however, in the first sense that Public Administration is usually considered.
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