Public administration notion: historical genesis

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION NOTION: HISTORICAL GENESIS

Kiforenko O.V. - Ph.D., Associate Professor,

Public administration is the field of service that maintains a civil society and provides for the needs of the public. Public administration is also the key instrument of government for ensuring public interests. Public administration integrates and synthesizes theories and propositions from other disciplines including the behavioural sciences, the system sciences, and the natural sciences. As public administration is a feature of all nations, whatever their system of government, it is important to understand all its features as well as the course of its development with the stating of the prominent personalities having contributed to the public administration most.

The goal of the presented article is to answer the following questions: how did public administration develop to such a high level? What was its historical development course? Who were the most prominent academicians/administrators/scientists having contributed to the public administration development the most? A radical transformation in public administration began as early as the middle of the nineteenth century, accelerating after World War I and continuing beyond World War II. Many individuals who were placed in charge of public administration revolutionized it and left their mark for generations to come. Among the most prominent of them one should mention Max Weber, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Mary Parker Follett, Douglas McGregor, Robert Clifton Weaver, and others.

The knowledge for the course development of public administration and the prominent personalities having contributed the most to its development will help make the public administration as a whole and the administrators ' work as well the quality of their services in particular more efficient, thus contributing to the higher development level of the country and raising the living standards of each citizen. The research results will be interesting and usefulfor the academicians researching the notion of public administration, administrators working in the power bodies of all the levels, NGOs employees and students studying the subject as well as all the stakeholders.

Key words: public administration, government, bureaucracy, civil service, human resources.

Кіфоренко О.В.

Поняття публічного управління: історичний генезис

Публічне управління - це сфера послуг, яка підтримує громадянське суспільство та забезпечує потреби громадськості. Публічне управління також є ключовим інструментом влади для забезпечення суспільних інтересів. Публічне управління інтегрує та синтезує теорії та припущення з інших дисциплін, включаючи науки про поведінку, системні та природничі науки. Оскільки публічне управління властиве всім націям, незалежно від їхньої системи управління, важливо зрозуміти всі його особливості, а також хід його розвитку із зазначенням видатних особистостей, які зробили найбільший внесок у вказане управління.

Мета статті - відповісти на наступні запитання: яким чином державне управління розвинулося до такого високого рівня? Яким був хід його історичного розвитку? Хто з найвидатніших представників академічної спільноти/адміністраторів/науковців зробили найбільший внесок у розвиток публічного управління? Докорінна трансформація публічного управління почалася ще у середині ХІХ століття, прискорившись після Першої світової війни та продовжувалася після Другої світової війни. Багато особистостей, які були стояли на чолі публічного управління, докорінно його змінили та залишили свій вклад для наступних поколінь. Серед найвизначніших із них слід назвати Макса Вебера, Томаса Вудро Вільсона, Фредеріка Вінслоу Тейлора, Мері Паркер Фоллетт, Дугласа Макгрегора, Роберта Кліфтона Вівера та ін.

Знання того, як саме розвивалося публічне управління та які видатні особистості зробили найбільший внесок у його розвиток, допоможуть зробити публічне управління загалом і роботу адміністраторів, а також якість їхніх послуг зокрема більш ефективними, сприяючи таким чином вищому рівню розвитку країни та підвищенню рівня життя рівня кожного громадянина. Результати дослідження будуть цікавими та корисними для представників академічної спільноти, які досліджують поняття публічного управління, управлінців, котрі працюють в органах влади всіх рівнів, працівників громадських організацій і студентів, що вивчають цей предмет, а також усіх зацікавлених сторін.

Ключові слова: публічне управління, уряд, бюрократія, державна служба, людські ресурси.

prominent individuals transformation public administration

Formulation of the problem. Administration is a problem inherent to human association, so public administration is part and parcel with government organised to carry out community business [1]. It is a set of processes, organizations, groups, society, as well as individuals associated with implementing laws and other rules administered by judiciary, legislatures, and executives [2]. Public administration is also the key instrument of government for ensuring public interests [3]. So, public administration is a process and as such has been around as long as governments have existed [4]. As such, public administration integrates and synthesizes theories and propositions from other disciplines including the behavioural sciences, the system sciences, and the natural sciences. The issues and problems public administration confronts are molded by the environment in which they exist. In fact, a recurring problem with public administration theory is that changes in the practice of administration often force a reorientation of theory [5]. As public administration is a feature of all nations, whatever their system of government [6], the importance for the understanding of all its features as well as the course of its development with the stating of the prominent personalities having contributed to the public administration most goes without saying.

Analysis of recent research and publications. Many outstanding Ukrainian and foreign scientists have contributed a lot to the research of public administration as it is and its development. Among the foreign ones one should mention С. Renwick, А. Prentice, J. Johnston, M. Orleans, P Juneja, R.J. II Stillman, D. Myrick, S. Yusufzada, R.F.Jr. Shangraw, M.M. Crow, F.C. Mosher, Р Anurit, Р Malone, А. Venkatraman, М. Fabry and others. The Ukrainian scientists engaged in the history and development of public administration include V.V. Perzhun, O.V. Mykhailovska, Y.G. Kalnysh, VS. Kuybida, М.М. Bilynska, І.О. Dehtiariova, SA. Romaniuk, V.D. Bakumenko, Т.Е. Vasylevska, RA. Naumenko, YO. Ulyanchenko, Y.H. Kartashov and others. As the main emphasis in the presented paper was made on the historic development course of public administration as well as the most prominent foreign scientists as well as the short overviews of their contributions, the works of the foreign authors researching the said science branch were used for the research purpose.

Goals of the article. One of the characteristics of a modern public administration is that it aims to focus on service level and its sustainability, not only on the quantity of services [7]. That great issue is the one all the public administrators should aim at while working for the public good or providing administrative services. But how did public administration develop to such a high level? What was its historical development course? Who were the most prominent academicians/administrators/scientists having contributed to the public administration development the most? The attempt to give answers to the questions asked above was the goal of the presented article.

Presentation of the main research material. Public administration is the term traditionally used to define the formal arrangements under which public organizations serve a government, ostensibly in the public interest [8]. A radical transformation in public administration began as early as the middle of the nineteenth century, accelerating after World War I and continuing beyond World War II. One result was the emergence of an activist and interventionist social policy [9]. The development of the public administration model dating from 1900 was influenced primarily by Weber's theory of bureaucracy, Northcote and Trevelyn's recommendations relating to the establishment of a professional civil service in Britain and Woodrow Wilson's ideas in the USA for the separation of policy from administration [8].

Many individuals who were placed in charge of public administration revolutionized it and left their mark for generations to come [10]. The bureaucratic theory of public administration owes its existence to Max Weber and his magnum opus “Economy and Society” published in 1922. It was Weber who popularized the term. Max Weber was a German political economist, philosopher and a social scientist. Influenced by Heinrich Rickert and Kant, Weber came to a central core of his theories and that was Rationalization. Weber promulgated rationalization in all areas of life like economy, politics, society, culture and even religion. He went on further to say that Rationalization was the basis of the modern western society [11].

The next prominent scientist, having made a significant contribution to the formation and development of public administration, was Thomas Woodrow Wilson - American politician, academic, university administrator and the only US President to hold a Ph.D. Unquestionably, Woodrow Wilson's scholarly essay, “The Study of Administration” (1887) stands as an historic landmark in American administrative thought. As Leonard D. White once wrote, “Wilson's essay introduced this country to the idea of administration” [12]. But, in his earlier works W. Wilson laid foundation to his global understanding of administration as a whole and public administration in particular. In his 1885 dissertation at Johns Hopkins University, Woodrow Wilson evaluated the cost and effects of the public decision making system built around the U.S. Congress, then the principal decision making and implementation body at the federal level. He argued that concentrating public sector decision making in the politically oriented unit of government weakened the administration of government. He later recommended a design for governmental systems that called for a careful separation between politics and administration [5].

There are different points of view as to how much and whether at all Frederick Winslow Taylor contributed to public administration. He designed his Scientific Management Theory. The founding principles for Taylor's Scientific Management Theory were information management and knowledge transfer. Thus the essence of Taylor and for that matter Taylorism was that of experimentation, evaluating problems and choosing an appropriate solution. It might be suggested then that Taylor's inadvertent contribution to Public Administration was the result of his interaction with Metcalfe, of the United States Army Ordinance Department. As early as 1880, Metcalfe established the written order card system and advocated the practice of two way communications - that is, job order cards with written instructions from administrators and report [progress] cards written by workers [13]. According to another viewpoint, the most definite link between Taylor and Public Administration will be found in the work of his mentored disciple Morris Cooke [13], embracing the application of Taylor's principles, Cooke approached the analysis of work by purposefully differentiating between public and private goals [13].

But there are also scientists, who consider Mary Parker Follett, a social worker and philosopher, and an intellectual by every measure, who made one of the most significant and lasting contributions to leadership in the public service [14], and thus to public administration. In fact, she made lasting contributions in the areas of:

- diversity - Follett called for dissimilar thought in group processes to ensure a variety of ideas were heard and considered;

- life-long learning - Follett considered education to be the lifeblood of advancement and improvement, both at the organizational and individual levels;

- engagement - Follett considered discourse regarding shared experiences, humble inquiry and a search for meaning to be the pathways to learning and improvement;

- the human element - Follett viewed humans, not processes, as the most valuable part of an organization [14].

A thinker, an academician of repute, manager and a consultant [15], Douglas McGregor was important in the post-war research and practice of organization. His book The Human Side of Enterprise, published in 1960, applied a perspective of behavioural psychology to the theories of organization [10]. That is, he composed the so-called Theory X and Theory Y, in which he researched the issues of whether an employee can be trusted and given the task of performing for the betterment of the organization or an employee should be directed, controlled and monitored to achieve the goals of the organization. Both the theories X and Y are based on the premise that the role of the management is to bring together all factors of production, including human resources, and coordinate them for the benefit of the organization [15].

Another prominent representative of the academic community, having made a considerable contribution to the public administration development, was Robert Clifton Weaver, a noted American economist who, as the first secretary (1966-68) of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, was the first African American appointed to a cabinet position in the U.S. government [16]. Weaver made important contributions to the practice of public administration being a part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's “black cabinet” and an advisor on civil rights by President Kennedy as he took a more holistic approach to administering housing programs. He offered awards for the design of public housing, and increased money for small businesses displaced by urbanization. He revived federal rent subsidies for the elderly, and stressed local initiatives as a way to solve local problems [10]. In addition, Weaver championed the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibited housing discrimination based on race, colour, religion or national origin. “You cannot have physical renewal,” he was known to say, “without human renewal” [17].

Conclusions and suggestions. Public Administration is the field of service that maintains a civil society and provides for the needs of the public. It is the activities undertaken by the government to look after its people and manage its affairs [18]. Public administration consists of getting the work of the government done by coordinating the efforts of the people so that they can work together to accomplish their set tasks... managing, directing, and supervising the activities of thousands, even millions of workers so that some order and efficiency may result from their efforts [19].

In order to understand all the features and aspects of public administration to increase its effectiveness in all the spheres applied, the attempt was made in the article to follow its development course pointing the prominent academicians/administra- tors/scientists having contributed to the public administration development the most. A radical transformation in public administration began as early as the middle of the nineteenth century. The development of the public administration model dating from 1900 was influenced primarily by Weber's theory of bureaucracy, Northcote and Trevelyn's recommendations relating to the establishment of a professional civil service in Britain and Woodrow Wilson's ideas in the USA for the separation of policy from administration [8]. More detailed - the bureaucratic theory of public administration owes its existence to Max Weber and his magnum opus “Economy and Society” published in 1922. Woodrow Wilson's scholarly essay, “The Study of Administration” (1887) stands as an historic landmark in American administrative thought and introduced the USA to the idea of administration. Frederick Winslow Taylor designed his Scientific Management Theory with its founding principles from information management and knowledge transfer. Mary Parker Follett, a social worker and philosopher, made contributions in the areas of diversity, life-long learning, engagement, and the human element in the public administration. Douglas McGregor applied a perspective of behavioural psychology to the theories of organization as well as composed the so-called Theory X and Theory Y. Robert Clifton Weaver made important contributions to the practice of public administration being a part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's “black cabinet” and an advisor on civil rights by President Kennedy. So, having in mind the valuable contributions the prominent scientists and practitioners made into the development of public administration, we can make the public administration as a whole and the administrators' work as well the quality of their services in particular more efficient, thus contributing to the higher development level of the country and raising the living standards of each citizen.

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