The most important theories in the field of Public Administration have their foundation in the areas of bureaucracy as well as epistemological issues related to the academic and profession in the public service.
Mid-20th century Germany sociologist, political economist and administrative scholar Max Weber has been acknowledged for his outstanding work in bureaucracy, epistemology and administrative discourses. In his magnum opus ‘Economy and Society’ the distinguished scholar described many model types of government and public administrations in the world.
Suppe (1998) explains that Weber’s analysis of the bureaucratization of society became one of his lasting and most epochal parts of his work. It was Max Weber who pioneered the studies of bureaucracy and administration. His works led to the popularization of bureaucracy and set the stage for the ongoing process of rationalization of various aspects of public administration.
Weber’s principles of administration are characterized by hierarchical organization, represented by clearly defined lines of authority and set rules to determine actions taken. He also highlighted the need for expert training of public administration officers. He advocated for career advancement based on merit and technical qualification, but judged by organizations and not by individuals.
Weber undoubtedly influenced many later theorists of various disciplines. His work was also received criticism as well. A handful of scholars at the time, for example, expressed disapproval and blatantly blasted claims made by Max Weber in his historical analysis.
In the US, on the other hand, Woodrow Wilson who later was to become the President and academic Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) took their position in the frontline in promoting American civil service reform. The two played a central role in integrating public administration to academia.
Their work, however, was not met with much enthusiasm at the time until in mid-20th century following the circulation of Germany scholar Max Weber’s bureaucracy theory. Wilson Woodrow came into public limelight following the publication of his work entitled ‘The Study of Administration’ in the year 1887. His later work earned him a reputation in the US as the father of public administration.
Sherwood (1990) explains that Wilson advocated for the separation of politics from administration and the application of business-like practices in the public sector to improve efficiency. He also called for merit-based assessment and comparative analysis of political and private organizations. Wilson’s separation of politics and administration approach has been the subject of debate over the years and has drawn much criticism as well.
A few distinguished scholars of the time such as Fredrick Taylor wrote powerful books and numerous articles in response to Wilson’s solicitation. In his book ‘The principles of Scientific Management,’ the prominent scholar Fredrick Taylor introduced an approach dubbed Taylorism or Taylor’s Principles. Taylor’s approach was based on scientific analysis and application of scientific management principles.
Taylor recommended a scientific approach in selecting, training and developing each employee. He proposed that managers should apply scientific management principles to plan and execute the tasks. His principles were eventually adopted by various government organizations and private sector industrialists.
Dubois (2009) explains that Wilson’s separation of politics and administration approach continues to influence the scope of public administration to this day.
This is even against criticism, on the background, by second generation scholars led by Luther Gulick (1892-1993) and Lyndall Urwick. Unlike their predecessors, Luther and Lyndall could not reckon upon logical assumptions and generalizations but rather based their theories on facts as presented by work of distinguished scholars such as Henri Fayol, Frank Goodnow and Fredrick Taylor.
Gulick summed up the civic responsibility of administrators in one word POSDCORB. He explained that the work of public administrators involved and was limited to Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting. POSDCORB approach, however, received numerous critical responses in the mid-1940s, alongside Wilson’s politics-administration concept which remained the epicenter of debate.
Another generation of public administration theorists emerged in the 1980s in the person of David Osborne and Ted Gaebler. In their book ‘Reinventing Government’ the new crop of theorists introduced yet another New Public Management (NPM) concept. The new model was viewed favorably as it proposed the adoption of private sector-style.
The organizational values and ideas aimed presented by NPM were considered the ultimate solutions to improve the delivery of service in public institutions. This concept treated citizens like customers and encouraged competition between public agencies. This model also promoted competition of the public sector with private firms and encouraged the use of economic incentives.
David Osborne and Ted Gaebler’s NPM approaches became so popular in the US and UK in the 1990s. Ultimately, the same approaches were applied during Clinton’s administration by Vice-President Al Gore to reform federal agencies in the United States.
Then, Wilson’s separation of politics and administration approach and David Osborne and Ted Gaebler’s NPM are the most important theories in this field, based on popularity and effectiveness in places where they have been adopted.
Indeed many scholars agree that modern theories such as Janet and Robert Denhardt’s ‘Digital Era Governance’ all anchor on Wilson and David-Gamblers’ theories. Digital Era Governance is a model of late 1990s to 2000 and focuses more on reintegrating government responsibilities with transformational capabilities of information communication technology.
References
Dubois, H.F.W., (2009). Definitions and Typologies in Public Administration Research, International Journal of Public Administration, 32 (8),704-727.
Sherwood, Frank P., (1990). The Half-Century’s Great Books in Public Administration, Public Administration Review , 50 (2), 253.
Suppe, F.,(1998). Understanding Scientific Theories: An Assessment of Developments, Philosophy of Science, 67 (102),115.