This course aims at familiarizing the learners with the foundation of Public Administration as a discipline and identifying its core concepts and theories. In addition to a conceptual understanding of Public Administration, this course will enable the learners to analyze various administrative theories and identify the key principles of organization. Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of these principles may help the learners to contextualize the administrative system in the present system of governance and note the changes in the application of such principles in the Indian administrative system.
The learners will also be introduced to the concepts of Good Governance, New Public Management (NPM), and New Public Administration (NPA) as the developments in the discipline to meet the changing demands of society. Through the study of traditional binaries—such as politics-administration dichotomy, public-private administration, along with the emerging issues of public-private partnership, the ideas of e-Governance, and the changing role of the state and market—students will be able to note the changes in the objectives and processes of administration. Further, the course provides an understanding of the structure and processes of the civil service system in India.
Course Content
Unit I: Introduction to Public Administration
a) Public Administration as a Discipline: Meaning, Nature & Scope, Evolution
b) Politics–Administration Dichotomy, Public vs. Private Administration
c) New Public Administration, New Public Management & Good Governance
Unit II: Principles of Administration
a) Organizations: Formal & Informal, Line and Staff Organizations
b) Principles of Organization: Hierarchy, Span of Control, Unity of Command, Delegation, Decentralization, Coordination
Unit III: Administrative Theories
a) Administrative Management Theory, Bureaucratic Theory
b) Scientific Management Theory, Human Relations Theory
Unit IV: Public Administration in India
a) Bureaucracy: Structure & Processes; Recruitment, Training, Ethics in Administration
b) Contemporary Challenges & Perspectives: e-Governance, Public-Private Partnership, State vs. Market Debate
Essential Readings
- Arora, R. K., & Goyal, R. (1995). Indian Public Administration. New Age International.
- Avasthi, A., & Maheshwari, S. (2020). Public Administration. L. N. Agarwal Books.
- Basu, Rumki. (1990). Introduction to Public Administration. Sterling Publishers Private.
- Bhattacharya, Mohit. (2011). New Horizons of Public Administration. Jawahar Publishers & Distributors.
- Chakrabarty, Bidyut, & Chand, Prakash. (2020). Public Administration in a Globalizing World: Theories and Practices. Sage Publications.
Source: Undergraduate (UG) Political Science Syllabus – Core X (Semester IV): Public Administration.