What should be the focus of Public Administration in present times?

In present time, public administration basically focus on public partitive partnership, policy-making, political economy, human relations approach, people’s participation in decision-making, comparative public administration, decentralization, emerging changes in the bureaucratic pattern and behaviour, emphasis on the study of the administration of developing societies, focus on interdisciplinary approach.

The Public-Private Partnership:

Today, actually public administration is accomplished with the collaboration of numerous private groups and individuals. Now public sectors and private sectors work for the welfare of the society and it is difficult to tell where government leaves off and private business begins. In private sector, contractors spend billions of dollars and employ millions of workers, it is really part of work force.

Public Administration in Policy-making:

Today, policy-making and policy implementation are two basic functions of government. Generally, policy is laid down by the legislature or political authorities and implemented by the public administration. Due to the emergence of the theory of welfare state, the activities of government has gradually increased and the role of administration in policy-making is emphatically accepted.

Movement Toward Political Economy:

Another development taken place in public administration that is political economy. Now economists occupy key position in the administration and economic planning is basic feature of public administration in many of the developing countries.

Human Relations Approach in Public Administration:

The human relations movement was initiated among the human scientists, and its primary goal and orientation is toward change in the attitudes, values and structures of organizations. The essence of the human relations theory lies in its primary emphasis on human beings, psychological motivations and informal group behaviour.

This theory focuses on management as a web of interpersonal relationships. Thus, human relations as the heart of the task of management and human relations theory come from the Hawthrone experiments by Elton Mayo and his colleagues of the Harvard Business School.

People’s Participation’s in Decision-making:

Another major development public administration is directed toward participation of citizens in governmental decision-making and action. In welfare state citizen allow to participate in the activity of government. Specially in democratic forms of government citizen have right to protests against public agencies and institutions. During the 1960s were began a variety of experiments to involve citizens or their representatives in governmental decisions processes.

These involved delegation of decision-making power from central to local offices and at the local level, sharing of authority with citizen groups.

Comparative Public Administration:

Comparative Public Administration (CPA) came into existence as a new approach of public administration. Its cross-cultural approach to the study of public administration. Recently the concern for social equity, comparative study of administration systems and emphasis on the developmental goals of third world administration and nonnative theory as basic features of the new public administration.

The study of comparative public and development administration come from great power competition, international humanitarianism, and appears for help from backward countries and newly independent states after the Second World War.

Decentralization:

Another major development the public administration is decentralization system. Decentralization means the power is divided between the center, state and village panchayats.

Emerging Changes in the Bureaucratic Pattern and Behavior:

Democracy brought in the parliament, ministers, elections and political parties coupled with the concept of public accountability of civil servants. The nature of bureaucratic tasks also completely changed in variety, multiplicity and orientation. The bureaucracy has now to function in an environment where it works under the direction of the political head (minister) who is responsible for the department under his change to the legislature.

Emphasis on the Study of the Administration of Developing Societies:

Today public administration emphasis on the study of the administration of developing areas. It has occurred as a result of the realization that the subject of public administration must include administrations along with their infrastructures that exist in the contemporary world and, where possible, references to administrators throughout time. It also study the administration of the poor and backward countries of the Afro-Asain world.

Thus, Public Administration is primarily involved in change and transformation of society and it concerned with administrative problems. A central theme of public administration has been reformed and should be improved. A second theme of public administration has been economy and efficiency and third feature of public administration has been its stress upon personnel.

A fourth character of public administration is specialization, diversification and professionalism of occupations that began about of the 20th century. Today, public administration must concern with developing as well as developed countries. New public administration deal with changes in a society that is changing more rapidly than any the human history. It must concern itself with human goals life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.