PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR

Duties of a Public Administrator

Duties of a Public Administrator

Introduction to Public Administration

There is no single theory of public administration. Rather, public administration theory contains a complex of statements regarding what administration is, the meaning of the public, who creates public administration, what the goals of public administration are, and how public administration should fulfill its tasks. Therefore, administration theories have always been and continue to be interdisciplinary, influenced by concepts from history, law, sociology, political science, management, and even psychology. Public administration theory also applies to a distinction between an academic discipline and a profession and contains approaches from organization theory, politics, governance, and law. This entry provides an overview of the development of administrative theories for the public sector also examines some contemporary challenges in this area (Hughes & Owen, 2003). It begins with early theories that sought to distinguish between politics, which dealt with the choice of the values underlying public policy as articulated through the political process, and administration, which implemented those policies in an efficient way similar to the way that businesses operate. It then considers the impact of theories of scientific management on the development of organizational theory. Last, it examines more recent thought that sees the influence of values on administrative decisions and proposes that the distinction between politics and administration is not as clear as it has been considered in the past.

Laid Down Duties of a Public Administrator

Max Weber had contributed his utmost in the development of public administration; he had shared his ideas and concepts about the duties of a local administrator. Many sociologists have disagreed with the concepts mentioned by Max Weber. The opponents are of the view that the concepts about public administration given by Max Weber are not valid in the present affairs of public administration. Max Weber stated that a public administrator should within the limits of law, and a public administrator cannot justify his own discretion in any situation. He also evaluated this statement by citing that a public administrator should not be allowed to perform his duty on his own discretion (White, 2002).

The opponents are of the view that sometimes, a public administrator needs some special authority to solve the issues regarding public administration, which ultimately leads public administration to the failure. In addition, it reduces the level of motivation in an administrator and creates inefficiency. Moreover, the power of a public administrator should ...