What is Public and Private Administration
Public administration is that Administration which works in the government Environment. On the other hand, private administration refers to that Administration which works in non-governmental setting, ie business enterprises. Thus, they are also known as government Administration and business Administration respectively.
Difference between Public and Private Administration
Public administration different from private Administration in terms of the Environment (institutional Environment ) in which it operates. Paul H. Appleby, Sir Josiah Stamp, Herbert A. Simon and Peter Drucker have distinguished between public and private Administration .
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Appleby’s Approach According to him, Public administration differs from private Administration in three aspects-
Viewpoint of Josiah Stamp According to him Public administration differs from private Administration in four aspects:-
- Principle of Uniformity
- Principle of external financial control
- Principle of responsibility towards the public
- Principle of service induction
Herbert Simon’s Approach – According to him the difference between Public administration and private Administration lies in public imagination. Which is related to three points.
- Public administration is bureaucratic while private Administration is business like.
- Public administration is political while private Administration is non-political
- Public administration is characterized by red tape, while private Administration is free from it.
Drucker’s Approach – According to him, Public administration (service-institution) is fundamentally different from private Administration (business-institution). In his words, “It stands out in its scope. Its values are different. It needs different objectives and makes a different contribution to the society. ‘Performance and results’ are very different in a service organization from what they are in a business organization. ‘Managing performance’ is one area in which the service organization differs significantly from the business organization.’ There are various differences between public and private Administration:
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1. Political Direction: The Political character of Public administration differentiates it from private Administration . There is Political direction and control over Public administration. This is the first difference between these two. Paul Appleby argues, “ Administration is politics because it must be responsive to the public interest… What needs to be emphasized is that popular political processes, which are the foundation of democracy, can only work through governmental organisations.” and that all government organizations are not merely Administrative bodies, but are and should be Political organizations.
2. Comprehensiveness of Objectives, Effects and Concerns- Private Administration cannot claim to have the same comprehensiveness as Public administration in terms of objectives, effects and concerns. In the words of Paul H. Appleby, “Organized government affects and is affected by everything that exists and moves in society. It involves very complex policies and actions. Its maximum possible understanding will require the wisdom of an anthropologist, historian, economist, sociologist, Political scientist, farmer, laborer, industrialist, politician, philosopher and many more.
3. Accountability to the public— Public administration is identified with accountability to the public from which private Administration is freed. Civil service has to work within its Environment, which includes newspapers, Political parties, pressure groups, etc. Therefore, accountability and responsibility towards the public in a Democracy is the hallmark of Public administration . Paul Appleby comments, “Government Administration is different from all other Administrative functions because of public opposition to this.
4. Principle of uniformity- Public administration should be consistent in its practice. In other words, the principle of continuity of behavior is the motto of public Administration. Its functions and decisions are governed by uniform laws, rules and regulations. On the other hand, private Administration can practice discrimination. In the words of Richard Warner, “A private Administration need not worry much about uniformity of behaviour. It can serve various special demands and purposes, often without creating an anti-public storm, by charging according to the ‘weight imposed by the traffic’. This anti-people storm in Public administration will arise immediately if the government makes one law for the benefit of the rich and another for the benefit of the poor.
5. Principle of external financial control – Finance of Public administration is controlled by the Legislature. In other words, the legislature authorizes the income and expenditure of the executive branch. On the other hand, there is no principle of external financial control in private Administration . It uses its finances as it pleases.
6. Principle of service motivation – Public administration is identified with service motivation. Its objective is to serve the public and promote the welfare of the community. On the contrary, private Administration is characterized by profit motive and not by social service. Its objective is to maximize profit. Due to its social role, the prestige of Public administration is also high.
7. Legal Framework – Public administration has to work within the legal framework. It has to remain within the limits created by the laws, rules and regulations. This makes Public administration rigid in practice. On the other hand private Administration is comparatively free from such limitations and has flexibility in its working.
8. Nature of work- Public administration also differs from private Administration in the nature of work done by it. As-
- It is more comprehensive than private Administration , i.e. it covers a wider area of activities.
- Its activities are more necessary and essential for the existence of the society itself.
- Its services sometimes appear to be monopolistic. For example, the work of defense.
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Anonymity – Public administration works anonymously. In other words, the work of civil service in government is characterized by the principle of anonymity, which is the exact opposite of the principle of ministerial responsibility. Thus, the minister takes responsibility for the work done by the public servants working under him.
Measurement of effectiveness: Public administration differs from private Administration in terms of measurement of effectiveness. In private Administration , resource utilization or profit making (input-output relationship) is the measure of effectiveness. But this criterion cannot be applied while measuring the effectiveness in Public administration . According to Peter Self, three types of influences are important in public Administration –
- Administrative or management effectiveness as in the case of private Administration also.
- policy effectiveness i.e. ability to take right decisions and choose appropriate programmes; And
- Service effectiveness i.e. customer satisfaction and Development.
Public and Private Administration Similarities
Although public and private differ in many respects, they also have many similarities. In fact Henri Fayol, M.P. A group of Administrative thinkers like Follett, Lindahl Arvik do not make any distinction between public and private Administration .
They take the view that all Administration , whether public or private, is one and has similar qualities. For example, Fayol says, “The meaning that I have given to the word ‘ Administration ‘ and that which is generally accepted has greatly expanded the scope of Administrative science. It covers not only public service but every shape and size of Administration .” The description also covers enterprises of every form and purpose. Every enterprise needs planning, organization, direction, co-ordination and control, and in order to function properly, all must follow the same general principles. Now our There are not many Administrative sciences before us, but one which can be well exercised in both public and private affairs.”
Similarly, Arvik says, “It is difficult to conceive of biochemistry for the banker, physiology for professors, or psychology for politicians. Attempts to subdivide the study of management or Administration into subcategories according to specific forms of acquisition The direction to several authorities appears to be equally confusing.
Following are the specific similarities between public and private Administration :
- The managerial techniques of planning, organising, co-ordinating, controlling etc. are common in both.
- The books of accounts, statistics, stocking etc. are common in both.
- Both high order. That is, organized on the principle of scalar series.
- Both are influenced by each other’s practices and standards. That is why, Pfiffner and Presthus describe the rise of the public cooperative as “the space between its commercial archetype and the traditional government department”.
- There are similarities between the two so far as the problems of organisation, staff and finance are concerned.
- The similarity between the two would have been shown by the fact that there is a mutual manipulation and interchange of employees between the two. Therefore, the Administrative Staff College of India at Hyderabad organizes similar training programs for employees of both the public and private sectors.
Now we can conclude with a remark by Dwight Waldo, “With special attention to equality in treatment, legal authority and responsibility of actions, public correctness of decisions, financial probity and awareness etc. which generalizations make Public administration private.” separated from administration, they are not much useful. In fact, public and private administrators are two species of the same genus, but they have their own special values and techniques which create their different characters.”
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