John Gabriel A.

Porton PA 101

2018-03016

First Reflective Essay

Since the dawn of civilization, administration has been playing a crucial role when it comes to
management and the organization of human and material resources in order to achieve desired ends,
and has long since been a universal process that occurs in institutionalized settings. Administration is
divided further divided into two: Public and Private Administration.

This essay although touches both types, focuses more on the public side of administration and
discusses further on my reflections and insights on what really is public administration, its functions and
relevant fields, and on the ongoing concerns of public administration (corruption, red tape,
decentralization, etc.) and suggestions on how it can improve its efficiency by adopting practices from
various fields of studies. This paper at the end aims to raise concerns and possibly, to address the
question of “for whom or to whom is public administration.”

What is Public Administration?

Public administration today is defined as both and art and a science, a field of study and a
practice that draws in other various fields and disciplines to understand public problems and improve
public administration and performance (Dwight Waldo and George Frederickson). A collective and
cooperative group effort carried out by public servants in the pursuit of service to the citizens and of the
public good. In the wider sense, public administration includes activities from all three branches of the
government: the legislature, executive, and judiciary (W. Wilson, L.D. White, M.E. Demock, F.A. Nigro,
and Pfiffner). But, like all other fields, public administration today, may always not be so.

Public Administration in History

Ancient Public Administration

Public administration is said to have ancient origins and can be traced back in history. In
antiquity, the Egyptians developed the principle of centralization and control by the government where
it is divided into two systems, the central and the local government. The Egyptians also organized public
affairs by office or administrative departments. Education is also used only by royalties or people in high
statures, where they are educated on management and civil service. Like the Egyptians, Greeks also
organized public affairs by offices and departments like the Assembly or the Council of Five Hundred.
Democracy in this period is defined by Pericles as: “the administration not in the hands of the few but of
the many.” Like most other cultures, the “many” referred to were mostly men as political rights are only
enjoyed and wielded by them as it is believed that women have no place in politics and that Greek
culture is mostly patriarchal in nature. The Romans however developed a more sophisticated system
under their empire, creating distinct and unique administrative hierarchies for justice, military affairs,
finance and taxation, and foreign and internal affairs, each section have their own officers and
administrators. They also developed an elaborate administrative structure with a hierarchy of officers
reporting back through their superiors to their leader, the emperor. This sophisticated structure
disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire in western Europe in the 5th century, but many of its
practices continued in the Byzantine Empire in the east.

Public Administration in the 19th and 20th Century

As years go by, Public Administration continues to grow broader and more complex, and started
to establish itself as a separate field and discipline. In the 19 th century, it became multidisciplinary in
character, incorporating theories and concepts from political science, economics, sociology,
administrative law, management and a range of related fields. In 1887 Woodrow Wilson, considered as
the Father of Public Administration, formally recognized public administration in the article “The study
of Public Administration” where he wrote that "it is the object of administrative study to discover, first,
what government can properly and successfully do, and, secondly, how it can do these proper things
with the utmost possible efficiency and at the least possible cost either of money or of energy."

Major Concerns and Suggested Improvements

Public administration has always been plagued by concerns, challenges and problems that
hinder development and worsen the service to its recipients. But after comparing the administration and
management process of the public and private sector, I’ve come to some ideas and practices that may
help improve public administration and governance:

Investing in specialized expertise, research, and innovations

The government has always been putting on band-aid solutions on today’s many critical
problems. I think they should go for the approach of investing in specialized fields or expertise such as
infrastructure or transportation, which will have significant payoffs in the long run. For example,
investing in means of transportation research or innovation of means such as the metro rail system or
subway system, will provide more benefits than disadvantages. Yes, innovation and investment will cost
money, and might not show any immediate results but successful innovations may provide deep
expertise in core mass-transit capabilities such as operations, maintenance, and property management,
which will in turn, solve the mass transportation crisis in Metro Manila, especially the aggravating
malfunctions of the MRT and LRT systems.

A More Centralized Decision Implementation

Decentralization has its own merits and demerits. It has provided more power to the local
governments but also decentralized the financial resources and the services offered by the national
government. This enabled them to transform themselves to be more autonomous in managing their
own affairs as well as flourish, utilize, and maximize their powers such as the authority to exercise taxing
powers as well as corporate or entrepreneurial powers (A. Brillantes, M. Fernandez). But when it comes
to decision making and implementation, things became more hectic. As compared to private, where
decisions are generally made from the top and are filtered down through the hierarchy of the business,
public servants often have to work with political constituencies, LGUs and different interest groups.
Important financial decisions are often rendered by creating coalitions and support. Decisions cannot
typically be handed down and passed off to the next in command without some type of public sanction,
or a long, tedious process of approval.

For Whom is Public Administration?

For whom have the fields of public administration been developed? How have public
administrative structures, processes and institutions responded to pressing matters of the state? Or Did
it respond to anything at all? The discipline of public administration has been a rapidly changing and
growing one. And given its long history and its evolving field and views; it is hard to determine for whom
public administration really is. But I believe that Public Administration is made by the people, for the
people, to uphold the public interest, and to achieve public good.
Sources

A. Goodman and D. Farell (2013) Government by design: Four principles for a better public sector.

Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/government-

by-design-four-principles-for-a-better-public-sector

Alex Brillantes, Jr. and Maricel Fernandez (2005) Is There A Philippine Public Administration? Or Better

Still, For Whom Is Philippine Public Administration?

Caiden, Gerald E. (1982) Public Administration. 2nd Ed. CA: University of Southern California, School of

Public Administration.

Shafritz Jay M. and Albert C. Hyde (1997) The Classics of Public Administration. 4th ed.

School of Political Science (2017) What is Public Administration? what is the meaning of Public

Administration?. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elZY9OSpWOU