Public Administration is a multi-disciplinary field concerned with the managerial or administrative dimension of the public service. Public Administration centres on the purpose and performance of government in expressing and applying policy, the skills required to manage the civil service, and the ethics and values which would guide the behaviour of public affairs. Public administration is a field of political science that plans organizes, directs, coordinates, and controls operations at government, public sector, and non-profit organisations. The government grants public administrators the authority to advice policymakers based on observations of constituent populations and society. Every nation employs some form of public administration within its government systems. In the U.S., public administration is practiced at the local, state, national, and international levels, with different policy goals at each level (Ohio University, 2020).
Public administrators coordinate civil servants to write public policy and achieve policy objectives. Professionals in the field also work to develop strong relationships between public and private groups by advocating for consensus and interests through policy. Different groups have competing desires, so it is important that public administrators have the skills to mitigate conflict in policymaking
Public administration as an activity which incorporates every facet of human life. The eruption and range of information and communication technology, the extensive recognition of democratic form of government and altering social norms enable the individuals to demand higher standards of ethics, transparency and responsibility in the public sector. Ethical public service is deliberated as a requirement of well-functioning democracy. Ethical, transparent and answerable public sector is also a requirement of good governance that ensures sustainable development and responsive public policy.
Furthermore, it also aids to improve the performance of public sector by preventing general corruption.
The efficiency of public administration depends on the understanding and collaboration amongst the people and public employers. The main concern of the citizens in a good civil society is that their administration must be fair and good. For a Government to be good it is vital that their systems and sub-systems of Governance are effective, efficient, moral and unbiased. Additionally the governing procedure must also be just, reasonable, fair and citizen friendly. For these and other qualities and good governance, the administrative system must also be accountable and responsive, besides promoting transparency and people’s participation.

QUESTION 1 (15 Marks)

As alluded to in the narrative, Public Administration is a multi-disciplinary field concerned with the managerial or administrative dimensions of the public service.
Discuss the multidisciplinary approach to public management and public administration.

QUESTION 2 (15 Marks)

In the narrative it is argued that for a Government to be good it is vital that their systems and sub-systems of Governance are effective, efficient, moral and unbiased. Additionally, the governing procedure must also be just, reasonable, fair and citizen friendly. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Henri Fayol defined the field of management to have five functions, namely planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling. By making use of practical examples to illustrate your understanding elaborate on the generic functions of public administration.

Answers to Above Questions on Public Administration

Answer 1: Public Management and Public Administration requires knowledge and understanding with respect to a variety of disciplines. It is not good enough to focus only on traditional public administration or management approaches, radar it is essential to take into consideration a multi disciplinary approach combining techniques from other fields such as political science, law, psychology, economics etc. The multi disciplinary approach to public management and administration would result in a broader perspective in solving challenges and opportunities, leads to better Innovation and collaboration, and ultimately improved solution to problems. However it will also result in challenges in adopting a multi disciplinary approach such as difficulties in integrating different perspectives and approaches.