What is Public Administration?

Public administration may be defined as all processes, organizations, and individuals associated with carrying out laws and other rules issued by legislatures, executives, and courts. This definition includes considerable administrative involvement in forming and implementing legislation and executive orders. Public administration is also a common field of academic study and professional training for government employees.

This definition does not limit the participants in public administration to administrative personnel, or even to people in government. Public administrators include a wide variety of individuals and groups with a common interest in government action. Even citizens can have some impact on the directions of public policies.

Public administration involves all stakeholders in shifting patterns of relationships—in state, local, and national governments. The politics of administration involves agency interactions with those outside the formal structure as well as interactions among those within administrative agencies. The terms public administration and public management are both concerned with implementing policies and programs enacted through authoritative institutions of government.

Public management is a field of study central to public administration. It emphasizes internal operations of public agencies such as planning, information systems, budgeting, personnel management, performance evaluation, and productivity improvement. Public managerial responsibilities have become more complicated and, at the same time, beneficial to employees, citizens, and their organizations.