UGC NET Political Science Public Administration Syllabus

Public Administration syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Public Administration in UGC NET Political Science, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Meaning and Evolution

   1 topic

   • Public and Private Administration
2. 2

   Approaches

   3 topics

   • System Theory
   • Decision Making
   • Ecological Approach
3. 3

   Public Administration Theories and Concepts

   7 topics

   • Scientific Management Theory
   • Rational Choice Theory
   • New Public Administration
   • Development Administration
   • Comparative Public Administration
   • New Public Management
   • Changing Nature of Public Administration in the Era of Liberalisation and Globalisation
4. 4

   Theories and Principles of Organization

   3 topics

   • Scientific Management Theory
   • Bureaucratic Theory
   • Human Relations Theory
5. 5

   Managing the Organization

   1 topic

   • Theories of Leadership and Motivation
6. 6

   Organisational Communication

   3 topics

   • Theories and Principles
   • Chester Bernard Principles of Communication
   • Information Management in the Organization
7. 7

   Managing Conflict in the Organization

   1 topic

   • Mary Parker Follett
8. 8

   Management by Objectives

   1 topic

   • Peter Drucker

Public Administration flashcards for UGC NET Political Science

21 of 60 cards from the Public Administration deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is Public Administration in its narrow sense, and who gave the classic 'detailed and systematic execution of public law' definition?

   In its narrow sense Public Administration is the management of the executive branch's affairs. Woodrow Wilson defined it as the 'detailed and systematic execution of public law'; every application of law, he said, is an act of administration.

2. State two key differences between Public and Private Administration as identified by Paul Appleby.

   Appleby argued public administration is distinctive because (1) it operates under political direction and public scrutiny/accountability, and (2) it has breadth of scope, impact and consideration of public interest, unlike profit-driven private administration. He summed it up as 'Government is different.'

3. What are Sir Josiah Stamp's four principles distinguishing Public from Private Administration?

   (1) Principle of Uniformity (public administration follows uniform laws/rules), (2) Principle of External Financial Control (legislature controls finances), (3) Principle of Ministerial Responsibility (accountable to elected representatives), and (4) Principle of marginal returns/public service motive rather than profit.

4. In Systems Theory, what is a 'system' and who introduced General Systems Theory?

   A system is a set of interrelated and interdependent parts forming a unified whole that interacts with its environment. General Systems Theory was introduced by biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy.

5. What are the main elements of the input-output systems model applied to administration?

   Inputs (demands and supports from environment) → Conversion/Throughput process → Outputs (decisions, policies, services) → Feedback loop returning to inputs. The system also maintains boundaries with its environment and seeks equilibrium (homeostasis).

6. Who applied Systems Theory to political/administrative analysis, and what is the difference between open and closed systems?

   David Easton applied systems analysis to politics. A closed system has no interaction with its environment, while an open system exchanges inputs and outputs with its environment; public administration is treated as an open system.

7. How did Herbert Simon define decision-making and administration's relationship to it?

   Simon held that decision-making is the heart of administration, and that 'administrative theory must be the theory of decision-making.' Administration is getting things done through decisions made by the organisation.

8. What are the three phases of decision-making in Herbert Simon's model?

   (1) Intelligence activity — finding occasions for decision, (2) Design activity — inventing, developing and analysing possible courses of action, and (3) Choice activity — selecting a particular course from those available.

9. Contrast Simon's 'bounded rationality' and 'satisficing' with the rational-comprehensive model.

   The rational model assumes complete information and selection of the optimal alternative. Simon argued humans have 'bounded rationality' (limited information and cognition), so they 'satisfice' — choosing the first satisfactory/'good enough' alternative rather than the optimal one. He coined 'administrative man' versus the 'economic man.'

10. What is Charles Lindblom's model of decision-making and its alternative name?

    Lindblom proposed Incrementalism, also called 'the science of muddling through' / disjointed incrementalism. Decisions are made by small marginal changes to existing policies rather than comprehensive rational analysis.

11. What is Amitai Etzioni's 'Mixed Scanning' model of decision-making?

    Mixed Scanning combines the rational-comprehensive and incremental approaches: fundamental (high-order) decisions are made through broad rational scanning, while routine (bit) decisions are made incrementally within the context set by the fundamental ones.

12. What is the Ecological Approach to Public Administration and who pioneered it?

    The Ecological Approach studies administration in relation to its total environment — physical, social, cultural, economic and political. It was pioneered by J.M. Gaus, who listed ecological factors like people, place, physical/social technology, wishes/ideas, catastrophe and personality.

13. What is Fred Riggs's contribution to the ecological/comparative study of administration, and his key model?

    Fred Riggs developed the ecological approach into the Prismatic-Sala model. Using the analogy of a fused-prismatic-diffracted continuum (like white light through a prism), the 'prismatic society' (transitional/developing) houses the 'Sala' as its administrative subsystem, marked by heterogeneity, formalism and overlapping.

14. Explain Riggs's three characteristics of a prismatic society: heterogeneity, formalism, and overlapping.

    Heterogeneity — coexistence of traditional and modern features simultaneously; Formalism — wide gap between formal prescribed norms and actual practice; Overlapping — formal modern structures performing functions actually controlled by traditional/informal criteria.

15. Who is the father of Scientific Management, and what was the core idea of his theory?

    Frederick Winslow Taylor (F.W. Taylor) is the father of Scientific Management. The core idea was applying scientific methods (observation, measurement, analysis) to determine the 'one best way' of doing each job to maximise efficiency and productivity.

16. List the four principles of F.W. Taylor's Scientific Management.

    (1) Develop a science for each element of work (replace rule of thumb), (2) Scientifically select, train and develop workers, (3) Cooperate with workers to ensure work is done as per science, (4) Equal division of work and responsibility between management and workers.

17. What key techniques did Taylor introduce in Scientific Management?

    Time and motion studies, differential piece-rate wage system, functional foremanship, standardisation of tools and conditions, and scientific task setting. He also advocated a 'mental revolution' between workers and management.

18. What is Rational Choice Theory in Public Administration and its core assumption?

    Rational Choice Theory applies economic reasoning to political/administrative behaviour, assuming individuals are rational, self-interested actors who maximise their utility/preferences. It underlies Public Choice Theory (associated with Buchanan, Tullock, Niskanen, Ostrom).

19. According to Niskanen's bureaucracy model (a rational/public choice view), what do bureaucrats seek to maximise?

    William Niskanen argued that self-interested bureaucrats seek to maximise their bureau's budget, since larger budgets bring more power, prestige, perks and security — leading to oversupply and inefficiency of public goods.

20. What is New Public Administration (NPA), and at which conference was it crystallised?

    New Public Administration is a movement emphasising social equity, relevance, values and change over mere efficiency. It was crystallised at the Minnowbrook Conference (1968), convened by Dwight Waldo, with the proceedings edited by Frank Marini ('Toward a New Public Administration').

21. What are the core themes ('anti-goals' or pillars) of New Public Administration?

    Relevance, Values, Social Equity, and Change. NPA rejected value-neutrality and the politics-administration dichotomy, asserting that administrators must actively promote social equity for the disadvantaged.

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