Public Administration

Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a Prussian political economist and journalist. He is best known for "The Communist Manifesto" and "Das Kapital." He is often called the Father of Communism and his ideas led to significant revolutions and the establishment of political systems governing over 20 per cent of the world's population. "The Columbia History of the World" mentioned that his writings as "one of the most remarkable and original syntheses in the history of human intellect."

Karl Marx contributed to bureaucracy before Max Weber. Although he did not systematically write on bureaucracy. While analyzing development in society and the process of administration, he also analyzed the emergence of modern bureaucracy. He considers factors like the Industrial Revolution, Religion, the emergence of big democracy and capitalism as the basis for the emergence of modern bureaucracy. However, his thoughts were negatively related to the bureaucracy that-

• He considers it as an instrument of the state
• An elite institution
• It represents the interest of the state.
• An instrument of exploitation

Bureaucracy protects capitalist ideas and exploits the working class. It was established so that to protect the interest of the state and bureaucracy itself, being an elite class, can never think of the welfare of people. Marx compared bureaucracy with the ‘parasite of institution’ to exploit the poor section. Hence, he considers it as an instrument of the dominant class

Although his views were very extreme and have been criticized. Even Lenin did not have only a negative view of bureaucracy. He considers that bureaucracy also has a positive role in a society like the administration of state, defense and security of the state. Which is an important condition for the smooth functioning of the state.

However, the views of Marx can’t be completely rejected when the role of bureaucracy has been analyzed from different parts of the world. It does have class orientation and elite orientation. Even in India, it has been criticized for working for the state when police, investigating agencies, etc, act for the state, and there have been numerous politically motivated decisions by the administration, including electoral malpractices. However, bureaucracy has transformed itself and it does protect the rule of law and liberty of people.

J.M. Pfiffiner (1946) define “Public administration consists of getting the work of government done by co-ordination the efforts of people so that they can work together to accomplish their set tasks”. Public Administration deals with running the affairs of the state efficiently. Public Administration is a discipline, activity and subject. As a subject, it is concerned with the finding of best theories, tools and techniques. So that they can be applied by public administration as an institution for performing its activities efficiently. It is significant because of the following factors:

1. The administrative state has become more challenging and complex.
2. The state should ensure development, welfare and efficient government.
3. The state has to maintain stability, order, peace and security.
4. The state has to regulate and facilitate.

Since it is public administration which deals with the operational side of the state and tries to achieve the objective of the 3Es, social justice and responsive government. The state is also facing governance challenges like:

• Climate change and global warming
• Terrorism and security threats
• Competition due to globalization
• Disaster management
• Threats posed by the 4^th industrial revolution

So, the essence is, if the state fails, it is due to the failure of administration. As correctly said, “If civilization fails, it will be mainly because of the breakdown of administration” W.B.Donham. Therefore, public administration is significant simply because the state can’t function efficiently without an efficient role of administration. Public administration deals with affairs of the state to run the state efficiently based on merit principles. State undergoes establishing institutions on the basis of merit, and hence, a good administration is set up, which means there is a system of administration which is capable of delivering goods and services efficiently.

In any country, people have aspirations which they want to realize. It depends on the quality of administration and how better they would be able to realize their aspirations. If they fail to realize due to the inefficiency of the administration, they will have a high level of dissatisfaction, which may result in the state facing challenges like social conflict, unrest, protests, etc.

India also has faced challenges like protests for reservations, protests against corruption, etc. It is one type of challenge faced by the state. There are other challenges, too. Therefore, administration should be organized, structured and institutionalized in such a way to tackle these challenges efficiently. Public administration as a discipline also helps in tackling such challenges. For India, the role of administration is more important because it has huge diversity and population, and the society is in transition society with problems like communalism and regionalism along with emerging problems in terms of threats posed due to ICT reforms.

Hence, a state which can’t tackle such challenges may face survival threats; that’s why, in contemporary times, PA has become more important than that visualized by Wilson when he gave the idea of establishing a separate discipline of PA.

J.M Pfiffiner (1946) stated that “Public administration consists of getting the work of government done by co-ordination the efforts of people so that they can work together to accomplish their set tasks”. Public Administration can be anything either state or government or people because the state came into existence to serve people through a social contract and to serve people. The state needs government and in effect, this government needs administration to serve people.

An analysis of the above definition includes that the term public administration has been used in two senses:

1. Wider view
2. Narrow view

According to the wider view, public administration includes the activities of all three branches of the government. This view has been taken by Woodrow Wilson, L.D White, F.A Nigro, Pfiffner, etc. Since the implementation of policies, i.e. running the constitution has become more challenging than framing a constitution. Therefore, a separate discipline was founded to overcome these challenges. There was too much focus on what the government should do but too little focus on how the government should do it. The discipline of public administration is considered an applied subject that deals primarily with the implementation side of the government. Against that backdrop, Wilson gave his seminal work in the form of an essay, ‘The Study of Administration’.

Woodrow Wilson is considered as founding father of the discipline of public administration due to his essay ‘The Study of Administration’, which was published in 1887, in which he forcefully argued why there should be a separate discipline and what the discipline should do. He was the first thinker who clearly articulated the need for a separate discipline. So, the affairs of the state should run efficiently by focusing on building the best principles and theories that could help overcome the challenges of policy implementation. As he remarked, ‘it is getting harder to run a constitution than to frame it’. His main underlying concern for a separate discipline was to bring administrative reform. So that administration is established on the principle of merit and efficiency. Since this need is still relevant, his essay is considered ‘the most seminal and impactful’ for influencing the discipline and practice of public administration.

Necessary for government:

Politics deals with decision-making. Political science teaches more about the system of government, whereas decision implementation is part of administration. Hence, public administration is an action part of government. Dwight Waldo stated that “Public administration is the art and science of management as applied to the affairs of state”.  Public administration deals with operationalizing the state, i.e., how a state should be run. Hence, we can say that the main focus of public administration is on the implementation side of the government or administration.  Also per the World Bank, Governance refers to all manners of exercising control and authority in the allocation of resources and The International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences defines Governance as “the act of governing". In simple terms, governance is a collaborative way of solving problems, which means it is also action-oriented. However, governance is a process that involves three important sectors i.e. public, private and civil society organisations. This process aims to solve the administrative problems efficiently.

However, by 2000 onwards, the meaning of governance started changing. It has become more people-oriented and less market-oriented due to the bringing back of the state. People's satisfaction and their role became more important in the process of governance. As per OECD, governance is all about people, and it is about trust building. Governance is not merely about growth and development. Rather, it is more about values and whether people are valued in the process of decision-making.

The government of India’s philosophy of governance “ sabka saath sabka vikas’ underwent modification and it added “ sabka viswas and sabka prayas”. The trust deficit impacts the implementation of policies and programmes and dilutes the participation of people. The people's trust in the market has eroded, and their trust in states also diluted due to their experience during the initial decades of governance. It means mere emphasis on development is not governance, but it takes the trust of the people in the decision-making and implementation. The trust and participation of people is intertwined in governance that without trust of people, the objectives of governance and the govt will not be realised.

Analysis of statement:

Traditionally, public administration was action-oriented because all the authority was concentrated in the hands of the administration, and bureaucracy was the main institution of administration. But since the 1990s public administration has changed its approach and instead of becoming action-oriented itself, it is trying to govern through all the three stakeholders so that the state can have an effective way of solving problems of the society. Hence, the power shifts towards different stakeholders, and the government is trying to influence the process of governance so that there are more effective solutions to the problems faced by society. Therefore, public administration can be considered as governance in action.

At the same time, public administration is not only about the action part of the government but is also a discipline in itself and as a subject, it tries to build its principles, tools and techniques. Therefore, public administration from a broader perspective includes action orientation, policy formulation orientation and discipline orientation but its main function is focused on action orientation.

CONCLUSION: Although public administration can be considered a discipline and deals with policy-making, its focus remains on the government's action because, as a discipline, it is primarily concerned with implementing government policies.

Dwight Waldo (1967) said that  “Public administration is the art and sentence of management as applied to the affairs of state”. Public administration as an activity consists of actions that are the purpose or aspiration of a government. Public administration works through the system of organisation and management. Therefore, it is both an activity and a discipline for systematic study. Public administration, since its inception, has been primarily concerned with problems of how to validate law qualitatively, honestly and efficiently. However, in the current scenario, public administration has become more concerned with the processes by which it participates in formulating and interpreting the law to make it more correct with reference to the public interest. As a practice, public administration has always helped governments carry out actions on the basis of validated laws.

Factors public administration focuses:  The objectives of public administration in a simple society are limited, but in a large and complex society, institutions and their processes become more specialised and differentiated, leading to the creation of new organizations, departments, councils, commissions, agencies and so on, especially for administrative tasks. Therefore, as a structure of government or element of the political system. Hence, public administration has been an established institution since ancient times.

Even the earliest framers of the U.S. Constitution inscribed its developmental path. However, the major turning point in the history of public administration came with an essay written by Woodrow Wilson (1887), which became figurative in the evolution of public administration. The definition of public administration initially took a narrow approach, concerned with bringing efficiency to implementing the policy. Thinkers like Simon explained this view, defining PA as ‘the activities of the executive branches of all national, state, and local government’. Other thinkers who supported this view are Gulick, Taylor, Fayol, etc. But in a broader sense, public administration is concerned not only with implementation but also plays a significant role in policy formation. This view is taken by F.A Nigro, L.D White, Marshall Dimock, Pfiffner, etc. According to Nigro public administration has an important role in the formation of public policy, and it is thus part of the political process.

Public Administration as a Wheel of Administration:  

Public Administration has a multidimensional approach where it can work as:

1. Interdisciplinary—Public administration, as an interdisciplinary approach, is founded by blending the insights of various social science disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, political science, economics, etc.
2. Discipline—As a discipline, PA is concerned about developing theories that can increase efficiency, effectiveness, and economy, such as classical and behavioural theories.
3. Practice – As a practice, it tries to implement the theories.
4. Different from Private Administration—The Goal of public administration is the welfare of society unlike the private sector, it doesn’t focus on earning profit.
5. Main objective of public administration is public interest.

All these approaches of public administration have a single objective of efficient implementation of the policy.

CONCLUSION: However, public administration is an applied discipline related to the operational aspect of the state, which is policy implementation. Even if it plays a major role in other dimensions, like institution, policy formation, etc., it is always inclined towards running the affairs of the state more effectively.

When the government carries out any act of administration, it is called “public administration”. The English word “administration” has been derived from two Latin words “ad” & “ministiare” meaning “to serve” or “to manage”. Thus, in simple parlance, administration means the “management of affairs” or looking after people. Herbert Simon (1957) said, “By public administration is meant in common usage, the activities of the executive branch of the national, state and local government”.

An analysis of the definition includes that the term public administration has been used in two senses:

Main administrative activities in public administration:

In general, administration means when two or more people come together to coordinate to achieve a common objective, it is an act of administration. Therefore, the term public administration, in general, is defined as the ‘management of affairs’ in which two or more people cooperate and coordinate to achieve a common purpose. To explain the scope as an activity there are 2 schools of thoughts

1. Narrow & Broader view – The narrow view states that it should deal only with executive activities and the Broader view states that it should deal with activities of legislature, executive and Judiciary.
2. Managerial & Integral view – The managerial view talks about only managerial activities (POSDCoRB) activities and the integral view talks about all the activities of an organisation – managerial, technical, clerical and manual.

As far as the scope as subject matter is concerned there are only two views.

1. POSDCoRB view – It considers managerial activity important for the organisation and hence it should be the subject matter of enquiry.
2. Subject matter view – It rejects the POSDCoRB view. It argues that the subject matter of an organisation differs from each other in many senses, not all organisation deals with POSDCoRB activities like research are more concerned about innovation rather than managerial function. Hence public administration should focus on the subject matter of the organisation rather than POSDCoRB activities. However, both are considered as two sides of the same coin means both are important.

To explain scope as an activity, there are two schools of thought as mentioned above, therefore from a broader perspective. It can be said that Public Administration deals with all the activities of the state like all three organs of government.

As far as the scope of subject matter is concerned there are two views. However, the subject matter view rejects the POSDCoRB view. It argues that the subject matter of the organization is different, not all organizations deal with POSDCoRB activities like researching is more concerned about innovation rather than managerial functions. Hence, public administration should focus on the subject matter of the organisation rather than POSDCoRB activities, but both are considered as two sides of the same coin.

The scope of public administration from a traditional view was largely influenced by the classical approach when public administration evolved as a separate discipline. Since then, it has experienced six overlapping paradigms. Therefore, there is a view that it is difficult to define the scope of PA because of its dynamic nature.

The scope of public administration has gone through tremendous changes and during the welfare era, its scope became as big as a state characterized as an ‘administrative state/leviathan state’. Thereafter, during the 1980s-90s, due to LPG reforms, once again, the state experienced tremendous changes in terms of the emergence of a multi-disciplinary perspective on the one hand and, on the other hand, changes in the activities of the state from actor, doer, producer to regulator or facilitator, i.e. state becomes a competitive state. Again, by the 2000s and the beginning of the 21st century, the state had started experiencing changes. In a nutshell, the activities of public administration have not shrunk. Rather, they have increased, and it has assumed the role of performing new activities like regulation, protection of the environment, protection of human rights, etc.

As far as public administration as a discipline is concerned, it has experienced an extreme level of diversity in terms of models, approaches, and theories after competing with each other, so much so that even there is a view that public administration is undergoing a ‘state of quandary,’ i.e. seems it is boundary-less. However, from a more realistic perspective, it can stated that even if its scope has increased and up to some extent it is difficult to define still, its core can be defined in terms of organizational theories, personnel theory, financial theory, public policy, etc.

Conclusion: The present state of uncertainty is due to peripheral aspects which is difficult to define and where it seems there is too much focus due to globalization. There are also new developments so that Public Administration should less Anglo-American and more global (ethnocentric). The state of quandary is due to empirical perspective and the diversity has dominated PA in recent times which can be much more as transition. Even in this stage of a quandary, there is a clear perspective led by the Minoowbrook III conference that the future scope of PA would be guided by Traditional Public Administration, NPM and NPS.

Nicolas Henry provided a distinctive perspective on the evolution of public administration. He outlined six overlapping paradigms that demonstrate the dynamic nature and expansive scope of the field. Public administration has developed through various paradigms, each influencing how the discipline perceives itself and its mission. Below are the key features of each paradigm-

Evolution of Public Administration- The evolution of public administration as a discipline begins with Wilson’s essay ‘The Study of Administration’, which was published in 1887. The evolution of Public Administration as an activity and institution is as old as society itself. In general, many thinkers describe evolution in terms of phases and paradigms. Nicolas Henry gave a unique way of describing the evolution of public administration. He considered 1887- 1900 as the pre-paradigm phase when debate and discussion started to establish a separate Public administration discipline.

Since public administration is receptive, any new developments can lead to the emergence of a new paradigm. For instance, in the 1990s, public administration experienced what is referred to as the fifth paradigm. However, this does not signify a closure of paradigms. New developments in the 1990s could have given rise to additional paradigms, and we could even consider the possibility of a seventh paradigm, particularly in the context of post-New Public Management (NPM) developments. Receptivity can be seen from two perspectives: one positive and the other negative. The negative aspect raises questions about the discipline's identity. Can a discipline be so dynamic and receptive that it continuously reinvents itself? Normatively, this adaptability might be viewed as a positive trait, but empirically, such changes may not constitute distinct paradigms.

However, on the positive side, receptivity enables the discipline to address state affairs. Since public administration deals with government issues, it must respond to the various problems that arise over time, necessitating different solutions. This variability in challenges and responses leads to diverse theoretical developments, which in turn result in the creation of different paradigms. Consequently, public administration is regarded as a dynamic discipline, characterized by a core of stable concepts surrounded by a periphery of evolving ideas. Therefore, such understanding has helped overcome policy implementation challenges through administrative reforms. As per Thomas Kuhn, Public administration is at Stage I (Pre-Paradigm) of the 3 stages he gave. At this stage, there is a lack of consensus and diversity in views and perspectives.

CONCLUSION- Since contemporary times, research studies have increased. Due to the publication of a number of journals, the focus has also shifted to public management and governance. Most of the states face governance challenges. The relevance of the applied aspect of discipline has increased, and as far as an application is concerned, it has become highly relevant. As far as theoretical developments are concerned, the formulation of an empirical theory that can be universally recognized is still struggling.

Woodrow Wilson (1889) define “Public Administration as the detailed and systematic application of law”. Every particular application of the law is an act of administration”. Woodrow Wilson is considered as founding father of the discipline of Public administration due to his essay ‘The Study of Administration’, which was published in 1887, in which he forcefully argued why there should be a separate discipline and what the discipline should do. He was the first thinker who clearly articulated the need for a separate discipline. So, the affairs of the state should run efficiently by focusing on building the best principles, and theories which could help in overcoming the challenges of policy implementation as he remarked ‘it is getting harder to run a constitution than to frame it’. His main underlying concern for a separate discipline was to bring administrative reform. So that administration is established on the principle of merit and efficiency. Since this need is still relevant, his essay is considered ‘the most seminal and impactful’ for influencing the discipline and practice of public administration.

There were four major factors which influenced the administrative thoughts of Wilson

1. Practice of Spoil system in the USA.
2. Taylor's pioneering work in the field of efficiency.
3. Comparative study of European Administration.
4. Too much focus on policy-making and too little on policy implementation.

Wilson was part of the US corruption movement and pursued his doctorate in political science at the time. Developments like the spoil system and corruption in the US forced him to think about administration, which he explained in his essay, 'The Study of Administration.’ He wanted to incorporate efficiency without incorporating a monarchical system. At this stage, he remarked in his essay – that one should learn from other’s best administrative practices and the best practices should be incorporated in such a way that they have a social ethos of the society. He also remarked that things should be seen from cultural lenses in the incorporation of best practices and that efficient practices should be adopted in the US administration

The thinker has focused on writing a good constitution so far. However, they were hardly focused on how to run a constitution or democracy. Meanwhile, society has become complex and technical due to the increase in population, I.R., and the Rise of capitalism. He wondered why thinkers didn’t focus on policy implementation, which had become more challenging than Policy formulation. Therefore, such factors cumulatively influenced his thought for advocating a separate discipline of Public Administration. On this basis, he propounded his most popular concern, i.e., the Politics-Administration Dichotomy.

Politics-Administration Dichotomy separation was influenced by the spoil system, which resulted in political interference in Public administration's affairs. This concept is considered Wilson's most important contribution to the field of Public Administration, as it not only became the basis for establishing a discipline but also guided its evolution. Most thinkers agree that the roots of Public Administration as a discipline belong to the publication of this essay. His contributions like business-like approach, merit-based efficiency, 3Es as objective, comparative analysis, and democratic control of bureaucracy have remained relevant in Public Administration even today. Dwight Waldo has considered the concept of dichotomy as the’ DNA of Public Administration’ which has been determined as the core identity throughout 6 overlapping paradigms of Public Administration.

Conclusion:  The underlying significance of separate disciplines has remained relevant, all such concerns were for running the affairs of the state efficiently by bringing administrative reforms. The state, even today, struggles to run its affairs efficiently. Hence, Wilson remains relevant. Administrative reforms are a continuous process. His concerns are relevant i.e. efficient administration

The administration is derived from the Latin word “Ad and ministiare” which means ‘to serve, look after, to manage’. Hence administration means management of government affairs.

Definition of Administration by Thinkers

In general, administration means when two or more people come together to coordinate to achieve a common objective, it is an act of administration. Therefore, the term public administration, in general, is defined as the ‘management of affairs’ in which two or more people cooperate and coordinate to achieve a common purpose. However, in the field of Public Administration, thinkers started defining the term ‘administration’ and ‘Public Administration’ as per the context of its evolution like:

• The term ‘administration’ was defined during dichotomy more in terms of the action part of government which focuses on the execution of public policy.
• The term ‘Public Administration’ was also defined from the context of dealing with the management of public affairs. It contains three things- public activity, government institutions, and discipline. Hence, Public Administration was defined as a discipline or a practice that deals with government at the centre, state, and local levels ( Simon).

However, with the further evolution of the discipline, its context started changing. So the developments in the discipline and its meaning also underwent changes that: -

1. Paul Appleby defined Public Administration from a political and public policy perspective, reflecting an era of rejection of the dichotomy that administration means politics or ‘an act of administration means an act of politics.’ Indirectly, this means public administration does not only deal with policy execution but also its formation.
2. Dwight Waldo says that public administration can’t be defined in one or two lines, if it is done so it will result in mental paralysis.
3. By the 1960s, Public administration experienced developments like an interdisciplinary approach, and then it was realised that Public administration is different from private administration. Hence Nigro & Nigro have given a very broad meaning of the term Public Administration:
4. It is a cooperative group effort in a public setting.
5. Public administration covers all three branches— executive, legislative, and judicial — and their interrelationships
6. It has an important role in the formulation of public policy and is thus a part of the political process
7. It is different in significant ways from private administration
8. Public administration is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals in providing services to the community.

Nigro and Nigro said that no condensed definition can encompass all of the preceding points. They can, however, be presented in the form of a brief summary that will constitute the definition of Public Administration.

1. Minnowbrook Conference III in 2008 continued to define Public Administration, the first time since 1887 that it was defined through a major platform. They defined Public Administration as a socially embedded process of dialogue and action to promote human flourishing for all.

Although in general ‘public’ in public administration means ’government’. Hence, it is ‘government administration’. Public has a special character consisting of:-

1. Democratic accountability – Anyone can come into government office and seek information
2. Public service motive

• Rule of law

1. Uniformity in treatment

The role of Public Administration is characterized by the above-mentioned fundamental characteristics, and that’s why it is different from ‘business administration’. From a broader perspective, the term ‘public’ in Public Administration has been defined in the following manner:

1. Institutional definition– Whether institutions are run on the basis of taxpayers’ money through government funding, if it is so then the institution is considered public. However, it has problems like

• There are institutions that are funded by the government but they are not considered public.
• Due to liberalization, the private sector also impacts the lives of people.

Hence this definition is not considered adequate to define ‘public’ in PA.

2. Normative definition- Whether institutions serve the public or private interest. If it serves the public interest then it is considered as ‘public’ in PA. However, it has also problems in that it is difficult to demark the line between public and private. Hence it is not considered adequate.
3. Organizational definition – It considers any agency/organization as public if it has a wider impact on the lives of people. Even private organizations like those which supply power can be considered public in public administration like PPP projects have an impact on the lives of people.

However, it is broad and vague. Therefore, the definition of ‘public’ in Public administration combines all definitions together the ‘public’ in Public administration means:

1. An institution run by taxpayer’s money.
2. It serves the public interest.

• It has a wider impact on people's lives.

That’s why today's public administration also includes the role of civil society and private organisations. Both must have a certain public character, which is why they have been regulated.

Conclusion: Public Administration has been defined by many thinkers, as mentioned above, but there are differences in definition. Since it deals with a dynamic subject, there is the view that it is difficult to define Public Administration in a few lines or difficult to have one definition which is universally accepted. Hence, it can have several meanings depending on the context. As in the dichotomy era, its definitions were largely focused on the executive side, but after the 1940s -50s, its definition started including policy perspective and interdisciplinary perspective and during the 1990s, facilitators and regulation were added in its meaning. Hence, it is difficult to have one all-encompassing meaning of public administration. However, some thinkers have tried to give one definition to Public Administration, like Henry, Minnowbrook Conference III, Nigro & Nigro, etc. Waldo can’t be completely right as he remarked, ‘Public Administration can’t be defined in one or two lines, even though it can get defined but it may not be universal’.

The role of public administration in the political process has been of great concern since the emergence of public administration as an academic field in the late 1880s. The question of how public administration relates to the political process is of pivotal importance to scholars and practitioners alike as it bears implications for disciplinary identity (and autonomy) and institutional development of public administration.

Politics and Administrative System of Different Countries:

CONCLUSION: It shows that different countries have different characteristics of politics and administration based on historical and other ecological factors, and most of the major countries have unique characteristics of politics and administrative systems.

Administrative ethics deals with morality, integrity and ethical standards in administration which can be linked with the behavioral side of administration.  Civil servants are also personnel and they are not only supposed to be meritorious but should also carry good character because they have to be accountable. Due to this fact even Max Weber gave emphasis on behavioral character of bureaucrats when he talked about neutrality, rationality, loyalty, commitment, etc. Administrative ethics is manifested through the adaptation of a code of conduct, and every democratic country has adopted conduct rules or code of conduct for civil servants.  The code of Conduct rules that guide the behaviour of civil servants when they are on duty, although the Code of Conduct is not a written document. All rules and laws that talk about ‘what a civil servant should do’ come under the ambit of the Code of Conduct. It consists of set of laws and rules like:

• Prevention of Corruption Act 1998
• Official Secret Act 1923
• Indian Penal Code
• Civil services Conduct Rules 1964
• All India Services Conduct Rules 1968

It is basically a legal document that is enforceable in India, we have above-mentioned laws that combine together to form CoC. Administrative ethics is not only about enforcing a code of conduct, but it goes beyond this and relates to the value side of personnel. This is due to the idea of letter and spirit. Since law is being followed in letter and even if there are conduct rules to define conduct of civil servants still in many situations they have to act as per their discretion because conduct ruse cannot define everything like as of now civil servants are allowed to express their views through social media as contact rules are silent in this context but this practice is not considered good because somehow it affects anonymity and neutrality principles of civil servants or the level of credibility of that civil servant, so many a times conduct rules permit something which can be legal but it may not be ethical that's why It is said that civil servant should apply their conscience which is nothing but a moral development that works in a situation where conduct rules do not guide hence conscience will work as character part.

CONCLUSION: A new trend has emerged to adopt codes of ethics in many countries, and ARC II even recommends it based on a review of the present status of conduct rules and their loopholes. It has recommended having a new public service code that emphasizes both code of conduct and code of ethics for both organizations and individuals, with an emphasis on absolute integrity.

Personnel administration deals with personnel processes from classification, recruitment, training, performance appraisal, promotion, posting, and recruitment benefits. The whole personnel process, in a nutshell, ensures the quality of the person in the administration. According to Kautilya, "the quality of administration depends upon the quality of people in administration". The quality of people in administration depends on the nature of the personal system in the country as it will determine the 3 components of personal administration - attain, train, and retain.

Since classification becomes the basis for other personnel processes. Hence, it is considered as the 'foundation of personal administration'.

The field of organizational theory has tremendously contributed to the field of personal administration since it has a focus on structure, process and behaviour, which can be considered determinants of attaining, training and retaining like Taylor was concerned about efficiency through the right person at the right position. Personnel administration can also be defined in general as the right person at the right place.

Recruitment: Recruitment distinguishes meritorious candidates from non-meritorious candidates. Hence, it assumes a crucial place in personnel administration. Recruitment has evolved in modern times from a negative concept to a positive concept, and the traditional concept of recruitment was 'keeping rascals out'. It means eliminating any external influences in recruitment, especially nexus that's why the merit system was introduced, before merit system, there were other systems like

• Patronage system in the UK and India
• Spoil system in USA
• Sale of officer in France

However, merit-based recruitment resulted in the elimination of such practices, and most countries have gone for a merit-based system. Recruitment is of two types:

After classification, recruitment is considered the second most important stage of the personnel process. If classification determines the foundation of the personnel process, recruitment determines the quality of personnel. In the case of rank classification significance of recruitment is even more important than that of position classification because if meritorious candidates are not selected at the time of recruitment, then it will affect the whole personnel quality because training, performance appraisal, promotion, posting all such activities will depend on recruitment.

Importance of recruitment:

Recruitment is a cornerstone of personal administration because it primarily determines merit. While classification is important, it is recruitment that ultimately identifies the best candidates. Determining merit can be one of the most challenging tasks in this field. Traditionally, the focus has been on preventing unqualified candidates from entering the organization. However, there is now a shift towards more active recruitment strategies, including campus selection. Once candidates are recruited, subsequent processes may not necessarily improve their skills and efficiency. If an individual is not competent or lacks potential, training and performance appraisals may not lead to significant improvements. In fact, there may be limitations to how much anyone’s potential can be developed.

However, there can be limitations in attitude, particularly concerning the balance between generalists and specialists. A lack of a merit-based culture will fail to attract talented individuals. Most countries have effective personnel systems for recruitment in civil services. For instance, the civil services recruitment process is systematic in many countries. The United States has the Office of Personnel Management, the United Kingdom has the Civil Service Commission, and in India, we have the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Kautilya stated that the quality of people determines the quality of administration. UPSC is able to attract and select meritorious candidates, but its counterpart at the state level, the State Public Service Commission, fails to do so due to a spoiled system, corruption, nexus, etc. UPSC is able to recruit some highly meritorious candidates who later become great assets for the country, like our External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, 1st women IPS Kiran Bedi, former CEC T. N. Seshan, etc. that's why recruitment is considered important.

CONCLUSION: Even though recruitment has challenges. The recent episode involving Pooja Khedkar highlights the challenges surrounding recruitment, emphasizing the need for greater transparency in the system and a stronger focus on protecting and promoting merit. Moreover, Narayan Murthy's suggestion that IAS recruitment should occur through campus interviews illustrates the variety of perspectives on what constitutes merit in recruitment processes. Hence, recruitment must ensure a steady influx of talent, help maintain competitiveness, foster innovation, and contribute to a diverse and skilled workforce.

The nature or scope of public administration from a traditional view was largely influenced by the classical approach when PA evolved as a separate discipline. Since then, it has experienced six overlapping paradigms. Therefore, there is a view that it is difficult to define the scope of PA because of its dynamic nature.

The scope of public administration has gone through tremendous changes and during the welfare era, its scope became as big as a state characterised as an ‘administrative state/leviathan state’. Thereafter, during the 1980s-90s, due to LPG reforms, once again, the state experienced tremendous changes in terms of the emergence of a multi-disciplinary perspective on the one hand and, on the other hand, changes in the activities of the state from actor, doer, producer to regulator or facilitator, i.e. state becomes a competitive state. Again, by the 2000s and beginning of the 21st century, the state had started experiencing changes. In a nutshell, the activities of public administration have not shrunk rather they have increased in that it has assumed the role of performing new activities like regulation, protection of the environment, protection of human rights, etc.

As far as public administration as a discipline is concerned, it has experienced an extreme level of diversity in terms of models, approaches, and theories after competing with each other, so much so that even there is a view that PA is undergoing a ‘state of quandary,’  i.e. seems it is boundary-less. However, from a more realistic perspective, it can stated that even if its scope has increased and up to some extent it is difficult to define still, its core can be defined in terms of organizational theories, personnel theory, financial theory, public policy, etc.

CONCLUSION: The present state of uncertainty is due to peripheral aspects which is difficult to define and where it seems there is too much focus due to globalisation. There are also new developments so that Public Administration should be less Anglo-American and more global (ethnocentric). The state of quandary is due to empirical perspective, and the diversity has dominated PA in recent times, which can be much more as a transition. Even in this stage of a quandary, there is a clear perspective led by the Minoowbrook III conference that Traditional Public Administration, New Public Management (NPM) and New Public Service (NPS) would guide the future scope of Public Administration.