What is Public Administration?

The government’s role is to maintain peace and order while protecting the rights and lives of citizens. It must ensure that citizens obey the law and honour agreements, and must settle any disputes that arise. All these important functions of the government are accomplished through Public Administration.
As more responsibilities land on the government, the need for better management of public affairs continues to increase. Any country’s administration is a reflection of the potentialities and merit of its citizens. The very root of progress and growth of the country lies in a fully developed public administration.
Public administration refers to the study of government policy implementation. The increasing importance of public administration in people’s lives has made it essential to study its working system and procedure.
In recent times, the study of Public Administration as a separate discipline at the university level has seen a surge of interest among students in India and abroad

Scope of Public Administration in India and Abroad

Public Administration is the umbrella term covering the frameworks and policies of the administration, political science, economics, management, law, sociology, and other related subjects; a multifaceted field of study for an all-round understanding of the government and its policies.
For a career in this field, one must have “people skills”, a solid understanding of accounts and finance, and good administration skills. Upon completion of their degree, aspirants are presented with the opportunities to work in non-profit and welfare organisations, local and state government bodies, and the most prestigious- Indian civil service.
The duty of these candidates would involve maintaining the public and personnel administration in check with proper adherence to guidelines. They may also be responsible for increasing human, material, and financial resource efficiencies. With work of high importance such as this, it is natural that the scope in India is high and the pay is generous. Abroad, jobs in Public Administration generally aim at creating better global security, developing free-market economies, and strengthening political bonds.
The challenges associated with this field abroad, therefore, are plenty and of high complexity. Organisations like the United Nations have specific public administration divisions that support international policy research, governmental operations, information sharing, and guidance provision to countries undergoing transition. In an organisation of this scale, your resources will be vast as compared to smaller operations.
Graduates in this field may find an opportunity to work in the administrative management sector; the industrial sector; the personnel management sector; the legal sector and the social services sector as well. A student who wants to pursue a specialization in public administration may later join the public or private sector on the basis of the opportunities presented. A number of jobs are offered to state and local government candidates in the field of public administration. Different public administration specializations will lead to job vacancies in different departments.

Public Administration is the umbrella term covering the frameworks and policies of the administration, political science, economics, management, law, sociology, and other related subjects; a multifaceted field of study for an all-round understanding of the government and its policies.
For a career in this field, one must have “people skills”, a solid understanding of accounts and finance, and good administration skills. Upon completion of their degree, aspirants are presented with the opportunities to work in non-profit and welfare organisations, local and state government bodies, and the most prestigious- Indian civil service.
The duty of these candidates would involve maintaining the public and personnel administration in check with proper adherence to guidelines. They may also be responsible for increasing human, material, and financial resource efficiencies. With work of high importance such as this, it is natural that the scope in India is high and the pay is generous. Abroad, jobs in Public Administration generally aim at creating better global security, developing free-market economies, and strengthening political bonds.
The challenges associated with this field abroad, therefore, are plenty and of high complexity. Organisations like the United Nations have specific public administration divisions that support international policy research, governmental operations, information sharing, and guidance provision to countries undergoing transition. In an organisation of this scale, your resources will be vast as compared to smaller operations.
Graduates in this field may find an opportunity to work in the administrative management sector; the industrial sector; the personnel management sector; the legal sector and the social services sector as well. A student who wants to pursue a specialization in public administration may later join the public or private sector on the basis of the opportunities presented. A number of jobs are offered to state and local government candidates in the field of public administration. Different public administration specializations will lead to job vacancies in different departments.

Course Subjects

In BA (Hons.) Public Administration and MA Public Administrations, various subjects are covered to provide students with all-round knowledge on the policies of the government in economics, politics, law, society, and so on. Some of the common subjects covered in the course include:
Scope of New Public Administration

  • Communication, Decentralization, and Delegation
  • Association: Meaning and Basics
  • New Public Management and Public and Private Administration
  • Open Administration: Meaning, Evolution, Nature, Significance
  • Types of Organisations: Formal and Informal
  • Independent Regulatory Commission
  • Department, Board, Corporation, and Commission
  • Basics of Public Administration
  • Managerial Law
  • Assigned Legislation
  • Hypotheses of Organisation: Classical and Bureaucratic
  • Components of Personnel Administration
  • Open Funds: Accounting and Auditing
  • Essential Rights and Duties
  • Elements of Indian Administration
  • Chief Minister: Appointment Powers and Functions
  • State and District Administration
  • Service of Home Affairs: Organization and Functions
  • Divisional Commissioner: Powers, Position and Functions
  • Development Administration

Careers in Public Administration

The field of Public Administration has a variety of myriad career opportunities from policy development and enforcement to budget analysis. Specialists in the field are also capable of assisting with political agendas and managing large teams focusing on environmental policies, city/neighbourhood planning, or health care policies.
On the business side of things, graduates get the opportunity to employ their skills and knowledge in management positions or specific sectors of an organisation, such as training, human resources, marketing, or supervising company functions to check for adherence to regulation.
There is plenty of opportunity for career progression in any sector professionals may go into, and the more the experience they earn, the higher the salaries offered in each job role.
A career in Public Administration, therefore, is one with enormous growth and earning opportunities.
Upcoming trends
Recent developments in government policies reveal a few emerging trends that are expected to, or already are, of priority in Public Administration. Some of these are:
Managing demographic bulges: Most countries find themselves confronted with a youth bulge in population, and have to adjust service delivery to the demographic profiles of their respective citizens’ populations.
Response to growing customer expectations: Today, residents are becoming increasingly complex, diverse and individualised with growing expectations. As a group, they consider themselves as consumers of public services and their demands are diverse and sometimes contradicting, making it all the more important for governments to find ways to deliver to these expectations.
Harnessing innovations, especially technology: The Covid-19 pandemic has, more than ever, accelerated the shift of our dependency towards technology, all around the world. As a result, governments are incorporating technology and innovations in their working to fulfil the objective of personalised services and to improve outcomes and processes.
Affordable Government: For the current and future public sector organisations, making governments affordable is the new idea for ensuring continued service delivery to citizens. Increasing customer demands, need for personalised services, growing sustainability challenges, and demographic ageing are all creating enormous challenges for governments to meet expenditure shortfalls.
Job Profiles and Top Recruiters
In Public Administration, higher studies is an option; not a necessity. With a Bachelor’s degree, fresh graduates are offered various career opportunities and job profiles, with offered salaries proportional to experience earned in the field. Some of the major job roles that fresh graduates are offered include:
 
Job Profile Responsibility
Administrative Officer Responsible for the smooth function of an organisation by processing, coordinating, managing, and providing solutions to employees' grievances regarding their remuneration.
Public Relations and Fundraising Manager Analysing the prevailing social, economic, and political situation in the country; providing their customers with valuable advice for campaigns and fundraising agendas.
Business Consultant Looking after various aspects of business administration such as medicinal services or human resource policies; providing customers with valuable business advice for fixing various aspects of their own business.
Corporate Operations Manager Administering and providing expert support to the association regarding the management and functioning of any organisation.