Meaning and Definition of Public Administration

2.1 Key Definitions

Scholar	Year	Definition
Woodrow Wilson	1887	"The detailed and systematic execution of public law. Every particular application of general law is an act of administration."
L.D. White	1926	"Public administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy."
Luther Gulick	1937	PA is the management of "the work of government." (Also gave POSDCORB.)
Dwight Waldo	1955	"Public administration is the art and science of management as applied to affairs of state."
Felix Nigro & Lloyd Nigro	1977	"PA is cooperative group effort in a public setting; covers all branches of government; has an important role in formulation of public policy."

2.2 Distinction: Public Administration vs. Private Administration

Dimension	Public Administration	Private Administration
Goal	Public welfare / service	Profit maximisation
Accountability	To legislature, public, courts	To shareholders, board
Scope	Countrywide, all citizens	Specific market/product
Funding	Tax revenues (public funds)	Private capital
Legal basis	Statute-bound (Rule of Law)	Contract-based
Secrecy vs transparency	RTI, parliamentary oversight	Commercial confidentiality
Monopoly	Often monopoly (police, defence)	Competition
Equity	Must serve all equitably	May target profitable segments

Paul Appleby's critique (1945): "Government is different" — the political environment, public accountability, and scale make public administration fundamentally distinct from business administration. His Policy and Administration (1949) argued politics and administration are inseparable.

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