Introduction

Theories of Public Administration represent the intellectual scaffolding on which the discipline is built. Each theory emerged as a response to the perceived inadequacies of its predecessor — Scientific Management was a reaction to rule-of-thumb management; Human Relations Theory reacted to Scientific Management's mechanistic view of workers; Behavioural Theory questioned the rationality assumptions; Structural-Functional and Ecological theories moved PA toward a sociological and comparative framework.

For RAS Mains, the examiner typically asks:

1. A theory's key features and its main theorist (2-mark or 5-mark Q)
2. Theory X vs Theory Y (comparison Q)
3. Ecological approach / Riggs' Prismatic Model (5 or 10 mark)
4. Structural-functional dysfunctions (Merton) — 5 mark

PYQ data shows this topic appeared in 2013 (5 marks — Theory X/Y), 2016 (5 marks — Human Relations), and 2018 (5 marks — ecological/comparative approach).

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