Public Administration

What is CPA? Discuss its nature and scope?

Comparative Public Administration

A comparative study of institutions, process, and behaviors is called comparative public administration.

Nature of Comparative Public Administration

Generally, comparative public administration means, comparison of structure and functions of two or more administrative units. This comparison can be cross national, namely, the comparison of municipal administration in Sri Lanka and India; intra-national like the comparison of Rajasthan and UP secretariats; cross-cultural such as the comparison of budget administration of Nepal and Russia; and cross temporal, such as the comparison of administration of Chandra Gupta Maurya and Akbar.

The literature on comparative public administration, according to Ferrel Heady (Heady and Stokes 1962), can be divided into four categories on the basis of subject matter:

1. Modified Traditional 

Modified traditional literature can further be divided into further two sub-divisions.

Topics in the first sub-division include:

1. Administrative Organization
2. Personnel Management
3. Fiscal Administration
4. Headquarter Field Relations
5. Administration of public enterprises
6. Regulatory Administration

The second category includes a number of studies that are basically descriptive, institutional comparisons of administration in western developed countries, with special emphasis on administrative organization and civil service systems.

1. Development Orientation

Development orientation is concerned essentially with the problems of public administration in the context of rapid socio-economic and political change. Its emphasis is on the capabilities of administrative systems to direct socio-economic change in a society.

1. The General System Model Building

The general system model building is concerned with the study of administrative systems in the overall context of their social environment. Thus, its focus is generally on the whole society.

1. Middle Range Theory Formulation 

Middle range theory formulation is more specific in its subject of focus and it concentrates on certain particular components or characteristics of an administrative system. Middle range theory attempts to explain a restricted set of relationships, as opposed to theory which attempts to comprehend and to explain an entire social system’. For example, the ‘bureaucratic’ theory of Max Weber based upon the ideal type/model of bureaucracy, is a middle range theory.

Scope of the Study of Comparative Public Administration

The scope of comparative public administration is vast and it has widened its horizon in recent years. The comparative emphasis has been shifting from structures and institutions to processes and functions.

According to the definitions of comparative public administration, it includes various types of studies concerned with government and public organizations such as:

1. Comparative studies in one nation or cultural setting.
2. Cross-cultural or cross-national comparison.
3. Temporal comparison of events.
4. Cross-cultural and temporal comparison.

1. Comparison of Administrative Process

Comparative public administration deals with the comparison of administrative process in relation to democratic governments. The comparison is of (a) structures, (b) organization, (c) functions, and (d) methods of all types of public authority engaged in administration, whether national, regional or local, and whether executive or advisory.