Public Administration N4 – Introduction to Public Administration

Introduction to Public Administration

The State

A state is a politically organized and internationally recognized geographic entity with defined borders, a self-governing permanent population, and independent sovereignty.

It has various institutions to maintain law and order, including

• government,
• Parliament,
• judiciary,
• and administrative bodies

The state also has its public institutions, used to render public services to the population, and these institutions are known as the Government of the state.

The government

A government is the administrative machinery or system through which the authority of a state is exercised. It consists of elected or appointed officials who make and enforce laws, policies, and decisions on behalf of the state or its citizens

Levels of government in South Africa

National Sphere of Government:

Governs the entire country and is vested in the national Parliament. This level is responsible for creating laws and policies that bind all other levels of government.

Provincial Sphere of Government:

• Authority is vested in provincial legislatures, formed through an electoral process in all nine provinces of South Africa
• These provincial governments are subordinate to the national government, meaning their laws and policies must align with national laws and policies.
• Provincial legislatures have the power to create laws specific to their province within the framework of the national constitution.

Local Sphere of Government:

This level governs municipalities and is vested in Municipal Councils. Under this sphere of government, municipalities which include towns and cities, have the authority to create local laws (bylaws) and policies tailored to their specific needs.

• This sphere also represents the smallest form of government, allowing every resident of a town or city to participate in local elections.
• Residents have the opportunity to create laws, known as bylaws or local ordinances, tailored to the needs of their town or city.
• Each town or city, regardless of size, must adhere to national laws and policies.

Introduction to Public Administration

ADMINISTRATION

Administration is the procedural implementation of tasks with the aim of accomplishing predetermined goals. it involves organizing, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation of tasks, activities, or policies within an organization.

There are six primary universal functions and processes in the administrative process as outlined below

Determination of Policy: Establishing guidelines and principles to guide actions and decisions.

• Organizing: Structuring and arranging resources, tasks, and responsibilities to optimize efficiency.
• Finance: Managing and allocating financial resources to support administrative activities.
• Personnel Provision and Utilization: Acquiring and effectively utilizing human resources to achieve organizational goals.
• Determination of Work Procedures: Defining the methods and processes to be followed in executing tasks.
• Exercising Control Over the Course of Activities: Monitoring and regulating activities to ensure alignment with stablished objectives.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Public administration, as highlighted by Cloete (1986), can be categorized into two main types:

Administration Associated with Private Institutions:

This refers to the administration required to maintain private institutions, mainly businesses and it is commonly referred to as Business Economics. It focuses on the principles and practices related to the management of private enterprises.

Public Administration or Public Management

Public Administration, also known as Public Management, is an essential function required by government institutions. It involves managing a society where people live together and leaders are chosen to maintain order and manage the way of life.

Public Administration also uses rules and regulations to manage society, to ensure the prosperity, health, education, protection, and orderliness of the people within the society.

To achieve this aim, organizational infrastructures are created to provide services such as healthcare, education, protection, and maintenance of order.

Regardless of the political beliefs and methods of the leaders, such as socialist, communist, socio-democratic, totalitarian, or democratic, the management of the society will always be referred to as “public administration.”

GROUPING OF GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS

Government functions can be grouped in two ways.

• Firstly by focusing on the levels of state institutions
• By focusing on the tasks and functions of the specific state institutions.

Grouping by levels of state institutions

The levels of state institutions can be grouped into three categories:

• National
• Provincial
• Local

These levels refer to the geographic area where public administration takes place. It is essential to group them to provide law and order and services to every level of society.

The three levels of government have a constitutional duty to collaborate with each other. Therefore, when a new law is implemented, it becomes part of the policy of the government, which is broadly divided into three types that correspond to the three levels of government.

The requirements of policy-making and Levels of government

The following policy requirements are crucial when developing policies to accommodate the governance levels.

• Distinctive – this means that they are separate from each other- Therefore, policies at each level are separate and tailored to the specific needs of that level.
• interdependent – this means that they depend and rely on one another. Policies rely on each other, fostering a collaborative and interconnected governance system.
• Interrelated •- This means that their functions/tasks are similar. The functions and tasks outlined in policies across different levels share similarities, contributing to a cohesive administrative structure.

Grouping by Function or Task

The second method of categorization within government institutions is based on the functions or tasks that need to be executed or performed. There are three primary categories of tasks, namely, Judicial , legislative and executive with the legislative and executive functions being common across all three levels of government, differing only in scale.

Task categories

• Judicial Task : It encompasses the functions performed by the courts within the legal framework . The courts are independent and only follow the Constitution and the law. They apply the law without bias and exercise control through the laws that have been written.
• Legislative Task: This task involves creating and enacting laws. It also supervises the executive.
• Executive Task: This task involves all activities carried out in preparing to write laws and run different departments within the government. The executive function is where the laws are executed. This means that policy is made, and laws are proposed to help carry out this policy
• The executive task can be divided into two sub-functions:
• •The political executive/governmental function: The political executive or governmental function, which is carried out by individuals whom the citizens of the country have elected and the administrative executive function: Carried out by individuals who have been hired and appointed to positions based on their qualifications, experience, and competence in a specific field.
• The administrative executive function: Carried out by individuals who have been hired and appointed to positions based on their qualifications, experience, and competence in a specific field.

ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION – SUB DIVISIONS

The activities that fall under this category in government institutions are divided into four groups, namely

Generic administrative and managerial activities

• At all three levels of government, there are administrative and managerial activities that are common to all. The staff working in these institutions are either managers/supervisors or lower-level employees.

• The lower-level employees are responsible for doing the work that managers or supervisors have assigned to them.
• The managers/supervisors ensure that the work is completed within the deadlines and to the required quality and standards.

The generic administrative tasks, activities, or functions can be grouped into two categories.

• Activities conceptualised and planned by Managers and to be completed
• Activities done by lower-level employees acting on directive , orders and instructions given to them.

Overall, managers/supervisors plan and assign work, while lower-level employees carry out the work assigned to them

Auxiliary activities

Auxiliary activities refer to the activities that assist or help in the process. Various auxiliary or helping staff are employed in the government to perform these activities, which can take place on any level or in any category of government. Some examples of these activities are:

• Public relations activities such as media releases to ensure that the relationship between the government and the citizens of the country stays healthy
• Notification activities using official gazettes and other publications to let people know about important information.
• Legal service activities to provide all persons who work for the government with legal information and assistance.
• Information systems activities to ensure the presence of stable and state-of-the-art computing systems for information storage and retrieval.

Instrumental activities

Instrumental activities refer to the tasks and actions that enable staff to carry out their work effectively. Such activities can be divided into two categories:

• Personal Area: This includes the provision of systems and facilities that facilitate communication and coordination among staff, such as translators and secretaries who can organize meetings.
• Impersonal Area: This involves the provision of physical resources such as offices, workshops, furniture, and stationary that staff need to carry out their tasks.

Functional / line activities

Functional/line activities involve the critical task of ensuring the presence of skilled and competent individuals in specific professional such as

• Road construction
• Healthcare
• Education

The goal is to foster competence and professionalism within each designated field, to ensure there is effective service delivery and specific sector objectives are achieved.

ROLE PLAYERS

Government employees, both direct and indirect, hold a public responsibility to be accountable to all residents of South Africa beyond personal interests.

The various role players in the area of public administration include the following:

Individuals: Since the advent of democracy in 1994 in South Africa, every person has the opportunity to get involved in government.

People can get involved either

• directly
• or indirectly

DIRECT AND INDIRECT INVOLVEMENT

Direct involvement includes voting in elections, attending meetings, sending in written submissions, making representations (speeches) at public hearings, signing petitions, and contacting members of Parliament (MPs) in their area.

Indirect Involvement : One can keep themselves informed through the media and participate in interest or pressure groups. Additionally one can become involved in politics by joining a political party and participating in its administration, or by lobbying to influence governmental decisions.