Since ancient times, various thinkers have contributed to administrative thought and practice e.g., Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ (a text on administration and political economy), Aristotle’s ‘Politics’ (in ancient Greece), and Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ (in Medieval Italy).
In the 18th century, Cameralism in Germany and Austria was concerned with the systematic management of governmental affairs. It stressed descriptive studies of the structure and procedures of public administration as well as the professional training of public officials. George Zincke was the most distinguished scholar of this group.
Public administration as a separate subject of study originated in the USA mainly due to factors like -
- Large scale organisations that arose due to industrialization
- Scientific Management Movement by Taylor.
- The emergence of a welfare state where the government had to perform a variety of functions.
Woodrow Wilson’s celebrated essay ‘The Study of Administration’ (1887) laid the foundation for the systematic, separate study of public administration. He is regarded as ‘The Father of Public Administration’. He advocated politics administration dichotomy i.e., separation of administration from politics, according to him politics is concerned with policy-making while the administration is concerned with the implementation of policy decisions, Wilson emphasized the need to increase government efficiency.
Today, the subject matter of public administration has expanded to include areas like comparative studies, public policy, new public management, and good governance.
