Basic theories of public administration. Cheat sheet cheat sheet on the "theory of public administration" Historical prerequisites for the formation of the theory of public administration

In the scientific and educational literature, the terms "public administration" and "state regulation" are constantly encountered and widely used. In Russian sources devoted to management not only in the economic, but also in the political and social spheres, the word "regulation" in most cases is associated with state regulation of the economy. Neither scientific sources nor dictionaries contain clear, convincing explanations about the semantic differences between the concepts of "management" and "regulation" Raizenberg B.A. Decree. Op.S. 17. .

A very precise definition of control was given by G.V. Atamanchuk: management is goal-setting, i.e. creative, thoughtful, organizing and regulating the impact of people on their own social life, which can be carried out both directly (in the form of self-government) and through specially created bodies and structures (state bodies, political parties, public associations, enterprises, societies, unions and etc.) Atamanchuk G.V. Theory of public administration: a course of lectures. M., 1997.S. 29-30. .

However, before defining the concept of public administration, it is advisable to consider the issue of the state-legal nature of governance and the structure of the theory of public administration.

Public administration contains objective and subjective prerequisites for its implementation. Public administration is subjective, since it is the fruit of the thoughts and actions of people (civil servants, officials). Responsibility for the content of management should be borne by those who are the subject of management. Being subjective in content, public administration is objectively determined by the conditions and factors within which it functions. It seems reasonable that the mechanism of public determinism of public administration by its socio-political nature can be expressed as follows: nature-goals - functions-structure-process-principles.

The general theory of public administration consists of the following necessary elements:

• 1) goals and objectives of public administration;
• 2) correlation of management functions with other functions of state activity;
• 3) interaction of public administration bodies with other state bodies - parliament, government, courts;
• 4) organization of public administration and its system;
• 5) the role and appointment of a person in public administration, i.e. the importance of management personnel.

The main areas of public administration theory are:

• 1) management personnel (public service);
• 2) leadership and interaction in management;
• 3) budget;
• 4) organization, planning;
• 5) information and information technologies;
• 6) legislation Bazhin I. Methodology for assessing the activities of executive authorities // Public Service. M., 2009. N1.S. 77. .

The definition of "public administration" can be approached from different points of view. Sometimes governance is defined as a state activity that is neither justice nor lawmaking. The classical definition defines management as the activity of the state or other subjects of state (public) power, which is carried out outside the boundaries of lawmaking and justice. This so-called negative definition of public administration singles out and links together such phenomena and institutions as public administration and the government as the executive body of a single state authority (as well as other executive authorities) and local governments that implement public administration functions to a certain extent (for which the state delegates the necessary powers to them).

All definitions of public administration contain an indication of its main content - the purposeful practical impact of the state on social relations in order to streamline, organize the corresponding system and exert regulatory influence on it, i.e. ensure its proper functioning and possible modification. It should be noted that such an impact is provided precisely by the power of the state, i.e. the imperious nature of the methods and means used in the management process Eliseenko V.F. Agencies in the system of executive power. M., 2004.S. fourteen. .

All types of state activity can be divided into three groups according to their place in the system of implementation of state power, content and forms of expression.

Generic consolidated forms of state activity carried out by state bodies of legislative, executive and judicial power are commonly referred to as branches of state power. In terms of its internal content, the activity of the bodies of each of these three branches of government is complex and consolidated, as it includes several forms, but only one of which is the main and determining one. Thus, for representative (legislative) authorities, the main and determining type of their activity is legislative, although the Federal Assembly also carries out its activities in other forms, such as impeachment, amnesty, participation in resolving personnel issues on the appointment and dismissal of some top officials of the state. In the same way, for executive authorities, the main and determining type of activity is managerial executive and administrative activity, although they also carry out other types of state activity: representative activity of the Russian Federation in foreign states, various forms of participation in legislative activity, development of foreign and domestic policy doctrines.

Specific specialized forms of state activity are derived from the three generic branches of state power. These include, for example, the exercise of prosecutorial power, the activities of the Accounts Chamber, the Commissioner for Human Rights and his apparatus, the bodies of the Central Election Commission and some other parts of the state apparatus. The specialized types of state activities carried out by these bodies are also provided for in the current Constitution of the Russian Federation and are regulated in detail by special federal laws. Krylov B.S. Separation of power: a system of checks and balances // Journal of Russian Law. 2008. No. 6.S. 79. .

Functional forms of state activity, the content of which are the specific functions of various law enforcement and other state bodies carrying out investigation, inquiry, operational-search activity, as well as numerous and diverse special executive, control, licensing, regulatory and other functions in established areas of jurisdiction.

The organization of all the above types of state activity is accompanied, provided or served by organizational management activities, which complicates the complete definition of the subject of administrative law, which is considered in the next chapter.

public administration theory

Public administration as the main, determining form of the implementation of executive power and the type of state activity has a number of features. The main one, reflecting the essence and social purpose of public administration, is the practically organizing nature of this type of state activity. The purpose of public administration is the desire, ability and ability of executive authorities to organize the practical implementation of general prescriptions and norms of federal bodies and subjects of the Federation, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, as well as acts of heads of subjects of the Federation, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation Stolyarov M.V. Competence of power: delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction and powers between the Federation and its subjects in the context of reform. M., 2007.S. 37.

The second sign of public administration is its continuous and cyclical nature, which is objectively due to the continuity of social production and consumption in the broadest sense of the word. All other types of state activity related to the implementation of legislative, judicial, prosecutorial and other types of state power are intermittent, while state administration is carried out continuously, continuously. One cycle of the management process ends, another begins, continues and ends.

The third sign of public administration is the executive and administrative nature of this type of state activity. This sign reflects the peculiarities of the executive activity of state administration bodies and their officials in the practical implementation of the general requirements and prescriptions of laws and acts of presidential power.

The fourth sign is that the state administration exercises powers of a jurisdictional nature, i.e. provides an administrative (out-of-court) procedure for the implementation by executive authorities of the so-called "coercive" management (for example, the imposition of administrative penalties, the application of administrative warnings or administrative restraints).

The fifth sign - public administration is built on the basis of vertical (subordination, hierarchical) and horizontal connections and relationships. Vertical relationships are more common, i.e. relations of strict subordination to the administrative and disciplinary authorities of the subjects of management. In recent years, new forms of organization have appeared - horizontal relations based on the equality of subjects of management. In this case, we can talk about the redistribution of powers between the executive authorities, the conclusion of public (administrative) contracts.

Government bodies fulfill the requirements of laws and other general instructions of the presidential and government authorities through a system of executive and administrative management actions, which are expressed in the administrative legal acts and organizational and executive actions adopted by them. They execute the laws by ordering.

Thus, based on the foregoing, we can conclude that public administration is an extremely complex dynamic system, each element of which transmits, perceives and transforms regulatory influences in such a way that they streamline social life.

The concept of public administration theories

Definition 1

Theories of public administration are doctrines formed over time, proposed and supported by various scholars, each of whom presents his own vision of the essence of public administration.

Remark 1

There are a sufficient number of approaches to understanding what public administration is. Such approaches are commonly referred to as public administration theories. Each theory is individual, has its own characteristics.

Characteristics of theories of public administration

1. The theory of rational bureaucracy, of which Weber is the founder, is that each institution has its own competence, employees should be appointed, not chosen, and also receive a salary worthy of their rank. At the same time, employees should not own the institution in which they work, they are required to follow discipline and be guided in their activities with higher authorities. This theory divides the functions of public administration into political and democratic.
2. In addition, she identifies three virtues of politicians, which include passion, eye and a sense of responsibility.
3. The theory of administrative efficiency belongs to Wilson, who was developing a model of the efficiency of bureaucracy in a market economy. He proposed separating administrative and political functions, while noting that the task of the administration is to put into practice the decisions made by the leader who won the election. As for politics, Wilson saw its main task in the formation of an effective structure for the control of administrative activities.
4. Theory of administration. The theory was developed by Fayol, who identified fourteen principles of public administration, consisting of - separation of powers, discipline, authority, unity of command, subordination of interests, unity of action, remuneration, scalar chain, centralization, order, staff stability, justice, corporate spirit and initiative.
5. The theory of establishing interpersonal relationships. The founder of the theory, Easton, saw the main goal of management in increasing the efficiency of the potential of employees, establishing relationships in teams. He defined the principles that belong to such a category as "behavioral methodology" and are built on patterns, methods, verification, quantitative methods, systematicity, value, integration and science.
6. Theory X. The theory was proposed by MacGregor, who believed that the main essence of public administration is the initial laziness of workers who seek, at any opportunity, to avoid doing work. That is why he considered the implementation of constant control and surveillance as the main goal. He proposed to form a hierarchical structure, the manageability of which would be reduced, since he saw the main problem in the absence of an attractive reward system for employees for a job well done.
7. Theory Y. This theory is based on the understanding that work must be accompanied by favorable conditions, since it is in such an environment that labor productivity can increase. This theory seeks to eliminate all negative consequences that may in any way interfere with the observance of order.
8. The theory of motivational hygiene. An adherent of the theory was Herzberg, who believed that work that brings pleasure has a positive effect on psychological health.

Introduction

1. The concept of public administration

2. Impact of public administration:

2.1. Conscious impact

2.2. Targeted impact

3. Functions of public administration

3.1. goal setting

3.2. Forecasting

3.3. Informing

3.4. Organization function

3.5. Functions of coordination and regulation

3.6. Activation function managed

3.7. Function of control and supervision

4. Management activities

4.1. Political leadership

4.2. Administrative management

5. Public administration is part of the social

5.1. Traditional

5.2. empirical

5.3. Scientific

6. The objective necessity of public administration

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

The state by its very nature is an organization of political power and government. Power and management are two main, inextricably linked functions of the state. Power as the ability of some groups of society to impose their will on the whole society existed and exists insofar as it is a tool for managing people. Political domination was everywhere based on the exercise of some public official function, and political domination proved to be lasting only if it performed this public function. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the correct definition of the state in its own, narrow sense of the concept as the main institution of the political system of a class society that manages society and protects its economic and social structure.

The analysis of public administration consists in recognizing it as an objectively necessary function of the state, as a rational activity that does not exclude freedom, but is a socio-political form of its expression and conscious realization of social necessity.

THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Public administration is the conscious impact of state institutions on the activities of society, its individual groups, in which social needs and interests, generally significant goals and the will of society are realized.

In the content of the formulated definition of the concept, the unity of the general characteristic of social management is fixed - a conscious, purposeful impact on society, and specific to public administration: a special subject, its distinctive goals, and also - the object of control influence. The subject of management is state institutions - organizations of special groups of people endowed with the authority necessary for management actions and acting on behalf of society and every citizen on the basis of established legal norms. The object of state administration is society as a whole or its individual groups, socio-political, economic, cultural and other organizations, their activities.

IMPACTS OF GOVERNANCE

Conscious influence on society and its groups, on individual citizens with the aim of directing their behavior and activities into the influence of the state on the social life of people in order to streamline, preserve or transform it, based on power. A number of authors define the concept of "public administration" as the practical organizing activity of the state on the basis of and in pursuance of laws, consisting in the implementation of executive and administrative functions by a continuously operating apparatus of government, others - as an organizing, executive and administrative activity carried out on the basis of and pursuant to laws and consisting in the daily performance of the functions of the state. The last definition, unlike the previous ones, is narrower and in many respects reduces public administration to executive and administrative activities.

Public administration is a specific type of social, which is an impact on society with the aim of streamlining it, maintaining qualitative specifics, improving and developing.

In the definition of the concept of public administration, the general and specific, characteristic of its essence as the political and administrative impact of state power institutions on society, should be theoretically expressed. In accordance with this approach, the following definition can be formulated: public administration is the conscious impact of state institutions on the activities of society, its individual groups, in which social needs and interests, generally significant goals and the will of society are realized.

The unity of the general, inherent in social management - a conscious, purposeful impact on society, and specific to public administration: a special subject, its distinctive goals, and also - the object of control influence. The subject of management is state institutions - organizations of special groups of people endowed with the authority necessary for management actions and acting on behalf of society and every citizen on the basis of established legal norms. The object of state administration is society as a whole or its individual groups, socio-political, economic, cultural and other organizations, their activities.

The governing impact of state institutions is a targeted impact on the natural state of society in the interests of classes and other large social groups, the desire to give it an organized functioning in accordance with established norms, to ensure its adaptation to changing environmental conditions, as well as its possible improvement and development.

The concept of "management" denotes mainly an external (coming from the subject) goal-setting impact on the system, an impact that is a factor in maintaining and stimulating a certain direction of the system's self-development. Regulation involves the creation of the necessary conditions for the spontaneous operation of the internal laws and mechanisms of the system. For example, to prevent conflicts or reconcile conflicting parties. Management means the selection and purposeful use of methods and means, as well as the development of technologies for the action of state institutions to achieve the planned results (changes in the system, settlement and resolution of conflicts, etc.).

The theory of social control has identified and described two types of mechanisms for regulating the behavior of people in society: conscious (rational) and spontaneous regulation. Conscious regulation is social, including public administration. The essence of the spontaneous mechanism is the spontaneous, spontaneous (automatic) regulation of the processes of behavior and activities of social subjects, which does not require the intervention of state or any other governing forces. Such is, for example, the so-called free market with its regulatory mechanism of competition. “So-called” because in reality the market in developed countries is now largely controlled.

Public administration is made up of a set of interrelated typical actions that form the structure of the management process. This is an analysis of a specific situation; choice of goals; forecasting, development of the state strategy and planning of activities for the implementation of the chosen goals, the planned strategy; informing the managed object; organization; coordination; activation (motivation, stimulation); regulation; control; generalized assessment of management results. These activities are called management functions, the totality of which constitutes its content.

CONTROL FUNCTIONS

Management functions are the main types of management activities generated by the division of labor in the management process. That is, those that must be produced without fail in the course of making and executing a management decision. Depending on the sequence of implementation of functions, the management process is divided into stages (phases).

The functions of public administration, understood as a process of purposeful influence of state bodies on public objects, are characterized by general and specific features. Basically, the set of functions coincides with social management, their sequence in the management process, which is explained by the common social essence of the compared institutions. The specificity of the functions of public administration is determined mainly by the subject, and also, to a certain extent, by the object of administration. The state, as a management apparatus separated from society and possessing public power, firstly, gives the management functions a political aspect (orientation towards common interests and common goals); secondly, it links their implementation with the mechanism of power; thirdly, it proceeds from the fact that the main subject of functions is an official socially organized group (state body, institution).

Describing the general functions of state and municipal government, among them, we should first of all highlight, in our opinion, the following.

Goal-setting, development and adoption of normative legal acts is the defining function of management. In the structure of public administration, it acquires specific features. The goal is an ideal image of the future result of the activity. Its formation presupposes knowledge of social development trends, social needs and interests of social groups and citizens, as well as the development, taking into account them, and the adoption of regulatory legal acts. It is important that the subject will not be able to formulate and achieve real goals if he does not rely on knowledge of the specific situation in which he and the ruled live and act at a given time and in a given sector of the social space (territory of the country). Therefore, goal setting precedes a specific analysis of a specific situation. - set of conditions prevailing at a given moment in time.

Goals of the lecture

• 1. Give the origin of public administration and the features of its historical evolution;
• 2. Give the evolution of the theory of public administration;
• 3. To give an understanding of the features of the evolution of the theory of public administration of the Russian state;
• 4. Give modern theories of public administration.

Basic concepts:

State, civil society, public administration, monarchy, republic, despotism, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy, ochlocracy, sovereignty, legal authority, self-government, direct democracy, representative democracy, principles of state policy.

Literature

• 1. Atamanchuk G.V. Theory of public administration: textbook. - M .: Publishing house "Omega L", 1910.
• 2. Shamkhalov F.I. Theory of public administration: monograph - M .: ZAO Publishing house "Economics", 2002.

The origin of public administration and features of evolution

As you know, the concept of "management" involves the impact of the subject of management on the object of management in order to achieve a particular goal by imposing his will on him. In the course of the historical evolution of the institution of management, six of its types were formed, which in many respects correlate with each other.

• 1. Public administration, the subject of which is the state, i.e. the triad: territory - population - power. The basis of governance here is the integrity, sovereignty, security, orderliness and development of society on a historical time scale.
• 2. Local self-government as a grass-roots subspecies of public administration, the subject of which is the inhabitants of settlements and administrative territories, and the goal is the problems of complex arrangement of the place of residence of people. Both species jointly manage the complex development of processes in the territory, which brings these species closer to each other.
• 3. Management, which is the management of property by the owner (owner, owner). In this case, we mean property as a social relationship in which people are involved with their own interests, and not the simple use of things, property, services, etc. Property can be state, private, shared, common, stock, collective, national, municipal, etc. Managing many types of property are called on behalf of or trust managers - hired managers. The main goal of property management is either the increase in property in the form of income, profit, rent, or its preservation in an unchanged form.
• 4. Public administration, where the subject is institutionalized, i.e. legally formalized through laws and charters, public associations.
• 5. Group (collective) self-regulation, the subject of which is groups of people who, at their own discretion and at the same time, taking into account the interests of other groups of people, norms of culture and social community, manage joint behavior and activities.
• 6. The expedient behavior or action of an individual when he sets himself certain goals, for the achievement of which he uses his will, knowledge, strength, time.

At the same time, all types of management function within certain limits:

• · are subject to constitutional or other legal regulation, which establishes a close connection between public administration and other types of administration;
• are interconnected, complement, replace, strengthen or weaken, control each other;
• · at each historical moment, they have their own level of development, which expresses their ability to manage the corresponding objects of management.

The leading place in the system of types of management, of course, is occupied by public administration. The state, as a public institution, performs many functions of managing society, having certain powers and power resources for this. Based on this fact, it can be stated that public administration has a general universality of its capabilities and powers. In this regard, public administration has three properties:

• · the determining influence on the nature of purposeful, organizing and regulating influences carried out by this type of management is exerted by its subject, i.e. the state, which leads to the formation of a general will - power;
• · a specific property of public administration is its spread to society, even beyond, to other societies of people within the framework of the international policy pursued by the state;
• · the state, being a complex organization in terms of structure and versatility of functions, acting as a subject of management, gives public administration the property of being systematic. Unlike other types of government, public administration simply cannot exist without this property.

The formation and development of public administration has its own long history. The basis for the emergence of public administration was tribal and communal self-government, which were built on the basis of traditional law. The economic base was tribal and communal property. In the first case, tribal ownership was unconditional for all means of production and for all consumer goods. In the second case, on the territories that were in the collective use of the community. The ideological basis was totemism, that is, the belief in the kinship of people with some kind of representatives of the animal world.

The form of government was democratic. Brotherhood, bound by ties of consanguinity, social and economic equality, protected by governments, dominated. The highest governing body was the meeting of all adult members of the clan: initially both men and women with an equal vote, and then only men. At the meeting, they elected and removed the leaders of the clans and military leaders. The position of leaders was not hereditary, so they did not have much power and did not stand out from the mass of relatives. The permanent governing body was the Council of Elders, which included heads of households, members of a clan or tribe could only propose their decisions, but the Council of Elders had the last word. For disobeying the establishment of the clan and the Council of Elders, the punishment was the death penalty or expulsion from the community.

In the era of the collapse of the primitive communal system, there is a change in the management system. This was preceded by changes in the economic, social and cultural spheres of human society. First, the institution of private property arose and rapidly developed as the economic basis of the future state. Secondly, there was a separation of public authorities from society, since it became necessary to separate organizational and managerial activities from production. The regularly created surplus product made it possible to free persons performing socially useful functions from obtaining food, first partially, and then completely.

Over time, the leaders of the tribes acquired a special role, who concentrated in their hands civil, judicial, military, and often priestly functions. Totemism was replaced by polytheism, in the system of which the institution of the patron god of the leader and his family arises. The presence of wealth and the appropriation of a significant share of the social product allowed the leaders to begin the formation of a squad, which simultaneously performed the role of both an apparatus of violence and an apparatus of control. On the basis of traditions, law arises - a set of norms and rules established and secured by coercive force that regulate the relations of people in society.

The evolution of public administration theory

The emergence of the state in the era of the first civilizations for the first time raised the question of the theoretical explanation and essence of state administration. Several schools of theoretical thought emerged. They boil down to about five main concepts:

• mythological;
• philosophical and ethical;
• Religious-Christian;
• · socio-civil;
• · socio-economic.

Mythological views originate in the Ancient East, where the Asian mode of production developed. The initial formulation of the problem of public administration was caused by quite real reasons. Raising the culture of work, the separation of cattle breeding and agriculture led to the economic specialization of primitive communities and tribes. This increased the productivity of labor and produced a product which, as society developed, formed the basis of the wealth of the few. The differentiation of society on the basis of property could not but be reflected in social psychology, which was expressed in dreams of an allegedly bygone "golden age" of mankind, captured in the first mythopoetic works.

Social inequality was reflected in religious heresies and the first theoretical concepts, the birthplace of which was the Middle East and China. In the original versions, these were rather emotional assessments, expressed mainly in the form of oral folk art.

In the first slave-owning states of the Ancient East (Egypt, Persia, India, China), issues of state administration were considered for a long time in terms of the specific activities of rulers, in the form of advice and recommendations on how to act in order to strengthen power and ensure the prosperity of the country. So, in the teachings of the king of Heraklion to his son (Egypt, around the 22nd century BC), there is an instruction to be just, to act according to the law, but at the same time it is replete with calls to “suppress the crowd” and “elevate the nobles” who give laws. In accordance with the deification of the king, emperor, etc., common to the countries of the Ancient East, state administration is interpreted in these countries as an expression of divine will.

In I millennium BC. e. in the East, such teachings also appeared that were largely based on rationalistic argumentation and were associated with the adoption of written laws, the rules of governance, and the behavior of citizens. In Persia, the views of Zarathustra (7th century BC) should be noted, which reflect the ideas of the struggle between two principles - good and evil, hence the concept of a good and evil ruler. The adoption of the laws of Hammurabi also belongs to the same period. In India, the ideology of Brahminism arises, substantiating the caste system, which found expression in the ancient Indian monuments of the Vedas. The laws of Manu substantiated the division of Indian society into varnas (castes) and their inequality.

In ancient China, the views of Confucius (VI-V centuries BC), set forth in the book “Lun Yu” (Conversations and Sayings), became widespread. He substantiates the patriarchal-paternalistic concept of the state: the state is a big family, the emperor is a father, a supporter of non-violent methods of government, an even distribution of wealth. The emperor must lead the people on the basis of virtue, and not the law, that is, punishment: “Why, while ruling the state, kill people? If you strive for good, then the people will be good” (Confucius). In the II century. BC e. Confucianism becomes the official ideology of the Chinese state.

With criticism of Confucianism in the 5th century. BC e. Lao Tzu was the founder of Taoism. Tao is the natural course of things, independent of the heavenly ruler, a natural pattern. Taoists declared the contractual origin of the state, that is, the system of state administration, but in a peculiar form, that the chosen “son of heaven” (emperor) stops the disorder and establishes order.

For the first time, the problem of public administration as a theoretical knowledge was developed in the ancient world. The greatest contribution to the development of the theory of state and public administration was made by Plato and Aristotle.

Plato developed the concept of an ideal state, its social structure, and also analyzed the imperfect forms of government. In his opinion, philosophers and only they should govern the state. Philosophers differ from other people in their desire for knowledge, which reveals to them the ever-existing being. Having such leaders, an ideal state should have four main virtues: wisdom, courage, prudence, justice. Philosophers govern the watchmen-warriors and workers of productive labor.

Having developed the theory of the ideal state, Plato analyzed all existing forms of the state and state administration, dividing them into correct and incorrect ones. He classified monarchy and aristocracy as correct forms, and oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy as incorrect. He called people management an art that is based on the competence of capable people. At the same time, management should be based on compliance with laws.

Aristotle built his concept of the origin of the state and the essence of state administration on the recognition of them as the result of the conscious activity of people. For him, the state is the highest form of communication, therefore the state is created by free people.

Analyzing the forms of the state, Aristotle paid special attention to public administration, which he understood as power. He noted, “dominion and subordination are not only necessary, but also useful, and right from birth, some creatures differ (in the sense that some of them are, as it were, destined for subordination, others for dominating). There are many varieties of rulers and subordinates, however, the higher the subordinates are, the more perfect the power over them.

Developing a project of an ideal state, Aristotle singled out the correct and incorrect forms of government. To the right forms, he attributed the monarchy, aristocracy and polity (a combination of democracy and oligarchy), and he considered tyranny, democracy, ochlocracy to be wrong.

A significant contribution to the development of the theory of public administration was made by Cicero. From his point of view, the state appears not only as an expression of the common interest of all its free members, but also as a coherent legal society. Cicero developed the theory of natural law, which he defined as true law, that is, every person from birth is endowed with the natural right to life and freedom. Natural law arose before written law, the state itself is essentially the embodiment of the fact that there is justice and law in nature.

In the Middle Ages, the theory of public administration was identified with the concepts of Christianity and Islam. According to Aurelius Augustine (Blessed) (354-430), the state is considered as a certain part of the universal order, the creator and ruler of which is God. The purpose of public administration is to preserve order and civil society.

Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274) believed that power was of divine origin. The ideal form of government is a mixture of three pure forms, in which the monarch personifies unity, the aristocracy represents predominance, and the subjects (people) involved in government affairs serve as a guarantee of social peace and harmony. It is a mortal sin to speak out against an authority that is divine in nature.

During the Renaissance, the theory of public administration was considered from the point of view of the civil concept. The founder of this concept is Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). At the center of his theory are the methods of public administration. Machiavelli is a supporter of an unlimited monarchy, who builds the management of his subjects according to the laws of nature, and not the dogmas of Christian ethics.

In his opinion, the ideal ruler should be thrifty and stingy, cruel, because mercy inappropriately leads to destruction, and inspires fear. The ruler, if he wants to keep his subjects in subjection, must not reckon with accusations of cruelty, for most people are ungrateful, changeable, hypocritical, cowardly and greedy for gain.

New time contributed to the development of European thinkers of new concepts of public administration and civil society. They were set forth in the writings of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704).

Hobbes is the author of the concept of the contractual origin of the state. In his opinion, people, for the purpose of self-preservation, since they, having natural rights, are in a state of continuous war of all against all, agreed at a certain stage in their history to give them to the monarch, that is, the state, in exchange for peace. The power of the sovereign is limited by natural laws, expressing the desire for peace and justice. There are 12 of them in total, but the main one is the “golden rule” - “do not do to another what you would not wish to be done in relation to you.”

J. Locke believed that people before the state were in a state of nature, but without "the war of all against all." The state of nature included not only the natural right to life and liberty, but private property and labor. To protect these natural human rights, people agreed to form a political community and establish a state - "every peaceful formation of a state was based on the consent of the people."

J. Locke gave the formula of an ideal state - it is a republic of private owners with equal rights and obligations. Based on this understanding of the state, everyone who owns property has the right to govern it. In addition, he put forward the concept of separation of powers, which ensure the independence and rights of the individual. J. Locke singled out the legislative power, which is in the hands of parliament, and the executive power in the hands of the monarch and the government.

The completion of the development of the theory of the contractual state belongs to Charles Montesquieu (1689-1775) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).

Montesquieu substantiated the need for the separation of power into legislative, executive and judicial. The primacy belongs to the legislature. All authorities are independent of each other, and "mutually constrain each other." The separation of powers guarantees the safety of citizens from abuse and arbitrariness of power.

J.-J. Rousseau, in contrast to the liberal idea of ​​a compromise of interests, puts forward the principle of popular sovereignty as a power directed by the general will. The people as a whole is the source and bearer of political power, i.e., state administration. The best form of government is a republic where officials are elected by the people. Government authority is established by an act of the sovereign legislature.

In the 19th century the theory of the origin of the state and public administration was developed within the framework of the philosophy of positivism - a doctrine that declares concrete (empirical) sciences to be the only source of true knowledge and denies the cognitive value of philosophical research. Therefore, there is no need to know the essence of the state, it is only necessary to describe it (statics) and trace the sequence of its actions (dynamics). Auguste Comte - (1798-1857) the father of positivism argued that public administration should belong to the financial oligarchy, without which order and progress are impossible.

O. Comte's opponent Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) developed an organic theory of the state within the framework of sociological positivism. In his opinion, the state is similar to a bioorganism. The state is an organism, the constant relations of which are similar to the constant relations between the parts of a living being, therefore the state administration has similar functions. As a biological organism, the state is born, multiplies, ages and dies. States are divided into two types: primitive or military, whose main occupation is war, and higher or industrial, whose main occupation is economic activity. Hence, there are two types of government of the country: either military methods, or economic methods, the purpose of which is the benefit of the individual.

The evolution of the theory of public administration of the Russian state

In Russia, the science of public administration developed in line with the national school. At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. formed three currents of theoretical thought about the essence of the state and public administration. The ancestor of the first direction - revolutionary-democratic was A.N. Radishchev (1749-1802), who defended the idea of ​​a democratic republic. His ideas were developed by P.I. Pestel, A.I. Herzen, N.G. Chernyshevsky, G.V. Plekhanov, V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin.

The second direction was laid by M.M. Speransky (1772-1839), which was defined as liberalism. His political ideas stemmed from the concept of natural law, within which he proposed to carry out the separation of powers in the country. The development of the doctrine of liberalism was embodied in the concepts of the development of Russia by Westernizers and Slavophiles in the 1940s. 19th century

The most interesting and original ideas were expressed in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. representatives of the "state school" (Soloviev S. M., Kavelin K. D., Chicherin A. D., Milyukov P. N. and others). Within the framework of this school, the concept of enslavement and emancipation of estates by the state was theoretically substantiated. It was argued that in the conditions of the dominance of natural economy, the solution of the issue of providing material and human resources is possible only through the distribution of duties to different segments of the population. The result of such a centuries-old policy, carried out with the consent of the population, is political stability. P.N. Milyukov came to the conclusion that two mutually exclusive states are objectively characteristic of a social system:

• · mechanical stability, turning into apathy during the strengthening of the state;
• · destabilization, turning into an anarchist protest against the state in a period of weakening statehood. When the old statehood collapses, a state of anarchy arises, generated by a power vacuum.

The third direction, which received the definition of conservatism, was developed by N.M. Karamzin (1766-1726). His concept was a continuation of the traditions of Norman theory and the doctrine of absolute monarchy. Within the framework of this concept, the “theory of official nationality” developed by S.S. Uvarov. In the second half of the XIX century. the ideas of conservatism were developed in the works of M.N. Katkov and K.P. Pobedonostsev. At the beginning of the twentieth century. conservatism found its embodiment in the theory and practice of the Black Hundreds movement.

At the beginning of the twentieth century. works by A.A. Bogdanov, in which ideas were expressed that were a prologue to the development of the theory of control systems.

In the first post-revolutionary years, the authorities set the task of studying and applying the ideas of scientific management in public administration. For these purposes, scientific research institutes and laboratories were created to study the scientific organization of labor and management. Scientific administration was seen as part of the scientific organization of labor. It was believed that the state apparatus should turn into a people's institution, and ways were sought to reduce the cost of public administration through the reorganization of administrative technology.

Modern theories of public administration

The term “public administrative management” was first used in the program of the US Republican Party in 1986, but the first works on public administration appeared in ancient times. Since that time, the works of philosophers of China, Greece, Rome, Egypt, containing recommendations on various aspects of management, have been known.

For almost two millennia - from antiquity to the XVIII century. - all knowledge about social phenomena was a single integral system, which was reduced to politics, and public life was subordinated to the interests of the state. This was the main reason that the theory of public administration developed in line with the general political science tradition, and only at the end of the 19th century. began to stand out as an independent field of scientific research.

A significant impetus to the development of the theory of public administration was given by the reforms carried out centrally in the system of public administration in the United States and Western Europe in the last decades of the nineteenth century. and in the first decades of the twentieth century.

The evolution of the science of public administration allows us to distinguish three stages:

• 1. 80s XIX century - 1920;
• 2. 1920 - 1950;
• 3. 1950 - present.

W. Wilson, F. Goodnow and M. Weber are considered to be the founders of the theory of public administration.

Professor Woodrow Wilson, in his work The Science of Public Administration (1887), attempted to reorient political science to the study of "the organization and working methods of government institutions" in general. He emphasized that "the science of administration will look for ways to improve the activities of the government, to make its work less laborious, to put in order the organization of management." He considered it extremely important to emphasize that "public administration is outside the actual political sphere ... Although politics defines tasks for governments, its interference in management processes is unacceptable." The task of the state administration is, first of all, the prompt and competent implementation of the decisions of political leaders. The relationship between the administration that executes laws and the power that creates laws, according to W. Wilson, is the very essence of the government system.

He developed a model of "administrative efficiency", which suggests the use of methods of organization and business management in public administration. He also substantiated the need for high professionalism in the system of public administration.

The ideas of W. Wilson were largely shared by the American scientist J. Goodnow, who believed that the functions between politicians and administrators should be clearly demarcated, and politicians control the activities of administrators, and the latter, in turn, obey the decisions of politicians.

Under the influence of these ideas, the issues of scientific management (management), independent of political ideology, immediately took the leading place in the theory of public administration.

A significant contribution to the development of the theory of public administration was made by the German sociologist M. Weber. His classic work "Economy and Society" (1921), devoted to the place and role of the bureaucracy in public administration, is relevant to the present day. In his opinion, bureaucracy is a historical phenomenon that arose at the stage of the formation of a nation-state capable of paying for the work of civil servants. He is very concerned about the quantitative growth of the bureaucracy: “The quantitative increase in the state apparatus and the expansion of its social functions can do a disservice. To demand the mechanical growth of the state means to worsen the situation even more. He formulated the universal principles of bureaucratic organization.

Weber, like the classics of the American school, believed that the true profession of a real official should not be politics. He must "rule" first of all, impartially, and this requirement applies even to "political" managerial officials (without anger and partiality, he must manage affairs).

In the works of Weber, Wilson, Goodnow, two fundamental ideas of the scientific theory of public administration were expressed and developed:

• · in order to reform the administrative apparatus, it is necessary to know it well, and, therefore, to study it from a scientific standpoint;
• · The apparatus of state-administrative management should be separated from the sphere of politics.

In France, A. Esmen, L. Duguit, A. Michel, M. Oriou dealt with the theory of public administration. However, the system of state administration was considered by them only to the extent that it helped to clarify the principles and forms of organizing the functioning of the political institutions of the state as a whole.

In Great Britain, teaching and studying the theoretical issues of public administration began at the end of the 19th century. at the London School of Economics and Political Science, later - at Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and other universities. A significant contribution to the development of the theory was made by E. Barker, D. Cole, G. Lasky, C. Manning and others. The main attention in their works is paid to the forms and features of the organization of state-legal institutions, their organization, the mechanisms of their functioning and interaction.

In 1916, in Washington DC, Robert Brookings established the first institute of government studies, the purpose of which was to develop a systematic analytical approach to public administration. Similar research centers and institutes began to appear in Europe in the 20-30s. 20th century and since that time, the study of the theory of public administration has become part of the curriculum at leading universities in the United States and Western Europe.

After the First World War, public administration underwent changes: the United States and the countries of Western Europe turned into industrialized, urbanized states and, accordingly, new programs and functions appeared for state institutions.

The Americans made especially great strides during this period. This is due, firstly, to the fact that public administration, as a type of activity, experienced a period of rapid development, especially during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Secondly, educational institutions already during this period enjoyed great freedom in the preparation of curricula and the choice of teachers. They had the opportunity to experiment, widely introduce new courses, one of which was the course in the theory of public administration. In Europe, especially in France and Great Britain, this was not possible, since the education system there was too centralized. Thirdly, the Americans believed that the science of public administration and the science of managing private enterprises could and should be brought closer together. Training courses in personnel management, human relations, organization theory were given in many educational institutions in the United States, both for those who were preparing themselves for public service, and for future business administration staff of private business. And since the teaching of these disciplines had such a wide audience, a lot of scientific papers, textbooks and teachers of the corresponding profile appeared.

And one more factor is the utilitarian approach of the Americans: their scientific developments contained practical recommendations for public servants and offered sound reform projects.

In 1926, the first textbook on public administration "Introduction to the Science of Public Administration" by L. White appeared. It argued that public administration is a branch of science that should be as close to reality as possible.

The most famous trends in the theory of public administration during this period were the "classical school" (L. White, L. Urwick, D. Mooney, T. Woolsey) and the "school of human relations" (sometimes called neoclassical) (M. Follet, A. Maslow, E. Mayo, W. Murphy), which arose in response to the shortcomings of the classical school.

The current stage in the development of the science of public administration (50 years - up to the present) begins with a rethinking of the achievements of previous development. During this period, there was a desire in science to create universal theories. The main attention was paid to the study of interdependencies, interrelations of roles in public administration. There were such directions as behaviorism, structural functionalism, systemic and situational approach to scientific research of the theory and practice of public administration.

Representatives of the behavioral direction G. Simon, D. McGregor, F. Herzberg, D. Thompson, D. Easton, argued that public administration is based on the relationship between the administration and bodies formed on the basis of the people's will, so the focus of their attention was the study behavior of individuals as voters.

In line with the behavioral approach, many units of analysis have been developed that are successfully used in public administration. So, G. Simon introduced the concept of "solution" and developed the possibilities of its use, both in theoretical and empirical terms. D. Truman developed the concept of "group of interests", which is used for analytical purposes in public administration. These are groups "with common values ​​and attitudes that put forward their demands through state institutions or, on the contrary, make demands on the latter." D. Spinger, without completely rejecting the ideas of behaviorism, suggested paying attention to the study of state institutions themselves.

During this period, structural-functional, systemic and situational approaches (R. Merton, D. Easton, G. Almond, T. Parsons, V. Thompson) became widespread in the study of public administration problems. Their representatives focused on the factors aimed at the integration and stability of the existing public administration system.

The application of systems theory to public administration has made it much easier for leaders to see the entire organization as a unity of its constituent parts that interact inextricably with the outside world. Currently, the systems approach is one of the most influential areas in the theory of public administration.

The logical continuation of systems theory was the situational approach, which, using the possibilities of direct application of science to specific situations and conditions, made an important contribution to the development of public administration.

The United Nations plays an important role in popularizing the theory of public administration. Since 1967, under the auspices of this organization, international meetings of experts on various problems of public administration have been regularly held. In addition, within the framework of the UN, a large research work with a practical bias is being carried out today, comparative studies of public administration methods are being carried out, a world data bank on the mechanism of public administration is being created, and manuals and manuals on the theory of public administration are being prepared.

The UN attaches great importance to the work on the exchange of experience between countries, the development of events of a regional and interregional nature. Experts regularly evaluate and review the administrative capabilities of states, develop models of modern reforms in the field of public administration, and offer training and retraining programs for personnel.

The development of a categorical apparatus and methodology of public administration in the materials of international meetings of UN experts is also underway. Today it can be stated that the theory of public administration has international recognition and the official status of an independent scientific discipline.

Therefore, for us at the present time the task of researching and generalizing the experience of the development of the world science of public administration is very relevant. There is an international conceptual apparatus, materials of UN experts on the organization of state-administrative activity, which can and should be used.

Currently, there are a number of problems that the theory of public administration deals with. It:

• · the problem of organizing public administration at different levels: national, regional and local;
• · the problem of formation of the staff of qualified civil servants;
• problems related to the technique of public administration.

Each of these areas acts as a subject of scientific study and research of public administration in a market economy, management of social processes, etc.

American Scientific School of Government

Currently, in the theory of public administration, several historically established schools and trends are distinguished, the leading ones being American, English, French and German.

A distinctive feature of the American school of "public administration" is the empirical focus of its research. Already at the initial stages of development, many of its outstanding representatives were not only theorists, but also practitioners, such as, for example, W. Wilson, the President of the United States, Professor L. White, who did a lot of practical work as a member of the Civil Service Commission and others.

One of the founders of the classical trend in science is L. White, who relied on the work of F. Taylor, D. Mooney, F. and L. Gilbreth involved in the organization of management in business. In his fundamental theoretical work An Introduction to the Science of Public Administration (1926), he argued that:

• public administration is a single homogeneous process, regardless of the level at which it occurs: city, state or federal;
• · the study of public administration should begin, first of all, with the basics of management, and not with the basics of law;
• · public administration is an art, therefore great importance is attached to its transformation into a scientific discipline;
• Public administration is the most important task facing the state apparatus.

Public administration, in his opinion, is "the leadership of people and the determination of material resources to achieve the goals of the state." Optimization of the use of funds in public administration should be focused on achieving the set goals with maximum efficiency at minimum cost. He considered specialization, unity of orders, reduction in the number of subordinates, delegation of responsibility, centralization, corporate spirit (staff harmony) as the main principles of the art of public administration.

According to L. White, scientists should study administrative institutions in order to optimize their functioning and development. The main thing is the hierarchy of the organization, and public administration is a universal process consisting of several interrelated functions, the main of which are planning and organization.

The most famous representatives of the American school of human relations were Mary Parker Follet, Abraham Maslow Elton Mayo and others. The main conclusion contained in their works was that the factor in optimizing the functioning of the public administration system is to improve the psychological climate in the team and increase motivation for work .

The first to define scientific management as “ensuring work with the help of others” was M.P. Follet. In her work Giving orders, she noticed that well-designed administrative structures and good wages for employees did not always lead to increased productivity. Therefore, it is important to change the pattern of people's behavior.

Research conducted by Maslow, in many ways, made it possible to understand the causes of this phenomenon. In his work "The Theory of Human Motivation", he developed a hierarchy of needs, which was included in all textbooks on scientific management. In accordance with his concept, the motives of people's actions are mainly not economic needs, as the "classics" believed, but social, selfish, allowing to realize creative possibilities that can only be partially and indirectly satisfied with the help of money.

By the middle of the 20th century, two concepts were defining theories: the concept of welfare economics and the concept of competing groups. The essence of the first consisted of the following postulates:

• · in the event that the free market does not give the desired result, state intervention is necessary;
• The best results in this case are given by management from the federal center.

Scientists have noted that the welfare of citizens is largely determined by the activities of the administrative mechanism and therefore, as Dwight Waldo noted, "Whether we want it or not, public administration is everyone's concern."

During this period, a systematic and structurally functional approach to the analysis of social phenomena, the concept of bureaucracy were developed, studies of the behavior of individuals within an organization, the theory of alternative budgeting by B. Lewis were revived.

In the work of A. Shik "On the way to PB (planning-programming-budgeting): stages of budget reform" questions of budget theory were considered from the standpoint of a systematic approach. In his opinion, each budgetary system includes the processes of planning, management and control.

G. Simon introduced the concept of "decision", and in the work "Proverbs of management" he formulated the general principles of management that contribute to the improvement of management efficiency.

Worthy of attention is Charles Lindblom's article "The Science of Getting Things Done" in which rational decision-making models in management are considered. He disagrees that most decisions are made through expedient processes. He sees the whole process of making strategic decisions as dependent on small, profitable decisions, consistent with the political situation. In general, he believes that the adoption of a decision is largely determined not by the will of politicians, but by a specific situation and circumstances.

The concept of management by F. Herzberg is based on the study of the motives of people's behavior in the process of management. He conducted a series of studies suggesting that work that brings satisfaction to an employee contributes to his mental health. His concept was called motivational hygiene.

These concepts indicate that the study of public administration has changed towards the study of the socio-psychological relationships of individuals in the management process. However, it gradually became clear that these principles give a positive effect only in experiments conducted on small groups, and in relation to the whole society they do not work. The nature of political and managerial decisions in society is determined not by the psychological world of individuals, but, on the contrary, social relations themselves are decisive in relation to the socio-psychological structure of the individual.

In the middle of the 20th century, the idea of ​​the model of federalism in the United States changed. In contrast to the traditional “layer cake” model, where three levels of government (federal, state, and local) are separated from each other, Morton Grodtzins created the concept of the “marble pie” of federalism. He proves that the structure of the US government is very complex. In addition to the federal government and the 50 existing states, it has 18,000 municipalities. In addition, there are district governments, city governments. There are so many tax-collecting bodies in the country that a citizen “may be buried under a whole pyramid of government offices. The essence of the new model proposed by Grodtsins is the formation of cooperative relations between different levels of government, which in turn will lead to a mixture of government activities. The theory of bureaucracy also received its further development.

The work of Herbert Kaufman "Administrative decentralization and political power" is devoted to the problems of effective management. In it, the author notes that the population should be involved in the management process through a system of local representation. He considers two types of decentralization. Under the first, local self-government will develop, which will have a greater influence on public programs, under the second, the territories will develop, but with limited powers.

The end of the twentieth century is characterized by a revision and reassessment of the main ideas of the theory of public administration, because many of the programs of the "Great Society" were not implemented. After the election of R. Reagan as President of the country, the ideological pendulum swung towards conservatism with its principles of minimal state intervention in the economy.

During this period, a new way of thinking arose in public administration: a “public choice theory” was formed, focused on their own political values, attitudes, and restrictions. This theory called into question two fundamental and influential concepts:

• · the concept of welfare economics, which arose as a result of the Great Depression of the 1930s;
• · The theory of competing groups as an effective way to make optimal political decisions.

characteristic of the early 1980s. there was a blurring of the distinction between the private and public sectors. Comparative studies were carried out on this topic and a conclusion was made about the fundamental similarity between business management and public administration. So, G. Ellison in the report “Public and private management: are they essentially similar in all minor points?” argued for this thesis. Exploring the topic, he highlights the common and differences between these types of management. In his opinion, the following set of management functions is common: planning; organization; personnel policy; management; agreement; reporting; financing. He revealed that the interaction between the heads of private and public organizations has increased, that in real life, many political leaders head private business. Ellison drew a parallel between the situations and conditions of governance in these different sectors, presented the consequences of running the state as a private company, an area where the interests of politicians and private managers coincide.

At the end of the twentieth century, the concept of organizational development aroused great interest among scientists, affecting the structure, behavior, and culture of the organization, which are still the subject of discussion. The purpose of this model can be considered as an increase in the efficiency of the functioning of the public administration system, achieved due to its adaptability, flexibility and professionalism of civil servants.

The development of the theory of public administration in the UK

Until the beginning of the 30s. In the twentieth century, the dominant approach to the study of public administration was the institutional one, the most famous representatives of which were E. Barker, D. Cole, G. Lasky, C. Manning, W. Robson, G. Feiner and others. Later, behavioral methods begin to dominate.

Within the framework of this methodology, two trends have developed - sociological and economic. In the works of representatives of the sociological trend (E. Birch, I. Berlin, W. Reese, R. Rose), questions of the relationship between power and society, domination and subordination were considered. The authority of state power, according to R. Rose, can be measured, on the one hand, by the degree of its support by citizens, and on the other hand, by the extent to which the latter obey its laws.

E. Birch in his works touches upon the issues of responsibility in public administration. In particular, he identifies three types of responsibility:

• · Responsibility to public opinion. This means that the government has the ability to influence public opinion and must find a compromise with the leading groups of society, educate the public so that it is aware of the motives driving government activities;
• · Carrying out a sound state policy based on a comprehensive analysis of the problems. This type of responsibility in English political culture is the main one. The government, realizing the legitimacy and expediency of its actions at the moment, may even go to the loss of popularity in order to carry out its course;
• · Responsibility to Parliament. It is expressed in the responsibility of each minister for the activities of the government as a whole and his responsibility for the public service he leads.

Management decisions are influenced by such factors as the position of the prime minister, the activities of cabinet members, the pressure of interest groups, ordinary citizens and the media, which are traditionally considered spokesmen for public opinion. For example, the decision on the entry of Great Britain into the EEC was made without prior discussion in Parliament, and the initiative for its nomination belongs entirely to the government.

Birch also pointed out that the notion of "government's primary responsibility" has changed in contemporary England. If in the past it meant the responsibility of the government to the Crown, today it means the responsibility of the government to the people.

At the end of the 20th century, in the works of sociological scientists, the problem of the stability of state institutions, which many associate with the degree of participation of citizens in politics, occupied a central place. Thus, according to J. Badzh, politicians and civil servants are unanimous in their opinion that the existing state institutions are “sensitive” to the needs of ordinary citizens and enjoy the support of the latter. Those who are passive in politics, on the contrary, do not see the democratic nature of state institutions and do not believe that they enjoy general support.

The economic direction finally took shape after the Second World War. Unlike sociologists, who relied on the study of the influence of cultural traditions, economists considered public administration as a sphere of rational activity of people. One of its representatives - B. Barry - developed the concept of "economic type" of state power, when power relations in society are considered in terms of "win - loss". He believes that power relations are possible only when one side benefits more from maintaining them than the other, because it has more opportunities to achieve the desired at the cost of minimal losses.

Of interest are two concepts of public administration, target and civil, formulated by M. Oakeshott. In his opinion, they do not occur in their pure form, because they are ideal theoretical models. But the European peoples have gone from the "unconscious solidarity of purposeful association" within the state to the conscious civic association of our day. However, even today this process has not been completed: in some states, the ideal of “civil association” has been realized to a greater extent, in others - to a lesser extent.

Target public administration is characterized by the following features:

• · Citizens are employees of an enterprise that exists for certain purposes (welfare, production level, cultural unity, etc.);
• · Lack of formal equality, meaning that the value of a person is determined by his contribution to the "common cause", which means the subordination of individuality to corporatism;
• · Administrative, regulatory, applied nature of legislation;
• · Fairness is manifested in distribution, the purpose of which is to ensure the efficiency of the public administration system.

A civic association is an association not bound by common goals. The civil concept of public administration does not have a type of purposeful activity. The totality of norms of behavior observed by citizens guarantees the safety of their rights and freedoms. However, this "ideal" type of government has not yet been achieved anywhere.

Recently, the direction called “soft thinking”, which was founded by P. Checkland, has the greatest influence in the theory of public administration. A distinctive feature of this trend is that the principle of consistency is transferred from reality to the process of its cognition. This approach allows you to structure management processes by exploring different views and positions and discussing their appropriateness in specific circumstances.

According to Chekland, the only way to study integrity is to look at it from as many points of view as possible, and managerial activity is a permanent process of learning. To make a management decision, a comprehensive study of the situation is necessary.

A new direction in the field of public administration is organizational cybernetics. The central concept of organizational cybernetics - a balancing system - was introduced by S. Bier. Balancing is such a system that is able to respond to changes in the environment and correspond to its complexity. Therefore, the goal of the organization is always a compromise between the requirements of the external environment and the internal functions of the system, and the organization's strategy can be defined as a balance strategy. According to Bier, such systems should provide five functions: organization, coordination, control, collection and processing of information, policy development.

French School of Public Administration

The French school of public administration has its own specifics, expressed in the dominance until the 50s of the twentieth century. the theory of institutions (M. Prelo and M. Duverger).

The merit of the French school is the institutional concept of the state, which replaced the interpretation of the state as a legal entity. The state began to be seen as an institution in which power is embodied. With this approach, the “common cause”, the task, the goal that the state serves, comes to the fore. As a result of this approach, the place of the ruling elite in public administration changes significantly: it is only an agent of the highest power, and this means that its actions are limited by the legal field. M. Duverger emphasizes that the theory should be useful to the president, prime minister, state and political figures.

One of the serious problems of France was the rigid centralization of power, so scientists (P. Avril, E. Faure) were looking for increasing the efficiency of public administration through its decentralization. The dispersal of state power between its various levels, a significant expansion of the powers of local authorities, especially municipalities and communes, vesting the opposition with certain rights and powers, subject to the inviolability of state institutions - these are the recommendations of the majority of French scientists in a generalized form.

The radical theory of public administration of a new type was developed by M. Poniatowski. The organization of government in the state, in his opinion, should be hierarchical. The state should cede some of its powers to the competent authorities or organizations. For example, energy or transport issues may be regulated by a specially created third chamber of parliament, consisting partly of elected representatives and partly of persons appointed by the government. He agrees with P. Avril and E. Faure on the need for decentralization of public administration.

He evaluates the activities of the modern French administration critically. In contrast, Alain emphasizes that in a modern state, it is not politicians who have real power, but high-ranking officials from the administrative apparatus: the heads of the main departments of the Ministry of Finance, members of the Supreme Defense Council and ambassadors. In addition, Alain highly appreciates the competence of French officials, because they go through a tough competitive selection for public service. But at the same time, he states that the bureaucracy forms a corporate closed group. The main thing that unites them is the preservation of the acquired position and privileges. In addition, the nature of the work performed, the circle of people with whom communication takes place, gradually develop a number of specific qualities in civil servants, such as extreme caution, a penchant for secrecy, skepticism, causticity, a disposition to intrigues, and a contemptuous attitude towards people.

According to Alain, the state apparatus works inefficiently, mutual responsibility and bureaucracy reign there. Overspending, poorly designed government programs, omissions, missed deadlines - all this is carefully hidden from prying eyes. Alain believes that the only effective remedy against the abuse of power is the creation of an effective system of control on the part of voters, parliament, and ministers.

The scientist also expresses his point of view on the qualities that the head of the department should have. In his opinion, a modern minister does not have to be a specialist in the relevant field of government. The main thing is that he should have a constant desire to effectively counter the abuse of power by the bureaucracy.

The classic of the theory of public administration in France is Henri Fayol. He was the first to set the task of organized management training in France. In General and Industrial Management (1916), he gave a classic definition of scientific management: “To manage means to foresee, organize, dispose, coordinate, control.

His merit also lies in the fact that he formulated the principles of management, which are universal and applicable almost everywhere: in the economy, in government services and institutions, in the army and navy. The management of any organization, in his opinion, includes six groups of functions: technical, commercial, financial, insurance, accounting and administrative. Administrative functions are decisive. None of the previous functions includes the task of developing a general program of work for the institution, selecting its working staff, coordinating efforts, or harmonizing actions. That is why administrative functions play a leading role.

It should be noted the contribution of the former President of France V.Zh. de "Estaing in the development of the French school of public administration. He outlined his views on this problem in his works: "French Democracy", in which he proposes his own concept of the "welfare state", as well as the basic principles of public administration.

Development of public administration theory in Germany

A feature of the theory of administrative and public administration in Germany are fundamental theoretical studies of a philosophical nature. Since its inception, the German school has been marked by a dualism of philosophical and sociological understanding of the problems of public administration. Most of the German researchers see in public administration the embodiment of "eternal" values ​​and the scope of the realization of freedom. This is most clearly manifested in the works of H. Kuhn, E. Forsthoff, E. Hippel. So, H. Kuhn believes that the basis of the subject of the theory of public administration is human nature, and, therefore, it must be considered from philosophical positions: “The state lives by a person: a person establishes, forms, manages it and simultaneously lives in it, comprehending it fate."

According to A. Gelen, the basis of public administration is the desire for stability of the internal and external world. Administrative institutions have developed "by stabilizing order and rules" and are not a reflection of the economic and socio-political structure of society, but "a kind of system that rationally and organized fixes the historically established relations between people." In his concept, the modern structures of state administration appear as a kind of "neutral" administrative apparatus used by certain political forces as "the leading headquarters of the new system to coerce their opponents." He paid special attention to the fact that it is the institutions of the state that “liberate a person from the painful search for worthy behavior, since they appear before him already formed and predetermined.”

Gehlen believed that such an interpretation of public administration was fraught with the threat of manipulating the consciousness and behavior of people, but he believed that this controllability was not repressive.

The most typical for the sociological approach to public administration is the concept of M. Weber. He believed that the public administration system should be given more authority, but the functions of the bureaucratic apparatus should not be expanded.

He considers the elitist nature of state administration in the countries of Western Europe to be the expression of the “essence of modern mass democracy.” In his opinion, those who govern are entrusted with the task of creating an administrative elite, which must be legitimized by the people. However, this is precisely the main difficulty: “democratic legitimation” is blocked by the “anti-democratic essence of the bureaucracy”.

Weber considered ideal such public administration, which is built on rigid bureaucratic principles: the authoritarian power of the head, who makes decisions, gives orders and controls their execution. The task of public administration officials is to be able to apply management principles to specific situations. He believed that professional employees are not only highly qualified specialists of spiritual labor, but also people with high class honor, which guarantees impeccability. Without this, in his opinion, there would be a fatal danger of monstrous corruption and low philistinism, which would jeopardize the purely technical efficiency of the state apparatus.

If a higher institution issues an order which, in the opinion of the official, is erroneous, it is a matter of honor for the official to execute the order conscientiously and precisely under the responsibility of the orderer. Without such discipline, in his opinion, the entire administrative apparatus would collapse.

Of undoubted interest is the concept of public administration by Ludwig Erhard, who was at first the Minister of Economics, and then the Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor of Germany. This politician and prominent scientist combined research and practical work. He believed that the effectiveness of public administration determines the strengthening of measures for state regulation of the economy. To implement them, a Council of Experts was formed to assess the overall economic development of Germany, which included prominent scientists. This body was supposed to prepare the rationale for government policy decisions. Erhard proposed to change the social structure of society through major measures to disperse property and democratize capital, to mitigate economic crises and class contradictions.

He developed the concept of a society in which all groups of the population were subject to the common good, the role of the government increased, and all social strata supported the existing social order.

The new concept consolidated the decisive role of state administration in the development of society. It was envisaged that all public positions should be occupied by specialists in common interests, they should also determine the policy of the country. It must be admitted that the principle of selecting specialists, professionals for the civil service should be based, first of all, on an understanding of social interests.

Found its reflection in the German scientific school and structural-functional approach. It is presented most consistently in the works of N. Luhmann, who argues with T. Parsons. According to Luhmann, in systems theory, the concept of structure is subordinated to the concept of function, which is wrong, since it turns out that any, even the most ridiculous, structure of public administration, in essence, performs its function. Luhmann sees the advantage of his structural-functional theory in the proposal of a constant study of the specific functions of management structures with the help of a specific simplification of reality, since only at a certain level of abstraction does it become possible to “functionally” analyze and compare all management structures and processes. At the same time, the structure of state administration is not considered by him as something comprehensive and complete.

The characterization of the German school would be incomplete without mentioning the scientific contribution of R. Darendoff. In the center of his scientific interests are the problems of the social structure of modern society, the organization of management, social conflicts, which are reflected in the works "Social classes and class conflict in an industrial society", Society and democracy in Germany", "Conflict and freedom".

Analyzing the socio-political situation in the developed countries of Western Europe, Darendoff came to the conclusion that at present one of the most influential interest groups is the bureaucracy, which is the real bearer of power in all organizations of society, including the state. On the one hand, the bureaucracy does not have any social program, cannot influence the adoption and implementation of political decisions, it can resist them, but cannot make them on its own. On the other hand, in a modern state, no one is able to rule without bureaucracy, and even more so against its will. It is the "reserve army of power." Darendoff feared the loss of legitimacy of the existing political system under the dominance of a faceless bureaucracy and the absence of groups capable of exercising political dominance. In such conditions, there is a real opportunity for groups of radical reformers to seize political power. Often such a group, both in theory and in practice, is totalitarian.