Theory Bases and Theory Constructs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Theory Bases and Theory Constructs - Essay Example Woodrow Wilson is viewed as the pioneer of public administration. Wilson made a distinction between political science and public administration. He asserted that public administration is a detailed systematic application of law. Before his distinction, public administration was regarded as a branch of political science. Frank Goodnow concurred with Woodrow and added that politics formulate policies and the administration executes these policies. Public administration has been largely taken as a science by related disciplines in the social sciences. Public administration encompasses study of people involved in managerial and administrative tasks in the various state organs. Theory bases are very important in reaching a discernible conclusion about a certain phenomenon. Public administration is conducted differently according to the various types and settings of organizations. Bureaucracy is evident in almost all organizations (Milakovich & Gordon, 2013) this gives rise to the application of the bureaucratic theory of administration. The theory was put forth by Marx Weber. He argued that, the core aspect of administration is determining who gives command to whom. Marx asserted that domination is common characteristic in an organisation. According to Marx, domination means the power relations between the ruled and their leaders. Consequently he added that legitimacy in exercise of power in any established authority is contributed by numerous beliefs in the organization’s setting. Domination brings about the need for administrative apparatus (Farazmand, 2002). For domination to be concurrent with its intended purpose, there is need to establish an administrative staff to execute demands and serve as a link between the leader (government) and led. Marx established certain constructs of domination; tradition, charismatic and legal domination. Legitimacy in traditional domination is brought about by inheritance, legal