Public administration and its concepts

Let's talk about one of the areas of administration, public administration and its concepts. This area of administration is a concept from the area of law that describes a set of agents, services and bodies established by the state.

Function of public administration

That administration itself, aims to work in favor of the public interest and its rights, the interests of the citizens it administers. In other words, it is in an organized way to reduce bureaucratic processes, to obtain useful results, and to outline an action program and effectively execute the management of services.

We can still define it as a harmonious set of legal principles that govern public bodies, agents and activities aimed at concretely and directly carrying out the state's wishes and orders.

Public administration in our country has already gone through three phases, they are: the phase patrimonialist (during the age of empire), bureaucratic (at the time of President Vargas) and the managerial (this is the most recent phase, the phase that is being implemented).

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Direct and indirect public administration

There are two types of public administration: direct and indirect. Direct public administration is carried out and performed by the powers of the union, the United States, the Federal District and municipalities.

These bodies do not have their own legal entities, and the expenses inherent to the sector are included in the public budget. This leads to administrative decentralization, which consists of the creation of delegation of tasks.

Indirect public administration, on the other hand, becomes the transfer of administration by the state and other legal entities, and these legal entities can be: public companies, foundations, private bodies, etc.

In these cases, administrative decentralization ends up occurring, that is, the administration tasks are transferred to another legal entity.

Public services provided by direct and indirect public administration involve the most diverse areas of public interest, such as: health, education, transportation, public safety, social security, and economic development.

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The basic principles of public administration

As we are seeing throughout the content, the importance of the field of public administration, and how fundamental it is to understanding how the state is structured.

Now we will understand a little more about administrative principles, which have the role of guiding the activities of municipal, state and federal governments, as we will present below:

Legality

Legality in public administration is subject to the principles of law. Laws are above private interests, laws or administrative norms contained in the constitutions, meaning that only the general will of citizens is permitted.

The principles of legality go against personalistic behavior, favoritism, among other practices, because the idea is to value citizenship and collective interest.

Furthermore, it is always important to remember that the activities of everyone in the public sector – from the president of the republic to municipal employees – are subject to obedience, compliance and practice of the laws.

Impersonality

The purpose of impersonality is to convey the notion of public administration, which must treat all citizens equally without discrimination; the state must act impartially towards third parties.

Public servants cannot benefit specific causes or people in their actions or treatment. They must always seek to reach the community or some broad group of citizens.

Furthermore, it is linked to the understanding that the acts of public officials are always attributed to the public body to which they are linked, so that an act of an agent is in fact an act of a body.

Morality

This principle requires public agents to distance themselves from morality and ethics. It also states that administrative activities must be guided not only by the law, but also by good faith, loyalty and probity.

It is important to always bear in mind that the principle of morality does not refer to common morality, but rather to the values set out in legal norms. It involves obeying the legal laws and the ethical laws of the institution, that is, the public administrator has the obligation to follow ethical standards.

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Publicity ensures the disclosure and transparency of public administration actions for public knowledge. We live in a democratic state of rights, that is, where power belongs to the people.

The principle of publicity is a requirement for effectiveness and morality, where every administrative act must be published, with the exception of matters that are confidential in cases of national security, police investigations or in the superior interests of the administration, as provided for by law.

Efficiency

This principle of efficiency can be summed up in the practice of good administration. It requires that administrative activity be carried out efficiently and without violating the principle of legality (i.e., within the law). It is the duty of public servants to act in order to offer the best possible service while preserving public resources.

Public administration and its concepts must always prioritize the execution of services with excellent quality, respect, good ethics, commitment and in the correct manner to avoid unnecessary expenses and waste.

What does a public administrator do?

The public administrator is the professional who performs an important function in the public sector. He is qualified to manage financial resources, technology, supplies and people in state entities. These professionals began to have the job of organizing, planning and coordinating the sectors of public organizations.

The main features and the obedience and ethics to the procedures provided for by law. For example, to hire a supplier, it is not enough to do as a private company and search for the best professional to perform the service.

You need to follow an important procedure called bidding, which opens a window of competition on an equal footing for all who wish to contribute to the public sector.

These restrictions on this autonomy occur in all sectors and activities, such as hiring people, defining the priorities of the bodies, choosing the best products and suppliers, setting prices and tariffs, etc.

Thus, unlike private administrators, public administration professionals must be very familiar with the laws and know how to generate results within this more restricted scope of action.

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How important is public administration?

Public administration, as an activity, corresponds to the management of public services, development activities and police power. The first services are services aimed at common needs; the second, incentive programs, and the third, activities that restrict freedom or property for the collective benefit of all.

A great example and model of this last case are the inspection agencies. When civil defense removes people from irregular or collapsing places and buildings, the location is restricted in order to ensure everyone's safety.

It is therefore understood that the public manager exerts great influence in the quality of life of the population and in the development of the place. It is this professional who will take care, under the guidance of what was democratically decided and provided for in the law, the most important and essential issues for the community.

The administrator exercises great responsibility and has a lot of visibility in his/her functions. The benefits are very interesting, as the public manager's earnings are compatible and, in some cases, higher than the conventional administration salary.

Did you like to know? a little more about public administration and its concepts, they saw how important it is for our governments and public sectors, to have good planning and work, for the benefit of the population and good organization for the community.

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I am a member of the O Administrador team and I produce content about career, personal finance, financial education, productivity, and professional development. My goal is to share clear and practical information to help readers with their day-to-day decisions.

August 19, 2022

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