Issues of politics and administration dichotomy Assignment

Issues of politics and administration dichotomy - Assignment Example In our study of public administration, politics and government are to different terms but are interrelated. As a matter of fact, they are interwoven and knotted to each other in a manner that one becomes almost meaningless without the other. We cannot talk about politics without mentioning administration and we cannot talk about administration without mentioning politics. To understand politics is the key in understanding public administration. As politics is the formulation of public policy, administration on the other hand is carrying out such policy. So as for me, to deal with these two separately will be impractical and not workable. Politics can stand for the public interest as it is about the activities of an interest group which can penetrate the whole fabric of government. In this sense, government becomes the organization, machinery or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions. In my observation, public administration works in a highly political environment. This is because under the bureaucratic structure of the government, the administrator cannot achieve the objectives of his organization without any political intervention. For example, appropriation in carrying out the goals of any government institution must be authorized by the legislature. In this case, the administrator should strive to win the support and approval of the legislature for the program of his administration. The use of the politics – administration dichotomy as a way to advance in the study of public administration can be advantageous and disadvantageous at the same time. It is an advantage for us to separate politics from administration to maintain the trust of the public. This is done by suppressing the prevalence of influence of any political group in government administration. This way, the interest of the people is guarded against the interest of the political group. For example, in the process of