Maharashtra Board Class 11 Political Science Chapter 7 Public Administration Solutions

1A. Choose the Correct Alternative and Complete the Following Statements.

Question 1. The backbone of any administrative system is _____________
(a) material resource
(b) human resource
(c) natural resource
(d) geographic resource
Answer: (b) human resource
In simple words: An administrative system cannot function without people. Human resources, meaning the employees and workers, are the most essential part that keeps the entire system running.

🎯 Exam Tip: Remember that while material and natural resources are important, human resource is considered the ultimate backbone because only humans can manage and execute administrative tasks.

Question 2. Gullick and _____________ put forth the acronym POSDCORB.
(a) Woodrow Wilson
(b) Herbert Simon
(c) Urwick
(d) Dwight Waldo
Answer: (c) Urwick
In simple words: Urwick, along with Luther Gulick, created the word POSDCORB to easily remember the main steps of management.

🎯 Exam Tip: Remember that POSDCORB stands for Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting, co-created by Gulick and Urwick.

1B. Identify the Incorrect Pair in Every Set, Correct It and Rewrite

Question 1.
(a) Kautilya – Arthashastra
(b) Aristotle – The Politics
(c) Machiavelli – Republic
Answer: Machiavelli – The Prince or Plato – Republic. Machiavelli actually wrote 'The Prince', while 'Republic' is a famous work by the Greek philosopher Plato.
In simple words: The incorrect pair is Machiavelli and Republic, because Plato wrote Republic and Machiavelli wrote The Prince.

🎯 Exam Tip: Memorize famous political thinkers and their books, as matching or correcting pairs is a common exam question.

1C. State the Appropriate Concept for the Given Statements

Question 1. The systematic management of governmental affairs in 18th century Germany and Austria.
Answer: Cameralism. This administrative system focused on managing the state's finances and economic wealth to increase public prosperity.
In simple words: Cameralism was an early form of public administration used in Germany and Austria to manage government wealth.

🎯 Exam Tip: Associate the term 'Cameralism' directly with 18th-century German and Austrian administration to score full marks.

Question 2. Efforts of companies to integrate social and environmental concerns.
Answer: Corporate Social Responsibility. This concept encourages businesses to act in ways that benefit society and protect the environment.
In simple words: Corporate Social Responsibility is when companies do good things for people and the planet, not just focus on making money.

🎯 Exam Tip: Use the standard abbreviation CSR if you are short on time, but writing the full form 'Corporate Social Responsibility' is preferred.

2. State Whether the Following Statements are True or False with Reasons

Question 1. The first step in administration is staffing.
Answer: This statement is False. According to POSDCORB, the very first step in administration is planning, which lays the foundation for all other activities.
In simple words: The statement is false because you must plan what to do before you can hire people (staffing) to do it.

🎯 Exam Tip: When a statement is false, always state the correct fact clearly to secure full marks for the reasoning part.

Question 2. Public Administration as an academic discipline was born in India.
Answer: This statement is False. Public Administration as an academic discipline originated in the USA, and Woodrow Wilson was the first person to emphasize the need to study it. However, Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ was an important text on administration and political economy in ancient India, showing that administrative thought has deep roots there.
In simple words: Public administration as a modern school subject started in the United States, not India, even though ancient Indian books like Kautilya's Arthashastra did talk about how to run a country.

🎯 Exam Tip: Always clearly state 'True' or 'False' first before providing the historical context of where the academic discipline actually originated.

3. Explain the Co-relation Between the Following

Question 1. Narrow and Broad perspective of Public Administration (Private administration and Public administration).
Answer: Private administration is concerned with achieving the goals of private business organizations. The similarities between private and public administration are that both aim to serve the people, have similar types of hierarchy and management systems, and rely on common skills, techniques, and procedures. The differences between private and public administration relate to aspects like scope, motive, responsibility, weakness, and financial control. Private administration is business-like with a narrower scope, wealth creation as the motive, responsibility to the owners, fewer chances of red-tapism, and internal financial control. Public administration is bureaucratic with a very wide scope and motive as public service, responsibility to the ministers, intrinsic weakness of red-tapism, and external financial controls. Understanding these distinctions helps us appreciate how public services operate differently from commercial enterprises.
In simple words: Private administration is about running private businesses to make a profit, while public administration is run by the government to serve the public. Although they use similar management tools, public administration has a much broader scope and is accountable to the public and government.

🎯 Exam Tip: To score full marks, structure your answer by clearly dividing it into similarities and differences, using key terms like 'profit motive' and 'public service'.

Question 2. National Administration and State Administration (Rural administration and Urban administration).
Answer: At the local level, the administration is either urban or rural. Urban administration includes political and administrative dimensions. For cities, there are Municipal Corporations (with a population of 3 lakhs and more) headed by the Mayor, Municipal Councils (Nagar Palika), City Councils (Nagar Panchayats), and Cantonment Boards. There is also a Municipal Commissioner who performs administrative functions and a Collector who looks after revenue, law, and order, land records, etc. Rural administration includes three tiers i.e., Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, and Gram Panchayat. Developmental administration includes Chief Executive Officer, Block Development Officer, and Gram Sevak. There is also the Collector and Tehsildar. These administrative bodies work together to ensure smooth governance at every level.
In simple words: Local government is divided into city (urban) and village (rural) systems. Cities are managed by municipal groups, while villages are managed through a three-tier system of panchayats, both supported by government officers.

🎯 Exam Tip: Clearly distinguish between urban and rural administrative bodies and remember to mention key officials like the Mayor, Commissioner, and Collector to score full marks.

Answer the Following

Question 1. Explain the functioning of the administration.
Answer: The administrative system functions through a structured hierarchy from the national level down to the local level as shown below:
• National (Central Government)
    • State (State Government)
        • Local Government
            • Urban:
                • Municipal Corporations / Municipal Councils / Cantonment Boards
            • Rural:
                • District: Zilla Parishad
                • Block: Panchayat Samiti
                • Village: Gram Panchayat
This hierarchical structure helps in the efficient distribution of power and responsibilities.
In simple words: The government is organized like a pyramid, starting from the national level at the top, down to state governments, and finally to local city and village administrations at the bottom.

🎯 Exam Tip: Draw or list this flow chart clearly in your exam to show the step-by-step division of government from national to village levels.

Question 1. Explain the administrative machinery of the government at different levels.
Answer:
(i) At the national level, the work of the Central Government is conducted by various ministries (departments). For example, there are ministries of Agriculture, Health, Home, Defence, etc. Each ministry (or department) is headed by a Minister. Below the Minister is the bureaucracy or the administrative machinery. Besides the ministries, there are such institutions as the Election Commission, Union Public Service Commission, NITI Aayog, etc. These also require administrators or a bureaucracy.
(ii) At the State level also, there are various ministries and commissions that do the work of the government. The ministries of the State are also headed by a Minister and staffed by the bureaucracy.
(iii) At the local level, the administration is of two types: urban and rural administration. At the district level, the highest administrative officer is the collector. In large cities, the Municipal Commissioner is in charge of the Municipality or Municipal Corporation. In rural areas, at the level of the Tehsil, the Tehsildar looks after the administration.
(iv) There is a close link between political leadership and administrative machinery. At the national, state levels and local levels, the political leaders are closely linked to the administrative machinery.
(v) The recruitment for all administrative posts at all levels is done through competitive examinations conducted by the government. At the central government level, the UPSC and Staff Selection Commission are the bodies that conduct these examinations. These exams ensure that highly qualified individuals are selected to serve the public.
In simple words: Government work is divided into national, state, and local levels, run by ministers and assisted by trained officers (bureaucrats) who are selected through competitive exams.

🎯 Exam Tip: Clearly distinguish between national, state, and local levels of administration, and mention the role of competitive exams like UPSC to score full marks.

Question 2. Explain the steps in public policymaking.
Answer: Public Policy refers to the new approach to understanding aspects of government activities for public welfare, that is beyond simple administrative activities for e.g., Ayushman Bharat which aims to provide universal access to good quality health care in India. Public policy can be understood in three steps. These steps help ensure that government programs are planned and executed effectively.
In simple words: Public policy is how the government plans and takes action to help the public, like providing healthcare for everyone. It is usually done in three main steps.

🎯 Exam Tip: Define public policy clearly with an example like Ayushman Bharat to show a strong understanding of the concept.

Answer the Following in Detail with Reference to the Given Points

Question 1. Define public administration and explain its scope with reference to the following points.
(a) narrow perspective
(b) wider perspective
Answer: Public Administration is a sub-discipline of Political Science. It focuses on ‘government in action’ i.e., implementation of government decisions, policies, and programmes in fields of social security and welfare, law and order, transport and communication, health and sanitation, etc. It plays a crucial role in translating political commitments into reality for citizens.

The executive branch of government consists of the Political Executive (council of ministers) and Permanent/ Non-political Executive or Bureaucracy. Public Administration as a subject studies the activity and process of the government. According to Waldo, ‘Public Administration is the art and science of management as applied to the affairs of the state’.

Public Administration broadly includes the following:
• Activities of all three branches of government, especially that of the executive branch.
• Non-political public bureaucracy operating in a political system.
• Management of public affairs and policy execution.
• Concerned with public welfare and hence provides service and regulatory functions to the people to attain a good life.
In simple words: Public administration is the practical side of government that works to implement laws, run public services, and manage day-to-day state affairs to help citizens.

🎯 Exam Tip: When defining public administration, remember to mention Waldo's definition and highlight how it acts as the execution arm of government policies.

Scope Of Public Administration

Public Administration can be studied as two categories.

(a) Narrow Perspective
It focuses on aspects related only to the executive branch of government. Gullick and Urwick sum this view in the acronym POSDCORB to denote Planning, Organisation, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting.

POSDCORB Diagram Elements:

• Planning
• Organising
• Staffing
• Directing
• Coordinating
• Reporting
• Budgeting

• Planning – working out in broad outline/ blueprint of what is to be done and methods to be adopted for it. e.g., NITI Aayog has adopted the approach of grassroots – national level.
• Organising – establishing the formal structure of authority through which work is delegated, defined, and coordinated e.g. All India services.
• Staffing – recruitment, training, and working conditions of personal e.g., in India this is through UPSC.
• Directing – making decisions and issuing instructions and orders as the administration is a continuous activity.
• Coordinating – interrelating the work of various selections and parts of the organization. eliminate overlapping of work or conflict over responsibility
• Reporting – reporting to superiors/higher authorities any information about ongoing/completed tasks. This ensures responsibility and accountability.
• Budgeting – refers to fiscal planning, control, and accounting.

(b) Broad Perspective
This differs from the narrow, managerial view of public administration. It includes activities of all three branches of the government, their interrelationships. Specialized government functions such as defense, finance, health care, etc. as well as collaborations with private groups e.g., NGO’s in providing services to the community. This view is concerned with techniques of administration (POSDCORB) as well as with substantive matters of administration.

According to Woodrow Wilson, ‘Administration is the most obvious part of the government- it is a government inaction, the most visible, operative side of the government.’

Activity (Text Book Page No. 63)

Question 1. Look at the latest Annual Report of the Ministry of Home, Government of India. Make a list of the main activities of the ministry.
Answer: The main activities of the Ministry of Home, GOI include the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. This ministry plays a vital role in preserving the social fabric and national integrity of the country. The departments and forces included under this Ministry are:
• Intelligence Bureau (IB)
• Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
• Border Security Force (BSF)
• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
• National Security Guards (NSG)
• National Investigation Agency (NIA)
• Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
In simple words: The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for keeping the country safe from internal threats and managing national security forces. It oversees various departments like the police and intelligence agencies to maintain peace.

🎯 Exam Tip: Remember to mention key security agencies like the IB, CRPF, and BSF when listing the departments under the Ministry of Home Affairs to secure full marks.