term paper on public administration

Public Administration Topics for Term Papers

Business Research Topics and Ideas

Public administration topics for term papers are academic essays in which majors attempt to understand the dynamics of municipal governance. Students study the role of urban politics, public personnel management and regulatory policy and how it affects the democratic process. Before writing term papers, students conduct independent research on the nature of running a bureaucracy, administering public funds, evaluating programs and managing the economic aspects of municipal expenditures. Students use public administration topics to better understand the role of managing a public entity.

Fiscal Administration, Bureaucracy and Public Personnel

Public administration topics for term papers often focus on the impact of fiscal administration on a city. Within their papers, students criticize the municipal government's inability to administer city funds properly. For example, students discuss the politics involved in establishing and preparing the city budget. They use public administration topics to explore the influence of federal and state bureaucracies. They also explore the role of public personnel in terms of analyzing the application of problem-solving techniques by city leaders.

The Legal and Ethical Environment in Public Administration

Academic business departments and most social science majors offer courses on ethics and the impact of law on making daily political decisions. Public administration topics for term papers focus on the ethical and legal decisions key leaders make in managing the democratic process. Students focus on the sociopolitical implications of municipal governance and within their papers, they typically highlight how public administrators respond to accountability requests by its citizens and state government.

Quantitative Analysis and Program Evaluation

Public administration majors are required to enroll in a statistics course in which they learn how to process quantitative data. Students use computer technology to analyze and present research findings. Public administration research topics typically include a full exploration of public policy and its impact upon citizens. Students employ analytical techniques such as forecasting and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate past public programs. They perform needs assessments, evaluate the impact of fiscal administration and review past research projects related to program evaluation.

Urban Management, Diversity and Policy Planning

Urban management refers to the administration of government services. Students learn about the interrelationship between municipal and administrative structures and the management of public services for the local community. For example, the public administrator is responsible for developing frameworks for managing diversity and the organizational performance of the municipal corporation. Therefore, public administration topics for term papers always include references to the struggles of marginalized groups and how the municipal organization assesses and removes barriers. Students also cover the role of policy planning in managing human behavior.

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Public Administration Dissertations and Final Research Papers

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Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements Term Paper

Introduction, conclusions, reference list.

Public administration is one of the governmental bodies, which study, develop, and implement different branches of government policy. Policy may be described as the things, which government does or does not do. Activities of government representatives are crucially important for society, its further development, and prosperity. Local government is a kind of administrative office that keeps order in certain districts and provides civilians with the necessary safety.

Different political processes lead to different policy decisions, their implementation, and administration. To get a clear understanding on how local government works, it is better to choose one concrete sphere and analyze its functions, identify possible problems, and study the necessary requirements for the position chosen. Prosecutors and attorneys are the people, who help to protect the innocents and blame the offenders.

It is not always possible to follow justice, and this is why the work of those people may be criticized a lot. With the help of the interview with one criminal prosecutor of Hillsborough County, Anthony Rickman, we have a wonderful opportunity to analyze the work of prosecutors and attorneys and get a clear understanding of how all this governmental policy influences the development of our society and provides with the necessary safety.

Public Administration, Its Definition, Functions, and Role

The role of public administration and government policy is rather considerable. Public and private sectors play a very important role in the development of the conditions people live in. This is why public administration is considered to be one of the services to citizens and public, which help to regulate current conditions and improve them.

Public policy is one of the most complicated systems aims at solving societal problems. According to Stillman (2005), public administration may be defined as “the use of managerial, political, and legal theories to fulfill legislative, executive, and judicial mandates for provision of regulatory and service functions.”

With the help of such definition, it is not that difficult to identify the functions of public administration and clear up what the role of attorneys and prosecutors for society are. The functions of public administration should be formed according to the public interests because of the reasons of public administration existence is the security of society.

Without society, public administration has no sense to exist. However, at the same time, any public administration controls people and their behavior. If it is necessary, people are punished with the help of prosecutors. If it is necessary, people may find defense from the government with the help of attorneys.

The representatives of the sphere of public administration should gather and analyze the necessary information about people, find required evidences, prove or disprove their reliability, and develop policy.

Public administrators may perform numerous roles: border guards, auditors, analysts, and even managers of government agencies. Public administration should train analysts in order to use their analytical skills and help public servants solve policy issues and analyze programs. It is also necessary to teach public managers in order to implement and develop numerous public policy programs.

In order to make a clear definition of the functions of public administration, it is necessary to analyze all above-mentioned facts. As a result, we can see that public administration (1) aims to help society to solve their problems on a governmental level; (2) controls the behavior of society in order to provide people with proper conditions for living; (3) trains staff to analyze and improve people actions and explain that everything should be done in accordance to the laws, and (4) provides people with the necessary legislation.

The role of public administration is significant indeed. People should live according to certain rules in order not to disturb each other and be able to get the necessary help from the government side. This is why it is necessary to choose the best representatives, who will be ready to control the situation and improve living conditions day by day.

Attorneys and Prosecutors: The Way to Success

The profession of attorneys and prosecutors is not easy. It is impossible to become a sophisticated attorney/prosecutor in one day or even a week. This is why education plays a very important role in further development of society. It is necessary to inter for a certain period of time, get recommendations, enlarge obtained knowledge, and train skills.

With the help of different kinds of probations, beginners get opportunities to present qualified services and evaluate situations of different kinds. Anthony Rickman, in his interview, says that he has to pass several probations in order to become a professional attorney. First, he was an interne with Senator Connie Mack, then he was a clerk and a member of one mock team, finally he became a prosecutor, and now, he is known as a sophisticated attorney.

With the help of such practice, it is easier to analyze the work of different department and be able to evaluate the case from different perspectives. The relations between the representatives of different spheres of public administration play a very important role in different proceedings. In order to complete the work perfectly, it is necessary not to confuse personal relations with professional ones. If an attorney and a prosecutor mix up work and private life, the results of such mixing may be rather disappointing.

It turns out to be one of the most frequent problems if law representative cannot clear up where job affairs and personal life should be separated. However, good and even friendly relations between those, who defend and those, who prosecute may be rather beneficial. Anthony Rickman underlines that such relations may help to be honest to each other and get to know more about the strengths and weaknesses of the case under consideration.

Another thing that may improve court proceedings, as it was mentioned above, is people’s experience. First, Anthony Rickman works as a prosecutor. With the help of his numerous probations as an assistant of prosecutor, he got to know more about possible problems and shortages of this job.

When he became the prosecutor, he realized that money support and evidences played almost the major role. After the time to become the attorney comes, Anthony Rickman has solid background knowledge about the work of prosecutors and the difficulties they may face with.

His practice provides him an opportunity to treat prosecutors the way of how he wanted to be treated. So, the way to success in the field of public administration is good practice, abilities to analyze the gathered information, trust people and, at the same time, check the reliability of the information presented, and, of course, good relation to colleagues and other people around.

Problems, Attorneys and Prosecutors May Face

It is necessary to stay honest with yourself and people around, only this way people can live a normal life. Unfortunately, the conditions people live under are not quite optimistic nowadays. The bureaucratic system is still functional and dictates its own rules. Any government office is characterized by the presence of bureaucrats and their own laws.

Attorneys and prosecutors have nothing to do but work under such conditions and try to do their best to present really good services. Without any doubts, money plays a very important role. The point is that people of any profession try to find proper ways to earn more money and gain recognition. They may cheat, say not true words, and present false evidences.

Corruption is one of the things, which undermine government policy. People can easily take money and create the necessary verdict. The questions of race and ethnicity still bother lots of people. Of course, the questions of discrimination are not that evident, but if we look closer at the political system and public administration, we will certainly see that someone are still prejudiced against racial inequality and even gender issues.

Stillman (2005) considers that public administration is a kind of “accomplishing side of government.” This is why all actions, which take place in the governmental system should pass a kind of control within public administration. And if the representatives of public administration still lie and use false evidences, what can be said about the system we live in. In fact, nothing positive can be said. People live false lives, follow false regulations, and make false decision. Because of such unfair system, really innocent people may suffer.

There are so many cases when innocent people were accused of the crimes they did not make. Some people were also killed. Is it fair to follow such uncertain conditions? Hardly! People should have a chance to choose whether they should live normal true life with all its consequences both positive and negative, or they should live according to those rules, which rich people set.

This is why the role of prosecutors and attorneys lie in the following: they should be ready to use true facts in order to provide people with equal possibilities to solve their problems, be justified or punished.

Without any doubts, attorneys and prosecutors face so many problems in their lives and jobs. Lots of them are caused by false evidences and corruption. In order to extirpate these problems, it is better to start from the very beginning and re-organize government policy. Of course, it is not that easy to carry out such operations, however, certain changes may be done, and they should be done as soon as possible in order not to neglect the whole situation in the country.

Requirements to Become a Professional Attorney/Prosecutor

In order to become a professional and respected prosecutor or attorney, it is necessary to work hard and be aware of the cases, which really deserve attention and need to be analyzed.

People face so many injustice in this life that just have nothing to do but accept this as it is. Unfortunately, such injustice may cost some lives. For example, the case of Kristin Lardner, a girl, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. Lots of public agencies had numerous chances to prevent that terrible murder, but still, did not use their powers in order to stop the crime. (Stillman, 2005)

Of course, after the tragedy, it is possible to blame the system because of its negligence. It is possible to blame society that cannot help the girl. It is always easier to find the guilty. And what is more terrible is the fact that after the girl was murdered, lots of people could find enough time to examine the situation and investigate where bureaucracy was born.

The question is why people did not pay attention when the girl tried to persuade them and explain that this situation may bring bad consequences. Why is our justice so blind when it is necessary to turn on all senses? Why do people not pay attention to the details, when they have the time? Such examples and many others, described in Stillman’s work, should be analyzed by all people, who want to connect their lives with public administration and be worth professionals.

People have a splendid opportunity to learn on the terrible mistakes made by the others, and they should not neglect it. Of course, our political system and public administration is not perfect, however, the time, when people may evaluate the mistakes, exists. So, future attorneys and prosecutors should pay attention to the cases, which lead to such tragedies, as the one, described in Stillman’s work.

Stillman pays attention to different cases connected to the mistakes or shortages of public administrations: war in Iraq, genome project, or shooting at Columbine High School. Such practice and this information may help and even improve the world we live in. Of course, it does not help to return those people to live, however, it may help to save numerous lives in future.

Learning the mistakes made by other public administrators is one of the requirements for future attorneys and prosecutors. However, it is not the only one. As Anthony Rickman mentions, another significant factor is worth probation. When beginners observe the work of other people, they get the necessary experience and even assist, if it is possible. Also, to become a good public administrator, it is necessary to get proper education and be aware of the law existed.

Public administration deals with numerous public entities and analyzes their relations with each other and the rest of the world. Public administration should be responsible for the development of government programs, which help to control society and decide their problems on the appropriate level.

The problems of bureaucracy, corruption, and personal relations between public administrators still exist in our every day life and stay on the way to fair verdicts. With the help of cases, described in the work by Stillman, it is easier to analyze the work of other public administrators and find out what kind of causes bring to these or that results.

Interview with an attorney from the State Attorney’s Office, Anthony Rickman, also helps to analyze what qualities and skills are necessary to become a real specialist in the certain sphere, in this case, it is a sphere of public administration.

People should not use personal relations in order to solve problems. They should better to use such relations in order to comprehend the essence of the problem and find out who is innocent and who is guilty. Our world needs worth and fair attorneys and prosecutors in order to save this world from a total collapse and give rise to its development.

Rickman, A. Prosecutor in Hillsborough County for the State Attorney’s Office. Interview.

Stillman, RJ. (2005). Public Administration: Concepts and Cases . 8 th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company.

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IvyPanda. (2023, November 28). Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-administration-functions-problems-and-educational-requirements/

"Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements." IvyPanda , 28 Nov. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/public-administration-functions-problems-and-educational-requirements/.

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IvyPanda . 2023. "Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements." November 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-administration-functions-problems-and-educational-requirements/.

1. IvyPanda . "Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements." November 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-administration-functions-problems-and-educational-requirements/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Public Administration: Functions, Problems, and Educational Requirements." November 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-administration-functions-problems-and-educational-requirements/.

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Public administration: Review of critical papers

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Indian Institute of Public Administration

Mohammad Haleem Khan

'If scholars live or die in terms of the images they create, students of public administration are clearly in trouble even if some hope still exists. …' Thus began Robert T. Golembiewski his monumental book: 'Public Administration As a Developing Discipline, Part I, Perspectives on Past and Present'. He devoted the book to provide content for Public Administration as a field. 'Content in his case included not only an orientation to analysis, but also the skills and technologies necessary for supporting cumulative traditions of research and application. To quote from the book ' Public administration's early history is studded with symbols testifying to its rich destiny and performance. Not only were all problems ultimately administrative problems, for example, but the very existence of our civilizations depended upon the success with which we learn of to cope with the administrative ultimates.' Woodrow Wilson's influential conclusion who noted, " it is getting harder to run a constitution, than to frame one " did generate its many an echo. Again to quote from the Foreword to the monumental 1937 publication 'Papers on the Science of Administration' by Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick, " if those who are concerned scientifically with the phenomena of getting things done through cooperative human effort will proceed along these lines we may expect in time to construct a valid and accepted theory of administration. " The confidence of the first half of the 20 th century, however, did not last long. " For a variety of reasons, " Frederick Mosher concluded, " public administration stands in danger of … senescence. " Frederick Mosher further emphasized the crisis of identity concern soon thereafter: 'More is now known about public administration than was the case twenty years ago. But there is a great deal more to know. There are more depths to probe than were then visualized, and more different perspectives from which to start the probing. This field need bow to no other in respect to its sophistication about its subject matter. But such sophistication can senesce into mere dilettantism unless it is grounded in premises and hypotheses that are in some degree ordered and tested and that are continuously refreshed with new data and experience.' Φ The author a senior member of the Indian Administrative Service-the premier Civil Service of India is presently working as Additional Financial Advisor and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence in the Government of India. Earlier till recently he was working as Secretary Finance, Government of Uttar Pradesh and prior to that as Member (Finance & Accounts) UP State Electricity Board. He was the key person in the UP government's team assigned with the task of structuring and negotiations of first ever stand-alone programme loan to a sub national government by the World Bank. He has vast experience of serving in the various field level Public Administration positions, PSUs and at the policy formulation levels in the secretariat. The views expressed here, however, are entirely his own and in no way should be construed to represent the organization / the government he happen to be serving/have served. In this apparently visible two-part article, the first part is devoted to capture the discipline of public administration as seen by the masters of yore and is based largely on the works of Robert T. Golembiewski. The second part of course is what may be euphemistically called the recipe of the author.

eric capito

Comr- Ajoku Emeka

Erunke Canice

The success and survival of any organizations be they government or not is contingent upon group efforts and cooperation to achieve set goals. This paper discusses the nature and scope of public administration to say that in modern day societies, any administration in the public interest transcends beyond government circles and finds expression in other spheres of human endeavours including the church, mosques, postal services as well as international relations and diplomacy, respectively. The paper discusses the concepts of administration and public administration thereby creating a distinction between the two concepts. Furthermore, the understanding of the scope of administration through the various schools of thought have also been captured, the essence of which is to generate a clearer understanding of the discourse under review. The paper ends with conclusions.

saima jabbar

Gerda Van Dijk

P ublic Administration has reluctantly been accepted as a science by some of its sister disciplines in the Social Sciences. This may be ascribed to the eclectic nature of the Discipline and its reliance on related disciplines to explain, direct and inform study and practice. Public Administration studies human beings engaged in administrative and managerial duties in organs of state. Therefore, any study should consider the behaviour and actions of human beings in an organisational setting operating in a political environment. Sciences depend on theory to investigate, explain and predict the phenomena being studied. A science has to be founded on justifiable laws or acceptable theories to develop new knowledge and influence practice. Public Administration is in the unenviable position that it studies social phenomena subjected to continuous change due to societal values and political changes. Thus it has to be able to adopt theories providing for universal truths, but accommodating the new domain of study, e.g. the development of public-private-partnerships and the evolution of the developmental state. Various theories related to Public Administration will be investigated in this article to establish their relevance. This will be used as a foundation to enter into a discourse regarding the identification of the requirements against which Public Administration theory should be tested. With this as a point of departure the possible development of Public Administration related theories will be discussed.

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Public Administration, Research Paper Example

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As public servants and officers entrusted to maintain public administration in the form of citizen protection, the police face enormous and complex challenges. Depending upon where they perform their duties, expectations from the communities they serve are frequently frustrated by limited means, an insufficient workforce, and legal restrictions in place to protect the rights of suspects. Specifically, the issue of police profiling has been hotly debated, and vocal opponents categorize it as a racist and illegal practice, wherein suspects are predetermined as such by virtue of minority status. Ultimately, however, police profiling, done rationally, is nothing more than an implementing of established data and a potentially effective method of lessening crime.

Police Profiling: Issues

In basic terms, the practice of police profiling refers to employing statistics on crime and criminals to obtain a working idea of who the most likely perpetrators of crime will be, in a given area or city. As the practice relies upon a complex gathering and sorting of information, profiling, at least in the modern sense, is commonly thought to be a relatively recent activity and concern. The impetus behind it, however, is as old as police work itself: “Profiling is the long-held, widespread police practice of viewing certain characteristics of individuals and situations as indicative of criminal behavior” (Barkan, Bryjak, 2009, p. 259).

It is logical to conclude that the increased racial awareness in place over the past few decades has brought profiling into sharp focus; plainly, a general disregard for the status of minorities must translate to a lack of concern in the violation of minority rights, both from a community and the police employed to protect it. As civil rights movements took potent form in the 1960s and beyond, all forms of discrimination came under intense scrutiny. This ran the gamut from job opportunities and social restrictions to, not unexpectedly, the way minorities have been treated by the police. Consequently, when profiling is discussed, it is typically racial profiling at the heart of the controversy.

The arguments regarding racial profiling emanate from every quarter, and opposing sides represent all factions within society. Government and public administration officials ordinarily condemn the practice, pointing to the fundamental violation of basic human rights it appears to manifest. Their position is, however, tenuous, for racial profiling actually defies strict definition and is therefore not, technically, illegal. A court may hold that a case of evident racial profiling ignores the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees all citizens equal treatment under the law. Many courts, in fact, have. These same courts, nonetheless, must take into account public fear, and confront as well the inescapable data motivating the police action.

Opponents of racial profiling are by no means restricted to minority spokespeople. As noted, public officials at the highest levels of government, particularly presidential, decry it. Such opposition is most often put forth in a theoretical manner; every citizen, regardless of ethnicity, must be treated by the police as all citizens are. This goes to the most basic components of the nation’s founding principles, and is not easily disputed by any rational means.

This point brings up, however, an interesting distinction. That is to say, when does police “treatment” actually commence? In profiling, there is an inherent degree of passivity; it relies upon a watchfulness generated by a police force with allegedly sound cause to be suspicious. It is arguable if any citizen’s rights are being truly violated when no real, active police presence is thrust upon them.

Opponents immediately proclaim that the suspicion itself is the violation. It opens the door for unjustified interrogation and/or harassment, and it is as well an insult to the profiled citizen. While there is evident validity to this argument, it nonetheless ignores two realities. The first is that any citizen of any race at all may be, simply through circumstance, unfairly “profiled” merely because an expectation of criminal activity prompts the watchfulness from police relied upon by the community. Then, there is the matter of data, strongly pointing to probabilities.

Those who support racial profiling do not usually do so overtly, or proudly. It is, in such eyes, a regrettable but vital tool. The information employed by the police, they aver, is not guilty of racism or racist intent because it is only information. Supporters tend to view profiling opposition as an understandable, but naïve, reaction to unfortunate circumstances. It may be assumed that both sides would be pleased to see an eventual vanishing of all discrimination lead to a world wherein profiling is an outmoded and useless police activity.

Letter to the Editor

I have observed in my own community attitudes regarding racial profiling that I find disturbing. A frequent business traveler, and one based in a major city, I have had occasion to witness airport security incidents which have made me reflect on profiling, and how it is viewed by the people around me, in a new light.

In the past, I was as adamantly against racial profiling as anyone, certainly in theory. It just seemed to me to go against everything this country is supposed to be about. Then, the world changed.  As is commonly known, the enormous attention placed upon terrorism within the past ten years has brought the issues of racial profiling under even more intense scrutiny. After the attacks of 9/11, racial profiling was done openly, in a sense. It seemed to be very much regarded by the public at large as, if an evil, a necessary one: “…Public attitudes toward racially profiling terrorists softened as the sense of urgency regarding future terrorist attacks increased” (Turvey, 2008, p. 526).

What occurred, and what I see occurring almost every time I travel, is that citizens who would be unduly distressed to see an African American detained at a security checkpoint for no obvious reason are inclined to support the same detaining of those of Middle Eastern aspect. The prevalent and national point of view regarding any inequities with racial profiling became uniformly segmented because the nature of terrorism seemed to demand a far more narrow interpretation of civil rights.

This is what has compelled me to reexamine my own feelings on the subject. That single element serves to eviscerate opposition against racial profiling, and not merely because it is an unreasonable viewpoint generated by a greater fear. The logic appears to be that, as there is irrefutable evidence that terrorism is conducted by people from Middle astern backgrounds, and that such people are easily identified by physical characteristics and modes of dress, it is rational to suspect them.

If, however, this mode of thinking is in any way valid, I do not see how it may be confined to either potential crime or suspected perpetrator of any kind. The enormity of a terrorist act cannot alter the virtue or immorality of racial profiling; the process exists independent of specific criminal action, no matter the impact. Consequently, if the police possess solid data revealing that, in a certain district, a certain minority population is overwhelmingly implicated in crime, the exact same principles apply, and the racial profiling remains a logical and productive, if unfortunate, tool in diminishing crime in that area.

I have further reflected on a frequently overlooked aspect of the issue, which is that the police are an extension of the public. They are citizens too, who, for whatever reason, have selected that career. Then, the profiling done on Middle Eastern people at my airport is not limited to the police; I see my neighbors doing it, although they do not have the authority to actually detain anyone. The suspicions and the fears are plain to see, and it strikes me as highly unreasonable to expect our police and security people to somehow demonstrate a finer character than we ourselves possess.

What we expect, in fact, is that the police reflect our own concerns. They operate, as we do, based not only on what is actually occurring, but on what may well occur, given a set of known circumstances. In my view now, racial profiling is an ugly consequence of a flawed society. However, as long as empirical data and solid backgrounds of evidence support it, I cannot in good conscience claim that it is unethical, or wrong. I can only trust that the police always keep profiling within tightly maintained parameters, and never let the tool that it is dictate unfounded actions.

Barkan, S. E., and Bryjack, G. J. (2009.) Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Turvey, B. E. (2008.) Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.

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