Insights of Administrative Thinkers: Exploring the Foundations of Public Administration

This book offers a lucid and comprehensive account of the contributions of eminent theorists to the study of public administration and management. It introduces its readers to the works of 32 esteemed thinkers in the field of administrative theories. It provides life sketches of all the thinkers along with an outline of their contributions and a critical discussion of their seminal work. With a focused emphasis on individual thinkers, this volume covers all the major administrative theories that have evolved over the last 600 years, such as the oriental, classical, and administrative schools of thought, organisational humanism, and public choice theories of administration. The impact of postmodernism, poststructuralism and critical social theory on public administration has also been analysed in the context of their relevance to the modern world. Written as per the prescribed curriculum, the book will serve as a helpful companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of public administration and political science. It will be useful to students, researchers and teachers of public administration, public policy, political science, and management. The book will also be an invaluable companion to policymakers in the government sector as it will strengthen their conceptual understanding of the subject.

Table of Contents:
Introduction PART I – ORIENTAL THOUGHT 1. Sun Tzu – The Art of War 2. Kautilya – Arthashastra PART II – CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT 3. Woodrow Wilson – The Study of Administration 4. James David Mooney – Principles of Organisation 5. Frederick Winslow Taylor – Scientific Management 6. Henri Fayol: Foundations of Administrative Management 7. Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick - the science of administration PART III: THE BUREAUCRATIC SCHOOL OF THOUGHT 8. Karl Marx – State and Bureaucracy 9. Max Weber - Bureaucracy 10. Samuel Krislov and Donald Kingsley – Representative Bureaucracy 11. Gordon Tullock - The Politics of Bureaucracy PART IV – SOCIAL SYSTEM SCHOOL OF THOUGHT 12. Mary Parker Follett – Constructive Conflict and Leadership 13. Elton Mayo – Human Relations Movement 14. Chester I. Barnard – Functions of the Executive PART V: ADMINISTRATIVE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT 15. Herbert A. Simon – Administrative Behaviour 16. Dwight Waldo – The Administrative State 17. F. W. Riggs – Ecology of Public Administration 18. Robert Alan Dahl – Problems of Science of Administration 19. Robert T. Golembiewski – Public Administration as a Developing Discipline PART VI – ORGANISATIONAL HUMANISM 20. Abraham Maslow – Needs Hierarchy Theory 21. Frederick Herzberg – Hygiene and Motivation Factors 22. Douglas McGregor– Motivation and Leadership 23. Chris Argyris – Integrating the Individual and The Organisation 24. Rensis Likert – Systems Management 25. Peter F. Drucker – Management PART VII – PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY 26. James M. Buchanan – Public Choice Theory (The Calculus of Consent) 27. Elinor Ostrom – Public Choice Theory; Governing the Commons 28. Janet Vinzant Denhardt and Robert B. Denhardt– New Public Service 29. Yehezkel Dror - Public Policymaking PART VIII – EMERGING TRENDS 30. Postmodernism And Post-Structuralism Part I 31. Poststructuralism 32. Critical Social Theory

About the Author :
Anupama Puri Mahajan is an accomplished researcher and author in Public Administration. Her extensive work includes several published books and numerous research articles. Notable publications include Financial Administration in India (PHI India, 2014), Public Administration (Pearson Publishers), Development Administration in India (Sage Publishers, 2019), and her latest, Public Personnel Administration: Functionality and Challenges (Routledge). Anupama Puri Mahajan has contributed to leading academic journals such as Public Administration Review, Asian Governance: Paradoxes of Development, and Dynamics of Public Administration. Her research spans topics like public-private partnerships, natural disaster mitigation, and corporate social responsibility in India, reflecting her deep commitment to academic scholarship and passion for innovative ideas and perspectives.