Differences and Similarities between Private and Public Administration

Public Administration
Name
Institution
Differences and Similarities between Private and Public Administration
In discussing public and private administration understanding, the meaning of administration is key. Administration is the process of shaping policies, setting the desired objectives to be fulfilled, and putting down initiative or projects to meet the set objectives. Administration entails providing leadership that offers guidance and control work in achieving common goals whether in the public or in private sector (Laurence, 2006). The difference between public and private administration can be viewed looking at three main aspects of political, size of its operations and accountability. In public administration, certain features are generated due to its nature of operation. Public administration can be better defined as government offices or public companies while private administration is more related to Private Sector Company. Public administration is considered political because it operates in a political context and run on directives from the leaders elected as legislatures. The main purpose of public administration is to deliver services to the public to promote their social well-being. Therefore, they are not profit driven like the private administration. Public administration is guided by a legal framework whereby its operations are based on constitutional practice and the set rules and regulations (Laurence, 2006).
Officials working for the public are required to make decision based on the legal power bestowed on them. Contrary to this, there is a possibility that their action could be challenged in court of law (Laurence, 2006). Every action done by the officials must follow the statutory guidelines. This limitation is just a measure to ensure that public officials are not abusing the office. Any public official should maintain a high level of consistency as he/she is under a legal obligation to do so. In public administration, any employee is open to public scrutiny from time to time meaning that public operations are guided by public needs and opinion. Therefore, employees are accountable based on the legal frameworks provided by law. This is different when it comes to private administration because for private administration it is not politically affiliated (Laurence, 2006).
The main similarities between public and private administration is that both of them depend on similar technique in planning, organization operations and even managing finances as they use common skills like accounting, filing, editing, and arranging for meetings among others. Both public and private administration requires some form of service to either the customers, or public. For example, government’s consumers are the public while the private consumers are its customers. In the current situation, profit making has become acceptable in public administration as an objective, as they have also acknowledged the importance of community services. In management of personnel and developing policies private administration are greatly influenced by existing public practices and vice versa. Both the public and private administration borrows from each other workable models of management for sustainability. For example, most public corporations owned by the government have largely borrowed its practices from private businesses making them thrive. Currently private administrations are also subjected to public scrutiny, as they are required to adhere to the legal framework set by governments. They equally face legal constraints similar to the ones faced by public administration when the government exercises control through tax, and licenses among other policies (Eric, 2006).
The main difference between public and private administration is the motivation associated with their operations. Private administration is motivated by profit that provides the hallmark for streamlining operations to enhance the reputation and profits. This cannot be said for public administration because their motivation is meant to improve the living standards of its citizens. Public administration works for service and not profit, as it values quality service, which is different from private administration. With the different motivations, tasks are different in both private and public administration (Drysdale, 2007).
Is It True That The Two Are Essentially Similar In All Insignificant Respects?
Public administration and private administration are not equally similar. Their differences dominate their similarities in many aspects. For example, in their daily operations decision-making process are interpreted differently. Conflicts in private administration are considered negative, meaning that the strategic action is not a shared idea by all. Conflicts are considered positive in public administration because it is a sign of different stakeholders showing active participation in the process and ensuring that the decisions to be made will put into consideration their interest. This shows how public administration values consultative practices in making decisions, which is not the same as private administration. In private administration, they simply use analytical practices or case studies in guiding their decisions (Drysdale, 2007).
In public administration, their main goal is to make best use of the collective worth while the private administration have to choose rationally in striving to maximize the company’s wishes. Public administration main features include the huge number of formal processes to be followed. The formal processes are to ensure that rules and regulations set are in force. Everyone should comply with them. In public administration, there are red tapes owing to how power is divided mainly into executive, legislative, and judicial to ensure that powers are not misused and transparency is upheld. The level of formalization in the public administration exceeds that of the private administration. Such practices form great distinctions between the two, meaning that even performance cultures are not the same. In public administration, there is a strong commitment to serve people and the community at large. Accountability is highly upheld as emphasis is put on transparency in supporting all service beneficiaries who are the public.
Public Services
Public services are services that should be universally guaranteed to the public for moral reasons. They are associated more with human rights, and anyone is entitled to receive these services without discrimination be it his religion, ethnic origin, language, and even location. Offering public service means helping people with specified needs, for example, offering health service to a patient (Drysdale, 2007). The current times public services includes:
Education is important because skills, knowledge, and values are transferred from one group to the other using various modes of teaching. Education has become a right and it is recognized by governments as the only way to development. It is important to acquire formal education in order to have better knowledge needed to survive in the society today. Education sha...