BSEH SS Public Admin key terms

Both the activity of implementing government policy and the academic discipline that studies it; it covers executive machinery, management of public resources and the delivery of services to citizens.

A reform movement borrowing private-sector techniques such as performance targets, contracting out, competition and citizen charters, aiming to make government more efficient, responsive and results-oriented.

The graded arrangement of positions from top to bottom in which each lower level is accountable to the level above, fixing authority, responsibility and channels of communication.

The number of subordinates a supervisor can effectively direct; a narrow span produces tall structures with close supervision, while a wide span produces flat structures requiring greater delegation.

The principle that each employee should receive orders from and be accountable to only one superior, preventing conflicting instructions and diluted responsibility; Fayol treated it as a fundamental canon.

The downward transfer of authority by a superior to a subordinate to perform specific tasks, while ultimate responsibility for results remains with the delegating authority.

The relative concentration or dispersal of decision-making authority within an organization; centralization aids uniformity and control, decentralization promotes speed, initiative and local responsiveness.

F.W. Taylor's approach of applying systematic study, time and motion analysis, standardization and differential piece rates to raise industrial efficiency, separating planning from execution.

Henri Fayol's body of general management principles, including division of work, authority and responsibility, unity of command, scalar chain and esprit de corps, derived from his experience as a mining engineer.

Max Weber's ideal-type model of rational-legal authority characterized by written rules, defined jurisdictions, hierarchy, impersonal conduct, merit appointment and career officials, offered as an analytical construct.

Herbert Simon's concept that decision-makers face cognitive limits, incomplete information and time constraints, so they satisfice by choosing the first acceptable alternative rather than maximizing.

A decision rule in which the actor sets an aspiration level and accepts the first option that meets it, instead of searching exhaustively for an optimal solution.

Abraham Maslow's ordering of human needs from physiological and safety through belonging and esteem to self-actualization, with lower needs generally requiring satisfaction before higher ones motivate behaviour.

Frederick Herzberg's distinction between hygiene factors such as pay, policy and working conditions, which prevent dissatisfaction, and motivators such as achievement and recognition, which generate satisfaction.

Douglas McGregor's contrasting managerial assumptions: Theory X views workers as lazy and needing control, while Theory Y assumes they seek responsibility and respond to participative management.

The head of the executive branch, such as a president, governor or prime minister, who provides political direction, appoints senior officials and bears overall responsibility for administration.

Line agencies carry out the primary operational work and command subordinates, while staff agencies advise, coordinate and service them without exercising direct operational authority.

Service units such as personnel, finance, supply and legal departments that support operating agencies by providing common facilities, distinct from advisory staff bodies.

The convention that permanent officials serve whichever government is in power, offering impartial advice and implementing policy loyally without partisan alignment.

The Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service, recruited centrally but serving both Union and State governments, with ultimate disciplinary control resting with the Centre.

A constitutional body under Article 315 that conducts recruitment examinations and advises on appointments, promotions and disciplinary matters for central civil services.

Efforts to modernize recruitment, training, performance appraisal and accountability of officials, exemplified in India by the Surinder Nath and Hota Committee recommendations and the Mission Karmayogi initiative.

A deliberate course of action or inaction adopted by governments to address public problems, expressed through laws, programmes, budgets and administrative decisions.

The staged sequence of agenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation and evaluation through which policies are typically analysed, though real processes often overlap and loop back.

The translation of adopted policy into action by administrative agencies, involving resource allocation, coordination and street-level discretion, where stated goals frequently get modified.

A budgeting technique requiring each expenditure to be justified afresh from a nil base rather than by incremental change from the previous year's allocation.

A budget format that links proposed expenditure to measurable outputs and outcomes, shifting emphasis from inputs purchased to results delivered by each programme.

A parliamentary committee that examines the Comptroller and Auditor General's reports on expenditure and accounts, and which in India is chaired by a member of the Opposition.

India's constitutional auditor under Article 148, who audits Union and State accounts, reports to Parliament and performs the accounting and audit functions for state governments.

The obligation of public officials to answer for their decisions and use of resources to legislatures, courts, audit bodies and citizens, and to face consequences for misconduct.

The body of rules governing the powers, procedures and judicial review of administrative agencies, including natural justice, delegated legislation and remedies against arbitrary action.

Rules, regulations and orders made by the executive under authority conferred by a parent statute, subject to parliamentary scrutiny and judicial review for excess of power.

Planned changes to structures, procedures, personnel systems and service delivery aimed at improving efficiency, transparency and responsiveness, often guided by expert commissions.

Governance institutions below the state level, such as panchayats and municipalities, exercising devolved functions and finances within a legal framework set by higher levels.

The 1992 amendment adding Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule to the Indian Constitution, giving constitutional status to panchayats with mandatory elections, reservations and a State Finance Commission.

The 1992 amendment adding Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule, granting constitutional status to urban local bodies and providing for ward committees, reservations and municipal finance commissions.