Public Administration

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Source: http://mrunal.org/2012/03/strategy-studyplan-public.

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STUDY PLAN:
1. Always keep Question papers and Syllabus in front of you.
2. Read M.Laxmikanth > IGNOU->Prasad->Mohit ,Nicholas, Stephen etc, in that
order.
3. Note down the current affairs related to Administration, Government Policy,
(the Yearbook stuff)
4. in paper one (theory): add the examples of paper 2 (Indian Administration)+
current affairs
5. in paper two (Indian Administration): add the principles of paper one (theory) +
current affairs.
HOW TO STUDY:

Do not sit to finish the entire book at once. as I told you: move from Topic to
Topic.For Example

Chapter #3 of Laxmi: Theories of Administration

Finish and Move to

Administration Thinkers by Prasad and Prasad

Finish and Move to

IGNOU MA Booklet MPA_012 Module

Finish and ultimately read the Gita: New Horizones of Public Administration.

Same way

Topic: Introduction, Nature and Scope of Public Administration

Laxmi > Nicholas Henry > IGNOU MPA_011 >Mohit.

PRASAD & PRASAD BOOK:

You must read Prasad and Prasads book multiple times until you know the thinkers,
their ideas and their quotes like the back of your hand.
Do the quotes of very bigger thinkers like Taylor, Fayol, Weber, Wilson, Follet, Mayo,
Barnard, Herbert A. Simon

For every thinker You should make a personal note out of it, preferably in
following order
I. name of the thinker
II. books written by him

III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

Quotes
main ideas of his theory
relevance in Current Era
His critiques
compare and contrast with other thinkers (e.g Taylor vs Follet)

Do not confine the ideas of these thinkers to paper-I only.

For example, Henry Fayol advocated for centralisation, how is it


relevant in context of Panchayati Raj (paper-II)?

Material rewards are ineffective beyond the subsistence level, said


Chester Bernard , so try to relate it with Personnel Management (paper-I),
Pay-Commissions (Paper-II) and so on.

Try to think with this mindset and you will be able to frame high-quality
answers for the Mains exam.

Make sure to read even the Notes and References Given at the end of each
chapter in Prasad and Prasad.

For example: Mary Parker Follet gave three ways to solve conflict = (CID)
Compromise, Integration and Domination.

Wait, there is a fourth method too, Crowd Manipulation, given in the Notes at
the end of her chapter

New Horizones of Public Administration by Mohit Bhattacharya :


It is very important book, but dont read first itself, because you will not
understand. Hence, read laxmikanth, IGNOU Prasad and then Mohit. Read Mohit
multiple times for understanding.

Public Administration And Public Affairs by Nicholas Henry


Nicholas Henrys book covers Evolution of Public Administration, Forces of Organisation,
Leadership theories, Budget Types, Public Policy etc. in a thorough manner

You dont have to read his entire book but only the chapters related to our
syllabus.
Essentials of organisational behaviour by Stephen Robbins

Stephen Robbins is For Administrative Behaviour topics: leadership,


communication, motivational theories etc.

Most of the books even IGNOU booklets stop after Maslow, Herzberges
motivational theories and dont talk much about modern motivational theories.

But Stephens book covers them with charts, diagrams and examples.

His ideas on organisational design, communication, motivation, hierarchy,


leadership, performance appraisal etc. can be applied and linked to other
questions in Paper-I and II. so that way it indirectly helps you to frame better
answers.

His book is written in very easy language, barely 350 pages, can be read like
a storybook and finished within 7-10 days.

Other Books like 2nd ARC report. Reading of Yojana, Kurukshetra Magazines also
important. Other Books are not recommended. If you have more time then read other
books.

Strategy by Insightsonlineindia:

Public Administration Strategy


The recent performance of Public Administration has not been
very encouraging. A number of factors have contributed to the
same which include relatively tougher papers; abstract questions;
stricter evaluation; less generous marking; mysterious
scaling/moderation by UPSC etc.
However, as the number of Pub Ad applicants reduces year by
year (given its performance), it may be assumed that the present
trend is unlikely to continue for long.
But, apart from these factors that are external to the aspirants,
some internal factors also have contributed to the subjects
overall below par performance. Choosing Pub Ad based on
bandwagon effect; writing very general answers in Paper-2; not
stressing enough on basics; attempting to write scholarly answers
etc. are some of the most prominent factors. It is because of some
of these general mistakes made frequently by aspirants that they

end up scoring low in Pub Ad. And, the situation becomes even
more difficult when these mistakes are not figured out.
To address the same, this article provides a detailed strategy
while highlighting these issues wherever they deserve mention.
Coming straight to the core issue of scoring good marks in Public
Administration, you will need the following:

Clear Concepts More on this will be explained later in the


article

Ability to express the concept clearly (logically) on paper


which requires a lot of writing practice

Ability to relate the subject with current affairs especially


administrative and political issues

Ability to substantiate your argument with facts, evidence,


and committee reports etc.

Imparting these angles to almost every answer that


you write

1.

Backing you answer with theoretical foundations and


perspective of various thinkers

2.

Contemporary Administrative Practices

3.

Comparative Public Administration angle

Before dealing with the above, an even more important issue


deserves discussion. And, this is one of the most frequently made
mistakes.
Why should you choose or not choose Public
Administration?
You should NOT take the subject solely because

Some neighbour/friend/relative/acquaintance IAS officer took


it and scored good marks

It overlaps with GS II, III & IV substantially

Syllabus is shorter and can be finished earlier than most


other optional papers

It seems easy to comprehend and effort is less

You should GO for it

If administrative matters in general genuinely evoke your


interest

If you enjoy reading highly abstract and theoretical stuff for


e.g. perspective of administrative thinkers

If you really like reading Indian Polity.

If you have some experience of working in an organization


and you have begun to show interest in group
management/organizational behaviour/personnel
management etc.

But, please do not choose the subject if you are not interested in
it. This might sound clich but that is the eternal truth. A lot of
aspirants take this subject and lose interest after some time. They
cover the syllabus, understand the subject, do writing practice
too; but here is a catch.
Understanding a subject and expressing it on paper
showing that you have understood it are two entirely
different ball games. This is where most of the candidates
miss it.
For e.g. you might study Chester Bernards ideas and feel
confident about your grasp. But if you answer a twisted question
on Bernard, you will notice that your writing suffers from
incoherence, looks abstract and lacks a logical flow. This gives a
bad impression to the examiner and you will be awarded low
marks despite your intuitive understanding of the topic.
Public Administration is not rocket science. It is very easy to
understand. But, to understand it in a way so that you can
express it beautifully on paper requires you to spend considerable
time with the subject. You will need to read the same book 5-6
times and until you internalize the entire vocabulary of Public
Administration, the job is not done.You will need to
understand the subject both intuitively and logically.

To do the above, you really need a strong interest in the subject.


Otherwise, reading becomes a ritual and ritualistic reading leads
nowhere.
While falling in love with Public Administration might sound
outlandish, nothing less works.
Strategy for Paper-1
For clear concepts, you need to refer books that deal with the
subject in the simplest manner possible. Avoid poorly edited
books or coaching material that may seem to cover the entire
syllabus because they will not add much to your conceptual
clarity.
Before referring any book, go through previous year papers of 20
years for that topic to become acquainted with the demand of the
subject.
1.

Introduction: Read it from Sharma and Sadana or S


Polianaidu. Supplement your reading with Mohit Bhattacharya.
It will enrich your perspective. Almost all the pages will be
important. We see little possibility of converting them into
short notes. But you should jot down key ideas and concepts
after second reading. Do not make notes right after first
reading as you will not have a broader outlook of the subject
and you may write everything in your notes.

2.

Administrative Thought: One and only Prasad and Prasad


should be referred for this. Since questions will inter-link
thinkers, try relating the theory of one thinker to that of other.
Also read the background of the thinker. You can always
correlate his theories with his background for e.g. Max weber
ideas on bureaucracy were also a product of him being under
the German authoritative system of the 1920s.

3.

Underline important lines/keywords like Mental Revolution,


Zone of Indifference etc. Do try to remember some lines of
these thinkers verbatim. It adds value to your answers in

exam. Also, learn to apply these theories in real life


administrative situations. UPSC has been asking case studies
on the same. For e.g. you can relate Mcgregors theories to the
present condition of the lower bureaucracy in India.
4.

Administrative Behaviour: Sharma and Sadana covers it


pretty exhaustively. For motivation theories of Herzberg,
Maslow etc, you can also refer to Prasad and Prasad. There is
immense scope of making short notes here. The topics are
also very easy to understand.

5.

Organisations: Refer Sharma and Sadana for all topics


except PPP. For PPP refer Fadia and Fadia. Please do not refer
Fadia for other topics because this book, in my view, is poorly
edited; very repetitive; lacks coherence and clarity. There is a
lot of scope for relating this part to the Indian administration
(paper-2). Quote examples and facts from the Indian context in
answers. You need not necessarily quote international
examples.

6.

Accountability and control; 6. Administrative Law: For


both of them refer Sharma and Sadana. For dynamic topics like
Civil Society, Right to Information, Citizen Charters keep an
eye on international and national developments. Quote them
heavily in your answers. Use small case studies if possible.

7.

Comparative Public Administration; 7. Development


Dynamics: Ramesh K Arora CPA is a brilliant book. It is a
small book and covers the topic exhaustively. You can be
assured of answering even the most twisted questions on CPA.
For those who dont have Arora, refer S. Polianaidu. Even
though he covers CPA in a fragmented manner, it covers the
topic thoroughly. Development administration is covered
better in Polianaidu.

8.

Try to use cross-cultural examples heavily in answers. For


e.g. Pakistan is an unbalanced polity with military at the helm

of affairs in major policy matters; but India is a balanced polity


where all organs of the government get their due share in
policy making.
9. Personnel Administration: Sharma and Sadana should be
referred. And as Prince Dhawan (AIR-3, CSE 2011) rightly
pointed out this topic should be covered alongwith Civil
Services of Paper-2.
9. Public Policy: IGNOU BA and MA Public Policy cover it
thoroughly. There will be various modules that cover the same
topic in BA and MA modules. So read it selectively. You can
analyse present Indian policy decisions with respect to the
various models given here.
9. Techniques of Administrative Improvement: There is no
single good source. Mohit Bhattacharya covers in a scanty
manner, nevertheless go through it once. You will need to rely
on the internet mostly. Questions from these topics do not
carry much weightage.
9. Financial Administration: Combine this with Financial
Management from Paper-2. Both can be covered from Sharma
and Sadana and current events in India. A lot of questions are
being asked from this area. Prepare it well. Try making
consolidated notes of both theoretical financial administration
and Indian financial management.
After reading all these books once, go through Mohit Bhattacharya
which is often called as the Gita of Public Administration. After
finishing this book, you will begin to see the entire subject much
more clearly and seamlessly connected. A lot of questions come
directly from this book. Also, this covers the new horizons of
Public Administration like Network Governance; Feminism in
Administration etc. which may not be found in other traditionally
rooted books.

Now, go through previous year papers again. Try answering


questions. If you cannot, you will need a few more readings.
Start making notes from all these books in the second or third
reading. Revise your notes as frequently as possible and as many
times as possible. Understand the subject in and out. When you
write, this understanding should reflect on paper.
Strategy for Paper-2
We need not pinpoint different books for different topics here
because you only need to refer three sources:
1. Indian Administration by Rajni Goyal and Ramesh
Arora entire book. Making notes is not very useful as a large part of the
syllabus coincides with Indian Polity of GS-II. The book covers almost all
topics exhaustively
2. Second ARC reports cover the rest of the issues. These are very
high quality reports. Its recommendations should be used heavily in your
Paper-2 answers. Also try to make short notes. Reports that should be
referred are:

Personnel Administration

State and District Administration

Public Order

Disaster Management

Local Government

Ethics in Governance (Selectively)


3. Other topics are mostly dynamic. Newspapers are the
best source. The Hindu, Indian Express and Livemint editorials
frequently comment on administrative matters. Also note
down any new policies, plans, committees etc. Make issuewise notes. Questions from current issues have a very high
weightage. Do not ignore these at any cost. You will also need
to quote facts/examples/ideas from the editorials quite often in
your answers.

You need not refer to IJPA journals. Even if you refer them where
will you use the content in your answers? IJPA journals are PhD
plus stuff. You only need a graduate plus level of understanding
here.
Answer Writing
There are no separate strategies for Paper-1 and Paper-2. In
both the cases you will need to give Indian examples, write
logically, and present arguments from both sides. Once you
internalize the subject, answer writing will not require a lot of
effort. But, if you have read the subject only once, you may face
problems in presenting your viewpoint logically. Keep the
following in mind while writing answers.
Do not write general answers as you write in GS. They should
be Pub Ad answers. Use administrative terminology from the
subject; quote thinkers and theories in your answer; and explore
the issue on administrative lines.
For e.g. if a question on reducing the size of Indian Cabinet
comes, you should be able to write its positive and negative
implications based on delegation and decentralization; efficiency;
organizational behaviour; informal grouping angle etc.
In paper-1 especially, try relating your answer with the basic
theories, contemporary and cross-cultural practices. For e.g. in
comparing the strength of executive accountability to legislature,
compare that of US and India. You can also quote that in 2013 US
Congress stopped fund flow to the executive. Such financial
control is difficult to achieve in India given the dominance of
executive in the Indian Parliament.
Also, try to cover almost any answer right from its basics. For e.g.
if a question on comparison between Bernard and Simon comes,
you should first clearly state what both thinkers claim, and then
explore similarities or dissimilarities.

Same works for Paper-2 as well. For e.g. when writing an answer
on local government, start from the basic provisions in the
constitution relating to that question. When analysis of a policy or
judgment is asked, first give a small introduction of the policy.
Try to quote committees like Punchhi, 2 ARC, Sarkaria in your
nd

answers wherever possible. For e.g. there was aquestion in


2014 on the possibility of giving regulatory powers to the PRIs
apart from developmental functions. You can directly quote
both 2 ARC and Padmanabhaiah committee that recommend
nd

giving local policing powers to PRIs. The answer looks richer this
way making a good impression on the examiner.
You can write either in paragraphs or points. A mixture of points
and paragraphs written under sub-headings give a structure to
your answer, and make the job of the examiner easier.
Finally, do not write in a complicated language. Use Simple
English in an administrative style with short sentences covering
relevant examples after every one-two paragraphs.
UPSC is not looking for scholars of Public Administration. You
should only be able to state the concept clearly on paper and
take a fair stand on issues after giving appropriate arguments and
evidence from both sides. That is enough.
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you
have to play better than anyone else. Albert Einstein
Please just make sure you are doing it right. Wish you all the best!

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