Social Equity and Public Administration, Essay Example

George Frederickson reflects on the current status and future of the field of public administration within the political science realm. In his essay, “Social Equity and Public Administration,” he primarily focuses on the economic and social conditions that drive the roles of public administrators and the types of policy and programs that result in those conditions. This essay was written in the late 60’s/early 70’s, so the field and roles of public administration are quite different and there are numerous public administration graduate programs around the nation. The need for specialists in the field as well as the shift in the study is evident in what Frederickson calls the “new public administration.”He says that the shift will rely on project management and group decision making, as the exploration for various techniques will widen in the field (2010, p. 15).

Frederickson describes the role of social administration as a commitment to social equity and how this can be achieved through various strengthening of administrative and executive government (2010, p. 9). He cites organization theory as a means to prepare those who wish to serve the public, therefore making them specialists within the field. This method of preparation saw the inclusion of the social sciences in the political field, and in a manner that would benefit the public (2010, p. 9). Frederickson cites the example of social equity as a distribution of services in an equal manner to all neighborhoods throughout a specific jurisdiction, such as in the cases of school boards funding schools, or a sanitation service providing the same level of service to all neighborhoods (2010, p. 13). This is an important study in the breakdown of social equity in public programs, because it provides insight in how economic and social factors can drive the use of public goods, services and funds.

References

Frederickson, H. G. (2010). Social equity and public administration. ME Sharpe.

Svara, J. H. (2014). The ethics primer for public administrators in government and nonprofit organizations. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.