Public Administration and Emergency Management

Definition

Public Administration and Emergency Management are academic disciplines that encompass public policy implementation and prepare civil servants to work in the public sphere (Infoplease, 2018). A fundamental goal of the disciplines is to “advance management and policies so that government can function” (Rabin, Hildreth, & Miller, 1989, p. iii, as cited in “Public Administration,” 2018). The disciplines also facilitate the management of public programs (Denhardt, 2009), the translation of politics into everyday realities (Kettl & Fesler, 2009), and the study of government decision-making and policies, as well as inputs to policies and possible alternatives (McKinney & Howard, 1998).

Subdisciplines

Subdisciplines of public administration and emergency management include human resources, organizational theory, policy analysis, statistics, budgeting, and ethics (Shafritz & Hyde, 2017).

In Practice

Public administration and emergency management practitioners work in public departments and agencies, and at all levels of governmental and non-governmental organizations (“Public administration,” 2018), contributing to democratic values of equality, justice, security, efficiency, and effectiveness of public services. Public administration and emergency management practitioners often also support emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.

In Disaster Research

During disasters, these professionals assist in the effective communication of crucial information and assess and track ongoing crises. This work occurs in four primary stages:

• Prevention through measures taken to minimize disaster probability, as well as damage from unavoidable events
• Preparedness through the development of flexible systems to increase community responses to disasters
• Response through efficient coordination of life-saving and economic resources during and after a disaster
• Recovery and reconstruction through efforts to return communities to normal, or near-normal conditions (Norwich University Online, n.d.)

References

Denhardt, R. B., & Denhardt, J. V. (2009). Public Administration: An Action Orientation. (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Wadsworth.

Infoplease. (2018). Meaning of Public Administration. Retrieved August 19, 2018, from https://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/public-administration

Kettl, D. F., & Fesler, J. W. (2009). The Politics of the Administrative Process. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Norwich University Online. (n.d.). The Role of Public Administration in Crisis Management. Retrieved from https://online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/masters/public-administration/resources/infographics/the-role-of-public-administration-in-crisis-management

McKinney, J. B., & Howard, L. C. (1998). Public Administration: Balancing Power and Accountability. (2nd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Public administration. (2018). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_administration

Rabin, J., Hildreth, W. B., & Miller, G. J. (1989). Handbook of Public Administration. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker. Shafritz, J. M., & Hyde, A. C. (2017). Classics of Public Administration. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.