Discussion 1

When discussing administration and politics, we must first acknowledge that one cannot be had without the other. Acknowledging the truth that administration can't be had with politics and politics can't be properly executed without proper management of administration. That belief is valid to a point, looking at the various administrations now in place we see how the need and desire to focus on the good of the people has become less of an importance. For instance, we look at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the idea of reshaping the organization to flow as a truly independent agency would cost democratic accountability that the current government cannot afford (Joffe, Lynch, McCoy, 2021 para . 1). The goal is to maintain the integrity of the FDA by focusing on broad ideas and policies that draw the attention of the public while still policing the true issues. It’s the idea of allowing people to feel included in the decision-making process without being included. Today we engage in conversations about whether voting is beneficial to the everyday laborer. We argue the facts that promises are made based on gaining an official title without the intention of making those promises come true, but then we see where the elected officials work to make the promises come true to be bureaucracy in place hinders progression. In today's government, its true administration is limited due to the hands of politics. We have removed ourselves so far from the idea that "we are all created equal" and divided ourselves up into classes. Those of the higher class have more power than the administration put in place to make sure that the laws we vote in place are executed properly and without fail. Woodrow Wilson, known as the father of public administration, highlighted the concept of administration as a business, and like most good businesses, administrations should be founded on stable principles (Wilson 1887, p. 1). Principles that place the will of the state before the need of the government. Although administrative changes are required, we acknowledge that the founding principles remain the same. To believe that politics hurts the administration is to remove the two from each other. Ultimately, a task that is simply impossible, if not for politics the need for administration would be nonobligatory. President Wilson's study introduced the need for reformation in policy, and the notion that a strong administration stood on the principles of officials maintaining good behavior. It was necessary to separate the officiality of the administration and place local people in charge to be responsible for public opinion. Frank Goodnow believed that politics dealt with the will of policies and the expressions of state will (Goodnow, 1900). He stressed the importance of executing policies rather than focusing on the executive groups and authorities. He moved his focus away from the Constitution and brought attention back to the formal style of government organizations, essentially the real people and real issues. Highlighting the character of the system or lack thereof. He believed that politics should focus on guiding or influencing policy and the administrative side should focus on making sure that the policy was being executed properly and with the right interest at the forefront. Jane Addams described the purities of the early American government which stood vastly on the men of the 18th century. These men came from Puritan backgrounds and lacked the experience therefore they were not prepared for the changes that came with a self- running government and the issues that democracy stood to face when sitting down to write the Constitution (Addams, 1904). She explained politics and administration in the same manner as running machine-only factories. It was being able to dislodge

the inoperable machinery to save the product in other words being able to remove the executive power to maintain the integrity of the administration set forth to put the needs of the people first (Addams. 1904). Contrasted to today's current government, Adams's idea of the government being mechanical was and is still not ambivalent. For instance, the current control over the government produces less favorable electees to be in control, which in turn creates distrusting citizens. She points out how the regular person is overlooked by the government and is forced to work out real-life issues without governmental assistance but is ridiculed for choosing not to vote ( Shafritz, J. M., & Hyde, A. C. (2017). Classics of public administration. Cengage Learning ). Keeping the focus on the mechanical aspects of the government, we then turn our focus to Fredrick W. Taylor; known as the founder of scientific management who chooses to view the government and administration through the lens of mechanics. He believed that improvements required should be analyzed through the aspects of running a successful industrial business. His focus was that the idea of a good systematic organization focused on the people or the workman (Taylor, 1911). He advised that if the workmen were presented with a good foundation in the workplace, they produce good work. It's the notion that work and the worker live in harmony as a uniform entity. A job that works hard to protect its workers will in turn have hard workers eager to maintain the integrity of the industry. Leonard D. White's explanation of administration relatively mirrored Frank Goodnow's belief system, whereas Goodnow believed that administration focus should be the will of the state White believed that the key functions to running a true and good administration meant the will of the people should be the common place where government and administration meet. White's explanation came during a time when developments in politics, and economics stirred concern, it was moving away from "one man created equal" to examining the need to study a new approach to old and new issues. Implementing systematic changes to the public need for assistance . White's book The Introduction (White. 1926) emphasized the business-like and human aspects that shaped the way we think of administration as a discipline. References: Fernandez Lynch, H., Joffe, S., & McCoy, M. S. (2021, January 18). The limits of acceptable political influence over the FDA. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-01200-w Goodnow, F. J. (1967). Politics and administration a study in Government . Russell & Russell. Milakovich, M. E., & Gordon, G. J. (2023). Public Administration in America . Cengage. Shafritz, J. M., & Hyde, A. C. (2017). Classics of public administration. Cengage Learning