Types of public administration goals. Goals of public administration, their legal and resource support

The term “public administration” characterizes both a scientific discipline and an area of ​​practical activity related to the problems of organizing state power and public life. The basis for understanding the nature of public administration is an understanding of its necessity, social conditionality and target orientation.

The need for public administration arises from the need to ensure the implementation of state policies aimed at the efficient use of natural, labor, material and information resources, fair redistribution of income and guaranteeing basic social rights, and maintaining public order. Social conditioning arises from the practice of public administration as a complex organizational system, the functioning of which is aimed at meeting the needs of citizens. Target orientation of public administration means setting rational (that is, corresponding to available resources) goals and objectives, determined by the need to obtain the maximum possible results with minimal use of taxpayer funds based on the orientations given by public authorities.

Management – This is a purposeful and constant process of influence of the subject of management on the object of management. The object is various phenomena and processes: a person, a social community, society as a whole, social processes.

State-political management – activities of institutions of political power at three levels:

1) federal;

2) subjects of the Russian Federation;

3) local government.

The subjects of political power are the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, senior officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (presidents of republics, governors of regions) and representative (legislative) bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; municipal boards of commissioners and local elected officials.

Public administration – a type of state activity in managing the affairs of the state, within the framework of which the executive power, its bodies and officials are practically exercised. The subject is the public sector of the economy; infrastructure (for example, federal roads, airports, transport), the entire sphere of social services; services involved in road and communal services; state educational and health institutions; army, police, prisons, fire departments and other structures whose activities are financed from federal, regional and local budgets.

Public management. In the 80s of the XX century. in the West, a paradigm shift in public administration gave rise to the concept of “new public management,” reflecting a new understanding of the status and social role of the state and administration in society. It is expressed by the concept of “public management”. “New public management” means a market and contract approach, treating citizens as clients to whom state and municipal authorities provide public services, paid for by the citizen based on his financial status.

There are two approaches to the concept of public administration. In a broad sense public administration- this is the activity of the state in managing various spheres of public life through public authorities, which include legislative, executive and judicial authorities at all levels, with the involvement of non-governmental organizations. In a narrower sense, public administration is understood as the executive and administrative activities of executive authorities within the limits of their competence to regulate and manage public affairs. Thus, public administration e is the activity of a special group of people (state and municipal authorities, officials) carried out on a professional basis in the political-administrative system, implementing the will of the state on the basis of laws and other regulations to provide and ensure constitutional and legislative rights (and responsibilities ) citizens, the provision of public services on the principle of equal rights of citizens in order to build a legal, socially oriented state.

The concept of public administration includes the most important organizational and legal categories that manifest themselves in managerial relations:

A) government management activities– this is the implementation by subjects of executive power, as well as other parts of government (civil servants and officials) of the functions of government;

b) subject of public administration stands state as a set of public authorities at all levels of the administrative apparatus. A specific subject of state or municipal government is the corresponding body, official of the state or local government;

V) object of state and municipal administration- these are social relations of social, national and other communities of people, public associations, organizations, legal entities, the behavior of individual citizens that acquires public significance, that is, these are relations that can be subject to state or municipal regulation.

All definitions of public administration contain an indication of its main content - the purposeful practical influence of the state on social relations, the purpose of which is to streamline, organize the corresponding system and exert a regulatory influence on it, that is, to ensure its proper functioning and possible change. It should be noted that such influence is ensured precisely by the power of the state, that is, the authoritative nature of the methods and means used in the management process. From the point of view of its purpose, public administration is a phenomenon designed to exercise executive power. Thus, nature public administration stems from its special social function, aimed at streamlining development processes in the interests of the whole society by coordinating various requirements, needs and forms of activity, where the state apparatus acts as an effective mechanism for the embodiment of public power and ensures the implementation of public policy through a system of administrative institutions.

The essence of public administration is revealed through its environment, resources, implementation of decisions and control. The environment consists of economic, political, legal and cultural conditions for the activities of government entities and provides boundaries, objects, forms and methods of management.

Branch of public administration- this is a system of links of management bodies, united by the commonality of the management object (management of industry, transport, agriculture, construction, internal and external affairs, education, healthcare, finance, defense, communications, railways, forestry).

Area of ​​public administration- these are branches of public administration grouped according to the main purpose (management of the national economy, management in the socio-cultural and administrative-political areas).

Sphere of public administration– this is a complex of organizational relations regarding the implementation of intersectoral powers for special purposes (for example, standardization, certification, planning).

Government body (executive power) is a subject of executive power that directly carries out the functions of public administration within the limits established by legislative and other regulatory legal acts, is endowed with appropriate competence, and has a certain structure and management personnel.

The state-legal nature of management is determined by the following features:

firstly, in the management process, the functions of the state are carried out while observing the interests of the state (public interests) and ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens;

secondly, management functions are carried out by entities specially created by the state on behalf of and on its behalf or by other entities to which the state transfers part of its powers in the field of management;

thirdly, all subjects of public administration are obliged to act within the competence established for them by laws and other regulatory legal acts.

1.2. Goals, functions, forms and methods of public administration

The goal is a reflection of social needs and interests of society, a product of consciousness, a subjective reflection of the objective. Management goals are what the subject of management must achieve, the end result of management activities.

The purpose of public administration is reflection of public needs and interests. The hierarchy of public administration goals is based on the principle of priority of the needs and interests of the development of society. The following types of classification of goals can be distinguished:

1. Depending on the functions performed:

socio-political – involvement in the management of all political forces in the country, maintaining processes in society and the state that contribute to the improvement of state and public structures and human development;

organizational and legal – the formation of a legal system that facilitates the implementation of the main functions of the state and the solution of its tasks with the help of democratic institutions and mechanisms of the rule of law, as well as organizational and functional entities;

production and support – ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens, legality in society, public order and security, the required level of well-being, creation and maintenance of production activity of managed facilities;

socio-economic – streamlining public life and satisfying public interests; achieving economic well-being, building and maintaining a certain system of economic relations;

spiritual– restoration of spiritual and cultural values;

informational and explanatory – developing knowledge, motives and incentives that contribute to the practical implementation of a set of goals, and providing the necessary information.

2. Related to the quality of society, its preservation and transformation – strategic goals. Are divided into: operational record large blocks of actions; tactical determine everyday, concrete actions.

3. By volume: general and private.

4. According to the results: final and intermediate.

5. By time: distant, close and immediate.

Z management challenges– intermediate, stage goals of management activities. Among the main tasks of public administration are:

1. State regulation of processes occurring in the field of social, economic and cultural life, and state support for certain enterprises and organizations.

2. Ensuring the effective functioning of the market mechanism, creating and ensuring the effective operation of the taxation mechanism.

3. Creating, maintaining and ensuring the well-being of citizens, their rights and freedoms, satisfying social needs and interests; ensuring public order and safety.

4. Creation of personnel potential for management (civil service).

5. Strengthening the country’s prestige and maintaining an appropriate status in the international arena.

All public administration operates on the basis of certain principles. Principle of public administration represents a pattern, relationship or interconnection of socio-political nature and other groups of elements of public administration, expressed in the form of a certain scientific position, enshrined for the most part in law and applied in the theoretical and practical activities of people in management.

System-wide principles government controlled universal laws. Let's highlight the main ones:

1. Principle of objectivity public administration necessitates the need in all management processes to follow the requirements of objective laws (natural and socio-historical) and real possibilities.

2. The principle of democracy is understood as democracy in public administration. It assumes the priority of the rights, freedoms, and interests of citizens in all spheres of public administration.

3. The principle of legal order public administration – the need to legislatively define and consolidate the basic elements of public administration (goals, functions, structures, process, principles).

4. Principle of legality public administration - the establishment in public administration of a regime of widespread and complete implementation of legal acts, all activities of public authorities are subject to legislation.

5. The principle of separation of powers in public administration implies the division into executive, legislative and judicial branches.

Structural principles are divided into:

1) structural-target;

2) structural and functional;

3) structural and organizational;

4) structural and procedural.

Specialized principles: principles of civil service, principles of working with management personnel, principles of information support for public administration, etc.

Control function– this is a specific direction of the managerial (organizing, regulating, controlling, etc.) influence of public administration on the object of management. Management functions have specific content and are carried out using specific methods and forms of management (for example, coercive mechanisms, issuance of legal acts of management, subordinating influence). Along with the functions of public administration, the functions of public administration bodies (that is, their control influence on objects), as well as the management functions of all state bodies (legislative and judicial authorities) are particularly highlighted.

As general management functions that reflect the most important stages of organizing the management process, V. I. Knorring identifies the functions of organization, planning, motivation and control. G.V. Atamanchuk classifies the functions of public administration into internal (management within the state management system) and external (the impact of government bodies on managed objects), general (reflecting the essential aspects of management) and specific (reflecting the special content of individual impacts). He includes organization, planning, regulation, staffing and control as general management functions.

The main functions of public administration include the following.

1. Information support for the activities of government bodies, that is, collection, receipt, processing, analysis of information necessary for the implementation of government (administrative) activities. Information in this case is understood as a set of information about the management system, changes occurring in it, forms of contact between the management system and the outside world, intra-organizational and external management relations. The accuracy of information, the logic and efficiency of information processes are important conditions for optimal information support of the management system, on which further actions of government bodies and the performance of their main functions are directly dependent.

2. Forecasting and modeling the development of the public administration system, the system and structure of government bodies. Forecasting – foreseeing changes in the development and results of any events or processes in the system of government activities, in government bodies based on the data obtained, professional experience and practice, achievements of scientific and theoretical analysis. Forecasting is a necessary tool in making the most important management decisions; without it it is impossible to determine the consequences of social processes, the future state of society as a whole, the mobility and efficiency of government agencies. Forecasting, like information support, is an important condition for the effective performance of many functions of the state and public administration, in particular planning. Modeling is the creation of a management system designed for planned management, solving problems and achieving set goals.

3. Planning– this is the determination of directions, proportions, rates, quantitative and qualitative indicators of the development of certain processes in the public administration system and, in particular, the implementation of government functions (economic, socio-cultural), the ultimate goal of which is to ensure the proper functioning of government bodies.

4. Disposition, that is, the operational regulation of management relations arising in connection with the exercise of powers of state bodies and official responsibilities, ensuring the regime of proper government activities in the form of the adoption of administrative acts (legal acts of management: orders, instructions, directions, instructions, rules, guidelines, etc.) . Direction in the narrow sense is the giving of current instructions by leading civil servants (officials).

5. Management– this is the establishment of rules and regulations for the activities and individual actions of government bodies (civil servants, officials) and managed objects.

6. Coordination- this is the coordination of the activities of various government bodies to achieve common goals and objectives of public administration. The coordination function is often used in conjunction with the control and supervision function. The use of coordination mechanisms creates conditions for the successful achievement of goals and solving problems of public administration by all participants in management relations involved in the overall management process. Coordination functions are, to one degree or another, characteristic of every government body, because the heads of these bodies and their structural divisions constantly coordinate the internal and external activities of their subordinate entities.

7. Control– this is the establishment of compliance or non-compliance of the actual state of the public administration system and its structure with the required standard and level, the study and assessment of the results of the general functioning of government bodies, as well as specific actions of government entities; establishing the relationship between what is planned and what has been done in the public administration system. Control is monitoring the quality of management activities, identifying errors in management and the degree of compliance of management actions and administrative acts with the principles of legality and expediency. In certain areas of government activity, public authorities are constantly strengthening control over the performance of certain actions. Control must be consistent, reasonable, justified, transparent, objective, legal and prompt. One type of control is supervision, which is carried out, as a rule, only to determine the compliance with the legality of the activities (actions, decisions).

8. Regulation– the use of management methods and techniques in the process of organizing the public administration system and its functioning. Regulation is the establishment of generally binding requirements and procedures for objects of management and various subjects of law in order to ensure public order, security, equality of participants in economic relations, the foundations of democratic competition, and the rights and freedoms of citizens. It can be noted that at present, taking into account the constant reforms in the state structure of the country, the function of state regulation is becoming predominant and paramount. Under government regulation refers to the consolidation in legislative and other regulatory legal acts of general requirements for state management activities carried out by executive authorities.

To the specific functions of public administration should include:

1. Implementation of state coercion in the sphere of maintaining law and order and public order: ensuring sufficient defense capability of the country; establishment and maintenance of border regime, protection of the state border; maintaining public order and public safety; protection of life, health of citizens and property from criminal and other unlawful attacks. For bodies ensuring the security of citizens and the state, the functions of combating organized crime and corruption in various fields acquire particular importance.

2. State regulation to limit inappropriate state intervention in the economic and socio-cultural sphere: increasing the people's well-being, social protection of the population with incomes below the subsistence level; ensuring rational, complete and integrated use of natural resources; environmental protection, etc.

It is extremely difficult to establish a list of special functions of public administration, since the state body has many areas of activity that ensure the fulfillment of its main tasks. To the special functions of public administration can be attributed:

development and introduction of standards for the number, material, financial and labor costs of government bodies;

justification of financial and other material costs for maintaining the personnel of a government agency;

development of criteria for assessing the effectiveness of civil servants;

conducting research in various government agencies;

development of normative legal acts establishing public-service relations or other legal relations in special government bodies.

Each of the federal executive authorities operating in the country performs a number of public administration functions assigned to it, which represent the functions of special state bodies, executive authorities.

Public administration method a conscious way of influence of a managing subject on an object by legitimate means, that is, it is a certain, established in practice set of interrelated management actions to achieve set goals.

Within the limits of authority established by law, management subjects use various means at their disposal: economic, political, ideological. The state (through a court decision) can ban a political party for its unconstitutional activities, and the mayor’s office cannot allow a political demonstration with nationalist slogans, prohibit the propaganda of extremist ideology, etc. Various methods of incentives, permissions, requirements, prohibitions are used, and liability may be established for non-compliance. It is important that bodies and officials can only apply such methods of state and municipal government that are permitted to them by law (and in accordance with it by the charter of the municipality). The following main methods of public administration are distinguished.

Administrative and legal methods – These are methods of public administration that are based on the hierarchical structure of the governing state entity and are carried out within the limits and in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution, laws and other legal acts in force in the country. The subject is the bearer of administrative power. Their essence is the influence on the governed according to the “order - execution” type. The relationship of direct subordination of the managed to the manager is ensured by the system of legislation, the implementation of power “vertically”, the use of prohibitive sanctions, up to legal coercion. Legal methods include legislation, public administration, justice, and control. Toolkit (administrative and legal: law, by-laws, directive, order, order, regulation, instruction and other elements of power relations). Examples: payment of taxes by working citizens of the Russian Federation to the budgets of different levels of the Russian Federation; resolution of the executive authority of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation; exchange of passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation at 20 and 45 years old.

Organizational methods – based on legal norms and the specific power of the organization as a system. This is management by creating an organization or improving existing ones to solve certain problems. Organizational methods affect all stages of management. Organizational activities are carried out through indirect and direct influence on managers and managed people. Typical organizational actions: redistribution of powers, duties and responsibilities; development of instructions, regulations; personnel movements.

Political methods of management – ways of direct or indirect influence on the behavior and activities of those controlled through political means. First of all, we are talking about public policy developed and carried out by the authorities. Political instruments: a set of democratic forms, norms and procedures for political actions and relations; technologies of parliamentarism are, for example, parliamentary debates, opposition activities, lobbying of groups and interests in parliament, the practice of parliamentary requests to the government, parliamentary hearings; also referendums, negotiation processes, discussions.

Economic methods – these are forms and means of influencing the socio-economic conditions of life of people, groups, social communities, organizations; these are also ways for the state to create certain conditions in which it is beneficial for the controlled object to act as the state wants. Such methods are based on the presence of material interests among citizens, organizations and the state, which determine their actions, and the degree of economic activity is determined by the development and volume of material incentives. Main tools: distribution and redistribution of material and financial resources by government bodies, regulation of financial flows in the country, development and implementation of budgets; in relation to humans, these are mechanisms for material incentives for labor and entrepreneurship. Examples. Development and implementation of state tax policy; tax incentives, for example, in order to increase the share of foreign investment in the Russian economy, a reduction in the tax rate on foreign capital and “tax holidays” for specific enterprises are practiced. Another example is the state social security system - payment of increased and personal scholarships and pensions.

Social methods – are used to motivate the activity of those controlled by changing the social environment and satisfying life needs and interests. Tools: development and implementation of national social standards for social goods and services; legislative consolidation and implementation of the living wage of the population; regulation of the wage and pension system; social assistance, etc.

Illegal methods. Among them, two subgroups are distinguished: organizational and technical, which are carried out in accordance with legal norms, but their procedure is not regulated in detail by law, and illegal, which are committed in violation of current legislation. Examples. Organizational and technical non-legal methods are used in the activities of the units of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief in extreme conditions. Each emergency situation is unique, and no legal act can provide for all possible and necessary options for action or inaction, their validity and adequacy to the current situation. Illegal methods – the use of violent measures to disperse an authorized rally; misuse of federal or regional budget funds by a civil servant.

Information and ideological methods- this is the purposeful moral and ethical influence of the state on the consciousness of people, propaganda and agitation on the part of the state. Another name used for this group of methods is socio-psychological. Examples. A classic example is the warning from the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation about the dangers of smoking, which is mandatory for every pack of cigarettes. Social advertising, which has become part of the life of Russian society and is aimed at developing civic consciousness and law-abidingness: “Pay your taxes and sleep well”; “Having run a red light, you can say goodbye to the white light,” etc.; promotion of healthy lifestyles.

1.3. Unity of the public administration system: the relationship between state power and public administration

The concept of “public administration” cannot be identified with the concept of “state power”; it is advisable to relate them as general and part of it. Power is the right and opportunity to exert a controlling influence on social processes and relationships through management decisions and management actions. However, management decisions and actions must be prepared and justified before they are made, and in this process of preparing decisions, as well as in the process of bringing a decision to execution, government organizations and persons are involved who professionally perform management functions and do not always have authority. .

However, “power” in the concept of public administration is not just a “part”, but its system-forming basis, since it is impossible to exert a governing, regulating, organizing, and controlling influence on society in the absence of the right and opportunity to do so.

Distinguish between power personal, or personal (for example, in the family or in the relationship between master and servant), corporate(power in a public organization that extends only to members who voluntarily joined it and have the right to leave the organization at any time) and social. Sometimes special mention is made of military power, technocracy or expertocracy (the power of specialists who often prepare the most important decisions), etc.

Any power is a manifestation or service of social power. Social power is the power of the people in society taken as a whole, the power of its majority, the dominant class in society, and in some conditions the power of the nomenklatura. It is political in nature and finds its expression in state power, which, as a derivative, is also political, but acquires a certain independence and, as a special phenomenon, differs from the political power of the people or class.

Every state power is political, but not every political power is state power. Political power is an immanent property of the people (popular sovereignty), its majority, the class that acts (especially during a revolution) on behalf of the people. State power is the property of the state; on its behalf it is exercised by state bodies and officials. State power has legally and almost always (except for revolutionary events) supremacy in society. It is sovereign and universal - it regulates all spheres of social life that are expedient to regulate in this way and that are amenable to regulation. The remaining types of power in society are private and subordinate.

Non-state political power and state political power have different forms and mechanisms of their implementation. The political power of the people, their political will is manifested, for example, in the implementation of various forms of direct democracy (elections, referendums, etc.); in liberated areas, this power is based on armed units. State power is formalized, it is implemented specialized state apparatus(parliament, government, courts, etc.).

Thus, state power is a continuation and highest manifestation of the political will and power of the people. This is the sovereign, supreme and universal power inherent in modern society, which is its necessary function, carried out by a specialized state apparatus.

Types of government power. There are many classifications of state power in terms of its nature, limits of action, tasks and methods of implementation, etc. According to their social nature, they distinguish between the power of the people and the power of a certain social class or layer (for example, the dictatorship of the proletariat in the former states of totalitarian socialism). From the point of view of the territorial limits of action, the federal state power and the state power of each subject of the Federation differ. Depending on the methods of implementation, democratic and non-democratic (authoritarian, totalitarian, etc.) state power are distinguished. Democratic state power expresses the interests of the majority of the population and is exercised in accordance with the principles of political diversity, multi-party system, separation of powers, respect for human rights, recognition of local self-government, the rule of law, etc. Authoritarian state power is usually associated with violation of human rights, the use of violence, and a dominant position executive power, when parliament and the courts play a secondary role. In addition to these features, totalitarian power is characterized by the consolidation of the leading role of one specific party in the constitution (usually one-party system is established), parliament and courts are transformed into decorative institutions, and united party-state structures are created. Under totalitarianism, personal power is usually asserted (for example, the power of the Fuhrer in Nazi Germany).

In Russia, state power is mainly democratic in nature. In general, it is carried out in the interests of the people (about a third of the population lives below the “poverty line”), but in the conditions of the transition period with its many problems, a significant influence on state power in the conditions of the still emerging middle class is exerted by bureaucrats (including corrupt ones), the top “new Russians”, the highest nomenclature of the subjects of the Federation.

A state cannot have several “state authorities” that are fundamentally different in nature; it must be united in its essence. The unity of state power has three components. First, there is social unity. State power, even if it is formed on the basis of a bloc of various social forces, cannot be socially heterogeneous; it requires social certainty. Otherwise, it will not be able to carry out the tasks of state management of society (regardless of how these tasks are understood). Secondly, this is the unity of goals and directions of activity of state power, all its bodies and officials, which is due to the need for coordinated management of society. Different government bodies cannot set and solve fundamentally different tasks that are not consistent with the general line of the government. This will lead to a loss of controllability by society. Thirdly, this is organizational unity. Bodies of state power and methods of its activity form a certain system. This system is built primarily on the basis of unity and separation of branches of government.

As you know, there are three traditional branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. Over time, constitutions and scientific studies began to mention other branches of state power (electoral, control, press power, church, tributary (the power of the political opposition in parliament, etc.). Some of these names deserve attention, others mix up different phenomena: power as such, public power, public power and a special form of the latter – state power.

In modern conditions, the doctrine of separation of powers is supplemented by three provisions:

1) about the balance of powers, the system of their mutual checks and balances, balancing;

2) the need for interaction between authorities, which presupposes their unity on fundamental issues, but does not exclude differences in methods of achieving common goals;

3) about the subsidiarity of authorities, when, with the consent or authority of the bodies of one branch of government, and sometimes directly on the basis of constitutional norms, the bodies of another branch with their actions can complement the implementation of the functions of the first.

Subsidiarity is possible if constitutional provisions do not interfere with this and the branch of government to which assistance is provided does not object.

Modern experience has shown that the concepts of unity and separation of powers in their respective interpretations do not contradict each other, are not mutually exclusive, and are complementary. Some new constitutions contain provisions formulated taking into account modern ideas about the compatibility of unity and separation of powers, including that state power is united, exercised in accordance with the principle of its division into legislative, executive and judicial when interacting with each other and using systems of checks and balances.

Public administration (government of the state), understood in the broadest sense of these words, is an integral sphere of activity of state power, all its branches, all its bodies, all officials, that is, the implementation of state power in all its forms and methods. Different bodies perform their (partial) tasks in managing public affairs differently. The parliament does this in its own way, the government, the courts, the prosecutor’s office, the ministries, etc., do it in their own way.

Some government bodies have their own authoritative, decisive powers (for example, parliament or the president). Their main tasks are the establishment of general rules for management and control, and they are less likely to engage in direct management activities, entrusting specific management tasks to subordinate bodies. Other bodies and officials are directly involved in management activities (ministries, civil servants). Some bodies and officials have only advisory powers (for example, the State Council). There are special bodies that verify compliance with laws, control (for example, the Commissioner for Human Rights), and monitor the execution of the budget (Accounts Chamber). Bodies of this kind, rather, participate in public administration, but participation is also a way of management. Often mixed state-public bodies are created (for example, a tripartite commission on labor relations, consisting in Russia of representatives of the state, entrepreneurs and trade unions). They can also, to some extent, perform management tasks, for example when making an agreed decision. Sometimes some functions of government bodies are transferred to public bodies or organizations, local governments. In this case, they also perform the tasks of public administration. For this purpose, they are also given the material resources necessary to perform such functions.

Finally, supranational organizations and bodies have been created that can make decisions obliging the state to take measures related to internal state issues, essentially within its competence, within the sphere of its sovereignty. Such bodies are, for example, some bodies of the European Union (commissions, Council of Ministers, etc.). The legal acts they adopt on a number of issues may apply to individuals and legal entities of member states, or the relevant norms must be included in the own law of such states.

In general, having examined the various classifications of authorities, we can conclude that state power is a broader concept that denotes the affiliation of the state, on behalf of which public administration is implemented through state bodies and officials.

Questions for self-control

1. What is the relationship and content of the concepts: management – ​​public political management – ​​public administrative management – ​​public management – ​​public administration?

2. Give a description of the nature and essence of public administration, highlighting the object and subject.

3. Name the signs of the state-legal nature of management.

4. Highlight the main goals and objectives of public administration at the present stage of development of the Russian Federation.

5. Give a complete description of the principles of public administration.

6. Give examples of government bodies in the Russian Federation that implement the main functions of public administration discussed in this chapter.

7. List the types and give examples of special and specific functions of public administration.

8. What methods of public administration, in your opinion, seem to be the main ones in building a democratic rule of law state?

9. Which of the two concepts seems to you to have a broader meaning (and why): state power or public administration?

10. Give various classifications of government power and give examples of bodies that implement it.

Before moving on to consideration of the issue concerning the goals of public administration, it is necessary to familiarize yourself in more detail with the concept of the term “goal” itself in the general sense. As a rule, a goal is usually understood as a certain reflection of the interests and needs of the public, a product of consciousness.

The goal pursues a certain final result, which the subject strives to achieve by implementing the tasks set for this. It is worth noting the fact that the subject’s aspiration may not always be conscious, since in some cases the goal can be achieved unconsciously.

The concept of public administration goals

The goals that public administration sets for itself are certainly different from the ordinary everyday goals of an individual.

Definition 1

The goals of public administration are a certain result that the subject of public administration seeks to achieve through management activities related to meeting the interests and needs of society.

Determining the goals of public administration occurs by taking into account their feasibility and solvability, as well as the sequence of their achievement. Thus, in order for public administration to set a new goal, it must first of all achieve the previously set goals.

Note 1

The most important goal of public administration is the strategic goal enshrined in law in the Constitution of Russia. Thus, paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the country’s basic law provides for the creation of optimal conditions that should ensure free development and a decent life for a person.

In order for public administration to achieve its goals, it must assume the authority to manage economic objects that are state property, taking into account the privatization, sale and acquisition of these objects, leasing them, etc. In addition, an important step towards achieving the goals of public administration is the formation and expenditure of the budget of the state and individual regions, financing of resources, as well as functions related to social management and others.

Classification of public administration goals

Public administration serves many different purposes. At the same time, we can highlight some of them, dividing them into groups as the most important and priority goals:

  • socio-economic goals that are associated with streamlining the life of society and satisfying public interests regarding well-being in economic terms, as well as with building and maintaining an established system of relations in the country’s economic sphere;
  • political goals aimed at ensuring that all political forces of the state should take part in public administration, as well as at developing various proposals for the development of the country and society, public and government structures;
  • security objectives that require public administration to carry out tasks to ensure the rights, freedoms and interests of citizens, legality, public safety and order;
  • legal goals, which consist in the formation of legal institutions aimed at the implementation of all state functions and tasks;
  • information purposes that involve the action of social communications between the object and the subject of public administration and are designed to ensure the reliability and completeness of information about the state of the management system.

The indicated list of public administration goals is not exhaustive. Due to the versatility of the functions of the state, a huge number of secondary goals can be identified, which arise from the more general, global goals of public administration.


The purpose of public administration is one of the key concepts. Depending on what goal is being realized, the functions of public administration will be located, the structure of government bodies and their competence will be determined. In management theory, including the theory of public administration, goal setting is usually considered “as the most important system-forming element, the initial, defining feature of any control action.” At the same time, in the mechanism of public administration, goal setting is considered as a process of justifying the development goals of a managed object based on an analysis of social needs and the real possibilities of their most complete satisfaction.
As N.I. rightly notes. Glazunov, the policy of Russia's transition period, the course of reforms may fail if the goals and national priorities remain unclear, not understood and not accepted by society.
The main goal of public administration is determined by its essence, concept, namely, improving the management system, changing its qualitative characteristics, which, in turn, are designed to ensure optimal organization and implementation of management of processes occurring in the relationship between the subject and the object of management. Goals are what the activities of government bodies are aimed at. One should completely agree with the opinion of G.V. Atamanchuk, who claims that “the meaning and goals of a normal state are to promote the material and spiritual development of its people.” Most other researchers in the field of public administration share approximately the same point of view. For example, N.I. Glazunova formulates the large-scale goal of public administration in the context of improving the quality of life, calling it “an indicator of the intelligence of power,” expressed through the strengthening of legal and social order, satisfying the most important material and spiritual needs of citizens, and the people’s right to a decent human existence.
The goals of public administration are specified depending on the classification criteria proposed by researchers. Professor Yu.N. Starilov, choosing the general and specific content of management activities as the main criterion, proposes to identify the following goals of public administration:
“socio-economic goals, i.e. streamlining public life and satisfying public interests; achieving economic well-being, building and maintaining a certain system of economic relations;
political goals, i.e. involvement in the management of all political forces in the country, maintaining processes in society and the state that contribute to the improvement of state and public structures and human development;
security purposes, i.e. ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens, legality in society, public order and security, the required level of well-being;
organizational and legal goals, i.e. the formation of a legal system that facilitates the implementation of the main functions of the state and the solution of its tasks with the help of democratic institutions and mechanisms of the rule of law, as well as organizational and functional entities.”
With this approach, the listed goals of public administration actually correspond to the classification of state functions established in the theory of law and state according to the sectoral principle, which is quite acceptable, since it is in the functions that the goals of management are manifested. With this approach, as a rule, five functions of the state are distinguished:
economic (meaning ensuring the normal functioning and development of the economy, including through the protection of existing forms of ownership, organizing public works, production planning, carrying out foreign economic relations, etc.);
political (ensuring state and public security, social and national harmony, suppressing the resistance of opposing social forces, protecting the sovereignty of the state from external attacks, etc.);
social (protection of the rights and freedoms of the population, implementation of measures to meet the social needs of people, maintain the necessary standard of living of the population, ensure necessary working conditions, payment, living conditions, etc.);
ideological (support for a certain, including religious, ideology, organization of education, support of science, culture, etc.);
and, finally, those that appeared relatively recently: the environmental function (protection of the natural environment, rational use of natural resources, ensuring environmental safety).
Thus, the functions of the state are not constant, but continuously transforming categories. Their classification is very extensive. Some functions disappear altogether, others significantly change the scope and content, and, consequently, the significance. In addition, new, previously unknown functions of the state appear. Their ratio in the single system they form also changes.
The functions of the state should not be identified with the functions of its individual bodies or government organizations. The functions of the latter, although for the most part have considerable significance for the life of society and the state, nevertheless, in comparison with the functions of the entire state, they have a relatively narrow, local character. If the functions of the state cover all its activities as a whole, the activity of the entire state apparatus or mechanism, then the functions of individual bodies extend only to part of it, covering the activities of only its individual parts.
It is important to take into account that the state as a whole acts as a subject of public administration, and the basis of the organizational structure of public administration is formed by executive authorities. Consequently, the functions of public administration are determined by the goals and functions of the state, in turn, the functions of the executive branch are determined by the goals and functions of public administration.
Returning directly to the concept of “management functions”, it is necessary to emphasize that in management science there is no single concept of functions, i.e. areas of activity. Functions occupy a special place in the management system and play a key role in its formation.
The management function as a possible area for the formation of control influence involves the implementation of continuous interconnected actions to develop means and methods of influence and their implementation in relation to solving a specific problem. Therefore, the function is considered as an objectively necessary area of ​​the management process, which has temporal and spatial certainty and final effectiveness.
In relation to public administration, the functions of public administration are usually understood as objectively determined types of power, goal-setting, organizing and regulatory influences of the state on social processes.
General management functions typically include:
1 - collection and processing (analysis) of social information;
2- forecasting, i.e. scientific prediction of changes in the development of any phenomena or processes based on objective data and scientific achievements;
- planning, i.e. determination of directions, goals of management activities and ways and means of achieving these goals;
- organization, i.e. formation of a management system, streamlining of management relations between the subject and the object of management, determination of rights and responsibilities, structures of bodies, organizations, selection and placement of personnel, etc.;
- regulation or management, i.e. establishing a mode of activity to achieve management goals and objectives, regulating the behavior of managed objects, issuing directives, instructions, instructions, etc.;
- coordination and interaction carried out to achieve common management goals;
- control and accounting, which consists in establishing whether the actual state of the control object corresponds or does not correspond to the specified state.

In government organizations it is possible to distinguish three types of goals: goals-tasks, goals-orientations And self-preservation goals.

1. Goals and tasks state organizations are set by a higher-level subject of management - these are the actual management goals, i.e., the goals of management of the social system, content-oriented and subordinated to the achievement of its main goal. They, as a rule, are enshrined in legal documents: regulations, charters, regulations, which reflect the purpose of this organizational structure, its place and role in the management system, i.e., what it was created for.

It is very important that the goals and objectives are clearly formulated; for example, social goals (support for the poor, etc.) have too general a meaning. In order for the activities of the body to be effective, more specifically set goals and objectives are needed for the governing body and its staff, since everyone works better if they clearly understand what is expected of them. The goal determines behavior, and purposeful activity is the mechanism that ensures the operation of the governing body.

When fulfilling a task goal, various problems may arise:

· inadequate perception of them by the governing body;

· possible discrepancy between the content of the formulated tasks and the expectations of the organization’s staff;

· the contradiction between the high pathos of tasks and the low level of resources to support them.

2. Goal-orientations reflect the common interests of the members of the public administration body and should not contradict social goals and objectives.

3. Goals of self-preservation organizational management structure reflect its desire to maintain its integrity and stability, balance in interaction with the environment.

Each governing body should be focused not only on achieving goals set from above, but also on fulfilling internal tasks. This circumstance should not be ignored by the subject of management.

When setting goals-tasks, the goals-orientations of the organization can and should be taken into account. Otherwise, there will always be a truly unanswerable question: “Is the system of public administration fulfilling its public purpose?”

So, in the public administration system, the goals should be:

· large-scale, but realistically achievable;

· understandable and fully understood by employees of managing and managed organizations;

· coordinated in their entirety.

Goals public administration is possible classify along horizontal and vertical sections. Horizontal cut is represented by a chain of main types of public administration goals: socio-political – social – spiritual – economic – organizational – activity-praxeological – informational – explanatory.



For socio-political purposes, a strategy for the development of society for the long term is expressed. And the highest value and goal of society and the state is proclaimed to be a person, his rights, freedoms and guarantees of their implementation. The strategic long-term goal of the development of the Republic of Belarus is a progressive movement towards a post-industrial type society, increasing the level and quality of life of the population.

Social goals determined by socio-political goals. Based on this, in the Republic of Belarus they consist in implementing the principle of justice and creating conditions that ensure a decent level and quality of human life.

Goals in the spiritual sphere consist in creating conditions for the formation of a highly moral, spiritually rich personality. In addition, they are aimed at using the spiritual potential of citizens to realize socio-political and social goals.

Goals of public administration in the economic sphere– this is the definition of a long-term strategy for economic development, the creation of optimal conditions for its implementation. The main economic goal of the Republic of Belarus is the transition to a socially oriented market economy and, on its basis, improving the well-being of citizens.

Organizational Goals aimed at creating an optimal, efficient organizational structure of public administration.

Information purposes are aimed at establishing direct and feedback connections between the object and the subject of management to obtain information about the object’s reaction to the management decisions made and, if necessary, correction of the control action.



Objective necessity plays an important role in public administration clarification of identified goals and priorities. Citizens of the state must clearly understand the existing problems that the state is solving, have reasoned information about the processes taking place in society, about the motives for the decisions of government bodies, including unpopular ones.

The presented horizontal section of goals does not give a complete picture of their subordination. The vertical slice ranks goals according to their importance: strategic, tactical, operational . Tactical goals define specific actions to achieve strategic and operational goals, which is why they are also called providing. Operational goals are put forward over a certain time period, taking into account the current socio-political and economic situation.

The goals of public administration can be classified according to other criteria. For example, by volume They may be:

· general, covering the entire complex of public administration;

· private, covering individual subsystems.

According to the results: final and intermediate.

By time frame highlight:

· long-term goals (strategic) (over 5 years);

· medium term goals (for 5 years);

· short-term goals (tactical) (one year or less).

In relation to the main goals, there may be side ( secondary) goals that are not directly related to the implementation of strategic goals.

When structuring the goals of public administration, one should proceed from the logic of the historical process of development of the state as a system in which each previous goal determines the subsequent one. Naturally, along with the general defining goal, the state puts forward many other very significant goals, but all of them are designed to develop and complement the main goal. Thus, we can distinguish a chain of main types of goals of public administration: socio-political - social - spiritual - economic - organizational - activity-praxeological - informational - explanatory.

The goals of socio-political development are of particular importance. They express the general direction of the state course for the long term. Errors in defining these goals usually have serious consequences. So, with the adoption in the 1960s. program of communist construction in the USSR, the goal was proclaimed - “the current generation of Soviet people will live under communism.” At the same time, the goal was also put forward to “catch up and overtake America.” The goals of socio-political development are complex in nature and determine the qualitative state of society as a system. The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993, having consolidated the federal form of government and the democratic system, changed the entire system of paradigms of social development and predetermined the socio-political goals of public administration. This fundamentally affected all other goals of government. At the same time, it is necessary to keep in mind the traditional features of the Russian mentality, formed under the influence of centuries-old strictly centralized government.

The goals of social development are determined by the socio-political course states. In relation to modern Russia, they include providing conditions for the development of the social structure, the creation of a “middle class” - the pillar of political stability, and the achievement of a level and quality of life worthy of a person.

A very delicate area of ​​government is spiritual life. society. The historical experience of advanced countries has shown how great the influence of spiritual spirit, general educational and scientific potential was on the development of their economy, politics, culture, and way of life. Having preserved, despite the defeat in World War II, their achievements in the field of education and culture, carefully preserving national traditions, West Germany and Japan, for example, were able to challenge the largest states of the world in a short historical period. The goals of the state in the field of managing spiritual life have nothing to do with spiritual violence, the imposition of ideological cliches, or pervasive censorship. They consist in creating optimal conditions, including economic ones, for the development of spiritual culture and ensuring free access to its values ​​for the wider population.

The goals of public administration in the economic sphere are to determine long-term strategy for the economic development of the country, creating optimal conditions for its implementation to ensure real and sustainable growth in the material well-being of citizens. In the field of production process management, the state's goals are to ensure economic independence and high activity of managed objects, their ability to operate in conditions of both domestic and international competition.

The organizational goals of public administration are to create a system functional and organizational structures, their institutionalization, capable of ensuring the appropriate influence of the subject of management on the object of management.

Activity-praxeological the goals involve optimizing the human factor and specifying the activities of all structures and components of the managed system on the basis of maximum approximation to perfect activity in terms of its effectiveness.

Information purposes of the state management involves the establishment of social communications through direct and feedback connections between the subject and the control object, designed to ensure the optimal volume and reliability of information about the state of the managed system, for the rapid adjustment of the control impact on the control object. Without this condition, it is absolutely impossible to make the right decisions.

Closely related to informational goals are explanatory goals that play an important role in public administration, since citizens of the state must clearly understand what problems the state solves, what motives guide the authorities when making certain, including unpopular, decisions. Since in management there is always an element of coercion and restriction of the freedom of activity of the controlled object, reasoned information about the processes taking place in society, explaining their objective necessity, significantly weakens social tension and has a mobilizing effect.

The above classification of public administration goals reflects their horizontal cross-section and does not yet give an idea of ​​their subordination. In order to rank them by importance, it is necessary to construct a tree of public administration goals.

The goals of public administration are formed based on the goals of the state pursuing the implementation of its public functions. The main strategic goal, the core of state policy, the trunk from which, like branches, go all other goals of public administration, is the constitutional goal outlined at the beginning of the chapter of creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of a person. Because management goals are outlined and formulated by people, they are subjective in nature. But, being an expression of the real needs of society at a certain stage of its development, they are objective in their essence.

Achieving a strategic goal is divided into stages, time periods, during which, taking into account changing circumstances and the availability of certain resources, operational goals are put forward, which in turn can be divided into many goals or blocks of a more specific nature.

Adjustment of movement towards achieving strategic targets is carried out through tactical goals. The latter require the subject of management to have high managerial skills and the ability to quickly respond to ongoing events. Therefore, tactical goals are also called supporting goals.

The goals of public administration can be classified on other grounds. For example, in terms of volume they can be general or private. General ones cover the entire complex of public administration. Private - separate subsystems. Based on the results, the goals of public administration can be final and intermediate. In terms of time, they can be prospective (distant, close) or immediate. In relation to the main goals, side (secondary) goals may arise, which are often associated with overcoming various kinds of obstacles in achieving the main goals.

Each historical period in the development of productive forces and social relations has its own system of public administration goals. However, these goals should not be voluntaristic in nature and are designed to meet the system of requirements proven by world practice. They must be scientifically substantiated, conditioned by objective trends of social development, socially motivated, have sufficient resource support and systematic organization.

The implementation of the goals of public administration is based on the basic provisions that are contained in the principles of public administration. Principles (from the Latin “principium”) are the initial, fundamental provisions, guidelines, tested by theory and practice. They contain patterns, relationships, and interconnections that humanity has accumulated through trial and error over many centuries. “Management,” wrote Harold Kunz, president of the International Academy of Management, “is an art, like medicine or engineering, that must rely on its underlying science—concepts, theories, principles and methods.”


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