Organizational Theory: The Early Years "Organization "is a loaded term pregnant with many meanings ; accordingly,
it should be defined with some precision. An organization can be thought of
simply as a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. Of course, such a simple definition fails to convey the variety and complexity of
organizations at work in the modern world. For the purposes of this chapter,
however, an organization can be defined as a public association that works as
part of a government agency to deliver good and/or services.Notice that
this limited definition means that private organizations are not included in
the discussion ; it is the public nature of organizations, as best expressed
through the study of public administration, that takes center stage here.
Moreover, if this textbook explanation sounds incomplete, it is little wonder.
Since the early years of the administrative state, public administration
theorists have struggled to define and understand public organizations, how they
are structured and operate, and their strengths and weaknesses.
In a famous 1887 essay, political scientist and future president of the
United States Woodrow Wilson contended that public administration, like
business administration practiced in the private sector, should be studied and
practiced using a scientific methodology. Writing at the end of a century of
enormous scientific progress and change, Wilson was influenced by the
scientifìc movement that pervaded virtually every human endeavor from
philosophy and medicine to the humanities and the fine arts. In the wake of the Darwinian revolution, the influence of the German universities, the advances
achieved during the Industrial Revolution, and the rise of powerful corporations, especially railroads, Wilson wanted to place the business of operating public agencies on an equal footing with other empirically grounded disciplines.If he could identify the scientific principles of public administration,