Robert Jackson has given four basic assumptions of the study of Comparative Public Administration.
1. Though all scholars do not share the view, yet it is clear that a science of Public Administration though not fully achievable is at least worthy of seeking. He is of the view that there is broad agreement on the proposition that there are certain patterns of administrative behaviour which are susceptible to rigorous systematic analysis and thus capable of being drawn together into a body of theory.
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2. One more concept is that all empirical findings which become available from such cross cultural studies should be put to rigorous and systematic comparative analysis.
3. Then another concept of Comparative Public Administration is that for scientific study of Public Administration it is essential that administrative patterns in cross cultural and cross national contexts should be fully explored.
4. Eakson’s another concept is that it can be very much hoped that such a comparative analysis will make it possible to derive hypotheses about administrative patterns on various levels of generally, which have different degrees of applicability and universality. The derivation of some universally applicable hypotheses can then possibly be integrated into a general theory of Public Administration.
Whether it will be possible to have a general theory of Public Administration or not, it is very difficult to precisely answer this question, though Amitai Etzioni is of the view that eventually the comparative study of organisation will establish the study of universal propositions of organisation theory. It is however, very difficult to say what scientific efforts should be to achieve the preferred goal of a science of administration.
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Robert Dahl has however, raised a very basic question when he says as to whether there can be science of Public Administration in the sense that it is a body of generalised principles independent of their peculiar national setting a question which is really difficult to be answered at this stage.