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PAD102: INTRODUCTION
TO PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
PREPARED BY:
AHMAD FAIZ BIN YAAKOB &
MOHD IDHAM BIN MOHD YUSOF
FACULTY OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE AND POLICY STUDIES (FSPPP)
UiTM SEREMBAN CAMPUS
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon the completion of this chapter, students should be
able to:
i.Define public administration
ii.Explain on the importance of public administration
iii.Explain the characteristics of public administration
iv.Describe the relationship between policy and
administration.
v.Discuss on the differences between private and public
administration
vi.Discuss on various approaches/ theories in public
administration
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jOwD-CTLI)
vi. Explain the role of public administration
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i. Introduction
• Public administration is one of the most significance
administrative machinery in a particular state or country.
•Public administration play very important roles in determining
the nation’s affairs and progress.
•Public administration work together with private administration in
managing the state or nation-building.
• The office of Public administration is different with political
office.
• Public administration is consist of various components. Public
administration is the government machinery to carry out certain
objectives with a variety of tools; such policy, regulation, direct
and indirect services to public.
•Public administration refers to the activity of governmental unit
in carrying out the public policy declared in the law. 
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1.0 Definition of public

administration
• Public administration is the branch of government that is
responsible for the execution or implementation of policy.
• Public administration is the set of organization, rules and
laws that ensure the intentions of the elected legislature are
carried out through their laws.
•Public administration - Establishments of federal,
provincial and municipal governments primarily engaged in
activities associated with public administration.
•This includes such establishments such as the Federal
Public Service, National Defense, RCMP and provincial
and local administrations.
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1.0 Definition of public

administration
• As an instrument of the state in assisting citizens.
•Public administration is the detailed and systematic
application of law.
•Every particular application of law is an act of
administration (Woodrow Wilson)
•Public Administration is meant, in common usage, the
activities of the executive branches of national, state and
local governments, government corporations and certain
other agencies of a specialised character.
• Specifically excluded are judicial and legislative agencies
within the government and non-governmental
administration ( H. A Simon) 
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2.0 Importance of Public Administration

 Enhancing civil society, ensuring a well-run, fair, and
effective public service.

 Improving equality, justice, security, efficiency,

effectiveness of public services usually in a non- profit,
non-taxable venue.

 Maintaining law and order.

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2.0 Importance of Public Administration

 Promoting peace and harmony.

 Protecting the interests of the state and of the people.

 Practicing Good governance - transparency and

accountability in government policy decision making and
implementation process.
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3.0 Characteristics of Public

Administration
 Non-partisan or Neutrality – public administration is a non-
political administrative apparatus that is subject to policy
direction but not partisan.
 Structure - A set of laws or legally founded rules that create the
structure of the administrative apparatus of the state.
 Power – public administration has given certain authority to
draw and implement policy to achieve the desired goal.
 Activities – public administration carry out activities that related
to the government
 Supervision - Continuing democratic supervision of
administrative activities through the executive which directs
activities within public administration apparatus.
 Personnel – public administration is carried out by public
servants who work in public departments and agencies, at all
levels of government, and perform a wide range of tasks
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4.0 What is Policy and Administration

Policy - is a deliberate plan of action to guide decisions and
achieve rational outcome(s). Policies can be understood as
political, management, financial, and administrative mechanisms
arranged to reach explicit goals.
Policy merely guides actions toward those that are most likely to
achieve a desired outcome.
Administration – is described as the implementation of
government policy carried out by peoples who work in that
organization or agencies and perform various tasks.
Policy and administration is two interconnected activities that
relevant to public administration and the government
administrative process. Public administration is working on policy
that decided by the government to achieve certain desired goals.
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• The principles of political administrative dichotomy a

principle stating that politics and administration should
remain separate in the public sector.

• Politics is a process by which groups of people make

decisions on political interests. They are elected through
election process which involves, normally several political
parties. It is achieved to satisfy political interests.
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• Administration is a process by which groups of people

make decisions on public interests. They are appointed by
the government to implement political decisions of the
lead government.
• The idea of separating politics and administration is to
avoid conflict of interest and maintaining neutrality (Max
Weber)
• According to David H. Rosenbloom - the idea that public
administration can be separated from politics is strange.
He believes that if politics and public administration were
separate, this approach would not work, emphasizing their
inevitable interconnection. 
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.. is it possible today’s administration to be

separated from politics (policy) or vice versa?
Let’s discuss
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4.0  The differences of public and

private administration
Two different sectors or entities; Example : Public
administration – public school or hospital, Private
administration – private school or hospital

Both are providing same services to people and aim to

achieve same objective. However, there are few
differences of these two organizations. 
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4.0  The differences of public and

private administration
i. Setting – how these two organizations was set up?
ii. Staffing– how the recruitment and training of the
personnel and their conditions of work ?
iii. Mission/goal – What is the mission and goal?
Operation/work procedures – How the procedures used
in these organizations.?
iv. Funding – How the financing of the activities?
v. Decision making process – How decisions are made?
vi. Visibility /accountability – subject to whom? 
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4.0  The differences of public and

private administration
Public Private
Created by the Owned by private/individual
government/ public or group
/public Constitution
i. Constitution set the set the formation
Subject Funded
to company law by
taxes/public budget. Not for profit motive. Controlled by
formation
legislative
Funded & judiciary. PublicFunded
by taxes/public services/Do not pay taxes
by investor
PRIVATE Owned by private/individual
ii. budget. capital/shareor group Subject
to for
Not company law FundedProfits
profit motive by investor
motive capital/share
Profits motive Controlled by the board Pay taxes
Controlled by legislative & Controlled by the board
Engage in various business activities
judiciary.
Public services/Do not Pay taxes/ Engage in
pay taxes various business activities
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5.0 Approaches to Public

Administration
• The Managerial Approach

• • Tends to minimize the distinction between public and

private administration.
• • PA is essentially the same as big business and ought to
be run according to the same managerial principles and
values.
• • Rooted in the 19thcentury civil service reformers who
complained at 'the spoils system' (corruption, inefficiency,
and the emergence of a class of politicians)
• • Appointment : based on 'merit' and 'fitness' rather than
political partisanship
• Tenure : based on their efficiency and effectiveness •
Depend on the existence of politics and administration
dichotomy.
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5.0 Approaches to Public

Administration
• The Political Approach

• •Public administrators participate in public

policy making in the sense of practical reality.
• Stress the values of representativeness,
political responsiveness, and accountability.
• Values and political approaches conflict with
each other. • Sometimes, hard to measure
effectiveness
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5.0 Approaches to Public

Administration
•  The Legal Approach

• • Views PA as applying and enforcing the law in concrete

circumstances.
• • The movement toward the judicialization of PA .
• • Administrative processes increasingly tend to resemble
courtroom procedures.
• • Derived from two main sources;- • substantive rights - equal
protection of the laws - maximization of individual rights and liberty
as a positive good. • equity - stands for the value of fairness.
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6.0 Role of public administration

•  The role of public administration is changing from being a
major provider of public services and development to
promoter and facilitator of development. Implementing
government policies - Public administration has important
role to play in translating the ideas, wishes and policies of
politicians into reality. 

• Providing Public services – public administration provide

varieties of services directly or indirectly through its
agencies. Such services including provision of water,
education, health, electricity, telephone, postal, transport,
public housing, immigration and security services.
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6.0 Role of public administration

•   Improving Service delivery – improving service delivery
in term of timeliness, quality, availability, effectiveness,
efficiency and convenience. This can be achieved by
considering citizens as customer and success is
measured in terms of citizens’ satisfaction. . 

• Promoting social change and economic development –

improving socio-economic status of citizens and
alleviating poverty. Maintaining peace and harmony -
Public administration is a major force for bringing stability
in society
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6.0 Role of public administration

•   Protecting of the rights of workers in industrial sector - it
is imperative for public administration to implement such
laws in order to meet the requirements of labour welfare.
• Scientific and technological developments – bringing new
techonologies for administration such as the advancement
of e-goverment.
• Economic planning - Centralised economic planning has
been pursued in many developing countries as a method
for socio-economic development.
• It requires a large number of experts and elaborate
administrative machinery for plan formulation,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. 
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7.0 Conclusion
•  The Concept of Public Administration is co-operative
group effort in a public setting; covers all three branches-
executive, legislative, and judicial, and their inter-
relationships; has an important role in the formulation and
implementation of public policy and is thus a part of the
administrative process; is different in significant ways from
private administration; is closely associated with
numerous private groups and individuals in providing
services to the community”. is the non-political public
bureaucracy operating in a political system; deals with the
ends of the State, the sovereign will, the public interests
and laws; . 
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7.0 Conclusion
•  is the business side of government and as such
concerned with policy execution, but it is also concerned
with policy-making; covers all three branches of
government, although it tends to be concentrated in the
executive branch; provides regulatory and service
functions to the people in order to attain good life; differs
significantly from private administration, especially in its
emphasis on the public; and is interdisciplinary in nature
as it draws upon other social sciences like political
science, economics and sociology. to the community”..
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