PPA Lecture 2

Difference between
Public and Private

Administration
Lecture 2
Difference Between Public Administration & Private Administra
Public administration differs from private administration in significant ways.
1.The separation of powers places public administration under different

“masters.”
Legislatures possess as much or more constitutional power over

administrative operations. Legislature enacted administrative law to regulate
administrative procedures, including rule making, open meetings, public
participation, and the gathering and release of information.
The courts also often exercise considerable power and control over public
administration. They help define the legal rights and obligations of agencies
and those of the individuals and groups on which public administrators act.
They define the constitutional rights of public employees and the nature of
their liabilities for breaches of law or the Constitution.
The Concept of Public Administration
Separation of Power creates a fragmentation of authority that is

generally not seen in the private sector. Legal restrictions and
requirements affect private management, but they do not
fragment authority over it in the same way or to the same
extent, nor do they provide so many parties with a legal right
to observe and participate in private firms’ policy decisions
and other affairs.
Further, in most of the public sector, there is no genuine

equivalent to the profit motive so central to private enterprise.
2. The Public Interest

The governmental obligation to promote the public interest
distinguishes public administration from private management.
A central issue is assuring that public administrators represent and respond

to the interests of the citizenry.
By contrast, private firms are thought to best serve the general interest by
vigorously pursuing their own economic interests.
3.The Market
A closely related distinction between public and private administration

concerns the market. Public agencies traditionally have not faced free,
competitive markets in which their services or products are sold.
The market is less constraining in the public sector than in the private sector.
Private firms typically face markets more directly. Under free-market conditions, if
they fail to produce products or services at competitive prices, consumers
take their business elsewhere, and a company’s income declines. Eventually
the noncompetitive private firm will go out of business.
In between the typical public agency and the private firm is a gray area in which
not-for profit organizations and highly regulated industries, such as many
utilities, operate.
Not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) fill an important niche in the economy,

providing services that may not be sustained through market pricing, either
because their clients lack the funds to pay for them, or because the goods
provided have merit but cannot feasibly be provided either by the market
(because they are public or quasi-public goods) or through government (because
the services are provided on the basis of social or religious criteria that
governments must steer clear of).
4. Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the concept that government is the ultimate
repository of supreme political power and authority.
It involves a monopoly over the legitimate use of force in the

society.
The constitution of Pakistan recognizes that sovereignty over the

entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the
authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the
limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust.
Public administrators are engaged in the formulation and

implementation of policies that allocate resources, values, and
status in a fashion that is binding on the society as a
whole.
Private firms also make policies and are engaged in activities

that affect the lives of individuals in the society as a
whole, but unless specifically empowered to use
physical force (as in the case of privately managed prisons),
their policies cannot be enforced through legitimate
coercive physical power.
Rather, the private sector must turn to the public sector’s

courts and police power for the enforcement of contracts.
In sum, any definition of public administration must lay heavy

stress on the public.
Public administration is concerned with administration of the

public interest, it is constrained by constitutions and relatively
unconstrained by market forces, and it is considered a public
trust exercised on behalf of the sovereign.
Private administration, in contrast, generally has a

narrower concept of the public interest; profit-making firms
are heavily constrained by market forces, not by
constitutions.
Moreover, private administration is not connected to the issue

of sovereignty and is rarely considered to be a public
trust of any kind.
The lines between public and private administration may

become blurred when government contracts out public
functions to not-for-profit organizations or other third parties.
The same is sometimes true when public agencies are run like
corporations. But the private sector is not dominated or
characterized by not-for-profit organizations or firms
exclusively on government contracts, nor is the public sector
largely organized in corporate form. Substantial differences
between the public and private sectors remain, and,
importantly, they promote reliance on different values and
processes.

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Difference between

Public and Private

Public administration differs from private administration in significant ways.

1.The separation of powers places public administration under different

Legislatures possess as much or more constitutional power over

Separation of Power creates a fragmentation of authority that is

Further, in most of the public sector, there is no genuine

2. The Public Interest

A central issue is assuring that public administrators represent and respond

A closely related distinction between public and private administration

Not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) fill an important niche in the economy,

It involves a monopoly over the legitimate use of force in the

The constitution of Pakistan recognizes that sovereignty over the

Public administrators are engaged in the formulation and

Private firms also make policies and are engaged in activities

Rather, the private sector must turn to the public sector’s

In sum, any definition of public administration must lay heavy

Public administration is concerned with administration of the

Private administration, in contrast, generally has a

Moreover, private administration is not connected to the issue

The lines between public and private administration may

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