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CSS Public Administration Syllabus

Public Administration is a 100-mark Group III optional subject in the CSS written exam, examined in one three-hour paper. Below is FPSC's official syllabus, word for word: every section, topics and suggested readings.

Marks
100
Papers
1
Time
3 hours a paper
Group
Group III
Subject code
23

The paper

100 marks
  • I.
    Public Administration: Concepts, Approaches and Context
    • Definitions
    • Role and Scope of Public Administration in Society
    • Issues in Public Administration Theory and Practice: Democracy versus Bureaucracy
    • Politics versus Administration
    • Efficiency versus Equity
    • Core Values of Public Administration: Rule of Law
    • Efficiency
    • Equity and Fairness
    • Responsiveness
    • Traditional Public Administration
    • New Public Management
    • New Public Service
    • Governance Approach to Public Administration
    • Islamic Concept of Public Administration
    • Historical roots of Public administration in Pakistan
  • II.
    Public Administration: Classical and Contemporary Theories and Concepts
    • Bureaucracy
    • Scientific Management
    • Human Relations Approach
    • Leadership
    • Motivation
    • Network Governance
    • Strategic Management
    • Public Choice Theory
    • Types of Organizational Structure
    • Organization of Federal
    • Provincial, and Local Government in Pakistan
    • Administrative Culture of Pakistan
    • Inter-governmental Relations at Federal and Provincial level in Pakistan
  • III.
    Public Policy Planning, Implementation and Evaluation
    • Strategic Planning and Management
    • Planning Process
    • Policy Analysis
    • Policy Implementation
    • Program Evaluation
    • Planning Machinery
    • Role of Donors and International Institutions in Public Policy and Management
    • Policy making and implementation in Pakistan
  • IV.
    Budgeting and Financial Management
    • Budget as a Policy Tool
    • The Budget as a Managerial Tool
    • Principles of Budgeting
    • Audit and Accounting in Government
    • Line-Item Budgeting
    • Performance Budgeting
    • Program Budgeting
    • Zero-Base Budgeting
    • Outcome-Based Budgeting. Planning and Budgeting in Pakistan
  • V.
    Managing Human Resources
    • Spoil system versus Merit System in Public Employment
    • Personnel versus Human Resources Management
    • Close system versus Open System of Public Employment
    • Functions of Human Resources Management
    • Implementation of HRM in Public Sector: Key Issues and Challenges
  • VI.
    Administrative Law
    • Meaning
    • Scope and Significance
    • Nature and Contents of Administrative Law
    • Administrative Ethics
    • Delegation of Authority and Legislation
    • Administrative Tribunals
    • Administrative Law in Pakistan
  • VII.
    Public Management Skills
    • Planning
    • Decision Making
    • Conflict Management
    • Leading
    • Communication
    • Administrative Buffering
    • Managing Change
    • Managing Diversity
    • Stress Management
    • Delegation
    • Public Service Motivation
    • Creativity and Problem Solving
    • Issues of Public Management
  • VIII.
    The Civil Service of Pakistan
    • Historical Background of Civil Service
    • The Structure of civil Service
    • History of Civil Service Reform
    • Management of Civil Service
    • Institutional and Cultural Context of Civil Service
    • Role of Civil Service in Good Governance
    • Gender and Civil Service
  • IX.
    Organization of Provincial and Local Government
    • Governance Structure of Provincial Administration
    • Organization of Provincial Secretariat
    • Organization and Functions of Provincial Authorities and Agencies and their Relationship with Government Departments
    • Post-devolution Local Governance
    • Organization and Functions of District Government and Administration
    • Organization and Structure of City District Government
    • Issues and Challenges of Local Governance
  • X.
    Governance and Administrative Reforms
    • Theories of Administrative Reforms
    • Types of Administrative Reforms
    • Privatization
    • Regulation
    • De-regulation
    • Decentralization
    • Partnerships and Collaboration
    • Business Re-engineering
    • Quality Assurance
    • Administrative Reform in Pakistan
  • XI.
    Public Administration Accountability & Control
    • Bureaucratic Responsiveness
    • Representative Bureaucracy
    • Citizens Engagement in Public Service
    • Accountability & Control
    • Concept and Approaches to Public Accountability
    • Institutional Framework for Administrative Accountability
    • Legislative
    • Executive and Judicial Control over Administration
    • Administrative Corruption
    • Role of Civil Society in Good Governance
    • Media
    • Interest Groups and Civil Society Organizations
    • The Situation in Pakistan
  • XII.
    Public Administration and Development
    • Role of Public Administration in Development
    • Concept of Development Administration
    • Difference Between Development Administration and Development Management
    • Changing Role of Public Administration in Development
    • Issues and Challenges of Public Administration in Pakistan

Suggested readings

  • 1.Public Administration 7th EdDenhardt Robert
  • 2.Public Administration:Understanding Management, Politics and Law 8th EdDavid Rosenbloom
  • 3.Public Administration 2nd EdCaiden, Gerald E.
  • 4.Public Administration for the twenty first centuryCooper Et Al,
  • 5.Organization Theory for Public AdministrationHarmon Michael & Mayer Richard
  • 6.Public Administration and Public Affairs 12th EdNicholas Henry
  • 7.Classics of Public Administration 7th EdShafritz Jay
  • 8.Reinventing GovernmentOsbourne D
  • 9.Evolution of Pakistan’s Administration SystemBraibanti, Ralph
  • 10.Human Development in South AsiaMahbub-ul-Haq
  • 11.Bureaucracy, basic booksWilson, James Q
  • 12.Bureaucracy in PakistanKennedy, Charles H
  • 13.Public Administration and LawJulia Beckett
  • 14.Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective 6th ed.Ferrel Heady
  • 15.Public Administration and Public Management: The Principle- Agent PerspectiveJan-Erik Lane
  • 16.Governance: South Asian PerspectivesHasnat Abdul Hye
  • 17.Governance, economic policy and reform in Pakistan:Essay in political economyAbdus Samad
  • 18.Government and Administration in PakistanJameelur Rehman Khan
  • 19.Public Administration with special reference to PakistanSultan Khan
  • 20.Public Administration in Asia Vol. I & IISrinivasan Kalyanaraman
  • 21.Organizational Theory and the Public SectorTom Christensen Per Laegreid
  • 22.Public Administration in South Asia: India, Bangladesh and PakistanMeghna Sabharwal, Evan M. Berman

Past papers

FPSC's Public Administration papers from 2016 to 2026, as text. Open a year, or see them all.

Public Administration

FPSC's wording, spelling and numbering, as printed in its Revised Syllabi for CSS Competitive Examination (CE-2016 and onwards), updated 7th July, 2015.

The written exam starts with the MPT

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