Public Administration

This word means the implementation of gobernment policy and also an academic discipline that studies this implementation and prepares civil servants for working in the public service.

As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal...is to advance management and policies so that government can function." Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: "the management of public programs"; the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day"; and "the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies."

Public administration is "centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct.

Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departaments such as municipal budget directors, human resources (HR) administrators, city managers, census managers, state mental hearth directors, and cabinet secretaries.

Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government. During back to Antiguity, Pharaohs, kings and emperors have required pages, treasures, and tax collectors to administer the practical business of government.

Prior to the 19th century, staffing of most public administrations was rife with nepotism, favoritism, and political patronage, which was often referred to as a "spoils system".