This is a core course for students registered in the Public Sector Management option and a pre‐requisite for all other courses in Public Sector Management. It introduces students to the basic concept of management within the context of the public sector and provides opportunities for demonstrating their practical application. The course will trace the historical evolution of the public bureaucracy and public management systems in the Commonwealth Caribbean and will discuss the political, economic and social context in which contemporary public management takes place. It will also examine the concept of government as a series of interactions among and between various groups in the polity.