Gebregziabher contends that in developing countries the public sector is poised to play a predominant and decisive role. These public bureaucracies, he warns, have taken the added responsibility of nation building, economic, social, political, and administrative development and that there are no limits to the service that the governments are called upon to perform. These increased and expanded functions have placed these governments at a focal point where their success or failures will determine the destiny of their nations.

The challenge of managing the civil service—what criteria and under what organizational arrangement would they select, train, discipline, promote and pay these public employees— is shown to be a constant challenge to both citizens and governments. The quest to develop and maintain a system to place the right person, at the right time, with the right and adequate compensation to ultimately enhance government services and to increase its productivity is the central theme of the primer.

The primer presents comparative analyses of the various systems developed by using the experience of the Federal Government of the United States in contrast with some selected African states and in the hope that such presentation will help to better understand and empower the readers to evaluate the existing systems and assess what can and has to be done to improve the current system.

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