that are intended for the general public, not necessarily for any one person’s individual welfare. You may be looking at this book as part of a public policy or a public administration course and many of the topics in that course are in the purview of the public sector. The organizations engaged in these activities might be government entities or non profit organizations. These organizations might be federal, state, or local government agencies; they might be a huge non profit organization that has locations all over the country, or perhaps even the world; or they might be a small non profit organization serving the needs of your community. Public sector organizations are as varied and diverse as their private sector counterparts.
Perhaps you are interested in environmental issues and sustainability, so let’s think about the range of public sector organizations whose missions are focused in that area. In terms of government agencies, there is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency based in Washington, D.C., and has field offices all over the United States, then each state has a state-level environmental agency (as does the District of Columbia), such as the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The vast majority of those state agencies have a centralized headquarters location, as well as field offices throughout the state. Then in some states, there are local or regional government agencies that work on environmental issues, too, such as the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency (RAPCA), based in Dayton, Ohio, or the Miami Conservancy District, also in Dayton. If you’re keeping a tally, there’s already a lot of government agencies involved, but that doesn’t account for the non profit organizations, including the Sierra Club or the Ocean Conservancy, which are major, national organizations (and many have local or regional chapters or offices) and smaller, more narrowly focused organizations, such as Appalachian Voices or the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. The point is that within even one specific policy area, the number of public organizations involved in efforts to improve the health of the environment and promote sustainability number in the hundreds, if not thousands, of organizations that have people who work for them to carry out their missions.
The missions and the tasks of organizations in the public sector are quite a bit different than those of private sector organizations. Just think about the example organizations already mentioned in this chapter. Apple makes a range of consumer electronics, from iPhones to Apple Watches, and there are many movie-streaming services, from Amazon Prime to Netflix, that afford us the opportunity to watch movies at any time on our own electronic devices. Now, think about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its mission is to protect human health and the environment. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is a regional organization based in Maryland that strives to fight climate change. The Federal Aviation Administration is essential in managing the airspace above us for planes to take us from one place to another.
Public and private sector organizations vary in what they do. The work involved in developing the iPhone, in terms of both the physical construction as well as the software that makes it indispensable to many of us, undoubtedly took lots of time, money, and ingenuity, but the tasks before private sector organizations are very different than those of public sector organizations. Government and non profit organizations strive to serve the public by advancing efforts around reducing environmental harms or making sure that the planes do not collide midair. It is reasonable to stipulate that these are very different kinds of organizational tasks.
Although there are many similarities between public and private organizations, as they are comprised of people trying to achieve certain goals and objectives, the differences between them are far more significant. As we have already seen, the missions of public organizations are far different from those of private organizations first and foremost. Second, authority structures also differ. In the case of Apple, where does it derive power and authority? From Apple stockholders and its customers. Apple can charge $1,000 for its iPhone X because its customers are willing to pay for it (and line up at all hours of the day to be one of the first proud new owners of the device!), and people clamor to buy Apple stock. And these forces help keep Tim Cook as the company’s chief executive officer. What about the United States Postal Service (USPS)? The head of the USPS is the postmaster general (the first of whom was Benjamin Franklin) and is appointed by the Board of Governors of the USPS (akin to a board of directors), but those governors are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. At best, the USPS customers have an indirect effect on the agency’s leadership. The USPS relies on Congress for its budget. To increase the cost of mailing a letter, the USPS has to navigate the administrative process to propose and approve a rate increase. And while the USPS is a rarity in that it has private sector counterparts (think UPS or FedEx), most government agencies do not have competition (after all, what other organization controls air traffic?). But the USPS is required, by law, to serve every address in the United States, something none of its competitors do (there are many rural addresses that private sector companies won’t serve because it is not cost-effective for them to do so).
Third, the work of public organizations, such as the USPS, also exists in a broader political landscape, complete with sensitivity to the next election cycle and what changes in party control might mean for the organization. Politicians play a role in the senior leadership of these organizations as well as appropriating funds for the organizations to pursue their missions. Non profit organizations are also sensitive to politics since many organizations rely on government grants to carry out some of the work, or may partner with government agencies to provide services for citizens. And finally, public organizations are far more likely to be involved in the lives of citizens, whether citizens like it or not. After all, if you are not a fan of the iPhone or the Apple OS, then you would probably buy an Android phone, and avoid all things Apple. Whether you realize it or not, the USPS is instrumental in your life, along with many other public organizations. You may not even realize the work the Ocean Conservancy does to educate people and the food service industry about sustainable fishing practices when you eat fish tacos, for example. So, given the differences in tasks, authority, political context, and involvement in daily lives, the work of public organizations varies quite a bit from private sector organizations.
Application Activity
With this understanding of the public sector and the range of organizations that comprise it, you are now in a position to think about the kinds of public organizations you might be interested in. In the first activity designed to help you figure out if the public sector may be right for you, make a list of three areas of activity that the public sector engages in that you find interesting. For example, these might be growing concerns over food deserts, particularly in urban areas, or local government efforts to promote sustainability, or programs to provide young people with after-school support. Then, do some Internet searching and find a few specific organizations near you that engage in these kinds of activities. Have a look at these organizations’ websites and get a sense of their size, their mission, and their efforts. You may very well be surprised about the scope of these organizations’ work!
Perceptions and Myths About the Public Sector
Now that you have given some thought to the various types of public sector organizations and the range of activities they engage in, you might find some of these entities potentially appealing to you professionally. But, if you’re like most people, there is a nagging voice in the back of your head saying, sure, these may be great missions, but who wants to work in the public sector. After all, if you were to stop people outside your favorite coffee or sandwich shop and ask them what their perceptions about the public sector were, you would probably get responses like “it’s full of lazy and incompetent people,” or “people who can get a real job do, and those who can’t work for the government,” or “it’s full of waste, fraud, and abuse,” or “the employees are overpaid and get cushy benefits and job security.” These myths about government, and even the non profit sector, are pervasive. Indeed, Americans have a love-hate relationship with government and the public sector. On the one hand, we expect much of the government, from mail delivery to airport safety to educating young people. But, on the other hand, we loathe government involvement in our lives, we don’t want to be inconvenienced, and we definitely don’t want to pay more
