Book excerpt: How should one organise a ministry of education which has only a small group of professional staff? Officers must become multi-functional; but what tasks should be grouped together, and how? What styles of management are needed for the highly personalised nature of small states, in which individuals have multiple out-of-work relationships as well as formal in-work ones? What arrangements can be made for career paths in a small organisation? And how can small ministries best manage the demands of regional and international linkages?These are among questions addressed in this book. It is the product of a pan-Commonwealth project in which officers from small ministries contributed practical insights. Experiences have been distilled and analysed, and are presented in a lively and readable format for both administrators and trainers.A companion book contains 14 case studies in a country-by-country format. Also available from the Commonwealth Secretariat, it is entitled Ministries of Education in Small States: Case Studies of Organisation and Management.