Administrationer

Administrationer is a plural form used in several North Germanic languages, notably Swedish and Danish, to denote administrations or administrative bodies, as well as the broader concept of administration. In common usage, administrationer can refer to the offices, agencies, or departments that carry out public or organizational tasks, as well as to the act of administering itself.

In public administration, administrations are the units that implement laws, collect taxes, provide services, and manage public resources. They operate within a political framework and are typically distinct from elected bodies; the civil service carries out daily administration under policy guidance from ministers or regional authorities. In corporate settings, administrationer can refer to internal functions such as finance, human resources, information technology, and facilities management that keep an organization running.

Etymology: administration derives from Latin administratio, through French administration; the Nordic plural administrationer mirrors the native plural formation in Swedish and Danish. The singular administration is used in all these languages, with -er plural ending added in some contexts to refer to multiple units.

Related terms include public administration, civil service, and bureaucratic administration. In IT, the term system administration is distinct but shares the same root, focusing on computer systems rather than organizational bodies.