Case Study 4

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CHAPTER 6

The Management of Human Resources

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understanding the value of a merit system in government employment

2. Learning about the activities of the human resources function

3. Understanding the importance of collective bargaining and labor-management relations

4. Learning about issues that affect human resources, such as diversity and discrimination

5. Understanding the relationship between the political and career administrators

 SUMMARY OVERVIEW

The concept of a merit-based civil service personnel system serves as a principal organizing

feature of this chapter. The authors address the importance of managing the people who work in

government organizations and examine the reasons behind the rules, regulations, and “red tape”

that often appear as roadblocks to effective personnel management. The chapter covers the rise of

the spoils system in the United States and the move to reform the civil service based on merit

rather than political favoritism, including the creation of the Pendleton Act, the Civil Service

Reform Act, and more recent efforts at “reinvention.” The discussion also addresses the ways in

which these reforms have been adopted at the state and local levels.

Chapter 6 also examines the main components of the personnel function, including classification

systems, recruiting, and pay systems. Conditions of employment also are addressed in this

section, as those who hire and manage government employees must be concerned with issues of

drug use, sexual harassment in the workplace, the rights of individuals with HIV/AIDS, violence

in the workplace, and processes for removing employees.

A key component of this chapter is a detailed discussion about the changes in the relationship

between labor and management in the public sector and the rise and decline of public-sector

unions. The authors trace the history of public-sector unions, outlining the conditions that led to

their development and affecting their growth. Labor-management relations at the federal level

also are contrasted with those at the state and local levels. This section offers a detailed

description of the steps in the bargaining process and discusses the implications of the decision on

the part of employees to strike. This section closes with a look at recent efforts to limit collective

bargaining rights for public employees at the federal, state and local levels.

The chapter then moves to an examination of fundamental issues of discrimination in public

employment, which includes a review of the development and purpose of equal employment

opportunity and affirmative action programs and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The

authors detail the varying approaches to enforcing compliance among employers as defined by

federal guidelines and key court decisions and discuss recent developments in attempts to correct

past patterns of discrimination against women and minorities through affirmative action. This

section also includes an examination of the problems of extending diversity throughout public

72 Chapter 6: The Management of Human Resources

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organizations and the gaps that still are being experienced by women and minorities in terms of

pay, job status, and overall employment opportunity.

The final section of the chapter deals with the difficult relations between political appointees and

career executives. The authors argue that the tension between political responsiveness and

managerial effectiveness that characterizes public administration is illustrated particularly well in

the relationship between political appointees and career public executives. As appointees become

“bosses” of career civil servants, tensions may arise because the political appointee wishes to

move in new policy directions but often has little experience in government operations while the

career executive has both knowledge and expertise but, aware of potential problems, may appear

reluctant to change. The attempt to reconcile the two positions, the authors note, brings the focus

back to the question of politics and administration.

 CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. MERIT SYSTEMS IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT

A. Spoils versus Merit

 Public Administration in History: THE SPOILS SYSTEM

 Exploring Concepts: PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL SERVICE

B. The Civil Service Reform Act and Its Aftermath

C. Reinvention and the National Performance Review

D. State and Local Personnel Systems

II. HIRING, FIRING, AND THINGS IN BETWEEN

A. Classification Systems

B. The Recruitment Process

C. Pay Systems

D. Conditions of Employment and Related Matters

E. Sexual Harassment

F. AIDS Policy

G. Workplace Violence

H. Removing Employees

I. Personnel Reform Efforts

 Public Administration Reform: URGENT BUSINESS FOR AMERICA

III. THE CHANGING CHARACTER OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS

A. Steps in the Bargaining Process

B. To Strike or Not to Strike

C. Unions Redefined

IV. CORRECTING PATTERNS OF DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT

A. Americans with Disabilities Act

Chapter 6: The Management of Human Resources 73

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B. Questions of Compliance

C. Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination

 Take Action: ADVANTAGES OF DIVERSITY

D. The Glass Ceiling

E. Relations between Political Appointees and Career Executives

V. SUMMARY AND ACTION IMPLICATIONS

 KEY TERMS

Adverse or disparate impact Criterion for showing that employment practices affect one group

more harshly than another.

Affirmative action Use of positive, results-oriented practices to ensure that women, minorities,

individuals with disabilities, and other protected classes of people will be equitably

represented in an organization.

Bargaining unit The organization that will represent employees in conferring and negotiating

various issues.

Comparable worth Notion that men and women in jobs that are not identical but require similar

levels of skill and training should be paid equally.

Equal employment opportunity Refers to efforts to eliminate employment discrimination on

the basis of race, ethnic background, sex, age, or physical handicap; ensures that all

persons have an equal chance to compete for employment and promotions based on job

qualifications.

Final-offer arbitration Technique in which both parties must present their best offer with the

understanding that an arbitrator will choose one or the other without modification.

Job description A thorough analysis of the work to be done and the capabilities for a job;

typically contains these elements: job title, duties required, responsibilities, and job

qualifications.

Lateral entry Entry into government positions at any level.

Merit pay Increases in salary and wages that are tied to actual quality of work performed.

Merit principle Concept that selection and treatment of government employees should be based

on merit or competence rather than personal or political favoritism.

Position classification Analyzing and organizing jobs on the basis of duties, responsibilities, and

knowledge and skills required to perform them.

Rule of three Provision of most merit systems that requires at least the names of the top three

applicants be forwarded to the hiring official to allow some flexibility in selection.

Sexual harassment Any unwarranted and nonreciprocal verbal or physical sexual advances or

derogatory remarks that the recipient finds offensive or that interfere with his/her job

performance.

Spoils system The ability to give government jobs to the party faithful; “to the victor belong the

spoils.”

Structured interviews Those in which a previously developed set of questions is used with each

applicant.

74 Chapter 6: The Management of Human Resources

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Unit determination Decision to include or exclude certain groups in a bargaining unit.

Whipsaw tactics Argument that pay or benefits negotiated by one group should be applied to

others.

 WEB LINKS

The following are links to information on general personnel issues, human resources,

and jobs:

Office of Personnel Management: (www.opm.gov).

U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission: (www.eeoc.gov).

United States Department of Labor: (www.dol.gov).

HR.Com: (www.hr.com) and (www.hr-guide.com).

LaborNet: (www.labornet.org).

American Federation of Government Employees: (www.afge.org/).

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees: (www.afscme.org/).

International Personnel Management Association: (www.ipma-hr.org).

International Public Management Association for Human Resources: (http://www.ipma-hr.org/).

Society for Human Resource Management: (www.shrm.org).

Public Service Careers: (www.publicservicecareers.org/).

Go Public Service: (www.gopublicservice.org/Careers.aspx).

FedWorld.Gov: (www.fedworld.gov/).

Careers in Government: (www.careersingovernment.com/index.cfm).

GovtJob.Net: (www.govtjob.net/).

USA Jobs: (www.usajobs.opm.gov/infocenter/howjobsgetfilled.asp).

The Chronicle of Philanthropy: (http://philanthropy.com/section/Jobs/224/).

Opportunity Knocks: (www.opportunityknocks.org/).