Day 2

Seminar in Public Human Resources Administration:

Questions & Key Terms [Day Two]

Critical Thinking Questions

1. How do policymaking, budgeting, and performance management epitomize the impact of the value of political responsiveness on public personnel management?

2. Describe the elements in an HRMIS and the role such a system plays in an organization’s ability to meet its goals. If you are familiar with such a system, what information does it produce that is helpful to agency managers? What are the drawbacks?

3. What are the pros and cons of contracting out? If you have experience with contracting out, what challenges did you face in writing the contract specifications and what challenges did you face in administering the contract?

4. How does the historical development of job analysis relate to the differing objectives of elected and appointed officials, merit system advocates, HR directors and specialists, supervisors and managers, and employees? How are these reflected in the concepts of position management, human resource management, and career development?

5. Why are traditional job descriptions unsuitable for supporting personnel management as it relates to human resource management and career management?

Key Terms: Please define and give one example

1. benchmark

2. budget and ceiling budget

3. cost-benefit analysis (CBA)

4. effectiveness vs efficiency

5. human resource planning (HRP)

6. information and communications technologies (ICTs)

7. performance management

8. public–private partnerships

9. average grade-level restrictions

10. career development vs competencies

11. job analysis

12. job classification

13. performance standards vs performance-oriented job descriptions

14. qualifications standard (“qual standard”)

15. staffing (manning) table

16. traditional job descriptions