David T. Stanley

Merit: The Now and Future Thing

We have painted a messy picture, but thats the way it is. We find, as Beaumont points out, differing definitions of merit-merit as the best, vs. merit as deserving, i.e., adequate for the job. Both are necessary, both are realistic. The public service needs and uses some millions who are adequately qualified and who do satisfactory work, plus some tens of thousands who are superlative. The merit principle is used for both types, plus those in between.

Modernizing Manhattan's Manpower Methods: Some Basic Problems

A PROBLEM of employer appeal, a problem of fiscal controls, and a problem of centralized personnel authority were three of the main difficulties found in the Brookings Institutions recent Study of Professional, Technical, and Managerial Manpower Needs of the City of New York.1 These problems, along with many others, were identified in over a year and a half of intensive research by Brookings for the City. The study was sponsored by the Mayors Committee on Professional, Technical, and Managerial Manpower Needs of the City of New York and financed by the city Department of Health and three foundations.2 The work was done by a staff of lo, two contracting firms, and lo consultants. All had excellent cooperation from the city government. The research design brought various techniques to bear on the Citys problems in getting and keeping professional personnel: questionnaire surveys, depth interviews, classification audits, systems analyses of personnel processes, and visits to other city and state governments.