Steven W. Hays

A Broader Look at the “Accountability” Movement Some Grim Realities in State Civil Service Systems

Based on a 50-state survey, this article provides an analysis of the impacts of civil service reform on human resource management (HRM) systems. The most fundamental conclusion is that public employees in a majority of states are being directly affected by human resources reforms. In particular, the civil services traditional job protections are eroding because of decentralization of HRM authority, the active declassification of workers, restrictions on due process rights, and the efforts of activist governors. The implications of these phenomena on the professional civil service—and the notion of a public management career—are examined.

Riding the crest of a wave: the national performance review and public management reform

This article takes an eclectic look at the National Performance Review phenomenon by focusing on the various reform trends that are encompassed within the NPR agenda. After detailing the many catalysts for administrative reform, the authors describe numerous “megatrends” that permeate the contemporary public management literature. The anti-bureacratic biases of todays efforts to reform government are examined, along with the resulting themes for change. Privatization, downsizing, decentralization, debureaucratization, productivity enhancement, and managerialism are some of the reform goals that pre-existed the NPR, but which are clearly evident in the Reports recommendations. Each of these goals is briefly assessed in terms of its rationale, content, and potential implications for public managers. The article concludes with a few cautionary observations concerning the outcomes -- both expected and unanticipated -- that are likely to accrue to public management as (or if?) the NPR bandwagon accelerates.

Trends and Best Practices in State and Local Human Resource Management Lessons to Be Learned

This article summarizes a few of themost interesting findings of a comprehensive survey of human resource management best practices in state and local government. The 4-year project has examined the most enlightened human resource management initiatives extant in government agencies and provides a number of appealing reform examples that might be transportable to other governmental settings, including federal agencies. Many of the findings challenge accepted notions about the intractable nature of public personnel systems and provide potential models that can be emulated in public agencies at every level of government.

Human Resource Management Best Practices and Globalization: The Universality of Common Sense

Popular strategies for reform have come directly from the private sector in what is perhaps the most profound redefinition of “public” administration since the field first emerged as an identifiable specialty. The purpose of this paper is to examine the context out of which these reforms have grown, the challenges that have arisen as a result, and cases where private sector reform strategies have been successfully (and sometimes unsuccessfully) applied in human resource management (HRM). We discuss the benefits and hazards of many of the reforms and conclude that restoring a measure of confidence in the legitimate role of the civil service is essential for nations dealing with the challenges of globalization.

Reinventing the Personnel Function Lessons Learned from a Hope-Filled Beginning in One State

Reinvention of the staffing function has emerged as a major theme within contemporary public management reform. South Carolina was one of the first states to implement a comprehensive reinvention of its civil service system. This article contains a case study of that states experience in attempting to decentralize and reinvent its staffing practices. The article summarizes the progress that has been made, focusing in large part on the spotty record to date. Reasons for the halting success of reform are explored, and suggestions are provided for those who intend to push reinvention efforts in other locations. The needs for adequate legislative funding, technical support, and explicit guidelines are highlighted.

On the margins of public administration

Examines the theoretical influence of Peter Drucker’s writings on the discipline of public administration. A quasi‐empirical study using content analysis illustrates the frequency with which Drucker is cited as a source in those public administration texts and journals found in Books in Print and the Social Sciences Citation Index. Overall, citations number relatively few when measured against leading scholars in the field. Specific conceptual patterns emerge among the ideas credited to Drucker: leadership and motivation, organizing, and social ecology. Public administration scholars may de‐emphasize Drucker’s contributions, based on his criticism of government action, over‐simplification of obstacles to effective public management, and the interdisciplinary scope of his subject‐matter. However, Drucker’s contributions to the discipline through such innovative concepts as management‐by‐objectives and privatization cannot be overlooked, nor can public administrators afford to summarily dismiss Drucker’s judgements of government.

A Brief Rejoinder: Saving the Civil Service

appear pristine, reinvention’s advocates pay insufficient attention to (or fail to appreciate the significance of) the long-term implications of these movements. Obviously, we are not opposed to a more efficient public service, and we readily agree that contemporary civil service systems are often self perpetuating, nonresponsive, and even inept. Our essay merely tries to pose a single question: &dquo;Is the civil service sufficiently corrupt and/or incompetent to risk its near-total dismantling?&dquo; There can indeed be too much &dquo;merit,&dquo; as when it is expressed in terms of self serving policies that protect inefficient employees against all claims. But, by the same token, there are inherent risks associated with any whole-

Professionalization within a traditional political culture: A case study of south carolina

This article examines the progress of professionalization within a highly traditional political and social setting. The impact of such characteristics as a decentralized personnel system, fragmented political authority, and an absence of top-level support is assessed in the context of current initiatives to upgrade the professional orientations and capabilities of the states workers. The primary theme is that, despite the lack of an integrated professionalism movement in state government, remarkable advances have occurred, and are continuing at an impressive pace. The impetus for these changes is found to be in the various employee groups that are striving to enhance their professional skills and status.

Human resource management: The missing link

The complexity of the personnel performance appraisal process prompts the authors to label it the “missing link” in human resource management. Three major purposes or uses of appraisals are identified--motivation, information and development. In addition, four key factors are examined which influence the success of appraisals: (1) the timing of them; (2) the selection of the evaluator; ( 3 ) the variables used for evaluation; and (4) the appraisal technique used. Seven techniques are analyzed and shown to be different in their optimum uses. Addit- ional pitfalls are identified, based upon a thorough literature search, which are categorized into three separate categories: instrumental, evaluator and environmental pitfalls. The problems with the processes and techniques of employee performance appraisals are then examined in the light of the implications they raise for basic societal values such as the merit system, productivity and bureaucratic responsibility. Without drastic revision, the utility of appra...

Public Employee Attitudes And Motivations — A Symposium

ernment (see Leadership for America, 1990: xiii). So much ink has been spilled detailing the sad state of public employee morale that it probably isn’t accurate any longer to refer to the problem as &dquo;quiet.&dquo; The Volcker Commission Report, the most authoritative and thorough treatment to date, makes an important contribution to the dialogue simply by popularizing a sermon that public management faculty and practitioners have been preaching loudly for some time that the bill has come due for two decades of