PADM704: Human Resources and the Legal and Regulatory Context of Public Administration
Discussion Thread: The American Public Service
It is argued that for the U.S. federal workforce to be more efficient and effective in facing the challenges of the 21st century that significant government reform must occur. Researchers argue that the reform should focus on modernizing a number of governance areas to include the to include the civil service and contract workforce. Is it time to reform the federal civil service so that it resembles the private sector? Can the American public be confident of the fairness and integrity of a civil service that uses human resources practices like those typical of the private sector?
Why/why not as it relates to both of the questions in this module: week.
As the world of human resource management advance and develop, researchers have argued that, yes, it is time for reform and look like private-sector models. Studies reveal ineffective and inefficient civil service systems are reasons public entities fall short of providing the tools, resources, and personnel to ensure their goals are met. According to Gibbs (2020), stronger civil service protections reduce the ability of public managers to remove unmotivated bureaucrats which yields a non-monotonic and discontinuous relationship between civil service protections and bureaucratic performance (p. 279). Gibbs (2020) explains Hays and Sowa (2007) reported that over the course of the 1990s and early 2000s, traditional job protections were curtailed in 28
U.S. states as reform programs were implemented (p. 280). Evidence shows that government agencies are failing individuals they serve due to inadequate internal systems. It is vital for all agencies in the public and private sectors to execute issues. Luke 14:27-28 states “For example, who of you wanting to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, he might lay its foundation but not be able to finish it, and all the onlookers would start to ridicule him, saying: This man started to build but was not able to finish” (English Standard Version, 2016). When human resource management systems are not sufficient to support the needs of individuals they employ and/or individuals they serve, change needs to occur.
Nigro et al., (2014) express that public jobs are valuable public resources, and the public should expect personnel functions to be carried out efficiently and competently (p. 1). “Part of the problem is widespread ignorance of the role of contemporary public personnel policy and the scale and complexity of the challenges it faces. It would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of traditional personnel functions like recruitment, selection, compensation, position classification, and training because they build the human capital foundations of organizational performance” (Nigro et al., 2014, p. 2). If human resource leaders or agencies do not practice the best work ethics and policies in place, it will fail. Adding to the convolution, agencies are convincing the government to give special authority in how they hire, pay, and manage employees, resulting in a balkanized civil service system. As a result, agencies not only have to compete with the private sectors for talent but also with each other.
According to Nigro et al., (2014), the United States has been working to combat workplace discrimination, training, and development, as they are a significant part of personnel policies in civil services since the 1940s. Sifunda-Evelia (2017) states that “manpower planning is about forecasting staff requirements versus availability of staff” (p. 1) and “when a human resource
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practitioner plans for staff requirements he/she will be able to enjoy benefits such as identifying shortages and surpluses and taking quick action” (p. 1). Grundmann (2015) shares that “adverse action laws are not entirely different. As with private sector employers, the Government may be sued for discrimination, violation of the rights of veterans to return to duty after military service, retaliation for protected whistleblowing activities, and for ignoring other laws applicable to the private sector that Congress has deemed necessary for the public good” (pg. i) “Public personnel or human resource policies and practices on all levels of government (as well as in the nonprofit organizations that work through and for governments) have major effects on the performance of public agencies and their employees” (Nigro et al., 2014, p.3). According to Jansen (2017), the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) OF 1978 established the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to review certain serious personnel actions against federal employees. Civil service reform is a purposeful activity to work on the proficiency, viability, impressive skill, and character of civil service, with the end goal of advancing the better conveyance of public goods and services with expanded responsibility. Other federal antidiscrimination laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to all personnel actions affecting employees or applicant for employment (Jansen, 2017).
Thompson (2021) shares that in May 2010, President Obama issued a memorandum on “Improving the Federal Recruitment and Hiring Process”, with the primary purpose of simplifying complex hiring process and directed agencies to overhaul the technical and structural aspects of hiring, for example, by mandating “plain language” job announcements, resume-only applications, and the expanded use of “category rating” in the selection process. The civil service system serves the needs of the government of the country. All organizations have a need for good performance and raising performance levels ride on giving employees more autonomy to address job-related problems. It should not only be about working harder or longer although individuals who love their jobs often do. Mutual trust is essential in organizations. With time and investment in developing job skills, individuals can raise performance levels significantly but also need to be educated and have access to resources in the event of punishment for minor mishaps.
References
Gibbs, D. (2020). Civil service reform, self‐selection, and bureaucratic performance.
Economics and Politics, 32(2), 279-304.
Grundmann, S.T. (2015). What is Due Process in Federal Civil Service?
https://
www.mspb.gov/studies/studies/What_is_Due_Process_in_Federal_Civil_Service_Employ
ment_1166935.pdf
Jansen, K. A. (2017). Does Jurisdiction Lie in a Federal District Court or in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Where the Merit Systems Protection Board Dismisses a “mixed case” For Lack of Jurisdiction?
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, 44(7), 252-256.
Nigro, L., Nigro, F.A. & Kellough, J. (2014). The New Public Personnel Administration. (7th ed).
Cengage.
Sifunda-Evelia, M. (2017). Human Resource Management Practices: A Biblical Perspective.
Partridge.
The Holy Bible. (2016). English Standard Version.
Text Edition.
Thompson, J. R. (2021). Civil Service Reform is Dead: Long Live Civil Service Reform.
Public Personnel Management, 50(4), 584-609.
