Review of Public Personnel Administration current issue

Bureaucracy and Public Employee Behavior: A Case of Local Government

Feeney, M. K., DeHart-Davis, L. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:53:59 PST

Government reinvention advocates assert that less bureaucratic work environments will spark higher creativity, more risk taking, and greater productivity in public employees. Although government reinvention remains a topic of interest to scholars and practitioners alike, these particular arguments lack empirical support. In response, this article tests the relationship between different forms of bureaucratic control (formalization, red tape, and centralization) and reported employee perceptions and behavior in local governments. Analyzing mail survey data from a study of the employees of four cities in a Midwestern state, this article finds that employee responses to bureaucratic control are not as straightforward as reinventionists expect. Different types of bureaucratic control are related to distinct employee responses, and sometimes these responses are the very behaviors that reinventionists seek to trigger by reducing bureaucracy.

Job Satisfaction of Public Managers in Special Districts

West, J. P., Berman, E. M. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:53:59 PST

Little is known about special districts and their personnel. This study examines the job satisfaction and professional backgrounds of senior managers in large special districts. Senior managers in these districts report very high levels of job satisfaction, possibly among the highest of all such managers in public administration. Senior managers are satisfied or very satisfied with four of the most important determinants of job satisfaction: pay, the opportunity to use one’s talents at work, job security, and the ability to make a meaningful impact on one’s region or community. About one fourth of administrators on management teams in large special districts have their highest degree in public affairs, and among those with an MPA degree, three fourths have experience in business. This study concludes that it is time to take special districts more seriously both in research and as a locus of activity and career development for public managers.

Revisiting Affirmative Action in Leveling the Playing Field: Who Have Been the True Beneficiaries Anyway?

Harris, G.L.A. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:53:59 PST

Affirmative action is an amalgam of federal, state, and local ordinances and other legislative mandates to remedy inequities in employment for traditionally marginalized groups. The need for such programs continues to be debated given varying evidence that affirmative action has not been as even handed as proponents have touted. This article explores the extent to which affirmative action, after more than 40 years, has leveled the playing field in the workplace for women and minorities. In essence, who have been the true beneficiaries of affirmative action?

A Renewed Emphasis on Hiring: A Closer Look at the Federal Government's End-to-End Hiring Roadmap

Llorens, J. J. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:53:59 PST

This article overviews the federal government’s most recent initiative to improve its hiring processes, the End-to-End Hiring Roadmap. The Roadmap was developed through a joint partnership with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the federal Chief Human Capital Officers Council, and it is intended to provide a detailed improvement plan for federal agencies to follow in the areas of workforce planning, recruitment, hiring, security and suitability, and orientation. This article overviews the specific components of the Roadmap and addresses its place within the context of existing strategic human capital management initiatives. Last, prospects for a successful adoption of the Roadmap are discussed.

Civil Service Reform in Action: The Case of the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama

Sims, R. R. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:53:59 PST

Civil service reform interventions are designed to address institutional weaknesses associated with human resource management (HRM) and processes. This article discusses the case of a federal court order reform of a HRM system. More specifically, the article offers a firsthand look at efforts to reform the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama, following the imposition of a receivership.

Title VII and Disparate-Treatment Discrimination Versus Disparate-Impact Discrimination: The Supreme Court's Decision in Ricci v. DeStefano

Peffer, S. L. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:53:59 PST

In June 2009, the Supreme Court decided the employment discrimination case of Ricci v. DeStefano . In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the City of New Haven, Connecticut, discriminated against White and Hispanic firefighters based on their race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when it refused to certify exam results that could have resulted in promotions for the firefighters. The case attempted to clarify what the Court saw as a conflict between two provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act— disparate-treatment discrimination and disparate-impact discrimination. Unfortunately, the Court’s decision and reasoning may cause even more confusion and questions in the area of employment discrimination leaving both public and private employers to ask themselves difficult questions regarding their employment practices and procedure.