Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Understanding the effects of radical change on public personnel systems is critically important both now and in the future to all those interested in the quality of American democracy. Civil service reform is occurring at all levels of government both in the United States and abroad.

American Public Service: Radical Reform and the Merit System is a collection of papers that examine the innovations, strategies, and issues found in the contemporary civil service reform debate. Offering diverse perspectives from expert contributors, this book presents matters concerning radical reform and the merit system at the federal, state, and local levels of government.

This volume offers fresh insight into the effects of merit system changes on employees. Divided into four sections, this book...

- Examines a portrait of contemporary reforms from across the country and concepts to interpret those data

- Addresses whether the relaxation of civil service protections against partisan intrusion will result in corruption

- Provides examples of ongoing changes and analyzes survey data from state managers

- Discusses a variety of key issues, such as the impact on racial inequality of moving from a protected class employment status to an unprotected at-will relationship

The book provides a baseline of data on reforms as well as an account of their current promises and pitfalls. Covering topics ripped from the headlines, this text also identifies pressing issues and makes suggestions for the future. Offering a variety of methodological approaches, it is ideal for all those interested in effective governance.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• About the Editors(p. xvii)
• Contributors(p. xix)
• Acknowledgments(p. xxi)
• Introduction(p. xxiii)
• Part I Merit Systems in Flux(p. 1)
• 1 Changes in State Civil Service Systems: A National Survey(p. 3)
• Introduction(p. 3)
• Reforming the Personnel Function: Previous Research(p. 4)
• Methodology(p. 6)
• Findings: Current Trends in the Transformation of the Modern Civil Service(p. 7)
• Decentralization (Reinvention) of HRM(p. 10)
• The "Declassification" of Civil Servants(p. 11)
• Restrictions on Due Process Rights(p. 12)
• Activist Governors(p. 14)
• Discussion and Conclusion(p. 15)
• References(p. 20)
• Appendix(p. 22)
• HR Reform Interview Template(p. 22)
• 2 Framing Civil Service Innovations: Assessing State and Local Government Reforms(p. 25)
• Four Models of Human Resource Management Service Delivery(p. 26)
• Radical Reform: The Case of Georgia(p. 27)
• More Radical Reform: Florida and Service First(p. 30)
• A Collaborative Approach: Modernizing the New York Civil Service(p. 33)
• The Executive as Initiator of Strategic Reform: The Case of Louisiana(p. 36)
• The Courts as an Initiator of Reform: The Unique Case of the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama(p. 38)
• HRM in Chapel Hill, North Carolina: A Case for Best Practices(p. 40)
• Conclusions and Implications(p. 41)
• Acknowledgments(p. 43)
• References(p. 43)
• 3 At-Will Employment: Origins, Applications, Exceptions, and Expansions in Public Service(p. 47)
• Introduction(p. 47)
• The Origin of Employment at Will(p. 48)
• Exceptions to Employment at Will(p. 50)
• Statutory Exceptions(p. 51)
• Judicial Exceptions(p. 51)
• Applications of Contemporary Employment at Will: Criticisms, Defenses, Reforms(p. 54)
• Criticisms(p. 54)
• Defenses(p. 57)
• Reforms(p. 59)
• Expanding Employment at Will to Classified Civil Servants: The Constitutional Issues(p. 61)
• Procedural Due Process and Taking Claims(p. 61)
• Impairment of Contract(p. 62)
• Substantive Due Process, Equal Protection Clause(p. 63)
• Expanding Employment at Will to Classified Civil Servants: Reducing the Transparency of Government by Eliminating Due Process(p. 63)
• Conclusion(p. 65)
• Acknowledgments(p. 70)
• Endnotes(p. 70)
• Part II Is Patronage a Problem?(p. 75)
• 4 Bringing Back Boss Tweed: Could at-Will Employment Work in State and Local Government and, if So, Where?(p. 77)
• Introduction(p. 77)
• The Case for Reforming the U.S. Civil Service(p. 78)
• Why What Works in Washington May Not Play in Philadelphia: A Political Theory of State Public Personnel Reform(p. 80)
• Patronage Demand Variables(p. 81)
• Political Environmental Variables(p. 82)
• Bureaucratic Capacity(p. 82)
• The Best and Worse States for Civil Service Reform(p. 83)
• Patronage Demand Variables(p. 83)
• Political Environmental Variables(p. 86)
• Summary Measures: Which States Rank Where?(p. 87)
• Discussion(p. 92)
• Acknowledgments(p. 97)
• References(p. 97)
• 5 The Demonization of Patronage: Folk Devils and the Boston Globe's Coverage of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks(p. 101)
• Introduction(p. 101)
• Folk Devils and Moral Panics(p. 102)
• The Patronage Folk Devil(p. 103)
• Boston and Patronage(p. 104)
• Moral Panic: Massport and the Boston Globe's Coverage after 9/11(p. 105)
• The Case of the Convenient Whipping Boy(p. 106)
• Analysis(p. 109)
• Conclusion(p. 114)
• Acknowledgments(p. 116)
• Endnotes(p. 116)
• Part III State Cases of Civil Service Reform(p. 121)
• 6 Ending Civil Service Protections in Florida Government: Experiences in State Agencies(p. 123)
• Introduction(p. 123)
• Scholarly Literature and Background Material(p. 124)
• Scholarly Literature(p. 124)
• Background Material(p. 125)
• Methodology(p. 127)
• Findings(p. 129)
• Transportation(p. 129)
• Environmental Protection(p. 134)
• Department of Children and Families(p. 138)
• Comparing Survey and Case Data(p. 141)
• Conclusion(p. 142)
• Endnotes(p. 144)
• Appendix 1 (p. 147)
• Department of Transportation Terminations(p. 147)
• Appendix 2 (p. 148)
• Human Resource Unit in Transition at the Department of Environmental Protection(p. 148)
• Appendix 3 (p. 149)
• Terminations at Department of Children and Families(p. 149)
• 7 At-Will Employment in Government: Its Impact in the State of Texas(p. 151)
• Introduction(p. 151)
• HR in Texas State Government(p. 153)
• Survey of State HR Directors(p. 154)
• Findings and Analysis(p. 154)
• Discussion(p. 167)
• Implications of Survey Findings(p. 167)
• Additional Perspectives(p. 168)
• Conclusion(p. 170)
• References(p. 171)
• Endnotes(p. 173)
• 8 The Attraction to at-Will Employment in Utah Governments(p. 175)
• Introduction(p. 175)
• Methodology(p. 177)
• Findings and Analysis(p. 178)
• Understanding at-Will Public Employment(p. 181)
• Accountability and at-Will Employment(p. 182)
• Discipline and Dismissal(p. 183)
• The Role of Employee Motivation(p. 185)
• Views on Expanding at-Will Employment in Utah(p. 187)
• Conclusion(p. 188)
• Endnotes(p. 191)
• References(p. 191)
• Part IV Future Reform Issues(p. 193)
• 9 Dissin' the Deadwood or Coddling the Incompetents? Patterns and Issues in Employee Discipline and Dismissal in the States(p. 195)
• Introduction(p. 195)
• Employee Dismissal Evidence(p. 196)
• Patterns of State Employee Dismissal: The 20-State Study(p. 197)
• Dealing with Problem Employees: The Views of State Managers(p. 201)
• Determinants of Dismissal Rates and the Severity of Dismissal as a Management Impediment(p. 203)
• Civil Service Coverage and Dismissal Rates(p. 203)
• Simplification of the Disciplinary Process and Dismissal Rates(p. 204)
• Collective Bargaining and Dismissal(p. 205)
• Implications for Dismissal Practices and Civil Service Reforms(p. 207)
• The Dilemmas of at-Will Employment(p. 210)
• Endnotes(p. 214)
• 10 At-Will Employment and Racial Equality in the Public Sector: The Demise of a Niche?(p. 219)
• Introduction(p. 219)
• The Public Sector as a Niche for African Americans(p. 220)
• The Nature and Benefits of Work in the Public Sector(p. 223)
• Working in the Public Sector(p. 223)
• Benefits of Working in the Public Sector(p. 224)
• The Rise of at-Will Employment in the Public Sector(p. 225)
• Disproportionate Impact of at-Will Employment Policy by Race(p. 226)
• At-Will Employment and Job Dismissals(p. 226)
• At-Will Employment and Social Psychological Benefits(p. 228)
• Conclusion(p. 228)
• Acknowledgments(p. 229)
• References(p. 229)
• 11 Federal Labor-Management Relations under George W. Bush: Enlightened Management or Political Retribution?(p. 233)
• History of Labor-Management Relations in the Federal Government(p. 234)
• Creating a New Personnel System for the Department of Homeland Security(p. 237)
• Creating a New Personnel System for the Department of Defense(p. 239)
• Unions and Organizational Performance(p. 240)
• High-Performance Work Systems and Unions(p. 241)
• The Clinton Management Strategy(p. 243)
• The Bush Management Strategy(p. 244)
• "Taking Charge of Federal Personnel"(p. 245)
• Outcomes of the Bush Labor Relations Strategy(p. 246)
• Problematic Program Implementation(p. 247)
• Hostile Labor-Management Environment(p. 247)
• Increased Litigiousness(p. 248)
• Conclusion(p. 250)
• Endnotes(p. 250)
• Index(p. 255)

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

James S Dowman, Jonathan P West, Jack Rabin, Jerrell D Coggburn, Jessica E. Sowa, Steven Hayes