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Radical Civil Service Reform in the United States: A Ten-Year Retrospective

Radical Civil Service Reform in the United States: A Ten-Year Retrospective Stephen E. Condrey University of Georgia, USA R. Paul Battaglio, Jr. University of Nevada - Las Vegas, USA Presented at “Public Administration in the XXI Century: Traditions and Innovations”

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Radical Civil Service Reform in the United States: A Ten-Year Retrospective

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  1. Radical Civil Service Reform in the United States: A Ten-Year Retrospective Stephen E. Condrey University of Georgia, USA R. Paul Battaglio, Jr. University of Nevada - Las Vegas, USA Presented at “Public Administration in the XXI Century: Traditions and Innovations” Lomonosov Moscow State University School of Public Administration Moscow, Russia – May 24-26, 2006

  2. Radical Civil Service Reform • Based on the principles of New Public Management • Reduced role for employee job protections and increased managerial discretion • As of 2006: • 28 states (56%) increased at-will employment practices • 89% of these states report increased decentralization in the HR function (Hays & Sowa, 2006)

  3. Overview • 10 years since Georgia implemented radical civil service reform • Subject of much study and speculation • Seen as a model for other governments. Should it be? • As of 2006, approximately 76% of employees of the State of Georgia are employed at-will.

  4. Human Resources Management in Transition …the management of human resources is undergoing profound transition in concept and practice. A key component of this transformation is the dissolution of the traditional social contract at work: job security with good pay and benefits in exchange for employee commitment and loyalty. In the process, the longstanding American employment at-will doctrine, which was eroded in the latter part of the 20th century, has been revitalized and has spread to the public sector through civil service reform Bowman & West 2006, p. 139

  5. Survey of Georgia HR Professionals: Methodology • Methodology • Unit of Analysis • 274 Respondents - HR Professionals in Georgia State Government • Response Rate of 51.3% • Dependent Variables • Scale Development and Reliability Analysis • Standard OLS Multiple Regression

  6. Scale 1: Discourages Good Government

  7. Scale 2: Supports New Public Management Principles

  8. Scale 3: Encourages Dubious Dismissals

  9. Reasons Why At-Will Employment Persists and Expands • Broad public support • Relationship of public employment to elective politics • Complex bureaucracies and a developed economy • Changing nature of the workforce • Ongoing diminution in the differences between public and private sector employment

  10. Broad Public Support Percent Agreeing With Statements About At-Will Employment for State Workers Source: Peach State Poll, 2006 – 805 respondents

  11. Relationship of Public Employment to Elective Politics • Jobs no longer traded for votes as they once were • Little support for widespread utilization of patronage politics in states adopting at-will employment systems • Interest group politics, lucrative government contracts, and privatization of government functionsnow influential – ‘hollow’ state

  12. Complex Bureaucracies and a Developed Economy • Sheer complexity of the bureaucracies in the United States negates coordinated efforts to politicize them • At-will employment is not strictly a political or partisan issue • Dependent upon the maturity and health of the economy in which it is implemented; far less appropriate in undeveloped economies.

  13. Changing Nature of the Public Workforce • Older workers and younger workers have different views of at-will employment • “I think that at will employment is a non-issue for new and younger employees, but a concern for long term employees.” • Younger workers do not expect to work at one organization for their entire career • “Only classified employees express concern regarding at-will employment. New employees appear unconcerned.”

  14. Ongoing Diminution in the Differences Between Public and Private Sector Employment • Public employment is no longer “special” • Increasing movement of workers between the public and private sectors • Diminished importance of civil service protections

  15. Conclusion It is incumbent upon the field to recognize that at-will employment is more than a fleeting phenomenon, to seek explanations for its persistence and expansion, and to guide its implementation. The alternative is a diminished role for the field of public human resource management. Further research and dialogue is needed to continue to build upon this data and to shed further light into this yet not fully explored area of public human resource management.

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