Human resource management in public administration concerns human resource management as it applies specifically to the field of public administration. It is considered to be an in-house structure that ensures unbiased treatment, ethical standards, and promotes a value-based system.
Function The function of human resources management is to provide the employees with the capability to manage: healthcare, record keeping, promotion and advancement, benefits, compensation, etc. The function, in terms of the employers benefit, is to create a management system to achieve long-term goals and plans. The management allows companies to study, target, and execute long-term employment goals. For any company to have an efficient ability to grow and advance human resource management is a key.
Human resources are designed to manage the following:
Employee Benefits: include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Employee health care: the identification of recognition of a disease by a physician/ physician's assistant/nurse practitioner. Compensation: something, typically money, awarded to someone as a recompense for loss, injury, or suffering. Annual, sick, and personal leave: excused (and generally unpaid) leave for unexpected (such as accident or sickness) or expected (anniversaries, birthdays, marriage) events important to the individual. Sick banks: a fund accumulated to pay off a corporate or public debt Discipline: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. Records (tax information, personnel files, etc.):also known as records and information management or RIM, is the professional practice of managing the records of an organization throughout their life cycle, from the time they are created to their eventual disposal. Recruitment and employee retention strategies:refers to the ability of an organization to retain its employees Salary and Wages Administrations : process of compensating an organization's employees in accordance with accepted policy and procedures
Leading contributors Historically, when a new president came into power, political leaders would appoint their supporters to political offices in thanks for the campaign assistance. This became known as the spoils system and became popular in the United States during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. In his first address to Congress, Jackson defended the system; he believed that public offices should be rotated among supporters to help the nation achieve its ideals. Jackson maintained that to perform well in public office, did not require special intelligence or training and rotating the office would ensure that the government did not develop corrupt civil servants. The system was viewed as a reward to supporters of the party and a way to build a stronger government. During the first 18 months of Jackson's presidency he replaced fewer than 1,000 of the 10,000 civil servants due to politics, and fewer than 20 percent of officeholders were removed. Many of the men Jackson appointed to offices came from backgrounds of wealth and high social status. The system continued after Jackson's presidency and opposition against the system began to grow. During the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant corruption and inefficiency began to reach staggering proportion. This led to a larger outcry against the system and helped bring about change in 1883.Hoogenboom, Ari Arthur. Outlawing the spoils; a history of the civil service reform movement, 1865-1883, 1968.
George H. Pendleton: Senator from Ohio sponsored the Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, which sought to implement a merit-based program in the federal government. Its principal tenets include:
Hiring employees by merit Receiving pay according to position, not personal characteristics Protection from political interference and dismissal via regime changes Government workers have an obligation to accountability (transparency)
Chester Barnard: taught an organization was the cooperation of human activity and to survive an organization needed to have efficiency and effectiveness. His definition of effectiveness: being able to accomplish the goals that were set and efficiency – if the goals are reached by the individuals of the organization then cooperation among them will continue.
Paul C. Light: discusses the Shadow Government and how it is used to make the Federal government appear smaller, even as the Federal government grows. The Shadow Government is made up of those entities that produce goods or services for the government under contracts, grants, or mandates.
Volcker Commission: also known as the National Commission on Public Service was established in 1989, to rebuild the federal civil service. The commission was established by the United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul A. Volcker. The main concern of the commission was morale because it was beginning to fall as were recruitment and retention among civil service employees and would soon become a crisis. This possible crisis was believed to be hindering the ability of the government to function effectively as the demand on the government began to grow.
The commission identified three main threats:
Public attitudes and political leadership: the public did not trust or respect the government and the leaders. This also included federal agencies.
Internal management systems: the federal agencies were losing experienced personnel due to problems with the leadership in the federal agencies. Mid-level workers were leaving the departments and entry level recruits were rethinking the commitments they made to the government.
The commission made some recommendations to address the problems. These included:
Strengthening the relationship between presidential appointees and career civil servants by building a spirit of partnership between the two.
Reducing the number of presidential appointees so that there is more room at the top for civil servants.
Providing competitive pay to aid in recruiting and retaining excellent people while demanding competitive performance of them.Volcker Report, Urgent Business for America: Revitalizing the Federal Government for the 21st Century, January 2003.
Pertinent legislating Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act 1883: designed to end to the spoils system and provide federal government jobs based on merit and be selected through competitive exams. The act also made firing and demoting employees for political reasons unlawful. It also made requiring employees to give political service or contributions unlawful. The act also established the Civil Service Commission to enforce these rules. It was used to reinforce the efficiency of government.Miller, E. H. (2009). They Vote Only for the Spoils: Massachusetts Reformers, Suffrage Restriction, and the 1884 Civil Service Law. Journal of the Gilded Age & Progressive Era, 8(3), 341-363.
Civil Service Reform Act of 1978: encompassed a wide variety of reforms including the creation of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), The Federal Labor Relations Authority, and abolished the Civil Service Commission. The act seeks greater accountability of federal employees for their performance. The act also provides protection for "whistleblowers" and employees calling attention to any government malpractices.Ingraham, Patricia W. and David H. Rosenbloom, The Promise and Paradox of Civil Service Reform. Pittsburgh University, Pittsburgh Press, 1992.
Hatch Act of 1939: was passed into legislation to prohibit federal government employees from participating in certain political activities both on and off duty. The employee could not support or oppose a political party, partisan political group, or a candidate for a partisan political party.
In 1993, Congress passed legislation that amended the act as it applies to federal employees. Under the amendment most federal employees are now able to take part in political management and political campaigns. The act also applies to local and state employees who are employed with programs financed by loan or grants from the government or a federal agency. If the employee works for a research or educational institutions supported by a state, the employee is not under the restrictions of the act. The government employees that are covered by the new amendment are in executive agencies or in positions in the U.S. Postal Service and Postal Rate Commission.Bolton, John R. The Hatch Act: A Civil Libertarian Defense. Washington, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1976.
Classification Act of 1949: established the classification standards program, this law states that positions are to be classified based on the duties and responsibilities assigned and the qualifications required to do the work. The position classifications standards are built on the foundation of the grade levels.
Title VII from Civil Rights Act of 1964: founded the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and forbade discrimination in hiring, firing, and compensation based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. It is also unlawful for an employer to segregate, limit, or classify employees in any way that will deprive them of employment opportunities or affect their employment status. In addition, it is unlawful to discriminate on these five bases in an apprenticeship, training, or retraining programs.Pohlmann, Marcus D. and Linda Vallar Whisenhunt, Student's Guide to Landmark Congressional Laws on Civil Rights. Greenwood Press, 2002.
Enhancement of Health Department Capacity for Health Care- Associated Infection Prevention Through Recovery Act-Funded Programs 2009 : this program resulted in increases capacity for HAI surveillance and prevention across all 51 state and territorial health departments that received funding.
Human Resource Management Focus In Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Equal Employment Opportunity is continually in the spotlight of human resource (HR) management even after over 40 years of progress. The number of EEO complaints and lawsuits remains significant, indicating that ongoing progress is needed to decrease employment discrimination. EEO issues in HR Management are so prevalent that it has become one of the biggest concerns for HR professionals.
While HR professionals agree that equal employment opportunities are a legitimate focus, there is considerable controversy over best way to achieve equality. One way is to use the "blind to differences" approach, which argues that differences among people should be ignored and everyone should be treated equally. The second common approach is affirmative action, through which employers are urged to employ people based on their race, age, gender, or national origin. The idea is to make up for historical discrimination by giving groups who have been affected enhanced opportunities for employment."Mathis, L., Jackson, H., (2006). Human Resource Management 12th ed. Managing Equal Employment and Diversity., pg. 105. Retrieved, February 11, 2010. The former approach emphasizes equal treatment regardless of individual differences; the latter emphasizes fairness based on individual circumstances.