Public Personnel Administration
Political Science 4430-5430, Spring 2010, Prof. Davis
Warm up by browsing listings of jobs at the national level. Numbers refer to chapters in the
Nigro, Nigro and Kellough textbook. Other terms for personnel are human resources (HR) and human capital.
1. Public Service: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the central agency for the national
government. Each department, such as Agriculture and HHS, has
its own personnel office. The US Merit Systems Protection Board protects the rights of civil servants working for
the national government. The Ohio Division of Human Resources in the Department of Administrative Services and
the Michigan Civil Service Commission. The Toledo Department of Human Resources. Personnel agencies in California and New Jersey and in the cities of Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and San Francisco.
Nonprofits: Resources from I Know, the NPO library and the Minnesota
Council.
2. History from OPM. The Spoils System of President Andrew Jackson. The Pendleton Act was sponsored by a senator from Ohio. Frederick W. Taylor advocated Scientific Management. The New
Deal of Franklin Roosevelt revolutionized the national government. Lyndon B. Johnson's
Great Society further expanded the role of government. Richard Nixon is called
the Administrative President. Golden Rule Jones and Brand Whitlock were two Toledo mayors who won nationwide acclaim during the Progressive
Movement. Notes on the history of public personnel and on military personnel.
3. Organizational Performance: Human Capital from OPM and GAO. The EPA strategy. The terminology
is popular with the Bush Administration and business types in general. The Democratic version was the National Performance Review.
Motivation according to Abraham Maslow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
and Douglas McGregor Frederick Herzberg describes hygiene factors. Expectancy
Theory.
4. Recruitment and Selection: Guide to writing a position description with an example. A private company's
performance appraisal services. Resume blunders. The
Microsoft Corp. is famous for using puzzles and impossible questions: the Sells Brothers and
Tech Interview.
5. Job Evaluation and Classification: Job analysis and personality research from Virginia Tech.
Privatization views from the Reason Foundation, the Mackinac
Center and NCPA. The International Personnel
Management Association (IPMA). This method incorporates principles of organization and efficiency, such as Frederick W. Taylor promoted.
Pay: Pay table for the US civil service. Prevailing wage rates for US and Ohio.
The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990. Comparable worth and a critic. Information from BLR.
6. Performance Appraisal and Pay for Performance: Resources from a help center and a consulting firm. A commercial program for
performance appraisals. Total Quality Management. Pay for performance information from the
Summit, teachers and Harvard.
7. Collective Bargaining: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) headquarters in Washington and Ohio Council 8. The Ohio Fraternal
Order of Police. The National Treasury Employees Union. The American Postal Workers Union. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association,
the successor to PATCO. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association headquarters and Ohio chapter. The Toledo Federation of Teachers. The American Nurses Association. The Ohio AFL CIO. The Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB).
8. Rights and Responsibilities: This topic is highly legalistic. The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. In Cleveland
Board of Education vs. Loudermill the US Supreme
Court decided that an employee might have a property right to a job and that the Board should give due process. In Rankin vs. McPherson it decided that an employee has
a right to free speech. The national Hatch Act restrict political activity by national government
employees and state and local ones when working on US grants. Similar state laws are called Little Hatch Acts.
9. Discrimination: The Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs, the US Commission on Civil Rights and the US EEOC. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Summary of laws. Resources on
diversity from Santa Barbara, AHR and a conservative think tank. An affirmative action professional
association. The Glass Ceiling. Facts on EEO and ADA.
The Americans with Disabilities Act from the Department of Justice , the Information Center, and DREDF. The Ability
Center of Northwest Ohio, and a history of the poster child.
10. Changing Workforce: Information for private as well as government benefits. Health
insurance information from the AHIP and general health issues. The Ohio and Michigan retirement systems. An Internet based benefits system at NAU. US OSHA and safety
resources. The State and Local Government Benefits Association. Notes on benefits.
Drug issues. The Employee
Assistance Professionals Association. A laboratory that tests for drugs and a company that combines
this with psychological factors. Employee Assistance companies in
California and Milwaukee. Workplace violence information from OPM , NIH and OSHA. The Crisis Prevention
Institute Inc.
11. Reform: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles the characteristics about the civilian labor
force. Flexible work schedules. Alternative work schedules. Family and Medical Leave information from the US OPM, the Ohio
Legislature and Wise Geek.
12: The Future: A contract employee works for a private company that then places him or her in a government agency, often to work right
along side civil service employees. Many work for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security while others work for the Department of Justice or for many other agencies.
Views on the merit system from OPM. Suggestions for President Bush. The Georgia Merit System. The Departments of
Defense and Homeland Security have more flexibility for
managers. AFSCME opposed many of these so called reforms.
Training: The American Society for Training and Development. Organization development from the OD Network and the Tool Pack
Associations and Information: The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and its Toledo chapter. The International Public Management Association for Human Resources. The National Association of State Personnel Executives.
Information from HRS. Employee rights and freedom of speech. An information management association.
Search with Google or Yahoo! and First Gov
.
Writing: The Writing Center. Citation style. Models papers from previous years on Dramaturgy, Water,
Gun Control, Project Self Sufficiency and Fallen Timbers near Maumee. Tips for maximizing your score on an examination.
Links within the University: Department of Political Science and the MPA program.
The Writing
Center, Citation Style, Carlson Library, UTmost and the University
Practical tips on
how to find a job in government.
Professor Davis
Last modified February 9, 2008.