Human Resource Management in Public Service
Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems

Seventh Edition

Evan M. Berman - Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Sao Paulo School of Business Administration, Brazil
James S. Bowman - Florida State University, USA
Jonathan P. West - University of Miami, USA
Montgomery R. Van Wart - California State University, San Bernardino, USA

Other Titles in:
Human Resource Management | Public & Nonprofit Management

July 2021 | 664 pages | CQ Press

Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems offers provocative and thorough coverage of the complex issues faced by employees and managers in the public sector, including managing under tight budgets with increasing costs, hiring freezes, contracting out, and the politicization of the civil service. Continuing the award-winning tradition of previous editions, authors Evan M. Berman, James S. Bowman, Jonathan P. West, and Montgomery R. Van Wart encourage active learning through various skill-building exercises and a mixture of individual, group, and in-class tasks.

The Seventh Edition includes new examples on how COVID-19 has disrupted the workplace, equity and racial discord, organizational diversity, employee engagement and motivation, leadership development training, work-life balance, gender-based inequities, behavioral biases in appraisal, and unionization trends.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I • CONTEXT AND CHALLENGES

CHAPTER 1 • The Public Service Heritage: People, Process, and Purpose

A Day in the Life of Maria Hernandez

Some Challenges in Getting and Managing the Right People

Some Basic Definitions

The Structure and Role of Human Resource Departments

Historical and Institutional Context

Reforming Government in the Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump Years

Human Resource Management Principles

Ethics and Moral Management

CHAPTER 2 • Legal Rights and Responsibilities: Laws Governing the Workplace

The Foundations of Employment Law

The Employment Relationship

Balancing Employer, Employee, and Societal Interests

Privacy Issues

Pre-employment Investigations: Truth, Personality, Health, Credit, and Criminal Records

Discrimination

PART II • PROCESSES AND SKILLS: FROM START TO FINISH

CHAPTER 3 • Recruitment: From Passive Posting to Social Media Networking

Factors in Recruitment: Employer and Applicant Perspectives

Recruitment Steps

Planning and Approval

Position Announcements

Recruitment Strategies

Enhancing Recruitment Prospects: The Seeker’s Perspective

Advancing From Job Seeking to Career Development

CHAPTER 4 • Selection: From Civil Service Commissions to Decentralized Decision Making

The Bases and Origin of Selection

Criteria in Selecting Selection Tests

Selection: Four Screening Phases

Initial Reviewing and Testing

Interviewing and Reference Checks: Narrowing the Pool

General Considerations for Those Conducting Interviews

Choosing and Negotiation

Post-offer and Hiring Issues

Appendix: The Professional Commitment Statement for Job Seekers

CHAPTER 5 • Position Management: Judicious Plan or Jigsaw Puzzle?

Three Types of Personnel Strategies

The Origins of Position Classification and Management

Job Design and Job Analysis

Job and Position Descriptions

From Jobs to Job Systems

Curbing, Cutting, and Eliminating Workforce

CHAPTER 6 • Employee Motivation: Possible, Probable, or Impossible?

Pull, Push, or Drive?

Human Resource Management and the Climate for Motivation

Tools of Motivation

CHAPTER 7 • Compensation: Vital, Visible, and Vicious

Equity and Expectancy Theory

Pay Determination

Philosophy: Lead, Match, or Lag

The Perennial Pay Debate

Labor Market Forces: External Competition

Job Content: Internal Consistency

Individual Considerations: Fairness and Contributions

Implications

Appendix: Compensation for Graduate Degrees in Public Affairs and Administration

CHAPTER 8 • Employee-Friendly Policies: Fashionable, Flexible, and Fickle

Workforce and Workplace Trends

Work–Family Programs

Health, Safety, and Wellness Programs

Flexible Work Arrangements

Traditional Benefits: Not-So-Employee-Friendly Trends

Implementation, Assessment, and Evaluation

Avoiding and Coping With Hostility at Work

Best Places to Work

Appendix A: Questions for Employees and Employers Regarding Telecommuting Arrangements

Appendix B: Some Questions to Answer When Considering Implementation of Employee-Friendly Policies

Appendix C: Family-Friendly Policies

CHAPTER 9 • Training and Development: Exploring New Frontiers

General Principles of Learning

Training Strategies

Organizational Training and Development

The Strategic Turn

Application: Ethics Training

Appendix: Needs Assessment and Evaluation for Training

CHAPTER 10 • Appraisal: A Process in Search of a Technique

Evolution

Appraisal Systems

Raters

Rating Errors: The Underbelly of Appraisals

Improving the Process

Disciplinary Systems

Appendix: Corrective Actions

CHAPTER 11 • Unions and the Government: Protectors, Partners, and Punishers

Background: The Context and Evolution of Employee Relations

Differing Views of Unions

Paradoxes and Contradictions

Trends and Variations

Appendix A: Tips for Managers When Dealing With Unions

Appendix B: Tips for Unions When Dealing With Managers

CHAPTER 12 • Collective Bargaining: Structures, Strategies, and Skills

Structure, Representation, and Collective Bargaining

Bargaining-Related Reforms

Hostility vs. Harmony

Appendix A: Bargaining Checklist and Observation Sheet

Appendix B: Mock Disciplinary Appeal Board Hearing

CONCLUSION • The Future as Opportunity, Not Destiny

New Technologies, Human Competencies, Failures, and Reforms

Taking Responsibility for Paradoxes

Public Service as a Calling

The Years Ahead

Envoi: Dream While Awake

Glossary

Index

About the Authors

This was a great textbook. The resources were wonderful. My students enjoyed the format and the materials. I am now trying to adopt the 7th edition and having challenges accessing the instructor resources through Sage Publishing.

Ms Bethany A Behrhorst

Public Admin/Policy Analy Dept, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

July 3, 2022

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I have used the earlier edition and found it ideal for my classes in public HRM. I am going to use your publication in my class this winter and need a copy of the newer edition. I found the book's coverage of latest trends in public HRM to be most appropriate for graduate students.

Dr Charles Edward Mitchell

Political Science/Public Administration, Troy University-Troy

October 25, 2021

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Sample Materials & Chapters

CHAPTER 1 • The Public Service Heritage: People, Process, and Purpose

CHAPTER 2 • Legal Rights and Responsibilities: Laws Governing the Workplace

Evan M. Berman

Evan M. Berman is Professor of Public Management and Director of Internationalization at Victoria University of Wellington, School of Government. Prior, he was the Huey McElveen Distinguished Professor at Louisiana State University. His areas of expertise are human resource management, public performance, local government, and public governance in Asia. He is past Chair of the American Society for Public Administration’s Section of Personnel and Labor Relations. He has over 125 publications and 12 books, including People Skills At Work (CRC Press, 2011), Essential Statistics for Public Managers and Policy Analysts, Third Edition (CQ Press,... More About Author

James Stephen Bowman

James S. Bowman is a professor of public administration at the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Florida State University. Noted for this work in ethics and human resource management, Dr. Bowman is author of over 100 journal articles and book chapters, as well as editor of six anthologies. He is co-author of The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service (2nd ed., Sharpe, 2010) and Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities (CQ Press, 2015). For nearly two decades, he served as editor-in-chief of Public Integrity, a journal owned by the American Society for Public Administration. A past... More About Author

Jonathan P. West

Jonathan P. West is a professor and chair of political science and director of the graduate public administration program at the University of Miami. His research interests include ethics, public administration, and human resource management. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters as well as nine books. He is co-author of Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Perspectives (CQ Press, 2015) American Politics and the Environment (2nd. Ed., SUNY Press, 2015) and The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service (2nd ed., Sharpe, 2010.) For nearly two decades he has been managing editor of the ... More About Author

Montgomery R. Van Wart

Montgomery Van Wart is a professor at California State University San Bernardino and a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong. His publications include nine books and a substantial number of articles in the leading journals in his field. His most recent book is Leadership and Culture: Comparative Models of Top Civil Servant Training, with Hondeghem and Schwella (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). His research areas are administrative leadership, human resource management, training and development, administrative values and ethics, organization behavior, and general management. He also serves on numerous editorial boards and as the... More About Author

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