The Federal Civil Service System And The Problem Of Bureaucracy

The call to "reinvent government"—to reform the government bureaucracy of the United States—resonates as loudly from elected officials as from the public. Examining the political and economic forces that have shaped the American civil service system from its beginnings in 1883 through today, the authors of this volume explain why, despite attempts at an overhaul, significant change in the bureaucracy remains a formidable challenge.

A description of the jobs in a labor force, an "occupational" description of it, is an abstraction for describing the flow of concrete work that goes through one or more employing organizations; the flow of work proba bly changes at a higher speed than the system for abstracting a descrip tion of its occupations and jobs. A career system is an abstraction for describing the flow of workers through a system of occupations or jobs, and thus is doubly removed from the flow of work. The federal civil service, however, ties many of the incentives and much of the authority to the flow of work through the abstractions of its career system, and still more of them through its system of job descriptions. The same dependence of the connection between reward and performance on abstractions about jobs and careers characterizes most white-collar work in large organizations. The system of abstractions from the flow of work of the federal civil service, described here by Thomas A. DiPrete, is an institution, a set of valued social practices created in a long and complex historical process. The system is widely imitated, especially in American state and local governments, but also in the white-collar parts of many large private corporations and nonprofit organizations and to some degree by gov ernments abroad. DiPrete has done us a great service in studying the historical origins of this system of abstractions, especially of the career abstractions.

Annotated bibliography, USA, civil service, administrative aspects - administrative reform, labour relations, legislation commentary, management development, personnel management, wages, political participation, confidentiality and financial aspects, etc.

This book exposes the inherent complexities and challenges found in government environments and offers insights to help bureaucrats, and those working alongside bureaucrats, better understand the dynamics of provincial government in Canada. The authors are career civil servants with more than 60 years of service between them. They share practical advice and include insights from senior bureaucrats and academics, about how best to navigate relationships within the government sector. The result is an entertaining and fast-paced read. The book is aimed at civil servants, politicians, media, unions, lobbyists and others who work closely with the bureaucracy and who want to better understand how the system works.

Every time control of the U.S. presidency is passed from one party to another, the entire top layer of the executive branch changes. Thousands of men and women take down their pictures, pack up their desks, and move back into private life, just as others dust off their pictures and move in. The U.S. stands alone in this respect. Nearly every other advanced democracy is managed-save for elected officials and a few top aides-by an elite cadre of top civil servants selected by highly competitive examinations. Hudleston and Boyer tell the story of U.S. efforts to develop higher civil service, beginning with the Eisenhower administration and culminating in the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Arguing that the highly-politicized U.S. system simply hasn't worked, they examine why and how reform efforts have failed and offer a series of recommendations for the future.

Canada's machinery of government is out of joint. In Breaking the Bargain, Donald J. Savoie reveals how the traditional deal struck between politicians and career officials that underpins the workings of our national political and administrative process is today being challenged. He argues that the role of bureaucracy within the Canadian political machine has never been properly defined, that the relationship between elected and permanent government officials is increasingly problematic, and that the public service cannot function if it is expected to be both independent of, and subordinate to, elected officials. While the public service attempts to define its own political sphere, the House of Commons is also in flux: the prime minister and his close advisors wield ever more power, and cabinet no longer occupies the policy ground to which it is entitled. Ministers, who have traditionally been able to develop their own roles, have increasingly lost their autonomy. Federal departmental structures are crumbling, giving way to a new model that eschews boundaries in favour of sharing policy and program space with outsiders. The implications of this functional shift are profound, having a deep impact on how public policies are struck, how government operates, and, ultimately, the capacity for accountability.

This book is a comprehensive theoretical and empirical investigation of the practical application of representative bureaucracy in Nigeria. Part I consists of four chapters, beginning with a theoretical and an historical overview of representative bureaucracy and policy making in Nigeria. This includes a discussion of the myths, contradictions, and the resultant dilemmas of administration. It highlights the complexities and intricacies of public policy-making, and examines the concept of representative bureaucracy including its meaning, forms, criticisms, prospects, limitations, and history. It also examines the need for administrative reforms, what reforms have taken place, and the country's search for appropriate bureaucracy for nation building. Part II details the objective and empirical facts regarding the representativeness of bureaucracy in Nigeria and its implications. Unlike past approaches, this book provides solid evidence of what difference representative bureaucracy actually makes on the ground. Using a novel and rigorous methodological approach, the actual impact of the civil service on policy-making is assessed and insights are provided into how a more representative bureaucracy affects policy. The approach is enhanced by the authors' advantage as Nigerian scholars who had both worked in the Nigerian political system as civil servant and university professors. This landmark study will be of value to scholars and students of Nigerian and African political, economic, and social development .