Introduction
Public personnel administration comprises the acquisition, development, utilization, and compensation of the workforce in the public organizations. Problems that arise from globalization, shifting technology, and customer demands, among other factors, characterize the modern business environment. This set of circumstances requires well-informed public personnel. This essay provides an insight into challenges such as legal oversight and judicial doctrines, strategic civil service reforms, affirmative action and diversity, representative bureaucracy, and democracy that are encountered in public personnel administration.
Legal Oversight and Judicial Doctrines
Issues that pertain to legal oversights and judicial doctrines have been challenging the public personnel administration due to tremendous changes that occur in information technology, globalization, and market economies. Most people in the public domain are reluctant to accept various public administrations as they are fond of adopting active and aggressive roles in organizations that assume radical reforms regarding government accountabilities (Farazmand, 2007).
A credit is given to the public in the current society that has raised the bar for policymakers to perform a high level of productivity and quick actions in the public administration (Farazmand, 2007).The legal oversight authorities have ensured that the public personnel administration acts according to the stipulated laws since everybody, including the private sectors, only act genuinely if the public upholds transparency (Farazmand, 2007).
According to Kellough and Selden (2003), many organizational unions have no relationship with the state of reforms that exist in the public personnel administration. Such reforms include the decentralization of activities, management of labor and partnerships, and strategic management, various job classes, and payment levels (Kellough & Selden, 2003).Most personnel in the public sector strive to respond to the pressure of high productivity and efficiency besides becoming the role models in labor-management relations (Farazmand, 2007).
Market models under the regulations that exist have resulted in high costs of operations amongst businesses. Most of the businesses that operate under capitalism and the free market economies boost their private enterprises by easing the burden of the stipulated regulations (Farazmand, 2007). On the other hand, the public sector has to bear with the consequences of many regulations; hence, the management becomes cumbersome to compete with the private sectors (Donald, John, & Jared, 2010). Public personnel administration challenges organizational leaders in cases that involve strict adherence to the institutional laws that govern productivity (Kellough & Selden, 2003).
Strategic Civil Service Reforms
Most bureaucracies focus on civil service reforms by addressing failures at the various administrative levels. In the current global scenario, most civil service reforms are driven by inverse diffusions in policies where the reforms themselves instigate changes (Naff & Newman, 2004).Public personnel administrations are embracing the reformation of the structures of the civil service systems. Civil service reforms are put in place to counteract the older methods such as the long-standing model of specialized, hierarchical, and closed bureaucracies that are based on strict rules, longer procedures, and paperwork (Maranto & Condrey, 2001; Kellough & Selden, 2003).
Public personnel administrations are currently using radical reforms models to implement developments in civil service systems. They include the traditional, reform, strategic, and privatization models (Maranto & Condrey, 2001).The administrative orientated models are used due to their positive effects that result from the avoidance of political capitals. Such reforms have been successful in regions such as Louisiana, New York, and Chapel Hill where strategic models are implemented. The reforms focus on a decentralized way of implementing the policies (Maranto & Condrey, 2001).
Public sectors that currently follow the politically motivated reform models are under pressure; hence, they face more resistance, fear, and skepticism. Places such as Georgia and Florida have been noted to have experienced such resistance. Due to radical reforms being implemented in the civil service systems, many employees are currently leaving the public service to join the private sectors (Bowman et al., 2003; Kellough & Nigro, 2002).Some public sectors are consistently monitoring various reform systems in the civil service sectors due to the constant increase in human capital crisis.
Affirmative Action and Diversity
Approaches that are used in the enforcement of employment laws depend on factors such as the composition of staff, the cultural aspects of the organization, and managerial functions among others. This strategy is achieved through well stipulated laws and programs that prohibit unfairness and discrimination (Farazmand, 2007; Kellough & Selden, 2003).
According to Farazmand (2007), many employees in the public service have been experiencing discrimination due to hidden cultures that have led to various assumptions about their organizations. Discrimination is faced in a way that favors the advantaged. Such practices imply inequality in the work settings; hence, they should be challenged (Farazmand, 2007). Due to the current trends in globalization and change in technology together with emerging market models and privatization, a shift is seen where most employees in the public sectors opt to join the private sector owing to the improved job specifications and criteria used in the Personnel Administration Standards (PASs) (Farazmand, 2007).
The PAS norms are deemed unequal in cases where the employees experience discriminating job characteristics. It does not give clear information about the suitability of a candidate or a particular job (Farazmand, 2007). Due to globalization and improved technology the public personnel administration faces a problem of discriminative advertisement techniques such as magazines as they fail to reach some groups in the society.
The Bureaucracy and Democracy
Bureaucracy in the public administration is seen in many forms. The public administration deemed slower in structural adjustment and stabilization. Indeed, its services have been deteriorating due to its capacities in service delivery (Donald, John, & Jared, 2010).The bureaucratic systems have resulted in morally unacceptable practices that have further led to inadequate generation and distribution of government resources to the public. For instance, corruption in the public domain has been a major drawback in public personnel administration (Donald, John, & Jared, 2010).
The practice of democracy in the public sector is minimal where everyone’s voice should be heard. Democracy deemed beneficial where leadership exhibits transparency and efforts towards the achievement of reforms in the public service. This situation leads to the creation of external conditions that service markets effectively due to the promotion of rationality characterized by unfettered markets (Farazmand, 2010).
A challenge in the promotion of democracy is noted where law pursuits and proper implementation of programs cannot be easily achieved. This state of affairs occurs due to dwindling reforms in the civil service. Due to poor democracy, matters concerning merits, impartiality, professionalism, and accountability are inadequately addressed. As a result, employees are deprived of their rights to pay reforms, capacity building, and decentralization among others.
Representative Bureaucracy
The public administration is currently facing the challenge of representation of the minorities. Most of the administrators have a notion that an active representation can emanate if a passive representation is allowed to continue for a long time. This situation can lead to the formation of policies and programs that are geared towards the benefits of the minority (Farazmand, 2010).Governments are currently considering the implementation of policies that capture the needs of the minorities. The bureaucratic systems in most government are striving to consider gender equity by including women among other minority groups in their systems. Although such achievements have been accomplished, there are challenges that exist concerning the representative bureaucracy in the public administration (Farazmand, 2010).
Due to shifting populations, the greater numbers of the minority groups are assumed to form a greater ethnic representation that can result in stiff market competition or effective governance (Farazmand, 2010).
Conclusion
The essay has elaborated various challenges that face the public personnel administration and the effects of privatization, globalization, and emerging market models. It is realized that the bureaucratic systems can result in the hectic management of such entities due to the vested interests and assumed competitions that can exist in the market scenario if the minority groups are deprived of their rights and democracy. The structures of public organizations must accord the necessary assistance to the public personnel professionals based on both political and civil service to ensure that most of the challenges are alleviated.
Reference List
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Condrey, S., & Maranto, R. (2001). Radical reform of the civil service. New York, NY: Lexington Books.
Donald, K., John, N., & Jared L. (2010). Public Personnel Management: Context and Strategies. London: Routledge.
Farazmand, A. (2010). Bureaucracy and democracy: a theoretical analysis. Public Organization Review, 10(3), 245-258.
Farazmand, A. (2007). Strategic public personnel administration: building and managing human capital for the 21st century. Bloomberg, LP: Greenwood Publishing Group.
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