Master of Public Administration

To complete this midterm answer 5 of the following 6 questions using 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced paragraphs with 1” margins. Each response should be approximately two pages in length and should include at least two references. You may create just one reference list at the end of your document (instead of after every question). Please run a grammar/spelling check before submission and use direct quotes sparingly. This midterm is due no later than March 8th at 11:59pm. Question 1: Briefly describe the evolution of public personnel management. Be sure to include a short discussion about the new public management.Question 2: Discuss the myths and realities of public employment in the U.S. 

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Public Administration
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Answer 1: Personnel management is referred to the process of collecting, using and
maintaining a workforce that is highly satisfied to achieve its targets. It is also considered as a
sub-category of human resource management approach in the company that also focuses on
administration. This approach has gone through a number of changes in the past few decades.
The evolution of public personnel management started from managing slaves to the modern
human resource management era. There were many milestones in the evolution of public
personnel management which were directed towards the promoting and protecting the rights
of employees while also securing their rights (Llorens, et al., 2017). From no rights (slaves),
the rights of employees were mainly recognized in the industrial revolution era. After this era,
the reliability of organisations on their labours increased drastically which lead to the trade
union movement era in which workers joined together for the recognition and protection of
their rights.
This was a major milestone in public personnel management since the government also
started recognising and enforce labour laws and employee protection legislation to make sure
that companies are not violating the rights of their employees. These changes lead to the
social responsibility era in which companies evolved to become social enterprises that are
focused on maintaining a balance between the interests of their stakeholders which include
employees as well (Hatmaker, et al., 2017). After this era, the scientific management era
begins which emphasis on the use of scientific methods while managing human capital in an
organisation. Later on, human relation era began in which the company promoted a positive
relationship with their workers to improve their overall performance. After that, behavioural
science era started that focused on understanding the importance of behavioural and
interaction patterns of employees while forming workplace policies.
In the modern times, the human resource management era allows companies to make sure
that they implement a collaborative approach while also focusing on their sustainable growth

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without negatively affecting their employees. In the new personnel management system,
companies make sure that their employees work along with them and they remain satisfied
from their jobs so that they can achieve their corporate goals and stay relevant in the
changing business environment. In the new public management, the rights of employees are
given substantial importance and they are recognized and enforced throughout the US. There
are various decisions which are taken by agencies in relation to behavioural science with an
objective to promote wellbeing of employees while also ensuring that they are satisfied from
their work (Herrera & Miller, 2018). This approach ensures that employees’ rights are not
breached and they have a platform through which they can enforce their rights.
Answer 2: There are various myths and realities surrounding public employment in the
United States (US) which affects both employees as well as public administration. It is
difficult to separate the myths from the realities however it is important in order to determine
the common claims which are made regarding public employees, government spending and
taxes. One of the common myths is that the government employees earn more than compared
to private sector workers or they are overpaid. It is a common misconception that federal
employees receive better benefits and salary packages than compared to private sector
workers for similar jobs. A study conducted in 2018 by a group called American
Transparency found that a new minimum wage criterion is introduced for public sector
employees in which they made around $100,000 or more. This study was conducted on 78
departments and independent agencies (Singman, 2018).
However, these figures are misleading and the group that conducted this research overlooked
many important sets which include salary comparison, occupations, budgets, education, age
and others. It is found that salary comparisons are not an effective way to determine whether
federal workers are more than private sector employees because they tend to be more
educated, older and concentrated towards occupations which is not the case with private

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sector workers. It is reported that even when retirement and healthcare were included the
benefits of public sector workers are comparatively 4 per cent behind their counterparts who
are working in public sectors. Another common myth is that most of the federal workers are
located in Washington D.C (Shaub, 2019). It is a common misconception that most of the
public administrative workers live and work in nearby areas of Washington.
However, the reality is that the vast majority of public sector employees are located outside
the Washington area. These employees are employed throughout the US in many major states
such as Texas and California. It is a common myth that the government is shrinking and
major politicians such as President Trump are kicking people of their administration in order
to reduce the number of people working for the government. However, the reality is
completely different and there are no evidences that support these claims. The number of
federal jobs in the US has remained relatively constant which is the case in the past several
decades (Moretti & Wilson, 2017). Furthermore, it is also a common myth that private sector
delivers more money than compared to the government. However, this is not the case and
many government agencies or departments generate a hefty amount of money which
contributes to the nation’s economy.
Answer 4: While managing public agencies, policy making, program evaluation,
performance management, and budgeting plays a critical role; evolution of these factors make
sure that the government is able to effectively manage public agencies which benefits the
entire nation. These factors are directly related with the core management functions regarding
how organisations are developed, allocate their resources and benchmark their success
(Pulakos, et al., 2019). Policymaking is referred to the practice in which different levels of
the government formulate and apply policies. Through policymaking, the government
develops plans for different public agencies, interest groups and federal offices to establish

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how they will work and their different functions will be conducted. This process involves
identification of issues and introduction of solutions to achieve expected outcomes.
It is a fixed stage process which includes initiation, estimation, selection, implementation,
evaluation and termination. Based on these policies, a public agency conducts its day-to-day
operations. Budgeting is another key factor which assists government in managing public
agencies; a budget enables the government to prioritize different programmes by funding
them. Performance and program budgets determines how different activities will be
conducted by public agencies and it also enables them to identify and prioritize different
programs based on funding available to them which enables the government to manage
public agencies. Another key element is managing public agencies is “performance
management and program evaluation” (Thompson, 2017). Since the future funding decisions
of public agencies are determined based on the evaluation of past performance, it becomes
critical for them to rely on performance management during their planning process.
The decisions are taken based on the outcomes which are determined through the
performance management and they are also affected by the fact regarding whether the
implemented programs achieved the predicted results. Program evaluation enables public
agencies to introduce criteria to determine which programs they should and which programs
they should suspend. This can be determined through efficiency and effectiveness of the
performance of each program and whether or not they were able to achieve the predicted
results. The government also focuses on analysing the responsiveness of each program while
making sure that only the most successful programs are funded and move forward by public
agencies to make sure that the money of tax payers is not wasted (Cahan, 2019). Without
focusing on the above discussed points, it becomes extremely difficult for the government to
manage public agencies in the country.

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Answer 5: There are many differences between traditional job descriptions and performance-
oriented job descriptions which are used by organisations and employees to meet their
expected requirements. Both of these approaches are used in order to find the right candidates
for the right job. One of the key differences between these two approaches is that traditional
skill based job description mainly focuses on identifying skills or technical know-how that is
required for a particular post (Liu, et al., 2017). They include details regarding the job
description such as the experience required for the job, qualification, communication and
people skills, product knowledge and others. All of these requirements are crucial however
they are general in feature and they ignore many key aspects such as performance and results
which are achieved by a candidate.
On the other hand, performace0based job description did not focused on these general
factors; instead, they focuses on identifying the key outcomes which the organisation wants
to achieve in order to be more specific regarding the work preferences and day-to-day tasks
that will be performed by the employees. A good example for the performance profile of a
sales employee include whether or not he or she has closed 20 new customers in a month,
deliver payment transactions, manage multiple projects while working in deadlines, and
others (Singman, 2018). This approach analyse whether the performance trends of the
candidate meets the organisational expectation to decide whether to hire him or her for a
particular job. Another key difference between these two approaches is linked with training
given to employees. Both of these approaches enable the management in determining the
overall training needs of candidates for a particular position.
For example, in traditional job description approach, the management has to provide
completed training to employees since they did not have any information about their past
performance or how well they are able to perform certain tasks. On the other hand,
organisations are able to save their resources and time if they apply performance-oriented job

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description approach. This option allows them to avoid giving training to those employees
who are already skills enough to effectively perform organisational tasks (Ruokolainen, et al.,
2018). The company can simply avoid training the employee on those areas in which he or
she excels and they can particularly focus on improving those areas in which the employee
lacks. Although, modern companies prefer performance-based job descriptions; however,
there are still many companies that uses tradition skill-based job description which shows that
employers and employees can find one approach that suits their needs.
In the case on public agencies, traditional job based description approach is more suitable
since the number of candidates apply for the job is high and this approach enables the
officials in quickly screened through these candidates and select the ones who are the most
suitable. However, in the case of small start-ups or companies that are operating in
competitive industries, performance based job description approach is more suitable. Through
this approach, organisations can ensure that the only hire employees who are highly effective
and talented while determining whether their performance capabilities aligned with the
corporate goals (Wallo, 2017). The selection of either of these approaches enables companies
to save their resources and the time which they incurred on training their staff members.
Therefore, employers and employees find one approach better than another.
Answer 6: There are different systems used by organisations in order to determine pay of
their employees. A pay structure allows organisations to clearly identify what will be the role
of a particular individual and how much he or she will get paid for the same. There are
different methods which are used in order to decide a pay structure in companies each of
which provide different advantages and disadvantages. The use of an effective pay structure
allows companies to reduce their attrition rate while also promoting satisfaction among the
staff members to make sure that they get paid as per their worth and their business. One of
the common systems used by corporations to determine pay is “individual pay rate/ranges”

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(Abston, et al., 2019). In this approach, a fixed salary is decided by the company based on
each job role which is performed by employee.
In this system, employee gets paid the salary on hourly or annually basis. Since this is a
predefined approach, it makes it easier for companies to decide the salary of their employees
and it also makes it simpler for them to attract new employees. Broad-branding is a
commonly used system that enables companies in determining pay for their employees
(Connolly, et al., 2018). This approach involves the process of grouping comparable jobs
while deciding their pay grades. This approach is mainly used by organisations for their
employees that performs repetitive tasks such as manufacturing or production since makes it
easier for them to decide minimum and maximum salary that is available for performing
those tasks. As per this approach, employees start out from the lowest pay grade and they
gradually increase their pay through their experience, performance or length of service based
on which they reach the maximum pay (Kluve, et al., 2017). This approach is suitable for a
number of reasons such as it promotes faster communication between employees and the
management and it also benefit workers by enabling them to identify how they can increase
their salaries.
Another key system is called “job evaluation” which is used in order to identify the relative
worth of a particular position in the company to decide how much employees will be get paid
for performing those tasks. This can be achieved through different methods such as job
ranking system in which the company ranks the jobs based on their importance, qualifications
needed for performing those jobs and their overall worth in the organisation. This approach is
more suitable while hiring middle or top level management employees since each of those
employees perform different tasks which create a separate worth for the company (Kahya,
2018). This approach makes sure that these employees are satisfied and it also allows the

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organisation to negotiate with them while deciding their salaries to ensure that their pay
increases based on their performance and the worth which they generate in the workplace.

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References
Abston, K. A., Arik, M. & Graves, B. C., 2019. WORKFORCE TURNOVER AND
ABSENTEEISM IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR. GLOBAL JOURNAL OF
BUSINESS DISCIPLINES, 3(1), p. 57.
Cahan, D., 2019. Electoral cycles in government employment: Evidence from US
gubernatorial elections.. European Economic Review, Volume 111, pp. 122-138.
Connolly, S., Nolan, A., Walsh, B. & Wren, M.-A., 2018. Universal GP care in Ireland:
potential cost implications. The Economic and Social Review, 49(1), pp. 93-109.
Hatmaker, D. M., Smith, A. E., Pandey, S. K. & Subedi, S., 2017. Coauthorship networks in
public service motivation scholarship: Implications for the evolution of a field.. Review of
Public Personnel Administration, 37(3), pp. 295-322.
Herrera, J. & Miller, D. M., 2018. An Emergent Taxonomy of Public Personnel Management:
Exploring the Task Environment of Human Resource Managers in Spanish Local
Government.. Public Personnel Management, 47(4), pp. 445-471.
Kahya, E., 2018. A wage model consisted of job evaluation employee characteristics and job
performance.. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Mühendislik Bilimleri Dergisi, 24(4), pp. 720-729.
Kluve, J. et al., 2017. Interventions to improve the labour market outcomes of youth: A
systematic review of training, entrepreneurship promotion, employment services and
subsidized employment interventions.. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 13(1), pp. 1-288.
Liu, D., Gong, Y., Zhou, J. & Huang, J.-C., 2017. Human resource systems, employee
creativity, and firm innovation: The moderating role of firm ownership.. Academy of
Management Journal, 60(3), pp. 1164-1188.

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Llorens, J. J., Klingner, D. E. & Nalbandian, J., 2017. Public Personnel Management:
Contexts and Strategies. 7 ed. New York: Routledge.
Moretti, E. & Wilson, D. J., 2017. The effect of state taxes on the geographical location of
top earners: Evidence from star scientists.. American Economic Review, 107(7), pp. 1858-
1903.
Pulakos, E. D., Mueller-Hanson, R. & Arad, S., 2019. The evolution of performance
management: Searching for value.. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and
Organizational Behavior, Volume 6, pp. 249-271.
Ruokolainen, M. et al., 2018. Patterns of psychological contract and their relationships to
employee well-being and in-role performance at work: longitudinal evidence from university
employees.. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(19), pp. 2827-
2850.
Shaub, W. M., 2019. Five myths about the federal workforce. [Online]
Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-the-
federal-workforce/2019/02/14/699d4514-2fdf-11e9-8ad3-9a5b113ecd3c_story.html
[Accessed 9 March 2020].
Singman, B., 2018. 'Mapping the Swamp' report finds 30,000 feds earn more than any
governor. [Online]
Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mapping-the-swamp-report-finds-30000-
feds-earn-more-than-any-governor
[Accessed 9 March 2020].
Thompson, J. R., 2017. Value shifts in public sector human resource management: A
congressional perspective.. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(4), pp. 375-404.

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Wallo, A., 2017. Learning-oriented leadership: managers as facilitators of human resource
development in daily work.. International Journal of HRD Practice Policy and Research,
2(1), pp. 21-34.