1、 中文 8698 字 From Crisis to Opportunity: Human Resource Challenges for the Public Sector in the Twenty-First Century Vidu Soni Central Michigan University Abstract A great deal of attention has been focused on the human capital crisis in the public sector since the mid-1990s. Experts and practitioners
2、 give many reasons why the current crisis emerged. This article examines the important factors that led to the crisis, what is being done about them through presidential agendas, legislators, oversight agencies, professional societies, and public policy think tanks. Concerns are many in terms of a l
3、arge number of upcoming retirements, early retirements, unplanned downsizing, difficulty in attracting new generations to public service, and the changing nature of public service. However, the human resource crisis also presents an opportunity to fundamentally change those features of public sector
4、 human resource management practices that have become outdated for contemporary organizations and position government agencies for the twenty-first century by meaningfully reforming the civil service. This transformation would require public sector organizations to take a more strategic view of huma
5、n resource management and to give greater policy attention to human capital issues. Introduction In 1989, the National Commission on the Public Service (commonly referred to as the Volcker Commission) issued a report on the state of public service characterizing it as a “quiet crisis,” which referre
6、d to the slow weakening of the public service in the 1970s and 1980s. This period was marked by loss of public confidence in its elected and appointed officials, heightened bureaucrat bashing by the media and political candidates, and a distressed civil service. For different reasons, the quiet cris
7、is of earlier decades continued through the 1990s and is present today. The current crisis is building as large numbers of government workers are expected to retire in the coming years and not enough younger people are in the pipeline for government jobs. Adding to the crisis is understaffed governm
8、ent agencies, a skills imbalance, and a lack of well-trained supervisors and senior leaders. These concerns are reinforced by a preliminary report of the second National Commission on Public Service (Light, 2002), which paints a more dire picture and foreshadows a more pronounced crisis. Light conte
9、nds that “the United States cannot win the war on terrorism or rebuild homeland security without a fully dedicated federal civil service” (p. 2). Millick and Smith (2002, p. 3) have a similar reaction when they state “while the first National Commission on Public Service referred to a quiet crisis i
10、n the civil service, the second Commission is facing what can only be called an imminent catastrophe.” Scholars and practitioners alike have been projecting serious shortages in qualified workforce in federal government (Light, 1999； Voinovich, 2000； Walker, 2000).These trends in public service part
11、ly reflect the generational shift in attitudes toward government itself. The younger generation tends not to choose public service careers because of the negative reputation of governments hiring process, lack of challenging work, and its system of rewards. These concerns led the General Accounting
12、Office (GAO) to add human resources management to the government wide “high-risk list” of federal activities in 2001. Similarly, inspectors general at nine major agencies have listed workforce problems among the top ten most serious management challenges that their agencies face (General Accounting
13、Office GAO, 2001). The federal governments human resource crisis threatens its ability to serve the public well and meet the expectations of the American people. Federal agencies must respond by publicizing job opportunities more aggressively, including offering younger workers interesting and chall
14、enging work and the potential for advancement. Light (2002) argues that a strong civil service has five characteristics: it is (1) motivated by the chance to accomplish something worthwhile on behalf of the country, (2) recruited from the top of the labor market, (3) given tools and organizational c
15、apacity to succeed, (4) rewarded for a job well done, and (5) respected by the people and leaders it serves. However, Light also point out that “by all five measures, the federal service has lost ground since September 11” (p. 2). This article examines the context and nature of the impending workfor
16、ce crisis in federal government and discusses various areas of change that must be addressed to avert the crisis or, at least, minimize its impact. The issues related to recruiting and developing public sector human resources in the twenty-first century not only require consideration of the traditio
17、nal remedies such as civil service reform, political support, and more managerial flexibility, but also, consideration of the changing nature of public service (Light, 1999) and the world of work across all sectors (Spiegel, 1995). Many external and internal organizational forces such as workforce d
18、emographics, technology, and privatization, as well as eroding trust in government institutions have drastically altered the environment of government service. Accordingly, traditional human resource (HR) management approaches no longer work. The HR supply and demand problem must be addressed at mul
19、tiple levels. Educating people about government service, raising the image of government workers, providing competent and reliable leadership in government agencies, conducting career development and training of existing personnel, and actively recruiting, particularly in technological and scientifi
20、c fields, all will have to be done simultaneously to adequately respond to the human resource crisis in the public sector. Next, the article documents and discusses some of the actions that various federal agencies have taken in response to the crisis. For example, the General Accounting Office (GAO
21、), the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) have conducted numerous surveys, issued reports on causes of the problems, and have developed tools, techniques, and resources to assist the federal agencies in solving the problems. Lastly, the paper outli
22、nes recommendations and strategies that can lead the federal government to turn this HR crisis into an opportunity for systematic reform, modernization, and revitalization of public sector human resources practices and systems. The recent coalescence of interest in addressing the HR crisis and recog
23、nizing its urgency is demonstrated by the inclusion of discussion of workforce problems in congressional hearings, presidential priorities, and reports issued by oversight agencies and public sector think tanks. This heightened attention to the human resources crisis in government represents a promi
24、sing opportunity to improve and strengthen public service. Initiatives Taken in Response to the Crisis The federal government has taken several initiatives to help minimize the negative impact of the human capital crisis. Senator Voinovichs Report to the President: The Crisis in Human Capital (2000)
25、 makes several recommendations that fall in two categories. The first category includes recommendations that do not require legislation such as, urging agencies to conduct workforce planning and automating hiring systems to speed up the process. The second category requires legislative action such a
26、s making the pay system more flexible by allowing broad banding, or obtaining special hiring authority when needed. Several agencies such as the Forest Service, GAO, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have requested and received special wavers to set pay deviating from the General Schedule pa
27、y structure and conduct direct hiring. Following is a discussion of some of the important administrative and legislative initiatives introduced by GAO, OPM, and Office of Management and Budgeting (OMB). Leadership Improvement Compliance with Congress directive that agencies measure and demonstrate r
28、esults made it necessary that agency leaders have proven managerial competence and leadership skills. To facilitate strategic management of human resources so that agencies can accomplish their policy and programmatic goals, Senator Voinovich asked the GAO to develop two types of management question
29、naires that could be used for confirming presidential nominees to administrative positions (GAO,2002b, p. 35). “It is clear that federal agency leaders must create an integrated, strategic view of their human capitaland sustain that attention to create real improvements in the way they manage their
30、people,” argues the senator. The first questionnaire is intended for those appointees who will have significant program management responsibilities, and their responses will inform the Senate of their management experience and preparedness for addressing the current and future top management challen
31、ges facing federal agencies. The second questionnaire includes questions on agency-specific management problems drawn from sources such as the High-Risk series (GAO, 2001). The purpose of this questionnaire is to improve the quality of federal programs by improving the quality of people appointed to
32、 manage them. Political appointees must be prepared to substantively address the problems at their agencies, not just give policy direction to the career civil servants. The questionnaires convey the message that the Senate considers effective managerial skills to be a priority for all nominees to s
33、enior agency positions. Presidential Management Agenda The Presidents Management Agenda (OMB, 2002) has identified several government reform goals that will address the human capital crisis. Among its goals are:(1) workforce planning and restructuring undertaken as part of “strategic management of h
34、uman capital” that will be defined in terms of each agencys mission, goals, and objectives, (2) agency restructuring is expected to incorporate organizational and staffing changes resulting from “competitive sources” and expanded E-government, (3) as part of the 2003 budget process, OMB has asked de
35、partments and agencies to identify statutory impediments to good management, (4) agencies will strengthen and make the most of knowledge, skills, and abilities of their people in order to meet the needs and expectations of “their ultimate clientsthe American people.” These reforms are expected to cr
36、eate long-term results that will allow agencies to build, sustain, and effectively deploy the skilled, knowledgeable, diverse, and high-performing workforce needed to meet the current and emerging needs of government and its citizens. These reforms will also allow the work-force to adapt quickly in
37、size, composition, and competencies to accommodate changes in mission, technology, and labor markets and will contribute to increasing employee satisfaction. Understanding New Public Service Light (1999) argues that the end of twentieth century marks the end of government- centered public service an
38、d brings a multispectral service in its place. This means the labor market from which government workers will be drawn has also been altered significantly. “The government-centered public service has been replaced by a new public service in which government must compete for talent,” states Light (p.
39、 1). His study of the graduates of the top twenty schools of public administration and public policy shows that the new workforce is likely to change jobs and sectors frequently, as well as be more focused on challenging work than on job security. Light argues that to seriously address this crisis,
40、public organizations and graduate schools of public administration need to understand the changing nature of public service. The new public service is shaped by blurring of the lines between sectors, developing trends toward changing sectors during ones career, worker preference for jobs that provid
41、e flexibility and an opportunity for growth, and the new types of skills required for public sector employees and managers. This greater uncertainty and job movement will make it increasingly difficult for the government to hold on to its talent and prevent agencies from building the kind of experti
42、se needed for an effective public service. According to Light, higher pay and aggressive recruitment alone will not solve governments problem； it must also offer challenging work, flexible organizations, and broader career paths. He suggests a variety of steps for the government to become competitive. First, agencies need to develop new recruitment programs more appropriate for todays workforce. Second, agencies need to create new entry points for replacing people in mid-
