Public administration Discussion responses
1. There are two methods of establishing and operating personnel systems. The first one deals with political appointment and election. Election dates back to the foundations of the United States government, it is supposed to give people a voice in who will lead. However, there are possibilities of misleading promises and corruption. The second method emphasizes an objective determination of merit. After an assassination of President Garfield there was an alternative method of recruitment called the Pendleton Act. It set up a systematized procedure for hiring and employing vast numbers of federal civil servants in nearly every category (Rouse, 2016). It now embodies 90 percent of poisons in the federal government.The Pendleton Act passed in 1883 provided the substance of modern merit principles:
The first principle focused on administrative reform with a nonpolitical approach. This was an attempt to neutralize the civil service, a reaction against the spoiled system.
The second principle dealt with egalitarianism. The American merit system would be open to all applicants that showed the right amount of skill. Theoretically, all classes of citizens may push for government positions.
The third principle is competence. There would be competitive but practical exams that are not based on academic achievements; it would be related to the duties to be performed.
2. The key merit system principles outlined in the Pendleton Act of 1883 that consists of recruiting, selecting, and advancing employees on the basis of their abilities, knowledge, and skills: providing equitable and adequate compensation; training employees to assure high quality performance; guaranteeing fairness for applicants and employees; and protecting against coercion for political purposes, (Rouse, Meyer, Noem Geerts, 2016, pg 130) that the government still implies today. The first principle is administrative reform which focuses on nonpolitical appointments in attempting to neutralize the civil service. Such nonpartisanship in selecting, promoting, and regulating public bureaucrats was a reaction against the evils of the spoils system. The Pendleton Act embraced egalitarianism, the most important legacy of Jacksonian democracy. Congress, in adopting civil service reform, refused to pattern the U.S career system alter the British, (Rouse, Meyer, Noem Geerts, 2016, pg 130). The third principle is competence as determined by competitive examinations. The requirement was that exams be practical, related to the duties to be performed, and not grounded in theoretical or scholarly essays based on academic achievement, (Rouse, Meyer, Noem Geerts, 2016, pg 130). The two methods for establishing and operating the public personnel system are political appointment and election and emphasizing an objective determination of merit. An example of political appointment and election is someone who works for or is affiliated with a political party– either democratic or republican. Examples of emphasizing an objective determination of merit are courthouses, the federal government including the governor, mayor, senate that represents the states and cities.
3. Pendleton Act established a merit-based system of selecting government officials and supervising their work. It was approved on January 16, 1883. The act was signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur, who had become a reformer after Garfields assassination. The Pendleton Act provided that Federal government jobs be awarded on the basis of merit and that government employees be selected through competitive exams.The act also made it unlawful to fire or demote for political reasons. The law also forbids requiring employees to give political service or contributions. The Civil Service Commission was established to enforce this act. Many feel The Pendleton Act transformed the nature of public service.There are two different methods of establishingoperating personnel systems. One method is political appointment and election. The other method emphasizes an objective determination of meritbased onabilities, knowledge and skills-set. An example of appointment, is when the Governor appoints people to government positions. An example of merit based operations is when an employee does good work and is rewarded for their dedication.
4. The three key merit system principles provided by the Pendleton Act in 1883 are: nonpolitical appointments, egalitarianism and competence. By putting in place nonpolitical appointments, civil service was neutralized meaning employees were protected from being fired or demoted for political reasons. By taking an egalitarian approach to hiring employees, the government has been able to experience a diverse workforce, employing people of all sorts and relying heavily on skills to be the determining factor. The method used to determine skills and competence is via competitive examinations. Such exams had to be geared toward the duties to be performed on the job, rather than be based on academic achievement. The two methods for establishing and operating the public personnel system are political appointment or election and a determination of merit. Political appointment or election is when the president, vice president or head of an agency makes appoints a person to take a particular position. An example of this is President Trump appointing Robert A. Destro as Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Appointing by merit is considered competitive hiring because it allows for applicants to compete based on merit for a federal position and example of this is someone with military experience competing with someone with an engineering degree for a position at the Department of Defense.
5. The principles in the Pendleton Act of 1883were for anyone who wanted a position they must take an exam. Second, people should be treated the same and have equality in their job environment. Lastly, it is illegal to fire or hire anyone due to their political views. The merit system principles are reciting selecting, and advancing employees on their abilities, knowledge and skills. This will assure for everyone to have a opportunityin their job placement.
In the public personnel system it discusses able giving people an equal opportunities in the application process for a job. The laws provide guidelines for the recruitment, selection, promotion, and retention of employees. (page 50) Merit system allows for government jobs to hire people based on their knowledge, skills, and expertise. Also, what these job agenciestake into consideration for employment is the person’s education, experience, and examination.
