Public Personnel Management

This article first outlines recent suggestions for improving agencies' performance appraisal systems: incorporating the developments of Total Quality Management (TQM) and core competencies into appraisals, and moving toward performance management. We then relate the experience of a state enforcement agency in applying these suggestions. What began as an objective of updating officers' performance appraisals to include recent agency developments, evolved into significantly overhauling this appraisal system; adding a new performance mechanism at the manager level; and using both of these processes to drive the agency's new strategic plan and promote “a different way of doing business.” This agency's experience seems applicable beyond enforcement agencies, and relevant both for those wanting to move performance in new directions, and for those wanting to energize ongoing performance. Suggestions are offered for moving toward effective performance management.

One would expect a valid, reliable performance evaluation system to give employees and managers data about employees' strengths and needs for development. If these data are used to reinforce employees' strengths and to plan and provide developmental assignments in areas of need, then one might also expect improvements in morale, motivation, and productivity. This paper explores employees' and administrators' perceptions of a system with these goals, a system specifically designed to appraise performance of North Carolina “Subject to the Personnel Act” (SPA) employees at East Carolina University. The data show that a large proportion of employees, but no supervisors, are dissatisfied with the system; that neither the number of subordinates nor the time spent evaluating employees under the system affects supervisors' satisfaction with the system; and that employees' perceptions of the fairness of the system is related to trust and satisfaction with their supervisors but not with compliance with the program's procedures. Although various factors motivate employees and supervisors, pay is very important. So the legislature's failure to appropriate funds to reward employees who excel undermines the system's effectiveness. There is a need for further research to explore the relationships between employees' ratings and their race and sex. Introduction

The purpose of this inquiry is to examine the copious, and sometimes quite contradictory information on the subject of Performance Management. To do so, a cross-sectional survey was conducted of members of a Human Resource Professional association. This group was chosen because, in their position, they are the individuals who would develop, manage, and live with the consequences of Performance Management systems. In addition to testing the premises of the professional literature and observing their degree of penetration into actual practice, additional information was gathered on the subject by garnering the opinions of these professionals.

This article examines the employee-organization relationship in the current industrial landscape. “New age employees” have substantially different expectations from organizations—stemming from their own articulateness about their career needs as well as mistrust of organizational loyalty in the aftermath of the recent waves of organizational downsizing. The changing employee-organization relationship is explored through the theoretical lens of organizational commitment; a series of propositions about the commitment levels of new age employees is advanced; and a framework to assist HR managers in their attempts to recruit, train and retain the new age employee is offered. The article concludes with an explanation of the implications of this framework on human resource management in the public sector.

This study examines organizational commitment of workers in three sectors: public, non-profit and for-profit. Previous work in this area has been limited to the study of organizational commitment in one sector, or a comparison between only two sectors. In order to examine organizational commitment across the three sectors, 228 employees in public sector, non-profit sector, and for-profit sector organizations were surveyed. The results indicate that for-profit workers were the most committed to their organizations, followed by non-profit employees. Workers with the lowest levels of organizational commitment were those in the public sector. Explanations for and the significance of these findings are discussed.

Adequate mental health coverage is a key element of a comprehensive employee benefits package. The absence of adequate mental health coverage imposes significant costs on employees, their families, and our society as a whole and is a larger public health and safety issue. The focus of this study is to analyze mental health policies and coverage levels for New Jersey State government employees and a sample of New Jersey local governments. The results indicated an absence of parity between physical and mental health coverage for New Jersey state and local government employees. The most significant inequities include differential limits concerning the number of inpatient days and outpatient visits as well as patient contributions in terms of copay, coinsurance, and deductible provisions. A comprehensive mental health management model is proposed for adoption by state and local governments.

During recent years, the application of business concepts and practices to the federal government has grown in popularity. The trend has been fueled by national reinvention initiatives and has led to a demand for government agencies to become more accountable in their performance. As a result, many federal agencies are faced with a need for sound methods by which to measure results and demonstrate fiscal responsibility. One method shown to be effective at assessing the value of agency programs has been the return-on-investment (ROI) process. This article examines the basic issues of ROI and its applicability in government.

Diversity management has grown out of the need for organizations, agencies, and departments to address a changing workforce and other pervasive social pressures. An army of experts has emerged to meet this growing need, but frequently with questionable results. This paper highlights why diversity training is important and will become even more so, issues related to quality control of providers and services, what may go wrong within the context of providing diversity training programs, and the results in these situations for individuals and organizations.

The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures suggests the “4/5ths rule” for testing the outcome of selection procedures for adverse impact. The appropriate statistical test is a Chi Square testing for a significant difference between the selection ratios of the minority and majority applicants. However, the 4/5ths rule and Chi Square test do not agree 10–40% of the time depending on sample size, making it difficult for personnel managers to monitor their organization's Equal Employment Opportunity compliance. The extent of disagreement between the two tests is described, and recommendations are given for how personnel managers should use the 4/5ths rule and the Chi Square test to determine whether a selection procedure has adverse impact.