Firing the Unproductive Employee: Will Civil Service Reform Make a Difference?

Abstract

Civil service reform included a set of changes intended to facilitate the firing of consistently unproductive employees. This article describes the background and logic of these changes, reviews the status of their implementation, and offers preliminary evidence on their consequences for personnel management in the federal government.

Organization Culture as an Explanation for Employee Discipline Practices

“…In addition to the organization's specific policies, the supervisor must also follow formal civil service regulations and collective bargaining agreements when taking disciplinary actions. These documents often complicate the disciplinary process in the public sector (Ban, 1995;Ban, Goldenberg, & Marzotto, 1982;Ban & Riccucci, 1991;Shafritz, Riccucci, Rosenbloom, & Hyde, 1992). For example, collective bargaining agreements usually prescribe in detail the actions for which supervisors may subject employees to disciplinary actions and terminations (Freeman & Medoff, 1984;Katz & Kochan, 1992;Rosenbloom & Shafritz, 1985).…”

Do Personnel Policies Matter for Organizational Mission Coherence? A Public School Test

“…Efforts to expand managerial discretion, to scale back procedural restrictions, to measure outcomes, and to use incentives to raise the effectiveness of public agencies are endemic to NPM and Reinventing Government (Hood, 1991; Osborne & Gaebler, 1993). Many of these ideas are borrowed from private-sector management, and relaxing restrictions to managing personnel is one of them (Ban, Goldenberg, & Marzotto, 1982). However, the NPM and Reinventing Government paradigms are not without reasonable criticisms.…”

It’s Been a Long Time Comin’

“…Perry (1986) questioned the theoretical framework used to design the merit pay system, while Thayer (1987) and Nicolay (1989) debated the appropriateness of employee performance appraisals as a tool to determine merit compensation. Ban, Goldenberg, and Marzotto (1982) noted that factors such as the slow implementation CRSA process and a federal hiring freeze on new federal employees could reduce incentives for managers to terminate poor performers knowing that they may not be replaced. Ban, Goldenberg, and Marzotto (1982) noted that factors such as the slow implementation CRSA process and a federal hiring freeze on new federal employees could reduce incentives for managers to terminate poor performers knowing that they may not be replaced.…”

“…Ban, Goldenberg, and Marzotto (1982) noted that factors such as the slow implementation CRSA process and a federal hiring freeze on new federal employees could reduce incentives for managers to terminate poor performers knowing that they may not be replaced. Ingraham (1987) argued that the SES was plagued by frequent turnover and that the appointees who were selected were often ill prepared, lacking management experience or specific knowledge of their agency or program.…”