公共事業(yè)管理外文翻譯--危機(jī)中的機(jī)會 公共部門人力資源在二十一世紀(jì)面臨的挑戰(zhàn)，

1、中文 中文 8698 字From Crisis to Opportunity: Human Resource Challenges for the Public Sector in the Twenty-First CenturyVidu Soni Central Michigan UniversityAbstractA great deal of attention has been focused on the human capi

2、tal crisis in the public sector since the mid-1990s. Experts and practitioners give many reasons why the current crisis emerged. This article examines the important factors that led to the crisis, what is being done abou

3、t them through presidential agendas, legislators, oversight agencies, professional societies, and public policy think tanks. Concerns are many in terms of a large number of upcoming retirements, early retirements, unplan

4、ned 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 feature

5、s of public sector human resource management practices that have become outdated for contemporary organizations and position government agencies for the twenty-first century by meaningfully reforming the civil service. T

6、his transformation would require public sector organizations to take a more strategic view of human resource management and to give greater policy attention to human capital issues.IntroductionIn 1989, the National Commi

7、ssion 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 referred to the slow weakening of the public servic

8、e 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. F

9、or different reasons, the quiet crisis 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

10、 and not enough younger people are in the pipeline for government jobs. Adding to the crisis is understaffed government agencies, a skills imbalance, and a lack of well-trained supervisors and senior leaders. These conce

11、rns 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 contends that “the United Sta

12、tes 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 C

13、ommission on Public Service referred to a ‘quiet crisis’ in the civil service, the second Commission is facing what can only be called an imminent catastrophe.” Scholars and practitioners alike have been projecting serio

14、us shortages in qualified workforce in federal government (Light, 1999; Voinovich, 2000; Walker, 2000).These trends in public service partly reflect the generational shift in attitudes toward government itself. The young

15、er generation tends not to choose public service careers because of the negative reputation of government’s hiring process, lack of challenging work, and its system of rewards. These concerns led the General Accounting O

16、ffice (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 m

17、ost serious management challenges that their agencies face (General Accounting Office [GAO], 2001). The federal government’s human resource crisis agency leaders have proven managerial competence and leadership skills. T

18、o 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 questionnaires that could be us

19、ed 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 capital—and sustain that attention

20、 to create real improvements in the way they manage their people,” argues the senator. The first questionnaire is intended for those appointees who will have significant program management responsibilities, and their res

21、ponses will inform the Senate of their management experience and preparedness for addressing the current and future top management challenges facing federal agencies. The second questionnaire includes questions on agency

22、-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 m

23、anage 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 Senat

24、e considers effective managerial skills to be a priority for all nominees to senior agency positions.Presidential Management AgendaThe President’s Management Agenda (OMB, 2002) has identified several government reform go

25、als that will address the human capital crisis. Among its goals are:(1) workforce planning and restructuring undertaken as part of “strategic management of human capital” that will be defined in terms of each agency’s mi

26、ssion, 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

27、, OMB has asked departments 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

28、 and expectations of “their ultimate clients—the American people.” These reforms are expected to create long-term results that will allow agencies to build, sustain, and effectively deploy the skilled, knowledgeable, div

29、erse, 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 size, composition, and competencies to ac

30、commodate changes in mission, technology, and labor markets and will contribute to increasing employee satisfaction.Understanding New Public ServiceLight (1999) argues that the end of twentieth century marks the end of g

31、overnment- centered public service and 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 pu

32、blic service has been replaced by a new public service in which government must compete for talent,” states Light (p. 1). His study of the graduates of the top twenty schools of public administration and public policy sh

33、ows 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, public organizations an

34、d 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 d

35、uring one’s career, worker preference for jobs that provide flexibility and an opportunity for growth, and the new types of skills required for public sector employees and managers. This greater uncertainty and job movem

36、ent will make it increasingly difficult for the government to hold on to its talent and prevent agencies from building the kind of expertise needed for an effective public service.According to Light, higher pay and aggre

37、ssive recruitment alone will not solve government’s 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.