Managing Human Resources

PA 725

Fall 2008

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to give you the knowledge and skills that you need to effectively manage people in public sector and nonprofit organizations.  All organizations are interested in maximizing the performance of their employees, and this will only happen if they are effectively managed with respect to hiring them, placing them in the job, providing training, etc. Public sector organizations need effective human resource management in order to meet the needs of an increasingly demanding citizenry who are often unwilling to pay the additional taxes that would be required to meet their demands.   

Organizational performance can only be enhanced if systems are in place for ensuring the organization can derive the maximum contribution from its employees--its "human capital."  HR systems that were put in place many years ago to replace political patronage and ensure neutrality and merit in the treatment of employees are increasingly under attack for being too rigid. Some states and localities have taken steps to abolish them. The City/County of San Francisco recently undertook an effort to reform its human resource management system. In creating the new, massive federal Department of Homeland Security, there was considerable debate in Congress about the extent to which DHS should be exempted from traditional personnel rules and regulations which may stand in the way of responding to terrorists attacks. In the end, Congress gave DHS as well as the Defense Department the latitude to create.  What makes public sector human resource management systems different than their private sector counterparts, in this respect, is the political context in which such decisions are made.

By the end of the semester, you should be knowledgeable about:

• The historical and legal context in which current public sector personnel systems were developed and operate today

• The many technological, demographic, economic, and political forces that are placing severe strains on the old way of doing business in organizations, including the traditional means for managing employees. 

• The challenges in changing traditional human resource management systems in the public sector and the criteria that need to be satisfied in order to do so.

• The various functions of personnel management that govern how employees are selected, placed in their jobs, appraised, compensated etc.

• The extent to which, and how, these functions are likely to change in the future.

In addition you should be able to perform the following activities:

•  Develop a workforce planning model

• Classify a position

•  Develop a crediting plan and rate and rank applicants

• Develop performance appraisals

•  Design an effective human resource management system

All of the requirements and assignments in this course are designed to give you an opportunity to practice skills required of public and nonprofit managers. These include analytical and informed discussion of, various concepts and controversies; developing and presenting policy papers and proposals; conducting field research; and working in teams. There will be no written exam, since public managers are not normally required to take exams.  However, they are expected to come to meetings prepared to discuss any documents identified before the meeting. This includes demonstrating a knowledge of key terms and concepts and actively participating in class and small group discussions and exercises. 

All papers have 3-5 page limits (see style sheets). This is because it is important that you learn to write concisely. Public managers are busy and don't have time to read long briefing papers!