Civil Service Reform: Building a Government That Works [Paperback]

Donald F. Kettl (Author), Ronald P. Sanders (Contributor), Patricia W. Ingraham (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 1996

The authors of this book contend that the civil service system, which was devised to create a uniform process for recruiting high-quality workers to government, is no longer uniform or a system. Nor does it help government find and retain the workers it needs to build a government that works. The current civil service system was designed for a government in which federal agencies directly delivered most public services. But over the last generation, privatization and devolution has increased the number and importance of government's partnerships with private companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments. Government workers today spend much of their time managing these partnerships, not delivering services, and this trend will only accelerate in the future. The authors contend that the current system poorly develops government workers who can effectively manage these partnerships, resulting too often in a gap between promise and performance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The current civil service system was designed for a government in which federal agencies directly delivered most public services. But over the last generation, privatization and devolution have increased the number and importance of government's partnerships with private companies,nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments. Government workers today spend much of their time managing these partnerships, not delivering services. , and this trend will only accelerate in the future. The authors contend that the current system poorly develops government workers who can effectively manage these partnerships, resulting too often in a gap between promise and performance. Civil Service Reform is a lively bi-partisan volume, authored by leading experts on government management which describes what the government of the future will look lie, what it will need to work well, and how in particular the nation can build the next generation of workers required to lead it. Civil Service Reform is an articulate assemblage of voices with great value and timeliness for today's national debate on the role, function, cost and size of government. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press; First edition (July 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815749031
• ISBN-13: 978-0815749035
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,345,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)