Personnel Administration

Question 1

Describe the concept of career civil service

Answer 1

It supports the idea that public service workers just like private workers should be able to build theircareers from entry level jobs to highly ranked civil servants.

Question 2

List the characteristics of career civil service

Answer 2

•high prestige and status attached to government service.
•appropriate recruitment procedures
•broad avenues for promotion and transfer of personnel.
•clear pay scales
•adequate retirement and pension system.

Question 3

List the functions of personnel administration

Answer 3

•industrial or labor relations
•recruitment of public service workers
•retention related functions
•motivation
•performance management (including promotions)
•disciplinary activities and grievances
•control related functions (leave, absenteeism management)

Question 4

What are disciplinary activities?

Answer 4

When an organization has a complaint against you

Question 5

What is grievance?

Answer 5

When the employee has a complaint against the employer

Question 6

Define recruitment

Answer 6

This is a process of attracting people to join an organization.It is a process of attracting candidates or potential employees to an organization.

Question 7

Discuss Patronage recruitment

Answer 7

Also known as spoils system.This recruitment style is based on loyalty.

Question 8

Define merit recruitment system

Answer 8

This is recruitment based on an individual’s qualifications

Question 9

List the advantages of patronage recruitment

Answer 9

•ensures loyalty to the government of the day
•is effective because it engages employees who resonate well with the ideals and manifestos of the party in the government

Question 10

List the disadvantages of patronage recruitment

Answer 10

•can lead to the hiring of incompetent public service workers because the only need to be known by the appointing authority.
•leads to ineffective public service and subsequently poor quality of public service delivery.

Question 11

List the advantages of merit recruitment system

Answer 11

•gives an equal opportunity for all
•emphasis on qualifications makes it very efficient and effective because the functionaries are highly qualified and know what is needed to be done.
•can be used to fill in all types of vacancies that may fall due in the public service.

Question 12

List the disadvantages of merit recruitment system

Answer 12

•some employees recruited through this mode can be politically inclined and deliberately sabotage a sitting government.

Question 13

List the stages of the merit recruitment process

Answer 13

1.Needs Assessment
(assess if the vacancy can be sourced internally).
2.Advertise
(involves informing the public about the vacancies and can be done through print media, social media etc)
3.Shortlisting
4.Interviews
5.Selection
6.Employee Application Form
7.Induction
(employee is introduced to people in an organization)

Question 14

Discuss minorities in the job market

Answer 14

Minorities are groups that are considered susceptible to discrimination or not very common in a particular profession or jurisdictions.
It has led to discrimination.
Discrimination can be based on race,color,religion,gender,nationality,tribe…
For example in Afghanistan due to the Tabalian rule, women are not allowed to cast news without covering their hair.This has kept a lot of them away.
It is the responsibility of public managers to ensure that minorities are not disadvantaged in the recruitment process.

Question 15

Discuss the political claims on the Civil service

Answer 15

Woodrow Wilson forwarded in what he called the “politics -administration dichotomy” arguments in which he opined that politics are totally different from administration.
These arguments include the following:
•administrators are professionals whole politicians are amateurs
•administrators tend to serve longer than politicians
•administrators are appointed through merit,politicians are appointed through elections and/or patronage
•administrators implement policies,politicians formulate

On the other hand other scholars have argued that sometimes there is a fusion of responsibilities between politicians and civil servants because:

Civil servants are appointed by the politicians e.g permanent secretaries and ambassadors are appointed by the president.
This makes such civil servants more accountable to their appointing authority.
Also,there are instances where some politicians are actually qualified to be in their professions.