This course focuses on selected topics in the study and practice of public personnel
administration. Essentially, it is an in-depth analysis of the literature, problems,
and directions of public personnel issues. The emphasis is on reading, analyzing the
literature, and probing the scope and problems of the field. Students should develop
an appreciation for the dynamic political environment and the statutory and
Constitutional restrictions that distinguish public personnel management from its
counterpart in the private sector. Fundamental questions and techniques will be
stressed. A variety of class exercises and case analyses will supplement the assigned
reading. The course operates from the point of view that personnel administration is
one of the most critical concerns in public management. Completion of the course will
provide a foundation that will allow students to deal successfully with personnel
concepts in other classes, and, ultimately, in their careers. The course format
requires that students think rigorously about a number of practical issues facing
contemporary public administrators.

I. Historical Foundations of the Public Service
II. Civil Service Reform and the Concept of Merit
III. Executive Leadership and Recent Reform
IV. Administration and Human Resources Planning
V. Job Analysis and Job Evaluation
VI. Job Pricing and Employee Compensation
VII. Recruitment, Examination, and Selection
VIII. Achieving Equal Employee Opportunity
IX. The Debate on Affirmative Action
X. Employee Motivation and the Personnel Function
XI. Performance Appraisal and Management
XII. Public Employee Unions and Collective Bargaining
XIII. Employee Rights and Responsibilities
XIV. Public Sector Human Resource Management and the Future