Promotion of public administration

PERSONNEL

Like other human beings, civil servants should have opportunities to realize their full potential. They should be able to attain higher positions commensurate with their capabilities and demonstrated achievements.

Promotions are generally made on the basis of written examinations and/or performance appraisals. The promotional examination resembles the merit entrance examination except that it is open only to those employees who qualify for consideration for promotion.

Promotion remains a controversial aspect of public personnel management. In hierarchical organizations there are fewer positions at the top than at the bottom. Therefore, there is a limit on how high up an employee can rise. Most employees will always be lower down in the organization’s ranks. What is one employee’s gain (promotion) is another’s lost opportunity. The competition can be fierce and can lead to discord among employees. Thus a written promotional examination has certain virtues and helps to avoid favoritism. Trade unions often stress the principle of seniority. However, seniority is not necessarily the best indicator of productivity. Sometimes merit-oriented promotion and seniority are combined.

INCOMPETENCE AS PROMOTION MISTAKES,

Or the Peter Principle

Occupational incompetence is everywhere. Every organization contains a number of persons who could not do their job. Have you noticed it? Probably we all have noticed it.

We see indecisive politicians posing as resolute statesmen. Limitless are the public servants who are indolent and insolent, and governors whose innate servility prevents their actually governing. In our sophistication, we virtually shrug aside the immortal cleric, corrupt judge, incoherent attorney, author who cannot write and English teacher who cannot spell. And we are often droning lectures from inaudible or incomprehensible instructors.

Seeing incompetence at all levels of every hierarchy – political, legal, educational and industrial – I hypothesized that the cause was some inherent feature of the rules governing the placement of employees.

For my scientific data hundreds of case histories were collected, and all of them had a common feature. The employee had been promoted from a position of competence to a position of incompetence. Sooner or later, this could happen to every employee in every hierarchy – an organization whose members are arranged in order of rank, grade or class.

Many of them may win a promotion or two, moving from one level of competence to a higher level of competence. But competence in that new position qualifies them for still another promotion. For each individual the final promotion is from a level of competence to a level of incompetence. In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties.

But you will rarely find a system in which every employee has reached his or her level of incompetence. And work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.

(On the basis of “The Peter Principle” by Lawrence J. Peter & Raymond Hull // Rethinking of Public Administration, pp. 15-16)

F. Discussion

Ex. 1. Express your viewpoint on the following statements:

1) "Merit systems were designed for the most part to keep out the grossly incompetent, not to attract the highly qualified".

2) "By supplying a continuing record of performance, such evaluation can protect employees from capricious actions".

Ex. 2. Speak on the following problems. List your pros and cons:

1) Specific skills, education and experience are required to perform government jobs.

2) Civil servants are rarely dismissed during a probationary period and after it.

G. Writing

Write your own CV according to the example given below:

The aim of your application is to get you an interview; the aim of interview is to get you the job.

The first thing to do is to draw up a personal information chart or curriculum vitae (CV). This should contain clearly separated sections, setting out:

– personal details – full name, address, phone number, date of birth, marital status;

– your work experience, beginning with your present job and working backwards – give the dates for each post held, the organizations you worked for, a brief description of your responsibilities, and a list of your achievements in each. Don’t leave out any period of time;

– your educational background – the schools and colleges you went to (with dates) and the examinations you passed. Mention any professional qualifications that you have, and any professional associations you belong to;

– details of any training;

– finally, add any personal particulars which are relevant (foreign languages, voluntary work, interests and so on).

Curriculum Vitae

Name	Viola Hathaway
Address	Flat 2, Midsummer Court. Primrose Gardens. Charchester. CH8 3UB
Date of Birth	13/12/65
Education	Northam Comprehensive Appleby School of Commerce
Qualifications	CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) in English, Math, Biology, French, Appleby School of Commerce Diploma in shorthand and typing
Experience	None
Interests	travel, dancing, music
Reference	Mrs Angela Appleby, B.A. Appleby School of Commerce, High Street. Charchester. Ch2 4AY

Write a short summary giving some ideas of how to carry out the evaluation of employee performance.

Unit 6

Decision-Making

A. Vocabulary

List of the Key Words and Expressions

Learn the following words and word-combinations using the information presented in the Vocabulary section at the end of the book (Unit 6):

ramify(v)

Ramification (n)

~ of a river ; ~ of a plot

judge (n)

Judge (v)

Judg(e)ment (n)

sit in~ ;

~ for/against (defendant/plaintiff); final ~ ; in smb's ~ ; to show good/sound/poor ~; He's a man of excellent ~ ; a snap ~ ; to make ~

Weigh (v)

to ~ goods; to ~ the consequences; to ~ all pros and cons; to ~ one plan (thing/proposal/argument, etc.) against another; the suitcase ~s quite a lot

Weight (n)

Weighty (adj)

Betray (v)

be ~ed by fate; his voice ~ed him

Betrayal (n)

Betrayer (n)

Put off (v)

to put smb off (the train) at the railway station; to ~ the lights; to ~ off doubts; Never ~ till tomorrow what you can do today.

choose (v) - chose, - chosen

to ~ among many nice houses; to ~ smb as his wife; to ~ smb as captain; to ~ a career; to ~ one car over another

Choice (n)

to make/take one's ~ ; random ~; free ~ ; a ~ among/between/of; difficult ~ ;good, happy, intelligent, wise ~ ; individual ~ ; limited ~ ; I have no ~ ; but •• Hobson's ~ .

Act (n)

~ of faith; to commit, perform an ~; barbaric/barbarous ~; courageous ~; criminal ~; foolish ~;heroic ~; humane ~; illegal ~; impulsive ~; justified~ ; caught in the ~ of stealing; ~ of Parliament; nightclub ~, variety ~, vaudeville ~

Act (v)

to ~ irresponsibly; to ~ impulsively; time to act; to ~ the leading part

Action (n)

to avoid any ~ ; decisive ~; direct ~; disciplinary ~; hasty ~; immediate ~; rash ~; to be out of ~; to put into ~ ; to put out of ~ ; ~of the hear; to be out of ~ ; to bring, take an ~ against smb. for smth.; to dismiss an ~ ; to bring legal ~ against smb; to dismiss an ~; civil ~ ; to be killed in ~, to fall in ~; •• Actions speak louder than words.

Inaction (n)

Define (v)

определять

Definition (n)

to formulate, give, provide, write a ~ ;dictionary ~

Search (n)

to conduct, make a ~ careful, painstaking, thorough ~ ; fruitless ~ ; the ~ for truth; ~ for information; to go in ~ of food; unreasonable ~ ; right of ~; body ~ ; literature~;information ~

Search (v)

to ~ for the lost girl; to ~ the car; to ~ after new remedies

Value (n)

Value (v)

Occur (v)

to ~ again; to ~ simultaneously (sequentially); marble also ~s here, new ideas ~ed to him

Occurrence (n)

Exist (v)

to ~ on bread and water; unicorns do not ~; violence still ~s

Existence (n)

Afford (v)

~ a decent home

Benefit (n)

to the ~ ; to derive, get (a) ~ from; for smb.'s ~; tax ~ ; disability ~ ; old-age ~

Benefit (v)

to ~ from a holiday; to ~ by further study

Beneficial (adj)

beneficiary (n)

Expire (v)

the agreement will ~ next year

Expiry (n)

the ~ of a driving licence

Expiring (adj)

Expiration (n)

at/on the ~ of his first four years in office

Desperate (adj)

~ situation;the case seemed ~; in ~ condition; a ~ attempt; to be ~ for money; a ~ night

Desperately (adv)

Desparetion (n)

Alter (v)

~ed automobile

Alteration (n)

Aware (adj)

keenly (painfully, very much); to be ~ of/that; to be ~ of danger (he is ~ that there is danger)

Unaware (adj)

Awareness (n)

Unawareness (n)

Pollute (v)

Pollution (n)

air ~; environmental ~; noise ~; sound ~; water~

Explore (v)

to ~ carefully; to ~ relationship between; to ~ different cuisines

Exploration (n)

Explorer (n)

Solve (v)

Solution (n)

strong ~ ; to find a ~; easy ~

Reduce (v)

to ~ tax bills

Reduction (n)

~ from rank (to the ranks); arms ~; Strategic Arms ~ Treaty; costly ~

Sponsor (n)

Sponsor (v)

Relevance (n)

of no ~ to the case

Relevant (adj)

to be ~ to the case

Influence (n)

to exert ~ on; to use one's ~ ; bad ~ ; far-reaching ~ ; a good (bad) ~ on people

Influence (v)

to ~ deeply, profoundly, strongly; to ~ smb to do smth; ~defence and social policy

Anticipate (v)

We ~ spending two weeks here; to ~ outcomes; to ~ smb.'s wishes

Anticipation (n)

Emphasis (n)

particular, special ~ ;place ~ on; put ~ on

Emphasize (v)

Emphatic (adj)

Control (n)

to be in full ~ of the situation; to be brought under ~; birth ~; social ~; absolute ~; close ~; strict ~; government ~; parental ~; quality ~; stress ~; wage ~; cost ~; price ~ ; flight ~; pass under the ~ of smb; ~ panel; be in ~; without ~; out of ~; beyond individual ~ ; to lose ~ of the car

Control (v)

to ~ one’s statements

Face (n)

Face (v)

to ~ each other; to ~ eastwards; the problem ~s everyone; to ~ a task; to ~ a situation;to be ~ed with the necessity

Vocabulary Exercises