The Nature of Managerial Work in the Public Sector

Abstract

T he passage of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act constitutes the first major overhaul of the federal civil service since the system was created in 1883. Included in the reform act is the establishment of a Senior Executive Service (SES) consisting of approximately 8,000 individuals at the GS-16 through Executive IV levels. Under the reform act, the compensation of these executives will be based on individual and organizational performance, not on length of service. Pay for top level executives will be set at one of six levels, with the possibility of lump-sum bonuses being awarded to some of the executives. The reform act abolishes the previous government-wide executive performance appraisal system and charters individual agencies to develop appraisal systems that specify performance requirements and link personnel actions (such as merit pay increses) more closely to individual performance. Performance standards are to be based on objective, job-related criteria and systematic identification of managerial competencies associated with carrying out the tasks and functions of executive positions. Other provisions of the reform act charge the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the agency which replaces the Civil Service Commission, with the responsibility of ensuring that federal agencies establish programs for the training and development of current and prospective SES candidates. Since the reform act has mandated new systems for executive selection, development, and performance appraisal, the importance of describing the public sector job and identifying what executives actually do in accomplishing the requirements of their jobs has become a critical issue. Although there is a large body of literature on what constitutes management and how to select and develop effective managers and executives, little can be applied to the