ADOPTING PERSONNEL PRODUCTIVITY INNOVATIONS IN AMERICAN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS |
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| Authors: | Charles E Davis Jonathan P West |
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| Institution: | CHARLES E. DAVIS is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the MPA Program at the University of Wyoming. His teaching and research interests lie in the areas of public personnel management and environmental policymaking.;JONATHAN P. WEST is Associate Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at the University of Miami. His teaching and research interests iie in the areas of public personnel management and productivity analysis. |
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| Abstract: | Improving the productivity of public employees has increasingly attracted the attention of urban policymakers and administrators concerned about the quality, cost, and efficiency of governmental service delivery. A national survey of local personnel managers was undertaken to ascertain the degree of jurisdictional receptivity to personnel-based management tools, preferred approaches, and the most serious policy and institutional barriers to the implementation of these changes. Research findings concerning the adoption of personnel reforms are generally consistent with those reported in prior studies except for an increase in the utilization of job enrichment techniques by local administrators. The reluctance of labor organizations to accept productivity bargaining and the unwillingness of local authorities to consider financial incentive plans for governmental executives are cited b y our respondents as the chief obstacles to greater managerial effectiveness. |
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