Continuing Challenges in Public Personnel

1. CHALLENGES FOR
PUBLIC PERSONNEL
ADMINISTRATION
P.A. 826 Public Personnel
Administration
KARIN N. CABE
MPA - I

2. Challenges in Public PersonnelChallenges in Public Personnel
AdministrationAdministration
 Competitiveness
 Resource Limitations
 Technology
 Privatization/Outsourcing
 Violence in the Workplace
 Changing Demographics
 Continuing Reform

3. Competitiveness
Strong Competition for Qualified Candidates
- committed to a career but not necessarily to an organization
- employees are interested in professional growth
- employees will likely to quit if they do not get what they want
Attention to Compensation
- budget constraints have left many employers at disadvantage
at pay

4. Signs of Competitive Workplace
Engagement - Ongoing employee engagement can be a
positive sign of competition in the workplace. Not only are
employees interested in learning and doing well for the
sake of personal satisfaction and providing benefits for the
company, they also become engaged in the process of
outdoing their coworkers.
Productivity - High productivity can be a sign of a
competitive workplace, as workers who are trying to show
that they can outdo each other work faster and more
efficiently.

5. Signs of Competitive Workplace
Stress - A stressful day-to-day environment can be a sign
of a competitive work environment, especially when the
success of some employees reflects poorly on their
coworkers.
Defensiveness - Whether you're demonstrating to
your employer that your work is as good as anyone else's,
or you're responding to a coworker's competitive interest
in your performance, a competitive workplace puts you in a
position of constantly needing to prove your worth and
defend your merits.
Secretiveness - An unhealthy competitive work
environment is characterized by a reluctance to share
information.

6. Advantages of Competitive
Workplace
Production - as individual production numbers
increase, so do those of the entire team of workers who
seek to outdo one another.
Self-improvement - include actions like changing
work habits to be more organized, using visualization and
goal setting to achieve goals and simply performing higher
quality work.
Teamwork - Competition can engender a sense of
teamwork in the workplace when workers are placed in
groups and asked to compete with one another, which can
have a number of positive results that come from workers
cooperating with each other.

7. Disadvantage of Competitive
Workplace
COMPETITION - creates unhealthy rivalries that result in
workers resenting one another, which is especially true if
one person or team always wins the competitions.
This can result in a gap between the "haves" and "have
nots" that may prove to be unhealthy in internal work
relations.
Competition can also create undue stress that may actually
prove to be counterproductive to some worker's efforts.

8. Resource Limitations
Fewer resources mean agencies need to find ways
to reduce cost.
As jobs are cut, tensions develop in the
organization. When cuts are made, expectations
are not. Cuts also lead to declining morale and
stress. Productivity of the organization is likely to
suffer.
Resource limits also conflict with the keeping
benefits.

9. Technology
 It is impossible to predict what technological
advances will occur but it is certain that there will
be advances and that public personnel
management will be affected by them. Because of
the computers, personnel offices have been able to
operate more efficiently while personnel functions
have been changed. Employees throughout the
organization are affected by changes in the
technology.

10. Advantages of Technology
Improves communication - employees can use various
communication tools to interact or exchange information at work.
Encourages Innovation and Creativity - employees can
use internet technology to innovate ways of promoting their projects,
programs, and activities.
Improves on Human Resource Management-
It improves on the process of screening, recruiting and hiring new
employees. Many human resource managers are using internet to
advertise job openings.

11. Advantages of Technology
Saves Time - use of internal networks at the workplace can
help in sharing of gadgets like printers and scanners, so employees
do not have to move to different departments to share technological
tools.
Creates Mobility - the use of internet and computers to
work has eliminated space and time boundaries. Employees can
work from anywhere at any time, this mobility makes employees stay
in control of their jobs.

12. Disadvantages of
TechnologyCauses Distraction at Work - some companies have
decided to block access to specific websites like Facebook, Twitter
and Youtube, because of the unlimited distraction they cause. Other
business technologies which cause distraction at work include
smartphones, computers and virtual meeting applications
like Skype.
High Maintenance costs - if business technology tools
like computers are not well maintained, their performance will
decrease and the process of buying new computers or any other
business technology can even be more expensive.
Makes employees lazy - since most tasks are automated by
technology, many employees become lazy at work, technology kills
their creativity and skills.

13. Disadvantages of
TechnologyAffects Workplace Relationships - Interpersonal
communications are important in building workplace relationships
because employees will get a chance to know each other in person,
sometimes they can even share non-work related information, this
type of interaction is killed by communication technology tools.
It’s Risky - all employees in important decision making
positions will need access to private business information; this can
pose as a threat, because it can be very difficult to monitor the usage
and privacy of this information. Many employees come with flash
drives at work, so they can transfer critical business information and
use it for their own personal gains.

14. Privatization/Outsourcing
-involves the delivery of government services or
functions by nongovernmental entities.
-the practice of delegating work to another person
or organization, usually a third party who is not
associated with the business, and entrusting the
responsibility of timely completion of such work on
that person.

15. Reasons for Outsourcing
Non-availability of in-house technical hand
required to execute the work
Cut cost on a long or short term basis by
outsourcing the work
Better management of the in-house work flow
when the concerned work is outsourced.

16. Advantages for Outsourcing
Hiring of the Right Hands - A business may require
the services of a rare talent or skill, something that may be difficult
to find in-house or even within the same geographical area.
Cost Cutting - Regular monitoring is not necessary as the
outsourced team is specialized. Even weekly reports are sufficient in
such cases. The management is thus free to concentrate on the core
activities of the business.
Efficiency of Scale and Better Quality of
Service - Outsourced vendors handling a number of clients can
thus not only invest in skilled hands for a longer period of time but
they can also take advantage of technological advances, employing
the latest software and tools.

17. Disadvantages for
OutsourcingLoss of Regular Monitoring - In spite of the fact that
the business may retain some degree of control over the work and
can even demand for more regular reporting, they don’t have the
same degree of control they would have had on an employee sitting
in the same premise.
Loss of Confidentiality - Even if the outsourced partner
is thoroughly tested for their internal security processes there is
always the risk of data getting stolen or fraud being committed
leading to loss of reputation and client confidence.
Loss of Quality - Since all outsourcing contracts are drawn
up in advance and there is not much room to leverage the price,
outsourcing partners often resort to less than legal methods to make
a profit, or as it happens in some cases, an extra profit.

18. Disadvantages for
Outsourcing
Loss of Moral in a Workforce - Whenever there is
word that a business is going to outsource it creates a loss in moral
for the workforce. Even if a business is not actually showing people
the door, the moral of the staff could easily be sagging when the
word breaks out.
Loss of Focus - No matter how dedicated an outsourced team
is, it rarely happens that they can exercise the same degree of
dedication that an in-house team under the constant and watchful
eye of the management can.

19. Changing Demographics
- Demographic changes in the workplace is
constant. Workplaces will continue to change.
Because of revenue limitations and efforts to avoid
future cost, many public employers are using part-
time and temporary employees and volunteers.
- The global-aging population and the new
generation of young professionals entering the
market are changing the shape of the workplace.
Employers need to look forward and prepare for
the workforce of the future and understand the
organizational changes will bring.

20. Changing Demographics
- Never before have organizations seen three and
even four generations working together. These
overlapping generations have great implications,
not only for the way work is performed but also but
also for the way the employers need to think about
their future talent management strategies and
practices required to support their human capital.
- The generations working together today are:
Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-
1980), and Generation Y or the so-called Millennial
(1981-2000).

21. Changing Demographics
Baby Boomers - They generally distrust authority and large
systems. They are more optimistic and open to change than the prior
generation, but they are also responsible for the “Me Generation,”
with its pursuit of personal gratification, which often shows up as a
sense of entitlement in today’s work force.
Generation Xers - They naturally question authority figures
and are responsible for creating the work/life balance concept. Born
in a time of declining population growth, this generation of workers
possesses strong technical skills and is more independent than the
prior generations.
Millennials or Generation Ys - This group is the first
global-centric generation, having come of age during the rapid
growth of the Internet and an increase in global terrorism. They are
among the most resilient in navigating change while deepening their
appreciation for diversity and inclusion.

22. Advantages of Diversity in
the Workplace
Increased creativity - When people in different
cultures, backgrounds and beliefs come together to work for a
common goal, increased creativity can be achieved. What is
already artistic can become even better. What already works can
evolve into something else.
Increased adaptability - people from diverse
backgrounds can provide ideas for adapting to ever-changing
customer demands and fluctuating markets. This also means that
an organization has to develop a new process for people with
different ideas to collaborate and work together.

23. Advantages of Diversity in
the Workplace
Melting Pot of ideas - No two people think exactly
alike, and a company that knows how to exploit varying viewpoints
of each individual can create a large pool of ideas and
experiences.
Increased Productivity - Put the employees
together in one place and what you get is increased productivity.
Increased range of services - A diverse
collection of people with different experiences, skills, cultural
understanding, languages and other differences enables a
company to provide customers services

24. Disadvantages of Diversity
in the Workplace
Communication Issues - Effective communication is a
driving factor for success. Unfortunately, diversity can be in the
way, and can directly impact productivity because of a lack of
cohesiveness.
Lack of Freedom of Speech - People can’t freely
state their opinions or tell stories whenever they want for fear of
being judged as discriminating.
Increased Cost of Training - Apart from the usual training,
an organization must invest in seminars, programs and lectures
designed to promote diversity in the workplace. If unity is to be
achieved, such training is essential as they will teach employees
how to accept thoughts, ideas and personalities of others in the
workplace.

25. Disadvantages of Diversity
in the Workplace
Integration of Issues - When social groups form,
informal divisions can occur, which will impede social integration.
This can hinder the effective sharing of knowledge, experience,
skills, resulting in decreased productivity, team efficacy, and
business growth.
Increased Competition - Competition in the workplace
is good as it can drive success and higher productivity. But when
employees do not accept other culture, they are likely to compete
against each other, rather than become collaborative members of a
team.
Breeds disrespect - The same people who don’t accept
other cultures are likely to openly show disrespect and
indifference. This can lead to unnecessary tension and can inhibit
communication in the workplace.

26. Violence in the Workplace
Workplace violence is not limited to incidents
that occur within a traditional workplace.
Work-related violence can occur at off-site
business-related functions (conferences, trade
shows)
At social events related to work, in clients'
homes or away from work but resulting from
work (a threatening telephone call to your home
from a client).

27. Violence in the Workplace
Workplace violence includes:
Threatening behavior - such as shaking fists, destroying
property or throwing objects.
Harassment - any behavior that demeans, embarrasses,
humiliates, annoys, alarms or verbally abuses a person and that
is known or would be expected to be unwelcome.
Verbal abuse - swearing, insults or condescending
language.
Physical attacks - hitting, shoving, pushing, kicking.

28. Violence in the Workplace
Workplace violence includes:
Threatening behavior - such as shaking fists, destroying
property or throwing objects.
Harassment - any behavior that demeans, embarrasses,
humiliates, annoys, alarms or verbally abuses a person and that
is known or would be expected to be unwelcome.
Verbal abuse - swearing, insults or condescending
language.
Physical attacks - hitting, shoving, pushing, kicking.

29. Violence in the Workplace
Work-related Factors that Increase the
Risk of Violence
 Working with the public.
 Handling money, valuables or prescription drugs
 Carrying out inspection or enforcement duties
 Providing service, care, advice or education
 Working with unstable or volatile persons
 Working in premises where alcohol is served
 Working alone, in small numbers or in isolated areas
 Working in community-based settings
 Having a mobile workplace
 Working during periods of intense organizational change.

30. Violence in the Workplace
Elements of Workplace Harassment
Use of Power
Intention is to Control
Have a strong personal dislike to the victim
Personal Attack
With Specific Objective – to get ahead of you, to get rid of you,
to pass the blame on you

31. Violence in the Workplace
Instigators of Workplace Harassment
The Bosses
Sub-ordinates
Employees who are Tenured
Any Employee

32. Violence in the Workplace
The “Likely” Acts of an Office Bully
Verbal abuse
Cyber Bullying – you are mocked or made fun of “online”
Peters’ Principle- bosses can promote you to a level of incompetence
Sabotage- a group can conspire or an employee can do acts that will
cause you to fail or look bad
Unfavorable assignment- this can mean being assigned to different
department or office
Sexual Harassment
Threats and Blackmail
Indirect insubordination- it’s like you’re tasked to head the committee
and when you called for a meeting, no one attended
Taking advantage of the newly hired, transfers or interns/OJTs
Social- a group effort to make another employee (bosses or colleagues)
feel s/he is not welcome or not part of the group.

33. Continuing Reform
With change always occurring in the
political environment, there are also
continuing pressures for reform of
personnel management system. Every
president brings to office some views for
changing public bureaucracy.