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Human Resource Management in Public Service
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Human Resource Management in Public Service
Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems

Eighth Edition
  • Evan M. Berman - Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Sao Paulo School of Business Administration, Brazil
  • Montgomery R. Van Wart - California State University, San Bernardino, USA
  • Meghna Sabharwal - University of Texas at Dallas, USA
January 2026 | CQ Press
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Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems offers thought-provoking and thorough coverage of the complex issues faced by employees and managers in the public sector, including managing under tight budgets with increasing costs, hiring freezes, contracting out, and the politicization of the civil service. Continuing the award-winning tradition of previous editions, the authors encourage hands-on skill building and problem solving.

The Eighth Edition welcomes new coauthor Meghna Sabharwal and includes new analysis of changes to public human resource management under the second Trump administration, updated coverage of issues in the field, and new exercises throughout the text.
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
Introduction
 
Part I: Context and Challenges
 
Chapter 1: The Public Service Heritage: People, Process, and Purpose
Some Challenges in Getting and Managing the Right People

 
Some Basic Definitions

 
The Roles of Human Resource Departments

 
Broad Themes of HRM

 
Foundational HRM Legislation

 
HRM Reforms in Modern Times

 
Human Resource Management Principles

 
Ethics and Moral Management

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Note

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 2: Legal Rights and Responsibilities: Laws Governing the Workplace
The Foundations of Employment Law

 
The Employment Relationship

 
Balancing Employer, Employee, and Societal Interests

 
Privacy Issues

 
Pre-Employment Investigations: Truth, Personality, Health, Credit, and Criminal Records

 
Discrimination

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Part II: Processes and Skills: From Start to Finish
 
Chapter 3: Recruitment: From Passive Posting to Social Media Networking
Factors in Recruitment: Employer and Applicant Perspectives

 
Recruitment Steps

 
Planning and Approval

 
Position Announcements

 
Recruitment Strategies

 
Enhancing Recruitment Prospects: The Seeker’s Perspective

 
Advancing from Job Seeking to Career Development

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 4: Selection: From Civil Service Commissions to Decentralized Decision Making
The Bases and Origin of Selection

 
Criteria in Selecting Selection Tests

 
Initial Reviewing and Testing

 
Interviewing and Reference Checks: Narrowing the Pool

 
General Considerations for Those Conducting Interviews

 
Choosing and Negotiation

 
Post-Offer and Hiring Issues

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 5: Position Management: Judicious Plan or Jigsaw Puzzle?
Three Types of Personnel Strategies

 
The Origins of Position Classification and Management

 
Job Design and Job Analysis

 
Job and Position Descriptions

 
From Jobs to Job Systems

 
Curbing, Cutting, and Eliminating Workforce

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 6: Employee Motivation: Possible, Probable, or Impossible?
The Sources of Motivation

 
Motivation: Pull, Push or Drive?

 
Motivation: Pull, Push or Drive?

 
Tools of Motivation

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 7: Compensation: Vital, Visible, and Vicious
Equity and Expectancy Theory

 
Pay Determination

 
Philosophy: Lead, Match, or Lag

 
The Perennial Pay Debate

 
Labor Market Forces: External Competition

 
Job Content: Internal Consistency

 
Individual Considerations: Fairness and Contributions

 
Longevity Pay

 
Implications

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 8: Employee-Friendly Policies: Fashionable, Flexible, and Fickle
Workforce and Workplace Trends

 
Work–Family Programs

 
Health, Safety, and Wellness Programs

 
Flexible Work Arrangements

 
Traditional Benefits: Not-So-Employee-Friendly Trends

 
Implementation, Assessment, and Evaluation

 
Avoiding and Coping With Hostility at Work

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 9: Training and Development: Exploring New Frontiers
General Principles of Learning

 
Training Strategies

 
Organizational Training and Development

 
Applications: Workplace Training

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 10: Appraisal: A Process in Search of a Technique
Evolution

 
Appraisal Systems

 
Raters

 
Rating Errors: The Underbelly of Appraisals

 
Improving the Process

 
Disciplinary Systems

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Notes

 
Exercises

 
 
Chapter 11: Unions and the Government: Protectors, Partners, and Punishers
Background: The Context and Evolution of Employee Relations

 
Differing Views of Unions

 
Collective Bargaining: Structures, Strategies, and Skills

 
Paradoxes and Contradictions

 
Trends and Variations

 
Hostility vs. Harmony

 
Summary and Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Exercises

 
 
Glossary
 
About the Authors

The current edition of Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems is thoroughly revised and updated. Written by world recognized experts in the human resource management (HRM) field, the book permits students opportunities to engage processes and functions of HRM in changing technological, social, and political times. This text is the best summation of expert overviews of HRM in public service development in the USA.

Professor Eric E. Otenyo
Northern Arizona University
Review

The authors' intentional focus on the current challenges and opportunities in the real world of HR management today is what our students need to successfully navigate the dynamic environment of public service leadership.

Professor Katrina H. Norvell
Roger Williams University
Review
Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

  • New coauthor Meghna Sabharwal brings decades of significant contributions to the field and work on inclusive workplace culture, job satisfaction, performance, and high-skilled migration.
  • New coverage of changes to the field under the second Trump administration.
  • New or updated sections on extrinsic motivation, performance management, training, new case law, remote work, and recruitment efforts.
  • Updated class, team, and individual exercises throughout the text.   
KEY FEATURES:
  • Covers all of the stages of the employment process, including recruitment, selection, training, legal rights and responsibilities, compensation, and appraisal.
  • Extensive skill-building exercises help readers apply the material and develop hands-on, technical skills.
  • Ethics case studies enable students to learn about a variety of ethical situations that come up in management.  
  • A broad range of examples from local, state, federal, and international settings provide readers with applications in a variety of public sector contexts.
  • Questions at the end of each chapter, along with a mix of individual, group, and in-class exercises, encourage active learning and mastery of concepts.

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