新编MPA英语阅读教程(第四版)

Unit 1 Personnel ManagementQuestions for Preparation: 1. What are the six key objectives that the task force developed for GeorgiaGain to implement pay for performance system?2. Do you think that there will be a bright prospect of the personnel reform linking pay to the performance evaluations given to employees? Text A Civil Service Reforms As part of the reform efforts, there were some significant changes in both the guiding legal framework for the merit system and the compensation used in state agencies. Most of the reforms were done through executive orders and through the current rulemaking structure available to state agencies. Some changes, such as the elimination of merit protections for new hires, required the passage of legislation. Implementing dramatic changes, such as restructuring the classification and pay systems and elimination of merit protections to new employers, has required a major effort by state officials to guide a difficult and comprehensive process. The changes in the merit system, for example, were swift and direct. By legislative action the merit protections were abolished during the 1996 legislative session and went into effect on July 1, 1998. While the merit changes are altering the nature of public-sector employment in Georgia, the process creating these changes was simple and straightforward. The changes associated with GeorgiaGain, however, were much more involved. GeorgiaGain. GeorgiaGain began from a task force appointed by Governor Miller. Since 1993 (Figure 1 displays a brief time line of the implementation of the GeorgiaGain program), the task force has sought to accomplish a major restructuring of the job classification system and the pay and performance management systems of the state. The first major task was to assess how employees felt about the systems in place. In 1993 the task force developed a guiding philosophy for compensation, agreed on concepts associated with how to design pay for performance, selected potential compensation factors, and began the development of an automated database for job descriptions and evaluations. One of the major accomplishments of 1993 was the completion of an assessment of employee perceptions. In 1993, with the assistance of an outside consulting firm, the state mailed out survey questionnaires to 10,000 randomly selected state employees. The survey had a response rate of 62 percent. There was widespread agreement among the employees around pay for performance issues. Ninety-nine percent of employees surveyed believed they should be held accountable for their performance; 93 percent felt that appraisals were a valuable tool for understanding their performance.