HR Case Study Collapsing Economy

HR Case Study collapsing economy introduces tough challenges for the public and private sectors alike. However, the public sector faces a unique set of circumstances based on its recruitment models and uniquely transparent hiring practices. The case study detailing information technology recruitment focuses on the specific it needs of the public sector during challenging economic times. Reflecting core concepts contained in Chapter 8, the case study also outlines the specific needs of government agencies in terms of retaining and recruiting the next generation of it specialists.

Issues related to outsourcing and temporary work are also discussed. Public sector human resources constraints are defined by commitments to "public safety, justice, and environmental quality," (p. 184). Information technology recruitment and acquisition practices must follow the same ethical and legal guidelines that apply to any other field. Issues related to employment discrimination must be considered, especially when public sector industries and agencies look toward outsourcing and temporary labor as a short-term solution to a lack of skilled labor.

The case study demonstrates the inherent difficulties in creating a permanent staff of skilled it workers in the public sector. Permanent positions are more likely to be lucrative and rewarding in the private sector than in the public sector: where pay scale, opportunities for promotion and profit-sharing, benefits, and public accolades are easier to come by. In fact, private sector headhunters lure highly talented workers from the public sector to the private sector.

Retaining highly skilled it workers in the public sector is in many cases harder than it is to acquire those workers in the first place. The acquisition process may begin using any of the four recruitment models outlined in Chapter 8. A centralized, decentralized, electronic, or outsourced recruitment model can yield a pool of talented it labor, but retaining those skilled workers is difficult given the limitations of public sector operations. The case study points out the need to synthesize traditional models of recruitment, hiring, and retention.

Creative methods, such as bypassing the merit system, can work. Bypassing the merit system for a small pool of highly skilled it workers means that the public sector can become more competitive on the labor market, offering salaries and compensation packages comparable to those touted in the private sector. However, public sector organizations must take care not to introduce any conflicts of interest, or not to compromise the core values of the civic system. The merit system is in place because it does level the playing field.

Holding true to a merit system can help prevent the types of problems that sometimes plague the private sector. At the same time, the public and the private sector are directly competing with a limited pool of talent. Creative means of bypassing the merit system usually depend on taking advantage of outsourcing and, increasingly, temporary international workers. The need to boost the government's it capabilities is strong. As the case study suggests, when government organizations fall behind consumer it standards and expectations, trust in the public sector dwindles.

Issues related to systems design and security are top priorities for the public sector, based on its core values such as "insuring public safety, justice, and environmental quality," (p. 184). If it needs cannot be met with the existing pool of domestic labor, and if the merit system fails to attract the quality of personnel needed to fulfill an organization's goals, then bypassing the merit system becomes the only solution. Government agencies can effectively bypass the merit system while at the same time holding true to merit system ideals.

The textbook chapter points out that immigration is the "chief cause of population and workforce growth in the decades ahead. Immigrants competing for skilled jobs in the it sector should also have the "knowledge, skills, and abilities" that are expected of any applicant in the government's merit system (p. 185). Immigrant workers who are highly skilled in their fields can offer the same caliber work as their domestic counterparts but with the same core problem: those highly skilled workers are easily wooed by the private sector.

The case study also indicates that public sector agencies cannot count on offering improved training programs for highly motivated inside personnel because once those personnel advance their skills, they become easy target for headhunters too. Thus, the expense of training the next generation of it workers would fall in the hands of the taxpayer and the government's it infrastructure would still lag behind that of.