Politicisation, professionalisation, or both? Hungary's civil service system

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
György Gajduschek
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Service System ◽  
European Countries ◽  
East European ◽  
Scholarly Publications ◽  
Merit System

This paper aims to determine where the Hungarian civil service system might be situated on an imaginary merit system – spoils system scale. In doing so, the Hungarian system is analyzed from two angles. Firstly, regulation is scrutinized as it is manifested in the Civil Service Act. Secondly, practice is examined relying on available statistical and survey data. The author argues that, contrary to the conclusions of most of scholarly publications, the Hungarian Law is a pseudo-merit system law, not in fact preventing the prevalence of a spoils system. Practice generally reveals, however, features of a modestly politicized system with signs of increasing professionalization. The last two sections investigate the potential explanations for these somewhat surprising findings and whether the findings for the Hungarian civil service may be generalized to some or most of the Central and East European countries.

The Changing Face of Georgia's Merit System: Results from an Employee Attitude Survey in the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice

2003 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Gossett
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Service System ◽  
Civil Service Reform ◽  
Attitude Survey ◽  
New Employees ◽  
Merit System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Will

In 1996, the state of Georgia passed a radical civil service reform law that, in effect, removed all new employees from the traditional civil service system and made them “at-will” employees. Additionally, many functions, such as recruitment and classification, were decentralized to the operating agencies. This study attempts to review the impact of these changes on employees in one of the agencies, the Department of Juvenile Justice. A comparison is made of the attitudes of employees who are covered by civil service regulations and those who are not, principally with respect to organizational commitment and loyalty. The results of the survey suggest that, to date, the impact of these reforms on commitment and loyalty is not significant.

Another Chapter in Michigan Civil Service Reform

1941 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-82
Author(s):  
Edward H. Litchfield
Keyword(s):  
Civil Service ◽  
Service System ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Public Employment ◽  
Civil Service Reform ◽  
State Constitution ◽  
Democratic Administration ◽  
Complete Reversal ◽  
History Of ◽  
Merit System

The civil service scene in Michigan has changed so rapidly in the last few years that it has been difficult for persons in other areas to keep abreast of developments. Thus, while in 1936 Michigan knew little of merit in public employment, 1937 found her in the vanguard of the reform movement. In that year, the recommendations of a study commission were embodied in a comprehensive civil service system by a Democratic administration. The year 1939 brought an almost complete reversal of policy with the passage of a Republican “ripper” act. Today another development is in the process of maturing. A civil service amendment to the state constitution was adopted in the November election of 1940.It is not the purpose of this article to review the details of the history of Michigan's civil service movement, for this has been done elsewhere. Suffice it to say that Michigan's experience with spoils politics was neither better nor worse than that of other jurisdictions; the recommendations of the Civil Service Study Commission, of which Dr. James K. Pollock was chairman, are now well known; the excellence of the state's merit system under William Brownrigg has also been generally recognised.However, three developments remain to be discussed: first, the contents of the “ripper” legislation; second, the effects of that legislation upon the present personnel situation; third, the proposed constitutional amendment.

scholarly journals PMH54 ADHD Among Adults in Five Western European Countries: An Analysis of National Health and Wellness Survey Data

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. A343-A344 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.L. Able ◽  
V. Haynes ◽  
K. Annunziata ◽  
H. Upadhyaya ◽  
W. Deberdt
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
National Health ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Western European

Exploration of the technocratic mentality among European civil servants

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232199642
Author(s):  
Ringa Raudla ◽  
James W. Douglas ◽  
Zachary Mohr
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
High Level ◽  
Proper Balance

Civil servants vary in the degree to which they hold technocratic attitudes. We explore whether bureaucrats’ exposure to politics and politicians is associated with the depoliticization dimension of the technocratic mentality. We use survey data of high-level executives in 19 European countries to explore factors that are associated with executives’ perceptions that removing issues and activities from the realms of politics leads to more farsighted policies. We find that respondents’ level of exposure to politics and politicians is indeed negatively associated with technocratic mentality. Bureaucrats have studied political science or public administration, work closer to politicians (in terms of type of organization), interact with them more frequently, and have more positive perceptions of these interactions tend to have lower levels of technocratic attitudes. Points for practitioners Beliefs affect behaviors and behaviors affect outcomes. Technocratic attitudes may limit the ability of civil servants to work effectively with politicians. We show that educational degrees that promote democratic values and exposure to politicians (particularly positive interactions) are associated with lower levels of technocratic attitudes. Given that a proper balance between political and technical knowledge can enhance organizational performance (Krause et al., 2006), these findings should be taken into account when staffing and structuring public organizations.

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