ABSTRACT
The chapter begins by defining human resource administration (HRA), outlining the multiple tasks it performs, and examining the differences between patronage and merit. Following that, it discusses the evolution of HRA in the United States, focusing on the national government's human resource system. Since 1887, it has served as a model for state and local governments with respect to the personnel system. The chapter then explores the public HRA process and the evolution of the position classification system. It next describes public service, the examination and selection processes, employee appraisals and pay, and removal from the civil service. The chapter also examines labor relations, collective bargaining, and equal opportunity policies and their effects on the public workforce. However, the public sector has made serious and in many ways successful attempts to increase the number of minorities within its workforce.
