ABSTRACT
How an employer organizes to conduct the activities of personnel management affects how well managers are able to balance productivity, diversity, and values. Most large nonprofit organizations and government jurisdictions have a central body that is responsible for personnel management. That body, usually called a Human Resource Office or Personnel Office, might emphasize standardization and consistency or it may provide services and consultation in a decentralized system of management. In the former case, line agency managers can expect to have more control over who gets hired and fired and how much they get compensated, but they will also have more work to do. James D. Thompson, a leading figure in the contingency approach to the study of organizations, drew from the work of Talcott Parsons and offered a way of conceptualizing organizations that provides a useful framework for this chapter. Thompson suggests that there are three distinct levels of responsibility and control in organizations: technical, managerial, and institutional.
