What is the history of the Civil Service System?
civil service: History The use of competitive examinations to select civil officials was begun in China during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), and expanded to include all important positions during the Sung dynasty (960–1279; see Chinese examination system).
What are the functions of civil service?
What are the functions of the civil service? The civil Service is a body or department in the executive arm of government saddled with the responsibility of assisting the executive in the planning and implementation of government policies. The civil service is divided into the apartments called ministries.
What is civil service reform and why was it needed?
Why GAO? Am I Qualified? The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 is intended to provide Federal managers with the flexibility to improve Government operations and productivity while, at the same time, protect employees from unfair or unwarranted practices.
Is the Civil Service System a spoils system?
The term was used particularly in politics of the United States, where the federal government operated on a spoils system until the Pendleton Act was passed in 1883 due to a civil service reform movement. Thereafter the spoils system was largely replaced by nonpartisan merit at the federal level of the United States.
What is civil service system?
Definition of the civil service : the part of a government that takes care of the government's basic business : the administrative part of a government —often used before another noun a civil service employeethe civil service system.
What are the origins of the civil service system quizlet?
The civil service system was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. The spoils system fired political opponents and replaced them with party loyalists.
What established the civil service system?
Approved on January 16, 1883, the Pendleton Act established a merit-based system of selecting government officials and supervising their work. Following the assassination of President James A. Garfield by a disgruntled job seeker, Congress passed the Pendleton Act in January of 1883.
What is the civil service system quizlet?
Civil service system, is a systematic method of appointing employees to office and of promoting them for competency and performance. a person who is covered by the civil service system may not be required to take any competitive exams or perform another act to maintain employment.
What is the civil service quizlet?
Civil Service. Composed of those civilian employees who perform the administrative works of government (2.7 million people)
When was the civil service system created?
The U.S. Civil Service Commission was established under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.
What is the main purpose of the civil service?
The civil service has three main functions: It advises the Government on the implementation of policy and is responsible for implementing agreed policy. It helps prepare and draft new legislation and. It helps the Government to run the country according to the legislation passed by the Oireachtas.
Why is the civil service system important?
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 is intended to provide Federal managers with the flexibility to improve Government operations and productivity while, at the same time, protect employees from unfair or unwarranted practices.
What event was influential in creating the new civil service system quizlet?
The Pendleton Act was passed as a direct result of the assassination of President James Garfield at the hands of someone who had wanted but had not received a government job. The act created the Civil Service Commission to handle the national government's personnel.
What was the main function of the civil service commission?
A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service.
What was the spoils system quizlet?
What is a spoils system? A practice in which a political party, after winning an election gives government civil service jobs to its supporters as a repayment for supporting them and as inventive to continue to do so.
What is civil service?
Civil service, the body of government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial. In most countries the term refers to employees selected and promoted on the basis of a merit and seniority system, which may include examinations.
What is the Civil Service Commission?
In Great Britain, traditionally one of the great advocates of entry by formal examination, the Civil Service Commission relies more on informal tests and a series of interviews and observations and tends to measure the candidate’s intellectual competence by the quality of his university degree.
What were civil servants in the 20th century?
As public administration became more complex in the 20th century, specialized categories of civil servants were created to bring into the service doctors, scientists, architects, naval constructors, statisticians, lawyers, and so on.
What influence do senior civil servants have over policy?
The influence senior civil servants may wield over policy and the need for them to work in close harmony with ministers induce all governments to insist on complete freedom of choice in appointments , even when, as in Great Britain, the freedom is rarely invoked.
What is the civil service?
The United States federal civil service is the civilian workforce (i.e., non-elected and non-military public sector employees) of the United States federal government 's departments and agencies. The federal civil service was established in 1871 ( 5 U.S.C. § 2101 ). U.S. state and local government entities often have comparable civil service systems that are modeled on the national system, in varying degrees.
When was the Civil Service Commission created?
The United States Civil Service Commission was created by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which was passed into law on January 16, 1883. The commission was created to administer the civil service of the United States federal government.
What was the spoils system in the Civil Service?
The spoils system meant that jobs were used to support the American political parties, though this was gradually changed by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and subsequent laws. By 1909, almost two-thirds of the U.S. federal workforce was appointed based on merit, that is, qualifications measured by tests. Certain senior civil service positions, including some heads of diplomatic missions and executive agencies, are filled by political appointees. Under the Hatch Act of 1939, civil servants are not allowed to engage in political activities while performing their duties. In some cases, an outgoing administration will give its political appointees positions with civil service protection in order to prevent them from being fired by the new administration; this is called "burrowing" in civil service jargon.
What are the departments of the civil service?
Trade Representative, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy .
How many federal agencies were there in 2009?
There were 456 federal agencies in 2009.
What is competitive service?
The competitive service includes the majority of civil service positions, meaning employees are selected based on merit after a competitive hiring process for positions that are open to all applicants.
When was the Office of Personnel Management renamed?
Effective January 1, 1978, the commission was renamed the Office of Personnel Management under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978 (43 F.R. 36037, 92 Stat. 3783) and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 .
What was the new organization in the Civil Service?
The new organization replaced the Department of Civil Service, the Civil Service Commission, and the President of the Commission. The Administrative Code (Title 4A) was revised based on this new statute. Under the 1986 law, the Commissioner of Personnel was allowed to delegate certain personnel functions to appointing authorities ...
When was the Civil Service Law revised?
Several attempts were made to implement these proposals, but not until 1986 was a successful revision made to the Civil Service law. The revision did not include the elimination of absolute veterans’ preference, which several of the studies recommended.
What was the effect of the Civil Service Commission's plan to reclassify positions and to standardize compensation rates?
In 1918, the Civil Service Commission adopted plans to reclassify positions and to standardize compensation rates, which had the effect of reducing an enormous number of titles and variations in pay rates.
What was the purpose of the 1930s personnel law?
The new law placed new responsibilities and extensive duties upon the Commission.
When was the Department of Personnel abolished?
On June 30, 2008, the law was revised by Chapter 29 of the Laws of 2008. The Department of Personnel was abolished as a principal executive department. It was replaced by the Civil Service Commission, which is in, but independent of any supervision or control by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
When was the EEO/AA established?
The Division of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) was established in 1977 by Executive Order and then was statutorily established in 1981.
Which dynasty was the civil service?
Under the Ming dynasty(1368–1644), the civil service system reached its final form, and the succeeding Qing dynasty(1644–1911/12) copied the Ming system virtually intact. During this period no man was allowed to serve in his home district, and officials were rotated in their jobs every three years.
What was the civil service system during the Song Dynasty?
The civil service system expanded to what many consider its highest point during the Song dynasty(960–1279). Public schools were established throughout the country to help the talented but indigent, business contact was barred among officials related by blood or marriage, relatives of the imperial family were not permitted to hold high positions, and promotions were based on a merit system in which a person who nominated another for advancement was deemed totally responsible for that person’s conduct.
What were the contributions of the Han Dynasty to the future of imperial China?
One of the main contributions of the Han dynasty to the future of imperial China lay in the development of the civil service and the structure of central and provincial government. The evolutionary changes that subsequently transformed Han polity beyond recognition were not…. public administration: China.
What did the Tang Dynasty do?
The Tang dynasty(618–907) created a system of local schools where scholars could pursue their studies. Those desiring to enter the upper levels of the bureaucracythen competed in the jinshiexams, which tested a candidate’s knowledge of the Confucian Classics.
Which dynasty established the first centralized Chinese bureaucratic empire?
The Qin dynasty (221–207 bce) established the first centralized Chinese bureaucraticempire and thus created the need for an administrative system to staff it. Recruitment into the Qin bureaucracywas based on recommendations by local officials. This system was initially adopted by the succeeding Han dynasty(206 bce–220 ce), but in 124 bce, under the reign of the Han emperor Wudi, an imperial university was established to train and test officials in the techniques of Confucian government.
When was the examination system abolished?
The examination system was finally abolished in 1905 by the Qing dynasty in the midst of modernization attempts. The whole civil service system as it had previously existed was overthrown along with the dynasty in 1911/12. The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna, Senior Editor.
What privileges did the Jinshimade have?
Although only the passage of the jinshimade one eligible for high office, passage of the other degrees gave one certain privileges, such as exemption from labour service and corporal punishment, government stipends, and admission to upper-gentry status (juren).
Overview
History
The origin of the modern meritocratic civil service can be traced back to Imperial examination founded in Imperial China. The Imperial exam based on merit was designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of scholar-bureaucrats i…
By country
Civil servants in Brazil (Portuguese: servidores públicos) are those working in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal, state, Federal District or municipal governments, including congressmen, senators, mayors, ministers, the president of the republic, and workers in government-owned corporations.
Career civil servants (not temporary workers or politicians) are hired only externally on the basis …
Civil service independence
Autocratic systems of government (such as monarchies) can favour appointments to administrative positions on the basis of nepotism, patronage and favoritism, with close relationships between political and administrative figures. Early Roman emperors, for example, set their household slaves and freedmen much of the task of administering the Empire, sidelining the elected officials who continued the traditions of the Roman Republic. But the political appointme…
See also
• Civic technology
• Civil service commission
• Civil service examination
• Civil service organisation
• Community service
Further reading
• Albrow, M., Bureaucracy (1970)
• Armstrong, J. A., The European Administrative Elite (1973)
• Bodde, D., Chinese Ideas in the West
• Brownlow, Louis, Charles E. Merriam, and Luther Gulick, Report of the President's Committee on Administrative Management. (1937)
External links
• The UK Civil Service official website
• Brazilian Civil Servants official website
• "Civil Service" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
Overview
The United States federal civil service is the civilian workforce (i.e., non-elected and non-military public sector employees) of the United States federal government's departments and agencies. The federal civil service was established in 1871 (5 U.S.C. § 2101). U.S. state and local government entities often have comparable civil service systems that are modeled on the national system, in varying degrees.
Types of employees
There are three categories of U.S. federal employees:
• The competitive service includes the majority of civil service positions, meaning employees are selected based on merit after a competitive hiring process for positions that are open to all applicants.
• The Senior Executive Service (SES) is the classification for non-competitive, senior leadership positions filled by career employees or political appointments.
Federal agencies
Civil service employees work in one of the 15 executive departments or one of the independent agencies. In addition, a number of staff organizations are grouped into the Executive Office of the President, including the White House staff, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
History
In the early 19th century, positions in the federal government were held at the pleasure of the president—a person could be fired at any time. The spoils system meant that jobs were used to support the American political parties, though this was gradually changed by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and subsequent laws. By 1909, almost two-thirds of the U.S. federal workforce was appointed based on merit, that is, qualifications measured by tests. Certain senio…
Civil servants in literature
• Bromell, Henry (2001). Little America: A Novel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-525-10425-4. A State Department employee's son reconstructs a childhood in a fictional Middle Eastern country
• Bushell, Agnes (1997). The enumerator. London: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 978-1-85242-554-8. A novel about a public health contractor in San Francisco
See also
• Government employees in the United States
• List of United States federal agencies
• Category:Civil service in the United States
• Curtis Douglas vs. Veterans Administration
External links
• Career Guide to Industries: Federal Government, Excluding the Postal Service Bureau of Labor Statistics – Statistics and details on Federal civil service
• Federal Workforce Statistics Sources: OPM and OMB Congressional Research Service
A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies - USA gov