Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems

Recognizing the inherent tensions and contradictions that result from managing people in organizations, Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems offers provocative and thorough coverage of the complex issues of management in the public sector. Continuing the award-winning tradition of previous editions, this Sixth Edition helps students to understand complex managerial puzzles and explores the stages of the employment process, including recruitment, selection, training, legal rights and responsibilities, compensation, and appraisal. Grounded in real public service experiences, the book emphasizes hands-on skill building and problem solving. 

New to the Sixth Edition:

• Ethics case studies have been added to all the chapters, enabling students to learn about a variety of ethical situations that come up in management.  
• Updated and consolidated recruiting strategies offer students a window into the most current methods used in the recruitment process and provide insight into the job seeker’s perspective.  
• New examples from a broad range of local, state, federal, and international settings enable students to apply key concepts to common management issues.

Evan M. Berman is Professor of Public Management at Fundação Getúlio Vargas, EAESP (São Paulo, Brazil), specializing in human resource management, public performance, and comparative public administration. Previously, he was Huey McElveen Distinguished Professor at Louisiana State University. Dr. Berman is ranked among the very top scholars in public administration world-wide. He has received the Outstanding Scholarship Award from the American Society for Public Administration (Section on Personnel and Labor Relations) for contributions to  research, teaching and service in public sector HRM, and many other awards, including from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), the accrediting body for public administration programs. He has authored 15 books and over 175 publications, in all of the leading journals of the discipline. Dr Berman has chaired ASPA’s Section on Personnel and Labor Relations, he is founding editor of ASPA’s Book Series in Public Administration and Public Policy, senior editor of Public Performance and Management Review, and a Distinguished Fulbright Scholar. His 2023 book, Performance and Innovation in the Public Sector (with I. Hijal-Moghrabi), won the 2024 ASPA/SPALR Outstanding Book Award. Evan is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and Visiting Professor at Fudan University (Shanghai) and University of Indonesia (Jakarta).

James S. Bowman is a professor of public administration at the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Florida State University. Noted for this work in ethics and human resource management, Dr. Bowman is author of over 100 journal articles and book chapters, as well as editor of six anthologies. He is co-author of The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service (2nd ed., Sharpe, 2010) and Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities (CQ Press, 2015). For nearly two decades, he served as editor-in-chief of Public Integrity, a journal owned by the American Society for Public Administration. A past National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration Fellow, as well as a Kellogg Foundation Fellow, he has experience in the military, civil service, and business.

Jonathan P. West is a professor and chair of political science and director of the graduate public administration program at the University of Miami. His research interests include ethics, public administration, and human resource management. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters as well as nine books. He is co-author of Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Perspectives (CQ Press, 2015) American Politics and the Environment (2nd. Ed., SUNY Press, 2015) and The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service (2nd ed., Sharpe, 2010.) For nearly two decades he has been managing editor of the  Public Integrity journal. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army as a management analyst in the Office of the Surgeon General.

Montgomery R. Van Wart is a professor of public administration at California State University, San Bernardino and former dean of the College of Business and Public Administration. He is also visiting research professor at the National University of -Ireland Galway and honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong. His research areas are administrative leadership, human resource management, training and development, administrative values and ethics, organization behavior, and general management. He has over 100 publications, including 11 books and nine articles in Public Administration Review. His Dynamics of Leadership in Public Service: Theory and Practice (M. E. Sharpe, 2005) was awarded Outstanding Academic Title by Choice. His Leadership in Public Organizations: An Introduction (Routledge, 2017) is in its third edition. He serves on numerous editorial boards and as associate editor of Public Productivity & Management Review. He has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the ASPA Van Riper Award and the CSUSB Outstanding Researcher Award.