Suchergebnisse

Recent scholarship points to governors losing budgetary influence to legislatures. A survey of executive and legislative budget analysts from thirteen western states is used to test hypotheses derived from Abney and Lauth's theoretical propositions regarding the end of executive dominance over the budgetary process. This article finds that the legislature's ability to independently access budgetary information, a separate legislative budget agenda from the governor, the addition of detailed language in appropriation bills, and consensus revenue forecasting all decrease the likelihood of gubernatorial budgetary influence. Pork barrel additions and the ability to item veto appropriation language increase the likelihood of gubernatorial influence.

The extant literature has demonstrated the vast gender differences among public officials, especially as it relates to agenda priorities and implementation as well as leadership and management styles. However, questions remain as to budget-related organizational performance and gender differences. Previous studies have examined elected official and high level management differences with little research dedicated to staff personnel with major responsibilities. In this exploratory study, there is an examination of North Carolina county financial management influence based on quantitative performance indicators. Findings indicate female finance officers maintain a stronger gatekeeping role compared to male counterparts denying initial departmental request more frequently while maintaining suitable salaries; however, males have an increased probability of more budget discretion, staff, and increased investment income.

AbstractAn aging workforce and increasing retirement benefits are ongoing problems for states and municipalities. Unions are often blamed for governments offering too generous pension benefits. This contributes to budgetary pressures in some state and municipal governments. This article analyzes the impact of collective bargaining on pension benefit generosity under different economic conditions. The study finds that the impact of collective bargaining on pension benefits is not consistent over time or across pension plans. Collective bargaining has a positive effect on pension benefits under worsening economic conditions. Additionally, unions indirectly influence pension benefit generosity through campaign donations and unionization intensity. The findings suggest mixed impacts of collective bargaining on different groups of public employees regarding pension contributions. The article concludes with implications for the role of unions in public financial performance and strategic human resource management during fiscal austerity.

In recent years, Mississippi has temporarily suspended civil service protections for employees in some departments, reorganized those departments, and then reinstated civil service protection in those departments. State HR directors are surveyed to seek their opinions about at-will employment. Five survey items focus on the respondents' opinions concerning at-will employment as a managerial instrument; the responses are discussed and analyzed. We find that HR directors from smaller agencies and HR directors who trust political officials find utility in at-will employment as a managerial tool. We also find that female HR directors and HR directors with private sector experience disagree with the at-will employment in the public sector as a managerial tool.

Catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks can cost millions if not billions of dollars in damages. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina decimated Mississippi's Gulf Coast and southeastern Louisiana. Many local governments lost facilities, equipment, vehicles, employees, and so on to the storm. In addition, many local government employees lost their homes, friends, coworkers, or family members, and they witnessed the evacuation of their families to other parts of the country. In this article, the authors use Phases 3 and 4 (response and recovery) of the Emergency Management Framework to analyze local governments' human resource management efforts following Hurricane Katrina. Under normal circumstances, human resource issues such as payroll, recruitment, and retention can be mundane. Managing human resources following a catastrophic event, however, can present challenges for the most mundane tasks.

Discrimination has long been established by the United States Supreme Court to be unconstitutional and illegal. Although the term hostile work environment is not specifically mentioned in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA), it has been most synonymous with claims of sexual harassment. Have the courts expanded the hostile work environment legal theory to include other protected classes in the CRA? This article analyzes and discusses recent appellate court cases with a claim of hostile work environment with the basis of some action other than sexual harassment. We explain why the courts, in the majority of cases, did not rule in favor of those who claimed hostile work environment, and then we summarize factors the courts used to determine their rulings. In addition, we provide suggestions to both employees and employers.

This study examines the impact of health-related assistance programs as a type of work–life balance policies on the organizational performance of U.S. federal agencies. Drawing on the Social Exchange Theory and using the Federal Employees Viewpoints Survey (FEVS) from 2011–2015, this study had anticipated that the two types of health-related assistance programs, namely, the Employees Assistance Program and wellness program, have a significant positive relationship with organizational performance in the U.S. federal agencies and that this relationship varies in the cases of feminine organizations (redistributive agencies) compared with masculine organizations (distributive, regulatory, and constituent agencies). The study also expected that leadership support has a significant positive moderating effect. The results show that only employee assistance programs have a significant positive impact on organizational performance and that leadership support has a significant positive moderation effect on the relationship between organizational performance and wellness programs in all U.S. federal agencies.