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The impact of organizational action on the enhancement and development of public service motivation (PSM) was explored through interviews with mid-level managers at two federal agencies. Participants expressed substantial individual variation in their initial reasons for pursuing government employment, with a large majority citing pragmatic reasons rather then the altruistic ones PSM research might indicate. However, individuals' conceptions of public service motivation are dynamic over time and change as those individuals move through organizational levels and positions. This research was undertaken in response to the call for more investigation into the practical implications of PSM for public employers, and results indicate that organizations can have a distinct impact on the development and framing of employees' public service motivation.

Local governments are poised for a workforce crisis. Many will be faced with the impact of a mass exodus of baby boomers from their ranks at the same time the skills and knowledge required to continue to provide quality services increases. Governments will compete with private and non-profit organizations, as well as with each other, for talented workers. However, this crisis is likely to be felt by governments first because of their older employee base and high demand for knowledge workers. Individuals with needed skills and knowledge will become harder to recruit and retain, especially if governments are not clear about the skills they seek. Workforce planning can help governments act and perform strategically in the face of increasingly complex governmental demands made even more challenging by this impending human capital crisis. The 2002 International Personnel Management Association report, Workforce Planning Resource Guide for Public Sector Human Resource Professionals, found that "Workforce planning is the most critical human resource management challenge in the public sector today." This paper examines the state of workforce planning in North Carolina municipalities. Survey data from medium and large size municipalities in North Carolina with populations over 15,000 is analyzed to determine the current state of their workforce planning efforts. An overview of current practices, identified needs, pressing concerns, and primary barriers to implementation and success are presented.

"Workforce planning" is a process designed to ensure that an organization prepares for its present & future needs by having the right people in the right places at the right times. This article examines the importance of workforce planning for governments. It addresses how national demographic trends are creating a workforce crisis & highlights the particular challenges that this crisis will create in the public sector. Further, the article discusses national workforce-planning trends & describes practices of North Carolina local governments. Tables, Figures. Adapted from the source document.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a major shift in governmental operations, including decision-making processes. In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, public managers had to make rapid decisions within an uncertain landscape and ambiguous timeline. This exploratory study aims to understand how the pandemic impacted public managers' behavior as they attempted to better cope with the crisis. In particular, we focus on the impact of the pandemic on performance management practices in municipal governments, examining a range of components, including data analysis and use. Our cross-sectional analysis of 103 line managers from North Carolina municipal departments finds that local government managers increased their use of performance management practices during the pandemic compared to the previous (non-pandemic) year. The increased use was amplified when existing performance information practices were established before the pandemic. These exploratory findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of performance information in decision-making during a crisis and to performance management scholarship more broadly.

This article examines precursors to leadership practice, specifically through the lens of role identity. The assumption explored is that people are unlikely to engage in the hard work of leadership if they do not see that challenge as part of who they are and what they do, especially collaborative or system-level leadership. Role identity is, then, a critical building block in developing a deeper understanding of leadership intentions and actions especially in collaborative settings. Multiple judicial players, termed here "public service lawyers," are investigated in this single-state case study that examines individuals' view of their role and primary focus. Factors are examined that contribute to the construction of role perception. Results reveal that leadership training, the position one holds, and motivational orientation all influence the extent to which public service lawyers develop a view of their role that includes a broader system or collaborative orientation.

We conducted 40 semi-structured interviews with county HR directors (20 in New York, 20 in North Carolina) to learn more about the development of internal HR policies. Key resources used by directors in both states include other jurisdictions, colleagues in other county departments, state and federal agencies, laws and statutes, professional associations, and information gathered from general Internet searches. More than half of the HR directors reported using internal working groups, and almost two-thirds indicated that they systematically reviewed the implications of policies for specific departments. Yet, only a handful of HR directors reported utilizing other promising practices such as engaging rank-and-file employees in the policy process, reviewing a new or revised policy's consistency with existing policy, and using evidence-based decision making to develop policies. Although there was little difference by state, our findings indicate the characteristics of HR directors can shape how a jurisdiction approaches policymaking.

Municipal governments experienced many challenges brought on by the great recession of the late 2000s. Drawing on data from human resource directors in Colorado and North Carolina municipalities, this article examines the real-world implications of the economic recession on human resource management (HRM) practices, including the workforce-related challenges municipal governments face in a difficult economic climate and what HRM innovations were developed to respond. For challenges, funding was consistently the top response as well as recruiting and maintaining a motivated workforce. The bulk of the innovations were internally focused and reactionary in terms of responding to an immediate or current condition. Implications for practice are provided.

Growing empirical evidence supports the fact that human resource management (HRM) practices have a direct impact on organizational performance. However, recognition that the HRM function can impact the strategic direction and performance of public organizations has been a more recent shift. Local government represents a robust area to examine the capacity of government organizations to leverage their human resources (HR) to improve performance. Using data from a 2012 survey in Colorado and North Carolina, this article examines the degree to which municipal governments have implemented strategic human capital management (SHCM) practices. Results indicate that while progress had been made, there is still significant variation on the extent to which municipalities are implementing SHCM. For jurisdictions that have seen greater adoption of SHCM practices, a number of factors appear related, including the role HR plays in broader municipal strategic decision making and the perceived importance of the HR function for the municipality.