Abstract
In recent years, many public sector reforms have attempted to loosen personnel constraints on the assumption that more managerial flexibility will increase organizational performance. The authors mount an empirical study to test this assumption using data taken from English local government authorities. Personnel constraints are operationalized using Rainey's long-standing measures of the concept. Statistical results from multiple regression analyses indicate that "difficulty in removing poor managers" is harmful to organizational performance, but "difficulty in rewarding good managers" has no effect. The authors delve inside the organizational hierarchy and find that attitudes toward personnel constraints vary by organizational level and managerial rank: for example, frontline managers feel more constrained overall, while senior managers' perceptions of constraints are more closely linked to organizational performance but in some unexpected ways. The implications of these findings, including the fact that personnel constraints have varying impacts on organizational performance, are considered. © 2012 by The American Society for Public Administration.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 121-131 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Public Administration Review |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 6 Dec 2012 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
The primary data for this study come from a larger research study commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (England).Funding
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2011-330-B00194).