To Look Like America is designed to contribute a unique perspective to those interested in the challenges presented to public sector organizations -- particularly in the federal sector -- by an increasingly diverse workforce. Current projections are that the American workforce will become more and more diverse over the next decade, forcing employers to respond to real or perceived barriers to the participation and advancement of women and minorities in their organizations. This book provides a means for identifying and taking steps to dismantle such barriers. It shows how empirical measures can identify the extent to which such barriers exist. The measures are applied to a broad cross-section of the federal civil service through the use of employment, focus group, and interview data, as well as responses to surveys administered to representative samples of federal employees. The analysis examines the consequences that result when barriers are left unaddressed, and concludes with an assessment of interventions that can be effective in dismantling barriers and promoting true participation.

"To Look Like America" is designed to contribute a unique perspective to those interested in the challenges presented to public sector organizations -- particularly in the federal sector -- by an increasingly diverse workforce. Current projections are that the American workforce will become more and more diverse over the next decade, forcing employers to respond to real or perceived barriers to the participation and advancement of women and minorities in their organizations. This book provides a means for identifying and taking steps to dismantle such barriers. It shows how empirical measures can identify the extent to which such barriers exist. The measures are applied to a broad cross-section of the federal civil service through the use of employment, focus group, and interview data, as well as responses to surveys administered to representative samples of federal employees. The analysis examines the consequences that result when barriers are left unaddressed, and concludes with an assessment of interventions that can be effective in dismantling barriers and promoting true participation.

With over 20 million people on its payroll, the government is the largest employer in the country. Managing people who do the nation's work is of critical importance to politicians, government leaders, and citizens alike. Personnel Management in Government: Politics and Process, eighth edition, examines the progress and innovations that public personnel professionals are making to address changes in the political, legal, and managerial environment of government. It provides students with a comprehensive understanding of human resource management within its historical and political context in the public sector. A number of new developments are addressed in the eighth edition, including discussion of: Human resource management in nonprofit organizations in an all-new, dedicated chapter Current and future challenges to recruitment and hiring, including the use of social media in recruitment Privatization and contracting out The rise of employment "at will" policies Digital technology or "digitalization" in HRM and the need to enhance cybersecurity Managing performance with human capital analytics Increased reliance on telework States' attacks on public sector labor unions HRM changes under the Trump administration Since publication of the first edition in 1977, Personnel Management in Government has addressed issues not yet considered mainstream, but that have proven central to the development of the field over time. This long-standing but no less innovative textbook is required reading for all students of public, government, and non-profit personnel management.