Understanding the effects of radical change on public personnel systems is critically important both now and in the future to all those interested in the quality of American democracy. Civil service reform is occurring at all levels of government both in the United States and abroad.

American Public Service: Radical Reform and the Merit System is a collection of papers that examine the innovations, strategies, and issues found in the contemporary civil service reform debate. Offering diverse perspectives from expert contributors, this book presents matters concerning radical reform and the merit system at the federal, state, and local levels of government.

This volume offers fresh insight into the effects of merit system changes on employees. Divided into four sections, this book...

- Examines a portrait of contemporary reforms from across the country and concepts to interpret those data

- Addresses whether the relaxation of civil service protections against partisan intrusion will result in corruption

- Provides examples of ongoing changes and analyzes survey data from state managers

- Discusses a variety of key issues, such as the impact on racial inequality of moving from a protected class employment status to an unprotected at-will relationship

The book provides a baseline of data on reforms as well as an account of their current promises and pitfalls. Covering topics ripped from the headlines, this text also identifies pressing issues and makes suggestions for the future. Offering a variety of methodological approaches, it is ideal for all those interested in effective governance.

Blending both the theoretical and applied aspects of contemporary issues in court management, this reference/text offers in-depth coverage of all major topics and developments in judicial systems administration. It is suitable for use in the classroom or for self-study.;Providing the background material to clarify even the most technical management application, this book: presents the history and theory of the court management movement; examines the separation of powers doctrine, and its relationship to judicial independence; discusses the latest developments in court reform, the American Bar Association standards, alternative dispute resolution techniques and caseflow considerations; analyzes unified court budgeting and revenue generation by judicial systems; describes personnel administration, training and jury management; and elucidates court performance evaluation, planning approaches, the use of cameras in the courtroom and audio-visual applications.