Excerpt from Principles of Public Personnel Administration Only a relatively few persons can be expected to concern them selves with the technical phases of this problem. There are many, however, who ought to have a fairly comprehensive grasp of the nature and scope of the problem as a whole. Especially is this true of the members of our national, state, and local legislative bodies, who are called upon to consider proposals looking to a reorganization of the personnel system of the governments with which they are connected, and the superior administrative officers of such governments. It is to this class that the present volume is chiefly addressed. The author, Mr. Arthur W. Procter, has for years been directly concerned, as a member of the staff of the late President's Com mission on Economy and Efficiency, the New York Bureau of Municipal Research, and the Institute for Government Research, with the study of problems of personnel administration; and, in 1915-1916 had charge of the investigation work of the important inquiry regarding the standardization of public employments of the state made by the Senate Committee on Civil Service of New York State. In one or the other of these capacities he made a personal study of the personnel systems of those states and cities that had made the most progress in recent years in the improvement of their systems for the handling of personnel matters. It is not to be expected that the positions taken by the author will in all cases be accepted. They represent, however, the conclusions that have been reached by one who has had exceptional opportunities for the prosecution of studies in this field, and will at least be suggestive and serve to open up the subject in a broad way. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1921 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VI RECRUITING AND SELECTION Examination as the Basis of Selection. "Hiring the worker" is the first step in actual employment control. It is, indeed, only a first step, which must be followed up by equally important acts of control and leadership. Hiring does, however, furnish the "raw material" of all subsequent employment processes, and is, therefore, of basic importance. In the field of private enterprise the selection of employees is generally carried on by more or less haphazard methods. Employees are hired on the basis of a personal interview, sometimes supplemented by an investigation of references. In the more progressive establishments, where well developed employment departments exist, refinements in methods of interviewing and formal methods of testing the fitness of applicants are beginning to be introduced. In civil service employment, on the other hand, the selection of employees has been based, for a number of years, in large part on a formal competitive examination. The employer, in this case the appointing officer, is not allowed to select employees entirely on the basis of personal judgment or impression. He is usually restricted in his choice to three persons who have been certified to him as eligible on the basis of the results of a competitive examination. The competitive examination as a means of selecting public employees is justified by political considerations. It was introduced as an integral part of the merit system. The competitive examination is the only means of selecting public employees which is able to prevent the use of patronage as a device for controlling elections. It is the only means of opening up the opportunities in the public service in a way which is fair to all citizens and in...