Integrating classified and unclassifed systems in the public sector

Basu 0

EAC 785

Introduction to Qualitative Research

AT-WILL IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR:

INTEGRATING CLASSIFIED AND UNCLASSIFIED SYSTEMS

FOR A NEW MODEL OF GOVERNMENT

SHANTANU BASU

INSTRUCTOR: DR. JULIA STORBERG-WALKER
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
Date of Submission: Nov 6, 2008
Date of Presentation: Nov 20, 2008

Basu 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ___________________________________________________________________ 2
1. Topic and Purpose ______________________________________________________ 3
1.2 Potential Significance __________________________________________________ 3
1.3 The Framework _______________________________________________________ 8
1.4 Limitations of the Study ________________________________________________ 9
2. Literature Review ______________________________________________________ 10
2.1 Origin of At-will Employment __________________________________________ 10
2.2 Extension of at-will to the Public Sector __________________________________ 11
2.3 Managerial Flexibility: Myth or Reality? __________________________________ 12
2.4 Impact on Job Security ________________________________________________ 13
2.5 Impact on Employee Motivation ________________________________________ 16
2.6 Discussion: What Research Supports _____________________________________ 17
2.7 Discussion-II: What Research Does Not Support ____________________________ 18
3. Research Design _______________________________________________________ 19
3.1 Overview and Rationale _______________________________________________ 19
3.1.1 Defining the Phenomenon ___________________________________________ 19
3.1.2 Why Phenomenology? ______________________________________________ 19
3.2 Site and Population Selection ___________________________________________ 23
3.3 Data Collection ______________________________________________________ 25
3.4 Data Analysis _______________________________________________________ 26
3.5 Trustworthiness ______________________________________________________ 27
3.6 Personal Biography ___________________________________________________ 28
3.7 Ethical and political considerations ______________________________________ 28
References ________________________________________________________________ 31
Researcher‘s & Participants Activities __________________________________________ 35
IRB Informed Consent Form _________________________________________________ 36
Selection Criteria List for Managers ____________________________________________ 39
Selection Criteria List for Employees ___________________________________________ 39
Interview Protocol for Managers ______________________________________________ 40
Interview Protocol for At-Will Employees_______________________________________ 41

Basu 2

Abstract

Given ballooning budget deficits, mass retirement of the Baby Boomer generation and

employment market uncertainties with the recent downturn in the US economy, at-will may well

become this century‘s major alternative mechanism for government. Present research however, is

only apprehension-centric and there are major divergences with ground realities. Nor are there any

suggestions for system improvement, design and integration with classified civil service systems.

This paper therefore examines whether at-will employment has led to managerial flexibility and its

main effects, as employees and managers perceive – in the post-positivist structural contingency

perspective. The purpose of such research is to identify key relationships and reactions that affect at-

will employees, the design and integrity of HR recruitment and retention systems and policies in the

federal Transportation Security Administration under the Department of Homeland Security. Early

acceptance of at-will as a new model of government would help the cause of integration of classified

and unclassified systems and ultimately help organizations to achieve a fit level of performance in

the years ahead.

Keywords: At-will, job security, motivation, firings, managerial flexibility, legal

Basu 3

1. Topic and Purpose
Given ballooning budget deficits, mass retirement of the Baby Boomer generation and

employment market uncertainties with the recent downturn in the US economy, at-will may well

become this century‘s major alternative mechanism for government. Present research however, is

only apprehension-centric and there are major divergences with ground realities. Nor are there any

suggestions for system improvement, design and integration with classified civil service systems.

This paper therefore examines whether at-will employment has led to managerial flexibility and its

main effects, as employees and managers perceive – in the post-positivist structural contingency

perspective. The purpose of such research is to identify key relationships and reactions that affect at-

will employees, the design and integrity of HR recruitment and retention systems and policies in the

federal Transportation Security Administration under the Department of Homeland Security. Early

acceptance of at-will as a new model of government would help the cause of integration of classified

and unclassified systems and ultimately help organizations to achieve a fit level of performance in

the years ahead.

1.2 Potential Significance
First, net federal outlay in fiscal 2009 for the US federal government is $3.11 trillion with

departments like the Treasury, Veteran Affairs, Health and Human Services and Social Security

Administration consuming approximately $2.6 trillion of the federal budget outlay for that year

(OMB, 2008, 340). At the same time, the public debt is $5.035 trillion with interest paid from Jan 1

to Dec 31, 2007 of approximately $252 billion (OMB, 2008a, 229). The federal deficit has grown by

about a third since 1995 and may rise to $7.2 trillion in 2009 (OMB, 2008b, 184). In addition, by

2012, 51.8% of federal personnel presently in service would superannuate (OPM, 2008, 6). The

situation in most states is not far different. States employed approximately 4.2 million people in 2003

(Bureau of the Census, 2003) and spent about $1.2 trillion in 2004 (Bureau of the Census, 2004b).

Given rapidly increasing budgetary constraints, at-will may witness a rise, propelled more by

Basu 4

considerations of economy than politics. Thus, at-will may indeed become the new model of

governance in the 21st century given the need to neutralize large retirements in the backdrop of tight

budgets. Therefore, the thrust of this proposal is to accept at-will as it exists (rather than only oppose

it) and directing academic effort to studying key relationships between segments of the employee

population and the requirements of governance in order to provide useful inputs to system designers

and administrators.

Second, at-will condemned for several reasons discussed in the literature review of this

proposal, primarily because of loss of job security and motivation, yet the results from states that

have switched over to at-will are mixed. While Wisconsin (with 27,000 employees of 68,000 being

at-will) gets a B- grade in HR management in the Pew Report (2008), major states (with at-will) like

California and Florida get C- grade while the overall grade for all 50 states is a C+ (Governing, 2008,

27). Even Texas that has gone in for relatively larger at-will conversion is graded B with strengths in

managing employee performance and strategic workforce planning (Governing, 2008, 87). Similarly,

Georgia is graded A- in managing its workforce with strengths in strategic workforce planning,

hiring, training and development and managing employee performance (Governing, 2008, 48) with a

mixed workforce. The Pew Center on States testifies to the relatively low turnover rates among

Wisconsin‘s civil servants (PEW Center, 2008, 2). Similarly, California has devolved many HR

powers on its agencies but not instituted any centralized reporting mechanism (Governing, 2008, 42)

that may give rise to anomalies in service conditions between analogous classes of employees,

particularly when the workforce comprises both classified and unclassified employees. This may be a

causative factor in this state obtaining a C- grade in HR management. Thus the link between

conversion to at-will employment and quality of governance is, at best, tenuous. Even as states

convert to at-will, yet a substantial chunk of civil service would necessarily remain. Therefore,

integration of the twin streams of the civil service holds the key to good governance, not so much the

Basu 5

quality of at-will employees or their perceptions of job security alone. At-will may not always be bad

and classified system always good. Evidently, the fault lies in system design more than employee

motivation and security. Thus, it is important that academic research devotes itself to integrating the

two streams rather than continue to view them as antagonistic or independent of each other.

Third, with the large-scale superannuation of the Baby Boomer generation, the requirement

for employees would increase manifold in the years to come. At the same time, budget and

employment uncertainties of a recession-hit US would play an important role in determining the

dynamics of the employment marketplace. Historically, government efforts to recruit are severely

limited by pay levels lower than those of the private sector are. However, now equally afflicted is the

private sector by the recession in the US economy and recent moves by the US Federal Government

in regulating the financial services sector that is a large employer. This may indeed bring about a

relatively level playing field for recruiters in government at least for the next 5-7 years. At the same

time, government budget deficits would continue to balloon because of the recession and foreign

military commitments and restrict government expenditure on employment and training. Therefore,

future research needs to direct itself to exploiting the current slump in the employment market to

make good the large shortfall of qualified personnel in government in the next five years.

Fourth, current research does not account for intrinsic and professional motivators in public

services. Analysis of data from the Federal Human Capital Survey (2006) by the author showed that

on a rough average, nearly two-thirds of employees have a high intrinsic motivation for public

service and 90% think their work is important while about three-quarters of employees have a sense

of personal accomplishment. The databases are for a composite workforce. Over two-third of

employees are satisfied with their pay and jobs while about two-third would recommend their

organization as a good place to work. At the same time, less than half are satisfied with the

recognition they receive and even less by their perceptions of the abilities of their leaders. In fact,

Basu 6

when the latter two responses are considered, the average score for this group of questions declines

substantially. Data from the MPS (MSPB, 2005) showed that 95% employees felt that their agency‘s

mission was important to them while 88% felt their work was meaningful to them, which are

consistent with the FHCS data above. Over three quarter of employees would recommend their

agency. However, training seems to be a sore point in both datasets as the MPS (2005) shows 48%

employees speaking of inadequate training and a mean 60% employees feeling that they get a real

opportunity to improve their skills in their organization, which too is consistent with the FHCS data

above. There is however, a major point of departure between the two datasets insofar as perceptions

of leadership are concerned. While the FHCS data shows only 41% employees satisfied with the

policies and practices of their leaders, the MPS 2005 data shows 63-71% satisfaction in the ―Overall,

I am satisfied with my supervisor‖ responses and 45-57 in the ―Overall, I am satisfied with the

managers above my immediate supervisor‖ responses. It would thus seem that disenchantment with

senior leadership is higher than with immediate supervisors and is more a cause of relatively lower

motivation than for the lack of it in employees even in a composite work force. Thus, the degree of

managerial flexibility required to engineer/re-engineer governance systems while, simultaneously

addressing concerns of security and motivation of at-will employees, would have to be determined

with reference to geographical areas, ethnic groups, sex, age, and functional areas, etc. and such other

socio-economic considerations that equally affect governance systems.

The much reviled at-will system may indeed be the part replacement for the civil service

system in the present century. However, the requirement of good governance cannot be understated.

Engineering/re-engineering at-will systems to attract and retain high-quality professionals, unlike in

the TSA, becomes a priority at once for alternative forms of governance. The TSA which was one of

the first federal agencies to change over to at-will employment has a ‗rookie ratio‘ of over 19%

(employees with less than three years of service) and ranks at the bottom of most parameters in the

Basu 7

survey of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey of 222 agencies and their

departments (2007). The key parameters where it is the 222nd of 222 agencies include effective

leadership, performance based rewards, pay and benefits, work and life balance. Therefore, there is

ample scope for future research in the engineering of new at-will systems and in setting useful

benchmarks for attracting and retaining employees.

The cost of employment is increasing every quarter as shown in Fig. 2 (US DoL, 2008) and

public administration wages are growing at an appreciably higher rate than their peers in the private

sector (except in quarter ended March
Cost of Employment per Quarter 2006-08
1.6
Percentage Increase

1.4
2008) excluding benefits, though the
1.2 Fig. 1
1 base salaries may be lower. Thus, wages
0.8
0.6 without benefits may not be vastly
0.4
0.2 inferior to those of the private sector and
0
Mar-06 Oct-06 Apr-07 Nov-07 Jun-08 Dec-08 government employment therefore
Quarter ending
remains relatively attractive, even
Public Administration Private Industry
without benefits for at-will employees

that may explain their willingness to take up such employment, irrespective of job security.

Thus, the relation between at-will and job security and motivation is, at best, tenuous and not

far removed from those of the classified system. Current research does not provide answers to how

one would know which segment of the subject population is not adversely affected by at-will

employment and why such populations of a particular age group historically prefer to work in the

public transportation sector (for instance) even as at-will employees? If this were known, how would

design of systems be affected? In fine, future research should collaborate in creating systems that

generate adequate intrinsic motivation that would carry with it growing employee commitment and a

reciprocal bonding of an organization with the employee over a span of time; this may obviate

Basu 8

concerns of motivation and job security. For this reasons the proposed study is a significant

contribution to the existing body of research.

1.3 The Framework
The post positivist structural contingency framework comprises adaptive functionalism,

contingency-fit model and the comparative method. This theory assumes that there is fit between

each contingency and one or more aspect of organizational structure so that it positively affects

performance; conversely, misfit negatively affects performance. An organization initially in fit

changes/modifies a contingency to its fit and adopts a new structure so that it regains fit and

performance levels. Fig. 1 shows the conception of this theory while Fig. 2 shows its application to

the new hybrid governance system.

AT-WILL

HYBRID
CONTIN- ADAPTIVE
SERVICE
GENCY STRUCTURE

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

CLASSIFED
CIVIL SERVICE
FIT
STRUCTURE

The essence of the correlations between structures and contingencies is the functionalist

theory that assumes that there is a fit between certain strategies and certain structures. However, in a

refinement of the original theory, critics have pointed (Whittington, 1989, Child 1972 and Bourgeois,

1984) out that managers make the strategic choices that eventually help an organization retain its fit;

such choices may be made on the basis of the managers‘ powers, values, beliefs and preferences.

Thus, the manager becomes the center of such action-level analysis. In effect, the revisionist view

states that an organization in misfit adapts the contingency to its structure, rather than the other way

Basu 9

round. Applied to the at-will system, structural contingency in a strategic choice lens implies that

classified systems, into which legislatures have injected at-will, view at-will as the contingency and

managers of such organizations therefore strive to integrate at-will employees into an organization or

its constituent parts. Failure to make the transition owing to various reasons may give rise to a

phenomenon of uncertainty, distrust and fear among affected populations and reliance on external

factors such as the judiciary for self-defense. Thus, examples of misfits in this context include the

TSA and states of California and Florida while the States of Georgia and Wisconsin are fits.

This research therefore proposes to address the following central questions:

 Does at-will employment lead to managerial flexibility?
 What are the main effects of the at-will system employees and managers perceive?

1.4 Limitations of the Study
While at-will is widely condemned for undermining the integrity of governance and the

neutrality of the civil service, such views are not borne out by facts. Not all systems in the public

sector may permit of at-will employment; conversely, not all public sector systems are always

responsive with classified systems. The concept of fit therefore implies that the objective of a

division or an agency, its need for operational flexibility or innovation may be accurate measures of

the type of staffing it requires. Thus if the US State Department requires career diplomats to run its

missions abroad, it also avails of the services of foreign policy professionals and university

professors whenever required. In order to prioritize the requirement of experts, appoint and retain

employees, managers need to have a harmonious blend of both operational flexibility and

accountability processes in dealing with at-will employees. This brings the focus to bear on key

relationships within structures that try to adapt to changing staffing norms. In the absence of the due

process, how should systems be tailored to enforce accountability of managers vis-à-vis employees?

What areas of operation should a manager staff with at-will employees or what blend of classified

Basu 10

and unclassified employees should he have in a division? What safeguards should be built into

recruitment systems to ensure equity and justice in recruitment and retention? How should

compensation and reward systems operate in a hybrid culture? In sum, at-will depends on various

socio-economic and political factors without analyzing which it may be premature to write-off at-will

or engineer/re-engineer governance systems. This failing is at the heart of the current academic

debate that makes no distinctions between employee profiles, geographic conditions, skills, etc., yet

condemns the at-will system. Therefore this study not only accepts at-will for reasons stated

elsewhere in the proposal but also aims to qualitatively analyze key relationships between employees

and managers, legislators and managers, between managers, employees and the legal environment so

that the findings are useful for HR administrators and designers.

At the same time, it is not possible within the limits of time and funds to address more than 2-

3 specific areas by case studies. Nonetheless, this limited research will pave the way for more similar

studies in other key areas.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Origin of At-will Employment
The origins of at-will employment date back to Blackstone‘s commentary on English

common law that viewed the employment relationship as a contractual one. If no tenure was stated,

the presumption was that it would be for a period of one year. However, either party could exit such

contract by citing facts that showed change of intent (Blackstone, 4130). However, early court

decisions while following English law did not adopt any presumption of annual hiring and instead

tried to discern the parties‘ intent. In 1877 treatise writer, Horace Wood, changed the interpretation

by declaring that ―With us, the rule is inflexible………a general or indefinite hiring is…….a hiring

at will.‖ (1877, 136) Although US courts did not recognize Wood‘s opinion immediately, at-will had

become employment terminable at-will by 1930. Given the harshness with which at-will was

Basu 11

implemented in the early years of the 20th century, under the contemporary doctrine employers can

discharge employees for good reason or for no reason, or even for bad reason, ―but not for some

particular bad reasons condemned by law.‖ (Gertz, 49).

2.2 Extension of at-will to the Public Sector
The centuries old civil service has found itself at the center of the polemics that have

variously labeled it as, Jerrell Coggburn sums up, ―inefficient, archaic, cumbersome, moribund,

meritless, disconnected from agency management, flat footed, suffering from paralysis, constituting a

straightjacket for managers, emphasizing employee protection over performance, or just plain

broken.‖ (Cohen & Eimicke, 1994; Horner, 1988; Kettl, Ingraham, Sanders and Horner, 1996;

National Commission on the State and Local Public Service, 1993; Osborne & Gaebler, 1992; Savas

& Ginsburg, 1973; Walters, 2002). This, in turn, engendered a reform movement that espoused

―managerialism‖ by ―blowing up‖ the civil service (Walters, 2002), ―radical reform (Condrey &

Maranto, 2001), a ―civil service tsunami‖ (Walters, 2003) and going ―to the edge‘‖ with civil service

reform (Barrett & Greens, R. (1999) – virulent vituperative for enhancing executive control over

work forces.

In the nineties, Georgia and Florida introduced at-will in the public sector that resulted in

conversion of several thousand existing classified employees to at-will employees while all new

employees would be at-will. At the heart of at-will in the public sector lay the elimination of the due

process and the consequent loss of job security. Hundred per cent of workers in Texas are at-will

employees while Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Illinois have 72, 48, 40, 35,

33, 30 and about 20 per cent respectively. Hays and Sowa (2006, p. 107) showed that 28 of the 50

US states have made significant expansion of at-will employment in public agencies. Other

arguments in support of at-will have included poor political responsiveness of civil servants. Further

arguments include the need for executive flexibility to deal with employee malfeasance and

Basu 12

nonfeasance, i.e. using termination of service as a negative incentive for performance (Bowman,

Gertz, Gertz & Williams, 2003; Walters, 2003) and greater freedom from political control and

oversight and the opportunity to be entrepreneurial (Terry, 1998). They observed that political

officials wanted bureaucratic responsiveness, expertise and institutional memory while

simultaneously, promoting the contradiction of at-will (2006, 179). Green et al’s finding that the

traditional criteria for conversion to at-will are vague and inconsistent and stemmed from unique

circumstances, serves to bolster such contradiction (2006, 179-180) in the process of conversion to

at-will. In this manner, the legislature injected a contingency into the classified civil service that had

achieved fit and performance in its own estimation.

2.3 Managerial Flexibility: Myth or Reality?
Does at-will employment lead to managerial flexibility? While for some it was a full-fledged

attack on the bureaucracy (Kearney & Hays, 1998), for others it was another fad and ―tide of reform‖

(Light, 2006, 7). Legislation passed in Georgia based on mangerialist ideology (Pollitt, 1993; Thayer,

1984) caused ―increased management rights over employees‖ (Gossett, 2002, p. 96; Ingraham &

Ban, 1984) and imposed legal prohibitions on the ability of employees to strike (Gossett, 2002. 96-

97). There was absence of uniformity in classification of posts opening the system to patronage

(Gossett 2002, 102) coupled with the arbitrary power of dismissal (Gossett, 2002, 101). No

decentralization of HRM function required for flexibility took place (Hays and Sowa, 2006, 106-7).

Neither sick payments nor compensation for damages (Aparicio-Valverde, et al 1997, 596-608) and

costly disruptions in work programs by changing organizational allegiance (Hunter, et al, 1993, 383-

407) was factored into legislation. There was also no consideration of the effect of higher wages for

at-will employees on lower paid classified employees (Brewster, et al, 1997). Thus, managerial

flexibility remained incomplete, despite the stated objective of legislatures (Gossett, 2002, p. 101).

Evidently, managers were trapped between a legislature unwilling to grant them the full measure of

Basu 13

operational autonomy on the one hand, and the flexible requirements and expectations of the new

system on the other. Thus while a contingency was created, the resources to adapt it to the existing

structure were not made available. Obviously, this ‗half-system‘ had its fallout on both employees

and managers.

2.4 Impact on Job Security
What are the main effects of the at-will system that employees and managers perceive? Two

major issues that at-will‘s detractors have frequently used are its effects on employee job security and

motivation.

In the federal government, post-9/11, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and

Defense (DoD) have introduced at-will on a substantial number of posts. However, this has not

resulted in any major change in employee perception from 1979 (purely classified) to 2002 (partly at-

will included) on key parameters as Table 1 shows (Haksoo, Cayer and Lan, 2006).

Variables 1979 2002 Mean Variables 1979 2002 Mean
Overall organizational effectiveness 3.84 3.88 3.84 Job satisfaction 3.90 3.79 3.72
Support for organizational change 3.12 3.24 3.11 Customer orientation 3.82 3.57 3.64
Empowerment 3.54 3.47 3.36 Teamwork 3.97 4.00 3.80
Performance evaluation fairness 3.25 3.67 3.40 Performance rewards 2.87 3.21 3.05
Poor performer management 2.96 2.74 2.95

Table 1

Even with managerial flexibility and at-will, employees perceived increases in overall organizational

effectiveness, teamwork, fair performance evaluations and teamwork. Green, et al found that the at-

will system relied on competent trained managers. However, budget constraints prevented such

imparting of such training. (2006, 180) Low remuneration remains a major constraint.

With decline in labor unions, legislators and courts introduced antidiscrimination and

antiretaliation measures that limited the authority of employers. While antidiscrimination measures

included Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Americans

Basu 14

with Disabilities Act, anti-retaliation measures included the National Labor Relations Act (1935),

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) and the Clean Air Act (1963). Simultaneously, the judiciary created

exceptions based on implied contract, good faith and fair dealing and tort (Gertz, 2006, 51-52).

Although employee perceptions speak of loss of job security and motivation of at-will employees,

court judgments do not always bear out the arbitrariness inherent in at-will employment. In other

words, judicial accountability tempers at-will. Autor states that the recognition of exceptions to

employment at will by 46 state courts between 1973 and 1995 limited employers‘ discretion to

terminate workers and opened the latter to potentially costly litigation (2003, 2). In Toussaint v. Blue

Cross & Blue Shield, 1980, the Michigan Supreme Court held that an internal personnel policy

handbook that indicated the company‘s policy to terminate employees only for just cause implied a

binding contract to continue employment (Autor, 2003, 5). In Pugh v. See’s Candies, 1981, courts

further expanded the implied contract notion by deciding that workers are entitled to ongoing

employment even in the absence of written or indirect statements if contractual rights were implied

via the context of the employment relationship such as longevity of service, a history of promotion or

salary increases, or typical industry practices (Autor, 2003, 6). Courts have made it difficult for

employers to skirt the risk posed by implied contract suits, e.g. employers‘ progressive discipline

policies—stipulating that workers will not be fired for poor performance without first receiving

successive warnings. Courts have taken employers‘ 401(K) and other retirement programs as

evidence of an expectation of long-term employment. In 15 states that currently recognize the

implied-contract exception, courts have held that signed disclaimers waiving implied contract rights

do not nullify these rights (Walsh and Schwarz, 1996). In sum, even though legal recourse is

expensive, courts remain a viable and receptive alternative to arbitrariness in at-will employment.

The verdict of the State Supreme Court in 2002 upholding the state Governor‘s stand on

ServiceFirst (the reform law as it was called) on limiting collective bargaining accounted for

Basu 15

significant increase in membership in the local American Federation of State, County and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME) chapters (Walters, 2002, 2003). It would appear that instead of weakening

collective bargaining, at-will appears to have stimulated it and provided an additional avenue of

protection for at-will employees.

Layoffs and terminations of service combined are significantly higher at 16.3 per cent

annually in the private sector when compared to 2.9 per cent at the federal level and 5.6 per cent in

states. Lasseter‘s (2002, p.128) analysis of firings in post-at-will Georgia bears out the low rates as

shown in Table 2:

Classified % of total Unclassified % of total Terminations % of total
Year Employees workforce employees workforce workforce
1994 21,045 91.5 1,955 8.5 212 0.5
1996 Merit System Reform Introduced – At-will employment
1998 17,050 77.5 4,950 22.5 262 1.2
2000 11,382 54.2 9,618 48.8 328 1.6

Table 2

However, Lasseter also admits that there was a downsizing of the workforce by about 10%

from 23,000 in 1994 to 21,000 in 2000 and not all firings were attributed to at-will (2002, 128).

Although managers were cognizant about the legal protections available to employees, nearly 20,000

voluntary and involuntary separations occurred in Texas in 2005 alone. No break-up of the

separations of public and private sectors being available in the studies, it is quite likely that the

percentage of involuntary separations in government may be much lower than the average of 5.6 per

cent in the private sector. The median resultant damages awarded by courts nationwide for unjust

firings rose by 70% from $120,736 in 1992 to $205,794 in 2000 (Gardner, et al, 2000, 39). The

average award to victorious plaintiffs in wrongful discharge cases heard in California between 1982

and 1986 was $652,100 - $1.41 million for 115 cases between 1989 and 1991(Dunford, et al, 1998,

903-904). In fine, the courts partly balanced the absence of due process in at-will, remedied a major

Basu 16

aspect of the at-will contingency and restored accountability of managers in the system of

governance; a partial adaptation of the structure thus occurred in tandem with unionization. Thus, at-

will does not necessarily lower the civil service into the netherworld of arbitrariness and deprives at-

will workers of their job security.

2.5 Impact on Employee Motivation
In a study of the at-will system in Texas, Coggburn (2006, p. 163) observed that although

most HR Directors of public agencies who were interviewed felt that at-will helped ensure employee

compliance with organizational goals, they agreed only partly agreed on at-will as the source of

motivation for an unclassified employee. Kellough and Nigro (2006) discovered that after four years

of operation of the reforms in Georgia, few of the work force agreed that the scheme (GeorgiaGain)

provided motivation to employees and that pay hikes did not relate to improved performance. The

uncertainty of employment and unfairness in distribution of incentives has not been counterbalanced

by market-level salary levels as Coggburn has shown (2006, 170). Kerr (1995) identifies fascination

with an "objective" criterion, overemphasis on highly visible behaviors, hypocrisy and emphasis on

morality or equity rather than efficiency as being the factors that militate against the proper

functioning of any rewards system. Taylor and Pierce reported similar findings from a government

environmental agency in New Zealand (1999). Coggburn (2006, p. 174) stated, ―Although at-will

employment does enhance executive control over government, it does nothing to attract new

employees or to positively motivate existing staff members. Moreover, at-will employment may

discourage certain forms of desirable behavior (e.g. whistle-blowing) and, at the same time,

encourages undesirable behavior (e.g. insensitivity to procedural fairness)‖ (Coggburn, 2006, p. 174).

To add to the mounting tide of negative findings, Coggburn stated that many respondents felt that at-

will did not encourage innovation and voicing of dissenting opinions (2006, p. 174). It is pertinent to

note that such charges are equally endemic to the civil service and have more to do with human

Basu 17

nature than with at-will employment. Therefore, the structure was unable to adapt the contingency

and issues of job security and employee motivation remained major areas of concern.

Many organizational researchers have suggested that employee work motivation is related

more closely to intrinsic rewards of work than with the level of compensation earned (Herzberg,

1966; Hackman and Lawler, 1971; Hackman and Oldham 1980). These scholars stress the

importance of employee participation and employee perceptions of the significance of their work.

Perry and Wise (1990) stated that the current trend of public motivation programs failed to

acknowledge unique motives underlying public sector employment. They pointed out that public

service motivation was commonly associated with normative orientations such as a desire to serve

the public interest or social equity. Public organizations that attracted employees with high levels of

public service motivation would not have to construct incentive systems that were predominantly

utilitarian to energize and direct member behavior. (Perry & Wise, 1990: 371). Therefore, candidates

applying for unclassified jobs in the public sector may well have public service for motivation, even

as they are aware that job security may be lacking. It is perhaps this motivation that Green et al

(2006, 180) found in at-will employees who did not relate their status to productivity. Thus, the

linkage between job security and motivation may not always apply in the public sector.

2.6 Discussion: What Research Supports
Evidently, at-will is a creation of legislative politics, arising from the inability to use civil

service discipline and dismissal systems effectively in ensuring a responsive bureaucracy. It attempts

to subvert civil service security and motivation on the pretext of imparting greater managerial

flexibility and give rise to political patronage. Even then, it has failed to grant the requisite level of

operational autonomy to managers. Thus while hiring has been speeded up, the issue of adequate

salaries to attract workers is not available due to budget constraints. In some states, managers do not

have the authority to make rules on at-will employees such as those relating to leave. Appraisals,

Basu 18

rewards and incentives too remain as unfair as they were in classified systems. In some cases, speed

of staff hiring have improved, although quality does not reflect in the employees recruited.

Theoretically, HR managers feel they have greater authority to enforce accountability and deal with

work shirkers since they now have the autonomy to fire employees at will. On the one hand, while

components of the structure (managers) feel that the at-will contingency has been dealt with by their

perceptions of greater powers of hiring and firing, on the other, the structure has not adapted at-will

fully, given large budgetary constraints and an evident unwillingness to change procedures from

classified systems.

2.7 Discussion-II: What Research Does Not Support
Current opinions voice apprehensions of employees at losing their primary drivers, viz. job

security and motivation vis-à-vis perceptions of managers about their enhanced powers of hiring and

firing. However, credible evidence such as the PEW Report (Governance, 2008) give states with high

incidence of at-will employees high as well as low grades for HR management. Is it then that quality

of leadership of the agencies is suspect, notwithstanding at-will? Green, et al, 2006 concludes that

public managers and political officials are inclined to experiment with at-will. Second, younger

workers are less unfavorably inclined to at-will (Green, 2006, 187). Despite gloomy predictions of

political patronage, there is little to show that such patronage has indeed occurred. Nor have rates of

involuntary turnover appreciated to be of any worthwhile concern. Available data does not bear out

any appreciable increase in the incidence of firings. The studies also rarely take into account the role

of the judicial system in filling in for the loss of due process in at-will. Then how do perceptions of

managerial autonomy and a semi-fear psychosis of employees jell with court judgments and large

damage awards against employers or enforcement of statutes by federal/state agencies and a

widening of protections by courts? Last, but not the least, the coinciding of superannuation of the

Baby Boomer generation with large budget deficits, stock market uncertainties and shrinking

Basu 19

employment markets, leaves at-will as the major viable option for all employers, government or

private. Thus, external factors appear to be forcing the structure to adapt the at-will contingency as a

measure for survival of the system of governance in the end.

3. Research Design
3.1 Overview and Rationale
3.1.1 Defining the Phenomenon
From the above discussion, the contours of a phenomenon emerge, one that is lived by

several thousand people across vast geographical regions not necessarily homogenous in functions or

any ethnic considerations across states and federal governments. As the structure attempts to adapt to

the at-will contingency, its incomplete transition causes the at-will personnel involved in it to

develop complexes of fear, distrust and unfairness that affects motivation, job satisfaction, and

security. Despite this, external factors now may force the final adaptation of the at-will contingency

as an economic necessity as also the means to achieving a fit performance level.

3.1.2 Why Phenomenology?
A phenomenological study describes the meaning of lived experiences of a concept or a

phenomenon for several individuals. The ultimate objective of a phenomenological approach

therefore is to arrive at a description of the universal essence. In doing so, phenomenology keeps

apart any preconceived theoretical notions/assumptions (bracket) that a researcher may make until

they arise from concrete facts. Once such interpretation made on facts, phenomenology assumes an

interpretivist approach. Given the fact that this study involves interactions between subjects who

have uncertainties of at-will as their common concern, as do managers of organizations with such

employees, the study would necessarily have to have a psychological approach to phenomenology at

two levels, viz. macro and micro. While the macro level inquiry would establish broad contours of

the essence, the micro level would inquire into specific areas on preset criteria detailed in the

Basu 20

succeeding paragraphs. Thus, the essence of the problem would have a phenomenological focus at

two levels of analysis to be useful for HR managers and system designers.

Reverting to our first research question, for instance, when managers perceive lack of

flexibility, it is useful to know whether there is a difference in such perceptions between at-will

managers and classified managers. Similarly, if managerial flexibility is indeed the cause of lack of

security and motivation among employees, it is useful to know the specifics of what aspect(s) in the

workplace such uncertainties stem from or whether such prejudices relate to any other socio-

economic factor such as race or sex. Job security is a major consideration for all at-will employees.

Yet there is a likelihood of a younger age group or faith not being averse to it. Similarly, employees

with higher skill sets may not face the uncertainties of at-will with the same degree of trepidation that

others with lesser skill sets would. The relative absence of such trepidation may be due to the

geographical location of an organization, demographics, local economy, traditions, etc.

Fig. 3 shows the schematic layout of the proposed design. The detailed stages of the study are

at Annexure-‗A‘.

Macro Level *RQ: Research Question
Phenomenology

*RQ 1
*RQ 2

Identify themes
at macro level
Age, sex, ethnicity,
Lack of managerial Micro Level skills and
flexibility, unfairness in Phenomenology geographical area
promotions,
rewards/incentives, *RQ 1
arbitrary firings, legal *RQ 2
protections, low
motivation Phenomenological
Fig. 3 Case Studies

Basu 21

The second advantage of this design is its flexibility. For instance, either of the research

questions could be individually covered or in a combination of two or more. Further, two sets of

researchers could be deployed, each with its own skill sets and bridged by the principal investigator.

While managerial flexibility is perhaps the most vilified issue in public management today, yet its

impact on at-will employees and consequent HR grading of states in the Pew Report supra gleaned

from subject interviews. Similarly, researchers may obtain feedback from subjects of the role of

professional motivators‘ vis-à-vis innovations in public service delivery by departments converted, in

part or completely, to at-will. Within a single research problem too, the phenomenological approach

may provide useful feedback on the effects of at-will unionization on job security or on the effect of

fairness of appraisals/rewards/incentives when managers do not have adequate budgets to fund better

pay and benefits to at-will employees.

Last, but not the least, the phenomenological approach is constructively purposive and

opinion-neutral. The design accepts the fait accompli of at-will in the current scenario and proposes

to take up the study that would be useful for organizations, thereby addressing the gap between

theory and practice. To this extent, it may even be somewhat interventionist and action-oriented in its

approach, though not falling under the category of action research. Annexure ‗A‘ shows the detailed

schematic layout of the proposed study.

The study proposed is a two-tier one. The first interview would be based upon an open-ended

format and could be done face-to-face or by telephone, in focus groups or as individuals meeting

most of the above criteria. The population is selected for its homogeneity with the overriding

consideration of having experienced the phenomenon of managerial flexibility arising from at-will,

such as purposefully stratified by age, sex, ethnicity, seniority, geographical location (low, medium

or high traffic airports) as shown in Tables 3 & 4 (software used for weighting).

Basu 22

Table 3: Selection Criteria List for Managers
Name Department Classified/ Sex Age (years) Edu Qual. Prof Qual Ethnicity Service
HR = 1 Unclassified M= 1 25-50 =1 HS< = 0 Tech = 1 Majority = 1 (years)
Non HR = 2 C=1 F=2 >50 = 2 HS = 1 Non-tech =2 Minority = 2 20≤ = 1
UC =2 ≥ UG = 2 >21 = 2
(Wt*: 0.10) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.10)

Table 4: Selection Criteria List for Employees
Name Department Age (years) Sex Edu Qual. Ethnicity Service (years) Centrality of position
HR = 1 20-40 = 1 M=1 HS< = 1 Majority = 1 5-15 = 1 Specialist= 1
Non-HR = 2 >40 = 2 F=2 HS = 2 Minority = 2 >15 =2 Generalist = 2
UG & > = 2
(Wt*: 0.05) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.15) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10)
*Wt. = Weight
Researchers would follow the first interview for opportunistic leads that may require

multiple interviews with different groups of managers or the same set of personnel. Since

perceptions may be context and/or time-specific, structured interviews may point out extremities

and help arrive at ‗normal‘ situations. Thus, the feeling of overall adequacy of rewards given by

managers in the first interview may stand contradicted in subsequent interviews when the context

is limited, from say all employees, to female employees or Hispanic employees only.

Conversely, a feeling of helplessness with the rules governing rewards for employees may not be

as strong for senior at-will employees or veterans, as it may be for ‗rookie‘ employees. These

interviews would throw up sub-themes for the case studies. Sample themes could be the effect of

managerial flexibility on female Hispanic TSOs in low-traffic airports in SE US. Such a theme

would also relate to motivation of employees. If employees are indeed apprehensive of firings

and perceive threats to their jobs, official records and data would provide figures of attrition,

court verdicts, etc. for purposes of the case study. This would also partly externally validate the

interview findings. Such a process generates a rich trove of information and guide HR managers

in designing integrated HR systems. Such study may highlight differences in perceptions of job

security between ethnic groups, age and sex groups, or on geographical locations, skill sets and

qualifications etc. and prove of immense utility to HR managers and system designers.

Basu 23

Phenomenological thematic case studies of the type proposed also provide rich information for

hours of personnel deployment, job-related difficulties, superstitions and beliefs, etc., and how

they play important roles in deciding the perceptions of employees. Enhancing the quality of

rewards, more intrinsic than extrinsic, may result thereby reducing apprehensions of motivation

and security and empower managers to dole out such rewards more liberally and often. Thus, the

two-tier phenomenological research design creates a macro field of inquiry and then uses case

studies, to the extent required, to further analyze specific niche HR areas that impinge upon the

operational effectiveness of an organization.

3.2 Site and Population Selection
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was voted the 29th best department of the federal

government to work, of 30 departments with an overall index score of 49.8 in 2007 (Partnership for

Public Service, 2007A). Within the DHS too, the TSA with an overall score of 40.6 is the second

lowest rated agency. Of 222 federal agencies surveyed, the TSA ranks at 220 with a workforce in

2007 of 57,853 (TSA, 2008). The workforce is also diverse comprising white 61.2%, black 20.7%,

Asian 4.7%, Hispanic 12.4% and American Indian 0.9%. TSA also has a relatively high rate of

attrition with an average 2,779 joining and 6,614 per annum leaving in 2002-06 (TSA, 2008). Such

high turnover ratio leaves TSA with 41.7% of its personnel in the ‗rookie‘ employee category

(percentage of workforce with less than three years of service) (Partnership for Public Service,

2007B & TSA, 2008). In fact, TSA admits that its average attrition rate from 2003-07 is 23.46%

(TSA, 2008). TSA also has 24.6% of its employees on part-time basis (TSA, 2008). It is not

surprising that TSA ranks at the bottom of the list of surveyed federal agencies as shown in Table 5.

Basu 24

Parameter Rank (of 222) Parameter Rank (of 222)
Employee Skills/Mission Match 220 Strategic Management 217
Team Work 218 Effective Leadership 222
Performance Based Rewards 222 Training & Development 197
Support for Diversity 218 Pay & Benefits 222
Work & Life Balance 222

Table 5
TSA claims that in 2007 only 337 complaints (0.58% of its total workforce) filed formal

complaints, which was lower than those of the Departments of Transportation and Justice, and the

US Postal Service (TSA, 2008), most of which have civil service protections. However, this does not

support the high rate of attrition and the survey results shown in Table 5. TSA employees also have

the right to form unions and in 2007 4,349 employees were union members (TSA, 2008), i.e. 7.5% of

the total workforce. TSA also states that it has multiple avenues for redressing of employee

grievances. Internally it has Ombudsman's Office, Office of Civil Rights, Disciplinary Review

Board, Peer Review Programs, a Model Workplace Program, where employees and managers form

councils to address all sorts of workplace complaints and grievances and a zero-tolerance policy

about illegal drug use and theft. Externally, employees may appeal to the U.S. Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission, U.S. Office of Special Counsel (Whistleblower) and Federal Courts (TSA

2008). TSA deploys its 43,000 TS Officers (TSOs) at 450 airports all over the US (TSA, 2008)

TSA fulfills almost all the major considerations as the subject for a phenomenological study

because of its overwhelming proportion of employees being at-will, the diversity of its employees,

high rate of employee attrition, unionization of at-will employees, poor reward and incentive

schemes, average leadership and low pay and benefits, etc. These parameters would provide the

different layers of phenomenological thematic case studies. Phenomenological study of the extent of

managerial flexibility would provide the leads for case studies in sub-thematic areas based on the

parameters mentioned supra in this section.

Basu 25

3.3 Data Collection
As stated in section 3.1 supra, the study adopts a purposeful sampling strategy for identifying

the subject population. Administrative support from TSA would assure access to the organization,

although researchers would make the selection of subjects; encounter some initial reticence from

employees to participate. Based on homogenous populations defined by age, ethnic group, sex and

functional area of deployment, subjects of inquiry include pay and benefits, job security and

motivation, rewards and incentives, quality of leadership, etc. Interviews would be a mix of one-on-

one, focus groups, telephone or online conferencing and based on an interview protocol devised by

the researchers; obtain consent of the subjects prior to the interview. While one-on-one interviews

may be appropriate for a TSA duty manager, focus groups may be more appropriate for employees.

In fact, based on the first round of interviews, researchers would devise a pilot format. If the

population of managers at TSA were stratified by age, sex, length of service, ethnic group,

geographical location, skills and qualifications, centrality of their relative positions to the decision-

making process, etc. and then asked the first research question in this proposal, responses may

expectedly differ widely as may the understanding of the term ‗managerial flexibility‘ itself. For

instance, between Hispanic and Asian –origin managers in the age group of 35-45 years, based in

high, medium and low traffic airports with lengths of service of 5-10 years, a conservative view of

managerial flexibility may show agreement with the existing rules while a more liberal view may

show up high level of frustration with the rules. Such perceptions may then affect group/individual

rewards, promotions, etc. and eventually influence the perceptions of motivations and job security of

at-will employees.

Based upon the first open-ended interview, researchers would identify variations to classify

them, identify extremities and attempt to arrive at a typical case for a benchmark. At the second

stage, researchers would, based upon general trends from the phenomenological study, extend their

Basu 26

efforts to sub-themes as phenomenological case studies. Therefore, the endpoint of the first tier of

this proposal (macro) would form the starting point of the second tier (micro). Since both tiers

involve observation of subjects as also interviewing, researchers, both as participants as well as

observers, would use field notes extensively. Interviews in the first stage would be semi-structured

(given the specific research questions) and recorded on audio and/or videotape. Since multiple

perceptions or variations of the same perception from both managers and employees may arise

during interviews, researchers will journal their impressions and, to the extent possible, request

participants in the study to do the same. Since TSA maintains extensive databases as also close-

circuit recording of their personnel at work, researchers would analyze these tapes and information

also. For instance, videotapes may generate interesting information on conditions of work and

injuries, etc. that may point to low employee motivation. Audit of duty deployment charts and time

sheets, injury reports, compensation claims, etc. for TSOs, maintained by airports and reference to

TSA documents relating to employee complaints, turnover, incentives and rewards paid, wage hikes,

etc. would also be made.

3.4 Data Analysis
Data analysis runs concurrently with data collection. Based upon interviews and

observations, researchers would first develop a list of significant statements and then broadly assign

the findings to themes, wherever required, to accommodate different perspectives on a single issue.

In doing so, researchers would move to the interpretive plane and create broad descriptions. For

creating descriptions, researchers would classify the findings into themes by assigning codes and

then slotting the findings into each theme (code) using coding software (Atlas, InVivo, etc.), the

ultimate objective being not to count the frequency of recurrence but to generate manageable themes

required for narration.

Basu 27

For this purpose, researchers would evolve a common codebook so that there is uniformity in

reporting, apart from saving time. For instance, perceptions of blacks and Hispanic TSOs in SE US

on motivation and job security may be a theme while negative and positive perceptions may be sub-

themes for case studies; aggregation of such themes/sub-themes for the case studies. Researchers

would create a textural description of the essence of the experience of employees and then relate it to

the setting and context in their structural description. The second-tier would then start, using the fit

theoretical model to gauge the effect of at–will managerial flexibility, employee job security and

motivation on managers and employees. For example, if the first tier phenomenological study shows

different employee perceptions of lack of motivation due to poor rewards/incentives, the case study

would cover such areas/populations that account for the deviance from the typical case. More

specifically, if the first-tier findings show less resistance to at-will from younger workers, a case

study could delve deeper into this phenomenon by age, race, sex, etc. Simultaneously, case studies

would take into account supporting data such as those from TSA‘s databases and official documents,

etc. and use graphs and tables to support and supplement the studies. In effect, the case studies would

be the endpoint in the triangulation of data collected by investigators and TSA information within the

fit model.

3.5 Trustworthiness
Given the ultimate objective of relating research on at-will to practice, it is imperative that

the findings are trustworthy. This proposal has already built in validation by triangulation of data.

While on the one hand, interviews would be the basis of thematic construction, yet such interviews

conducted by different investigators, using a variety of tools, would be the first step in the internal

validity process. A common codebook too would ensure uniform coding of findings without limiting

the scope of interviews. This codebook, based upon intercoder agreement, would add to the internal

reliability of the research by divorcing the transcriber from the researcher and provide uniform codes

Basu 28

for themes. Data sourced from the TSA used for supplementing the case studies and the first-tier

study would further internally validate the findings. Yet the scope for external validation remains.

This is achieved by peer review by unconnected (to this study) independent reviewers who would

critically examine the findings, give alternative perspectives, critically analyze the transition from

textural to structural narration and comment on researcher biases, if any, remaining after bracketing.

3.6 Personal Biography
The principal investigator is serving the classified federal civil service in his home country

for the last 24 years. He is presently specializing in public management at the North Carolina State

University where he attends the PhD program in Public Administration. He has been working on at-

will employment in the public sector for the last two years and sees it as an alternative model of

governance, arising more from economics than politics. His experience of the civil service would

enable him to compare and contrast classified and unclassified systems and employee and managerial

behavior and perceptions arising from them. Being part of the public sector and conversant with

systems and their limitations, the principal investigator would not suffer from the biases of outsiders.

He would also not have major problems of access to official records. Being conversant with records,

he would also be able to save time in the study by speedily locating relevant data. Assistance of

experts and other investigators with similar qualifications and experience will also be available for

this study.

3.7 Ethical and political considerations

While both managers and employees in the hope that their grievances would be

redressed, may favorably receive this study, yet interviewees are likely to be reticent to speak

against major system deficiencies. It is therefore important that research in not intrusive to the

extent possible. For this purpose, the initial list of eligible candidates is drawn from TSA‘s

databases thereby maintaining confidentiality. Researchers would approach all the subjects via e-

Basu 29

mail or phone to obtain their consent after duly explaining the broad contours of the study and its

aims and objectives to them. Personal interviews, particularly with managers, are either online or

in person in a separate room with assured confidentiality. Videotapes of personnel at work for

observation would be with TSA‘s consent. The study would not disclose names of interviewees

and specific designations. Subject populations selected, as per Tables 3 & 4 supra after receiving

consent from all employees, although the composition of groups decided upon by investigators.

Information about unknown personal or illegal activity exposed during interviews would be kept

confidential and transcriptions of interviews vetted by the interviewees. No typecasting of

employees/managers happens by the investigators; separate investigators and transcribers for

multiple interviews.

Basu 30

RQ 1
Managerial Flexibility

Age Centrality of post

Annexure ‗A‘ Ethnic Group Geographical location

Sex Length of Service

Phenomenological Macro Phenomenological
Level MicroLevel Thematic Case
Study Study

Open-ended interview (1st Opportunistic multiple Official Documents,
round) interviews from findings of Archival matériel,
PLogy interviews figures/tables

Structured multiple Snowballing Extremities/
interviews Normal

Gauge intensity Coding

Opportunistic leads Classifying

Extremities Textural & Structural
Description

Normal/average cases Internal Validity External Validity

Confirm Narration
/Disconfirm

Coding

Classifying

Textural &
Structural
Description

Internal Validity External Validity

Narration

Basu 31

References

APARICIO-VALVERDE M, KABST, R., BREWSTER C, MAYNE, L (1996): Conclusion: The Flexibility
Paradox. Employee Relations. Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 596-608
ATKINSON, J (1984): Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organizations. Personnel Management,
August, 1984, pp. 28-31
AUTOR, DAVID H (2003): Outsourcing at Will: The Contribution of Unjust Dismissal Doctrine to the
Growth of Employment Outsourcing. [Journal of Labor Economics, 2003, vol. 21, no. 1, pp.
1-42
AUTOR DAVID H., DONOHUE III JOHN J., AND SCHWAB STEWART J (2006): The Costs of Wrongful
Discharge Laws. The Review of Economics and Statistics, May 2006, 88(2): 211-231
BARRETT, K. & GREENE, R. (1999): Grading the states. Governing, 12(5), pp.17-90
BATTAGLIO, PAUL, R. & CONDREY, STEPHEN, G. (2006): Civil Service Reform: Examining State and
Local Government Cases. Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol. 26, pp. 118-138
BLACKSTONE, WILLIAM: Commentaries, 4130
BOWMAN, JS, GERTZ, JS, GERTZ SC & WILLIAMS, RL (2003): Civil service reform in Florida state
government: Employee attitudes one year later. Review of public Personnel Administration,
23. pp. 286-304.
BOWMAN, JAMES S & WEST, JONATHAN P. (2006): Ending Civil Service Protections in Florida
Government: Experiences in State Agencies. Review of Public Personnel Administration,
Vol. 26, pp. 139-57
CANZIANI PATRIZIA & PETRONGOLO BARBARA (2001): Firing costs and stigma: A theoretical analysis
and evidence from microdata. European Economic Review 45 (2001) pp. 1877-1906
COGGBURN, JERRELL (2006): At-Will Employment in Government: Insights from the State of Texas.
Review of Public Personnel Administration, 26. pp. 158-177
COHEN, S. & EIMICKE, W. (1994): The overregulated civil service: The Case of New York City‘s
public personnel system. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 24(2), pp. 10-27
CONDREY, SE & MARANTO, R.: (2001): Radical Reform of the Civil Service. Lanham, MD:
Lexington Books
DUNFORD BENJAMIN B. & DEVINE DENNIS J. (1998): Employment at-will and employee discharge: A
Justice Perspective on Legel Action following Termination. Personnel Psychology, 1998, 51,
pp. 908-34
ELLING, RICHARD C. & THOMPSON, T. LYKE (2006): Human Resource Problems and State
Management Performance Across two decades: The Implications for Civil Service Reform.
Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol. 26, pp. 302-34
FINEMAN, STEPHEN (2005): Emotion and Organizing in Clegg, Stewart R & Hardy, Cynthia (ed.)
Studying Organization: Theory and Method. Sage Publications, pp. 289-310
FOX, PETER D & LAVIGNA ROBERT J (2006): Wisconsin State Government: Reforming Human
Resources Management While Retaining Merit Principles and Cooperative Labor Relations

Basu 32

in Kellough, Edward J & Nigro Lloyd G (ed.): Civil Service Reform in the States: Personnel
Policy and Politics at the Subnational Level, SUNY Press, New York, pp. 279-302
GARDNER SUSAN, GOMES GLENN M & MORGAN JAMES F (2000) : Wrongful Termination and the
Expanding Public Policy Exceptions: Implications and advice. SAM Advanced Management
Journal, Winter 2000, Vol. 65, Issue 1, pp. 38-44
GERTZ, SALLY C. (2006): At-will Employment: Origins, Applications, Exceptions And Expansions in
Public Service in Bowman, James S & West, Jonathan P (ed): American Public Service –
Radical reform and The Merit System, CRC Press, pp. 47-74
GOSSETT, CHARLES W. (2002): Civil Service Reform: The Case of Georgia. Review of Public
Personnel Administration, Vol. 22, pp. 94-113
GOVERNING (2008): Measuring Performance: The State Management Report Card for 2008, pp. 24-
95
HACKMAN, J. R. AND E. E. LAWLER III (1971): "Employee Reactions to Job Characteristics." Journal
of Applied Psychology 55: 259-286.
HACKMAN. J. R. AND G. R. OLDHAM (1980): Work Redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
HAYS, STEVEN, W. & SOWA, JESSICA E. (2006): A Broader Look at he ―Accountability‖ Movement:
Some Grim Realities in State Civil Service Systems. Review of Public Personnel
Administration, 102 (26). P. 102-117
HELLER, MATTHEW (2001): A Return to At-will Employment. Workforce, May 2001. pp. 43-46
HERZBERG, F. (1966): Work and the Nature of Man. Cleveland: World Publishing Company.
HORNER, C (1988): Beyond Mr. Gradgrind: The case for deregulating the public sector. Policy
Review, Spring, 44. pp., 34-38
HUNTER L, MCINNES J, SPROULL A (1993): The Flexible Firm: Strategy and Segmentation. British
Journal of Industrial relations. Vol 31 No. 3 1993, pp. 383-407
INGRAHAM, PW & BAN, C. (ED.) (1984): Legislating bureaucratic change: The civil service reform act
of 1978. Albany: State University of New York Press.
KEARNEY, RC & HAYS, SW (1998): Reinventing government, the new public management and civil
service systems in international perspective. Review of Public Personnel Administration,
18(4), pp. 38-54.
KELLOUGH, J. EDWARD & NIGRO, LLOYD C. (2006): Dramatic Reform in the Public Service: At-Will
Employment and the Creation of a New Public Workforce. Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory 16(3) 447-466.
KERR, STEVEN (1995): On the Folly of Rewarding A While Hoping for B. Academy of Management
Executive (1975), revised February, 1995. Vol. 9 #1
LEE HAKSOO, , CAYER JOSEPH N. & LAN ZHIYONG, G (2006): Changing Federal Government
Employee Attitudes Since the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Review of Public Personnel
Administration, Vol. 26, pp. 21-51
MARTIN, JOANNE & FROST, PETER (2005): The Organizational Culture War Games: A struggle for
Intellectual Dominance in Clegg Stewart R & Hardy Cynthia (ed.) Studying Organization:
Theory and Method. Sage Publications, pp. 345-67.

Basu 33

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD (2005): Merit Principles Survey, 2005 extracted on Oct 21,
2008 from
http://www.mspb.gov/netsearch/viewdocs.aspx?docnumber=251283&version=251556&appli
cation=ACROBAT
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE (1993): Hard truths/tough
choices: An Agenda for State and Local Reform. Albany, NY. Rockefeller Institute
LANDAU, MARTIN (1969): Redundancy, Rationality and the Problem of Duplication and Overlap.
Public Administration Review. Vol. 29, No. 4 (Jul-Aug), pp. 346-358
LASSETER, REUBEN W. (2002): Georgia's Merit System Reform 1996-2001: An Operating Agency's
Perspective. Review of Public Personnel Administration 2002; 22; pp. 125-132
LATHAM, GARY P.( 2004): The motivational benefits of goal-setting. Academy of Management
Executive. Vol 18 No.4. pp. 126-129
LIGHT, PAUL, C (2006): The Tides of Reform Revisited: Patterns in Making Government Work,
1945-2002. Public Administration Review, Jan-Feb, pp. 6-19
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (2008): Analytical Perspectives: Dimensions of the Budget,
2007-09, p.229 extracted on Oct 14, 2008 from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/apers.html
________________________________ (2008a): Federal Borrowing and Debt, 2007-09 extracted on
Oct 14, 2008 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/apers.html
________________________________ (2008b): Analytical Perspectives on Budget 2009, p.184
extracted on Oct 14, 2008 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/apers.html
O‘REILLY, J (1994): Banking on Flexibility. Aldershot, Avebury, UK
OSBORNE, D. & GAEBLER, T. (1992): Reinventing Government. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
OSBORNE, D. & PLAISTRIK, P: Banishing Bureaucracy: The Five Strategies for Reinventing
Government. Ma, Addison -Wesley pp.21-47.
PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE & INSTITUTE FOR STUDY OF PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
(2007): Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, 2007 extracted on Oct. 13, 2008
from
http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/rankings/agency.php?code=HS10&q=scores_subcompon
ent
____________________________ (2007B): Transportation Security Administration extracted on
Oct 25, 2008 from
http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/rankings/agency.php?code=HS10&q=scores_subcompon
ent
PERRY, J. L. AND L. R. WISE (1990): "The Motivational Bases of Public Service." Public
Administration Review 50: 367-373.
PEW CHARITY TRUST (2005): Government Performance Project, 2005.
SAVAS, ES & GINSBURG, SG (1973): A meritless system?. The Public Interest, 32. pp., 70-85
SELDEN, SALLY COLEMAN (2006): The Impact of Discipline on the Use and Rapidity of Dismissal in
State Governments. Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol. 26, pp. 335-55.

Basu 34

SHARFRITZ, JM, RICUCCI, NM, ROSENBLOOM, DH & HYDE, AC (1992): Personnel management in
government (4th ed.). New York. Marcel Dekker
SIMON, HERBERT A. (1946): The Proverbs of Administration. Public Administration Review, Vol 6
No. (Winter). Pp. 53-67
SINNOTT, GC (1998): Civil Service – Bully, Bully: New York State Department of Civil Service.
Quoted in Battaglio, R. Paul & Condrey, Stephen E. (2006): Civil Service Reform:
Examining the State and Local Government Cases. Review of Public Personnel
Administration. Vol. 26. p.118-138
STEPHENS, DB & KOHL, JP (1988): The ‗New‖ status of termination-at-will in Texas: Guidelines for
employers in the aftermath of Sabine v. Hauck. Southwest Journal of Business and
Economics, 6(1), pp. 13-25
TAYLOR, PAUL J. & PIERCE, JON L. (1999): Effects of Introducing a Performance Management
System on Employees‘ Subsequent Attitudes and Effort. Public Personnel Management, Fall
Vol. 28, Issue 3.
TERRY, LD (1998): Administrative leadership, neo-managerialism and the public management
movement. Public Administration Review, 58(3).pp. 194-200
US BUREAU OF THE CENSUS (2004): State Government Employment and Finances Table A-75,
extracted on Oct 14, 2008, from
http://www.census.gov/compendia/smadb/SMADBstate.html
___________________ (2004b): State Government Employment and Finances Table A-76, extracted
on Oct 14, 2008, from http://www.census.gov/compendia/smadb/SMADBstate.html
US Department of Labor (2008): SEASONALLY ADJUSTED: Employment Cost Index for total
compensation, by ownership, occupational group, and industry Table1, extracted on Oct 21,
2008 from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.t01.htm
US OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (2008): An Analysis of Federal Employee Retirement Data,
p. 6 extracted on Oct 14, 2008 from http://www.opm.gov/feddata/index.asp
US TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (2008): The Facts on TSO Attrition Rates: Our
Approach extracted on Oct 25, 2008 from http://www.tsa.gov/approach/people/attrition.shtm
VALVERDE, MIREIA, TREGASKIS, OLGA & BREWSTER, CHRIS (2000): Labor Flexibility and Firm
Performance. International Advances in Economic Research; Nov2000, Vol. 6 Issue 4, pp.
649-62
WALSH, DAVID J., AND SCHWARZ, JOSHUA L (1996): ―State Common Law Wrongful Discharge
Doctrines: Up-date, Refinement, and Rationales.‖ American Business Law Journal 33
(1996): 645–89.
WALTERS, J (2002): Life after civil service reform: The Texas, Georgia and Florida experiences.
Arlington, VA; IBM Endowment for the Business of Government
__________ (2003): Civil service reform tsunami. Governing, 16(8), pp. 34-40
WOOD, HORACE (1877): Master and Servant, 2nd ed. p. 136

Basu 35

Researcher’s & Participants Activities

Description of Activity Date # of Days
for Activity
From To
Prepare issue brief/position paper, devise interview 01/01/09 03/31/09 90
protocols & obtain IRB Consent
Identify investigators & transcribers; procure recording 04/01/09 04/30/09 30
devices, InVivo, etc., obtain agency clearance for
survey/interview and devise codebook
Survey site of interviews & obtain lists of employees and 05/01/09 05/15/09 15
managers from agency
Shortlist subjects for interview, obtain their consent and set 05/16/09 05/23/09 7
up interviews
First level interviews with individual managers + 05/24/09 06/07/09 15
significant statements
First level focus group meetings with at-will employees + 06/08/09 06/30/09 23
significant statements
Derive themes from interviews + decide on case study 07/01/09 07/31/09 31
areas
Follow-up interviews with individual managers + 08/01/09 08/15/09 15
significant statements for case studies
Derive themes from interviews + textural description 08/16/09 08/31/09 15
Follow-up interviews with focus groups of employees 09/01/09 09/07/09 7
based on age, sex, ethnicity, etc. + significant statements
for case studies
Derive themes from interviews + textural descriptions 09/08/09 09/23/09 15
Final round of follow-up interviews + textural descriptions 09/24/09 09/30/09 7
Derive new themes & finalize list of themes + overall and 10/01/09 10/31/09 31
case study textural descriptions
Research from agency records 11/01/09 11/30/09 30
Finalize structural description 12/01/09 12/31/09 31
Write narration 01/01/10 02/28/10 60
Peer Review + addressing comments 03/01/09 04/30/09 60
Final drafting of report 05/01/09 05/31/09 31
Submit report June 1, 2009 513

Note: Many sub-activities such as transcription, investigator meetings and fieldwork are
subsumed in the above descriptions of activity of the researcher. The days based on approximate
output of one principal investigator, 3-4 investigators and two transcribers.

Basu 36

IRB Informed Consent Form
Revised 11/2006

North Carolina State University
Institutional Review Board For The Use of Human Subjects in Research
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION OF INFORMED CONSENT FORM

An Informed Consent Statement has two purposes: (1) to provide adequate information to
potential research subjects to make an informed choice as to their participation in a study, and (2)
to document their decision to participate. In order to make an informed choice, potential subjects
must understand the study, how they are involved in the study, what sort of risks it poses to them
and who they can contact if a problem arises (see informed consent checklist for a full listing of
required elements of consent). Please note that the language used to describe these factors
must be understandable to all potential subjects, which typically means an eighth grade
reading level. The informed consent form is to be read and signed by each subject who
participates in the study before they begin participation in the study. A duplicate copy is to be
provided to each subject.

If subjects are minors (i.e. any subject under the age of 18) use the following guidelines for
obtaining consent:

0-5 years old – requires signature of parent(s)/guardian/legal representative
6 – 10 years old - requires signature of parent(s)/guardian/legal representative and verbal
assent from the minor. In this case a minor assent script should be prepared and
submitted along with a parental consent form.
11 - 17 years old - requires signature of both minor and parent/guardian/legal
representative

If the subject or legal representative is unable to read and/or understand the written consent
form, it must be verbally presented in an understandable manner and witnessed (with signature of
witness). If there is a good chance that your intended subjects will not be able to read and/or
understand a written consent form, please contact the IRB office (919-515-4514) for further
instructions.

For your convenience, attached find a sample consent form template that contains necessary
information. In generating a form for a specific project, the principal investigator should
complete the underlined areas of the form and replicate the bold areas.

Basu 37

North Carolina State University
INFORMED CONSENT FORM for RESEARCH

Title of Study: AT-WILL IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: INTEGRATING CLASSIFIED AND
UNCLASSIFIEDSYSTEMS FOR A NEW MODEL OF GOVERNMENT

Principal Investigator Shantanu Basu Faculty Sponsor (if applicable) Dr.Julia Storberg-
Walker

We are asking you to participate in a research study. The purpose of this study is to assess
extent of managerial flexibility, motivation and job security perceptions among managers and at-
will employees in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) under the US Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) in the backdrop of the structural contingency theory. The investigator
wishes to gauge the extent of the perceptions and then apply them by age, sex, ethnicity, skills
and geographical area to small groups of managers and employees. This would help us in
identifying specific areas and concerns that stand in the way of integrating classified and
unclassified systems in government.
INFORMATION
You were selected as a participant because you are a manager or at-will employee of TSA. If you
agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in an online, telephone, face-to-
face interview, one-on-one with the principal researcher, for a period of 90-120 minutes. There
may be an additional shorter follow-up interview. Interviewers will ask you for your perceptions
of managerial flexibility, motivation and job security. If you have any disciplinary action
pending against you, this may also be disclosed to the interviewer with your perceptions on it.
Fictitious names will safeguard your identity. The information in the study records will be kept
strictly confidential.
RISKS
No risks anticipated
BENEFITS
In addition to contributing to the scholarly research on at-will employment, this study will
generate findings that would support the integration of classified and unclassified employees in
TSA.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Data will be stored securely in an electronically locked file cabinet in the principal investigator‘s
office. Your name will not be used in any oral or written reports.
Your confidentiality will be maintained by the researcher. Only the researcher will have access
to the data from your interview (s) before your name is removed. Data will be reported using
fictitious names to maintain confidentiality, and any demographic information that could
indirectly identify you will be camouflaged so you that you may not be identified. This data will
be published in a doctoral dissertation for North Carolina State University and possibly a
journal(s) or conference proceeding(s).
COMPENSATION (if applicable)
No compensation is payable for your participation.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT (if applicable)

Basu 38

N/A
Consent, Right to Withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this research at any time. Withdrawal from this research
will not influence your relationship with the researchers on this study. Your signature certifies
that you have decided to participate in this research, and have read and understand the
information presented in this consent form.
CONTACT
If you have questions at any time about the study or the procedures, you may contact the
researcher, Shantanu Basu at 1810, Crossroads Vista Drive, Apt #105, Raleigh, NC 27606-4197
(shantanu_leo@hotmail.com). If you feel you have not been treated according to the
descriptions in this form, or your rights as a participant in research have been violated during the
course of this project, you may contact Dr. __________________, Chair of the NCSU IRB for
the Use of Human Subjects in Research Committee, Box 7514, NCSU Campus (919/515-3086)
or Mr. _________________________, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Research Administration, Box
7514, NCSU Campus (919/513-2148)
PARTICIPATION
Your participation in this study is voluntary; you may decline to participate without penalty. If
you decide to participate, you may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty and
without loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you withdraw from the study
before data collection is completed your data will be returned to you or destroyed at your
request.
CONSENT
―I have read and understand the above information. I have received a copy of this form. I agree
to participate in this study with the understanding that I may withdraw at any time.‖

Subject's signature_______________________________________Date _________________

Investigator's signature__________________________________ Date _________________

Basu 39

Selection Criteria List for Managers

Name Department Classified/ Sex Age (years) Edu Qual. Prof Qual Ethnicity Service
HR = 1 Unclassified M= 1 25-50 =1 HS< = 0 Tech = 1 Majority = 1 (years)
Non HR = 2 C=1 F=2 >50 = 2 HS = 1 Non-tech =2 Minority = 2 20≤ = 1
UC =2 ≥ UG = 2 >21 = 2

(Wt*: 0.10) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.10)

Selection Criteria List for Employees

Name Department Age (years) Sex Edu Qual. Ethnicity Service (years) Centrality of position
HR = 1 20-30 = 1 M=1 HS< = 1 Majority = 1 5-15 = 1 Specialist= 1
Non-HR = 2 31-40 = 2 F=2 HS = 2 Minority = 2 >15 =2 Generalist = 2
41-50 =3 UG & > = 2
>50 = 4

(Wt*: 0.05) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.15) (Wt. 0.20) (Wt. 0.10) (Wt. 0.10)

*Wt. = Weight

Note: Subjects for interview identified from the above database by a weighted score, using
appropriate software. Thereafter judgmental analysis by researcher would be required.

Integrating classified and unclassifed systems in the public sector

Integrating classified and unclassifed systems in the public sector

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (7)

Similar to Integrating classified and unclassifed systems in the public sector

Similar to Integrating classified and unclassifed systems in the public sector (20)

More from Shantanu Basu

More from Shantanu Basu (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Integrating classified and unclassifed systems in the public sector