Seeds of Success and Failure: Policy Development and Implementation of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act
| Date | 01 March 1982 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0734371X8200200202 |
| Published date | 01 March 1982 |
| Author | Kenneth W. Kramer |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
5
SEEDS
OF
SUCCESS
AND
FAILURE:
POLICY
DEVELOPMENT
AND
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
THE
1978
CIVIL
SERVICE
REFORM
ACT*
Kenneth
W.
Kramer
Texas
A
&
M
University
Abstract
The
implementation
of
a
public policy
is
linked
closely
to
the
initial
development
of
that
policy.
Any
examination
of
the
implementation
of
the
Civil
Service
Reform
Act
of 1978
should
be
based
on
a
firm
understanding
of
the
factors
which
affected
the
formulation
and
adoption
of
that
legislation.
These
factors
shaped
the
nature
of
the
Act
in
specific
ways
which
may
hinder
or
aid
attempts
to
achieve
the
purposes
of
the
law.
A
review
of
the
factors
involved
indicates
that
the
prospects
for
successful
implementation
of
the
Civil
Service
Reform
Act
are
somewhat
favorable
but
that
much
uncertainty
still
exists
over
whether
the
policy
adopted
will
be
able
to
attain
its
goals
in
light
of
changed
political
circumstances
in
Washington.
Introduction
The
Civil
Service
Reform
Act
of
1978
was
enacted
in
October
of
that
year,
after
a
relatively
short
period
of
congressional
debate
and
discussion
on
the
initial
reform
proposals
presented
by
President
Carter.
Those
proposals
were
made
by
the
President
in
March
1978
in
the
form
of
legislative
recommenda-
tions
which
called
for
some
rather
sweeping
changes
in
civil
service
policies.
The
suggested
policy
alterations
were
accompanied
by
a
presidential
reorganiza-
tion
plan
formally
submitted
to
Congress
in
May
1978.
That
plan,
which
went
into
effect
in
August
of
that
year
(after
the
failure
of
either
the
House
or
Senate
to
block
it),
abolished
the
U.
S.
Civil
Service
Commission
and
divided
its
func-
tions
among
two
new
entities:
the
Office
of
Personnel
Management
(OPM)
and
the
Merit
Systems
Protection
Board
(MSPB).
The
success
of
the
reorganiza-
tion
plan,
combined
with
the
adoption
of
changes
in
civil
service
policies
basically
along
the
lines
of
the
President’s
recommendations,
provided
Carter
with
a
significant
legislative
and
policy
victory
in
1978.
Among
the
major
changes
in
the
operation
of
the
federal
employment
system
which
President
Carter
sought
and
won
in
the
enactment
of
the
Civil
Service
Reform
Act
were
a
streamlining
of
the
process
by
which
federal
employees
may
appeal
firings,
a
mechanism
for
greater
protection
of
employees
who
uncover
*An
earlier
version
of
this
paper
was
presented
at
the
1980
annual
meeting
of
the
Midwest
Polit-
ical
Science
Association,
Pick
Congress
Hotel,
Chicago,
Ill.
April
24-26.
6
wrongdoing
in
their
agencies,
the
authorization
of
a
new
Senior
Executive
Ser-
vice
(SES)
for
top level
federal
managers
and
policy-makers,
the
establishment
of
a
new
merit
pay
system
for
GS-13
through
GS-15
employees,
and
a
legislative
specification
of
the
labor
rights
of
employees,
and
the
establishment
of
a
new
Federal
Labor
Relations
Authority
(FLRA) to
review
complaints
about
unfair
labor
practices
in
the
government
(~J.
S.
Civil
Service
Commission,
1978,
see
articles
on
these
issues,
this
symposiums. -
Ed.).
Although
the
Adrr~ir~istrati®n9s
initial
proposals
in
these
areas
were
reworked
by
Congress
before
passage
of
the
Act,
the
major
elements
of
those
proposals
were
retained
in
the
final
bill.
Only
the
President’s
recommended
weakening
of
veterans
preference
proved
too
much
for
Congress
to
accept.
Even
without
any
change
in
veterans
preference,
however,
the
Civil
Service
Reform
Act
of
1978
generally
is
considered
&dquo;the
most
extensive
revamping
of
the
federal
employment
system
since
the
civil
service
system
was
established
in
a~~39’
(Cooper,
1978:
2945).
Since
this
set
of
changes
was
adopted,
the
attention
of
most
people
concern-
ed
about
this
reform
effort
has
shifted,
understandably,
to
the
implementation
of
the
changes.
However,
social
scientists
who
study
the
policy-making
process
often
have
emphasized
the
close
linkage
between
policy
implementation
and
initial
policy
development -
policy
formulation
and
adoption
(see,
for
exam-
ple, Jones,
1977:
137). Thc
findings
of
these
students
of
the
policy process
in-
dicate
that
any
current
focus
on
the
implementation
of
the
Reform
Act
of
1978
should
be
based
on
a
firm
foundation
of
understanding
about
the
formulation
and
eventual
adoption
of
the
legislation.
The
nature
of
any
adopted
policy
is
the
result
of
an
interplay
of
a
number
of
factors
and
may
itself
significantly
affect
the
implementation
of
that
policy,
in
either
a
positive
or
negative
way.
For
instance,
certain
legislation
enacted
by
Congress
may
be
so
compromised
during
the
process
of
adoption
that
it
will
have
contradictory
goals
and
provisions
which
will
complicate
and
perhaps
even
negate
its
implementation.
Given
this
context,
those
who
wish
to
monitor
the
implementation
of
the
civil
service
reforms
would
be
well-advised
to
consider
the
ingredients
that
went
in-
to
this
legislative
recipe
for
change
in
the
bureaucracy.
Specifically,
three
sets
of
questions
would
seem
to
be
worthwhile
avenues
for
exploring
the
nature
and
the
potential
for
success
of
the
Act:
(1)
What
environmental
and
other
factors
led
to
the
enactment
of
this
legislation?
(2) How
did
these
factors
affect
the
nature
of
the
legislation
passed?
and
(3) What
effect
will
these
factors
and
the
nature
of
the
legislation
itself
have
upon
the
implementation
of
the
civil
service
reforms?
An
exploration
of
these
questions
follows.
The
Formulation
Adoption
of
Civil
Service
Policy
Considering
the
widespread
views
that
the
bureaucracy
is
tenaciously
resistent
to
assault
from
the
outside
(even
from
such
other
government
institutions
as
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