Reviews for Virtual HR

The average rating for Virtual HR based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-02 00:00:00 Lyndon Newman This is a brief but very interesting and insightful work. Based on interviews, surveys, and a survey of previous research, Robert Maranto explores the dynamic and sometimes tension-filled relationship between federal career employees and the President's political appointees. Upfront, Maranto notes that (page 20) ". . .while political and career officials may have different perspectives, the best government happens when they work together, in the truest sense managing their unique diversity." Hugh Heclo long ago wrote an excellent book called A Government of Strangers, to which the title of this book alludes. One issue that he raised was that political appointed stay within an agency for only a short period of time (say, 2-3 years), whereas the career officials count their tenure in decades. Many career officials look at the political appointees as annoyances and "wait them out" until the political people rotate to another position or leave government. The strength of Maranto's book is the portrayal of a more nuanced situation. Indeed, often there is tension between the two parties; however, they need one another to succeed, and--as Maranto notes--they develop a modus vivendi where they normally come to work together. In chapter 3, the author notes the sources of tensions leading to "career-noncareer conflict" (page 39), among which are technical credentials (appointees often do not have the same level of technical expertise as career officials), ideological differences, and the like. However, the book outlines ways to mitigate the tensions, and notes that--normally--the two "sides" develop a rapprochement. Political appointees, if adept, can well serve the agency by working on its behalf; careerists, by working with appointees, can strengthen the position of the appointee. In such a manner, a "win-win" can develop. The book concludes with a series of "tips" on how career officials can (page 110) ". . .manage their relationships with political appointees, and speed up the cycle of accommodation." Among the tips: avoid stereotypes of political appointees, reach out to the appointees, and be nice to appointees on their way out. This is a brief but interesting and well crafted work on the dynamic (and sometimes difficult) working relationships between career federal officials and the political appointees within their agencies. A nice resource for those interested in such issues. . . .

Review # 2 was written on 2014-10-27 00:00:00 Eric Burroughs 🤫🤫🤫