Provide a peer response to your classmate, Fay's post below. provide in-text citations and references in an APA format.

"Hello class,

• What are the assumptions that underpin traditional public personnel management systems?

One of the assumptions underpinning traditional public personnel management systems is the idea that the public sector is organized as the role of the government as a deliverer of services (Llorens et. al, 2018, p. 62). This is of course changing, and has been changing since 1980, as privatization, contracting out, and the increasing importance of non-government collaboration is being seen, as the role of the government has begun to take more of a facilitator or overseer than the primary deliverer of services. Where technical experts or public servants within government would've previously taken the primary seat in overseeing the implementation of a particular program or the sourcing of its needs this has now been a role increasingly taken by private organizations or NGOs. For instance, in my community most of the public works projects as well as recreation maintenance are carried out by a mix of local companies contracted for their services, as well as a small recreation department. In other, smaller communities, as well as larger one's, the reliance on non-government forces to carry out government tasks is even greater, again displaying how the government is no longer the primary deliverer of many services to the public, at least not directly.

Another involves the duties of the workers in government, who were typically seen as more rigidly fitting a job; put another way, personnel functions are oriented to fit roles not people who occupy them (Llorens et. al, 2018, p. 62). From my experience this is something that has been changing across the workforce as mundane and routine tasks are increasingly being outsourced, often overseas, or automated, leaving soft skills, human capital, creativity, and strategic thinking as the competitive advantage of the human capital within an organization. Thus, this makes it harder to fit someone into a particular role, and also necessitates the need for generalists that are able to work in collaborative environments and workloads across greater networks (which are expanding, as seen above with a greater web of stakeholders influenced by and "deliverers" carrying out certain programs). This makes it harder to fit individuals into a certain box for a certain function, as the functions they serve are becoming broader and can't often be replaced like for like, such as a cog in a machine, but rather need to be tailored for the individual, to allow them function properly in a team setting.

• Describe the key elements in workforce planning. For each element, discuss how much progress your agency has made in workforce planning.

The key elements to workforce planning include identifying the situation, such as changing demographics and the driving forces behind them, the challenges created by this situation, such as in adjusting hiring or development practices to recruit more workers or those with particular skillsets, and the key techniques needed to successfully overcome these challenges and implement these solutions (Llorens et. al 2018, p. 73). While I haven't worked in an organization large enough for this to be a clear focus, at least in a public-sector capacity, I can share some of my secondhand experiences examining workforce planning in my home country of India, and its government, as well as my prior experience in a sports recruiting agency. In India, with a rapidly expanding young population the government has faced the dilemma of dealing with a number of applicants to government positions in a bureaucracy that still holds strong links to a patronage system under constant scrutiny for the ever-presence of corruption. In identifying this situation, it was important to note that nepotism was a form of corruption, but that a merit based system wouldn't eliminate this corruption. Thus, challenges to transitioning to a merit based system wouldn't necessarily alleviate the underlying problem of corruption, at least not altogether. Additionally, there would be significant drawbacks in processing applicants who at times numbered 1000:1 or even greater for a job. The devised system for many positions in government led to widespread standardized testing to sift through the hundreds of thousands young individuals seeking a government track, at least for the highest positions. Although archaic, this helps identify individuals' morals, through subsequent panel interviews, and oppose nepotism, through a standardized model. While still deeply flawed, these are ways that corruption was combatted, and the government was able to plan for an excess, not a shortage, of qualified workers for the government. My personal example is one I can speak a little more deeply about; the sports recruiting agency I worked with aimed to connect High School student athletes with college coaches. In a connections based world, this meant most of our "agents" were current college student-athletes, representing both a dilemma, in that our "agents" would eventually likely leave the game our agency, but also an opportunity, to use them to recruit our next students and agents. While tweaks to this model of replenishment are continual, understanding this basic concept helps us to sustain our workforce.

• How are HRP and forecasting in public agencies related to the budgetary process?

HRP and forecasting is of great relevance to the budgetary process in public agencies as this allows agencies to reconcile priorities with expected revenues while planning for the next fiscal year or biennial term (Llorens et. al, 2018, p. 83). This involves the Chief Executive, interest groups, and agency heads, before ultimate approval by the Legislature, and the HR manager plays a key role as a neutral expert in appraising the pros and cons of different program options or strategies, providing advice for staffing needs, and ultimately, after development, defending the budget proposal. This is of increasing importance in times of scarcity, where government funding is decreasing or public and/or political sentiment is trending in an "anti-governement direction", either favoring more privatization or contracting and/or a trimming of the size of government. Of course there is the chance, even the great likelihood, for many decisions to become politicized, and thus surrounded by emotional or philosophical ideas rather than rational or economic ones (Llorens et. al, 2018, p. 84). One example from the chapter which stood out to me was the hypothetical scenario in which police dissatisfaction was growing in the community, but that there was a disconnect with elected officials who hadn't recognized that an increase in population in the community without an increase in funding for an increase in the police force strongly contributed to this outcome. HRP and forecasting could've prevented this earlier on, allowing for a budget that better met the needs of the community. Reference: Llorens, J. J., Klingner D. E., & Nalbandian J. (2018). Public Personnel Management: Contexts and Strategies. Routledge