Human resource management in the public sector

Sylvia Horton

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

The public sector is very labour intensive – around 70 per cent of the budgets of most public organisations are spent on staff. The management of human resources has high priority not only because of the cost but also because human resources are the agents of all government activities. There are currently over five million people employed in the UK public sector, which represents more than 20 per cent of all official employment. There have been significant changes in the way people are managed in the public sector over the last twenty-five years around the world. Just as public administration and government have been giving way to new public management and governance, so traditional personnel management has given way to human resource management (HRM). This chapter examines the reasons for that change and its effect on how public officials are currently managed. Finally, it highlights some of the major issues confronting HRM in the public sector today, first in the UK and then internationally.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPublic management and governance
EditorsT. Bovaird, E. Loeffler
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherRoutledge
Pages121-134
Number of pages14
ISBN (Print)9780415430432
Publication statusPublished - 2009

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