The Myth of Bureaucratic Neutrality: Institutionalized Inequity in Local Government Hiring

Autor:	Nicole M. Humphrey, Domonic A. Bearfield, Shannon Portillo
Rok vydání:	2019
Předmět:	Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Public Administration Field (Bourdieu) media_common.quotation_subject Civil service Mythology Public administration Political science Local government Bureaucracy Neutrality Technical skills Diversity (business) media_common
Zdroj:	Review of Public Personnel Administration. 40:516-531
ISSN:	1552-759X 0734-371X
Popis:	As a field, we often relate merit and neutrality to the technical skills needed to be the “best” candidate for a job, but that was not necessarily what civil service reformers had in mind. The civil service system was meant to replace widespread political patronage, but the myth around the origins of the civil service system masked inequalities built into early testing requirements and institutionalized racial inequities in hiring practices. In this article, we argue the founding myth of bureaucratic neutrality was so powerful that it continues to reverberate in our field. We trace the current reverberations of the myth of neutrality through modern hiring practices and the contemporary legal landscape. By doing this, we present a systematic review of this rationalized myth in public employment, using an institutionalism framework. As the myth of bureaucratic neutrality continues to permeate decision-making, policy creation, and implementation, it will continue to institutionalize inequity within the field.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::4f91c009a66f5597e3f09970cbdde325 https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x19828431 Zobrazit plný text záznamu