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The history of civil Service




The use of competitive examinations to select civil officials was begun in China during the Han dynasty (206 BC 220 AD). In the West, however, selection of civil administrators and staff on the basis of merit examinations is a later development. The Roman Empire, for example, seems to have recruited and promoted officials largely on the basis of custom and the judgment of superiors.

The establishment of the modern civil service is closely associated with the decline of feudalism and the growth of nation states that were centrally governed. In Prussia, as early as the mid-17th Century, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, created an efficient civil administration staffed by civil servants chosen on a competitive basis. In France similar reforms preceded the Revolution and were the basis for the Napoleonic reforms that transformed the royal service into the civil service. Development of a professional civil service came several decades later in Great Britain and the United States, who both separately established the notion of a politically independent civil service in the mid to late 19th Century.

In the 1990s, many civil service departments became agencies, e.g., Information Technology Services Agency (ITSA) and Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). It was a Conservative idea whereby the old departments, which were all controlled centrally, were allowed to do their own thing. This meant that different agencies could have different pay scales and recruitment practices. It also meant that they could start doing work with/for the private sector as well as government departments. In the old department-based service, if you wanted to change jobs you could apply for a transfer to anywhere in the civil service. So one week you could be getting abuse from a benefit claimant in Sheffield and the next you could be counting sheep in Cornwall. Now, because the agencies are all independent, you can only apply for a job in the same agency. What it also allowed the agencies to do was outsource a lot of their work to private companies. This led to a strange situation where former colleagues could not buy each other a drink without declaring it in a hospitality log to avoid accusations of undue influence. At the time these changes were deeply unpopular. It was seen as the start of a process whereby all the perks of working in the civil service e.g., job security, decent pension, flexible working practices (which were compensation for the comparatively low salary) were slowly being eroded but without any increase in pay. The reforms were in departments which weren't directly involved with drawing up legislation (i.e., the Department of Trade and Industry), but to departments which concerned the implementation of law or the execution of services.

Since the devolution of power over Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in the late nineties, civil service departments in each area now have a greater degree of responsibility and no longer report to ministers in Whitehall, but ministers in each principality. Therefore, the civil service isn't as centralized as it used to be, except over certain matters, such as defence, which is still controlled by Westminster.

 

1) Where was the use of competitive examinations to select civil officials begun?

a) China

b) the West

c) the Roman Empire

2) What is the establishment of the modern civil service associated with?

a) decline of slavery

b) decline of feudalism

c) decline of national states

3) What departments did the reforms in Great Britain touch upon?

a) agencies

b) civil service departments

c) government departments

4) In what European country was civil service established first?

a) Great Britain

b) The USA

c) France

5) Where is the civil service centralized?

a) defence

b) prosecution

c) investigation

5. The History of Civil Service ,

1) development

a.

b.

c.

2) officials

a.

b.

c.

3) pay scales

a.

b.

c.

4) decent pension

a.

b.

c.

5) to outsource

a. ,

b.

c.

 

 

6. The History of Civil Service . (T) (F).

  T F
1) In the Roman Empire civil service was based on traditions.    
2) The establishment of the modern civil service is closely associated with reforms.    
3) Since the 1990s a lot of civil service departments have different pay scales and recruitment practices.    
4) Civil servants can apply for a job in the same agency.    
5) Civil service departments report to ministers in Whitehall.    

7. The History of Civil Service

1) How did the Roman Empire recruit and promote officials?

2) How could a civil servant change a job?

3) Is the civil service in Great Britain centralized?

4) What criteria of selecting civil servants do you like most?

5) Why did a lot of civil services become agencies?

6) Is civil service in Russia centralized?





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