CONTENTS -- I. INTRODUCTION 1 -- II. METHODOLOGY 7 -- 1. Challenges in identifying comparative public administration models 7 -- 2. Comparative approach 14 -- III. THEORIES OF REFORM AND CHANGE PROCESSES 17 -- 1. Where is the reform process in the national civil services leading? 17 -- 2. From bureaucratic role models to post-bureaucratic differentiation 21 -- 3. From monolithic concept to multiple providers 31 -- 4. Is public service reform a rational process? 33 -- 4.1. Obstacles to a rational reform 33 -- 4.2. The relationship between civil service reform and politics 36 -- 4.3. How can you change what you cannot see? People, emotions and limitations of reforms 39 -- IV. DEFINITION OF CIVIL SERVICE 45 -- 1. Public administration, public service and civil service 45 -- 2. Civil service 51 -- 2.1. The public law status and the constitutional role of civil servants 51 -- 2.2. Definitions of civil services in national law 55 -- 2.3. Civil servants and the allocation of specific state tasks 60 -- 2.4. Specific duties and obligations 66 -- 3. Civil servants and other public employees 69 -- 3.1. Distinction between civil servants and other public employees 69 -- 3.2. Civil service employment - which sectors employ civil servants? 79 -- 3.3. The size of the civil service and public employment 88 -- 4. Specific organisational structures 91 -- 5. Specific working conditions 96 -- 6. Public service motivation and different values 103 -- V. ORGANISATIONAL AND HR REFORM TRENDS 113 -- 1. Reform trends and reform priorities 113 -- 1.1. The reform of administrative law and the importance of principles of good administration 116 -- 1.2. Civil services between de-regulation and re-regulation 119 -- 1.3. The new importance of administrative principles 120 -- 1.4. Too many rules and burdens? The challenges of deregulation 123 -- 2. Performance management 127.

2.1 Are the public services functioning so badly? Why is performance management so popular? 134 -- 2.2. Comparative work in the field of performance management 137 -- 3. Alignment - reducing differences in working conditions and employment patterns 139 -- 4. Decentralisation 141 -- 4.1. Is there a 'new' decentralised model superseding the 'old' hierarchical bureaucracy? 147 -- 4.2. The importance of context: administrative traditions and HR systems 150 -- 5. Increasing responsibility 151 -- 6. Increasing flexibility 156 -- 7. From closed to open systems: reforming organisational structures 160 -- 7.1. The reform of recruitment systems 160 -- 7.2. The change in recruitment policies 166 -- 7.3. Conclusions 170 -- 8. Other reform policies 172 -- 8.1 Reforming job security 172 -- 8.2 Remuneration systems: from seniority-based to performance related pay 177 -- 9. Reform overview: from traditional bureaucracy to post-bureaucracy? 187 -- VI. EVALUATING REFORM OUTCOMES 191 -- 1. The employment of public employees: growing inconsistencies 191 -- 2. HR reforms and outcomes: successes and failures 201 -- 3. Changing public services and the perception of change 206 -- 4. Public pay versus private pay 209 -- 5. Positive trends in public service reforms 211 -- 6. Successes and failures in selected HR policies 214 -- 6.1. Positive features 214 -- 6.2. Negative developments 217 -- 7. Successes and failures in various administrative contexts 220 -- VII. FUTURE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE - DO WE STILL NEED CIVIL SERVANTS? 221 -- 1. Introduction 221 -- 1.1. Arguments for differences between civil servants and other employees 221 -- 1.2. Civil servant as a dying species? 224 -- 2. What if statutory civil servants were abolished? 229 -- VIII. CONCLUSIONS 243 -- 1. Towards a better theoretical understanding of change processes 243 -- 2. The need for better country clusters 245.

3. The future of the national civil services 247 -- IX. LITERATURE 255.