"Pay for performance" has become a buzzword for the 1990s, as U.S. organizations seek ways to boost employee productivity. The new emphasis on performance appraisal and merit pay calls for a thorough examination of their effectiveness. Pay for Performance is the best resource to date on the issues of whether these concepts work and how they can be applied most effectively in the workplace. This important book looks at performance appraisal and pay practices in the private sector and describes whetherâ€"and howâ€"private industry experience is relevant to federal pay reform. It focuses on the needs of the federal government, exploring how the federal pay system evolved; available evidence on federal employee attitudes toward their work, their pay, and their reputation with the public; and the complicating and pervasive factor of politics.

This book was written to bring together a summary of the current knowledge on merit pay and to further advance understanding of this type of incentive pay plan. When the writing of the first edition was begun in 1989, there were no books devoted exclusively to the subject of merit pay. Thus, this book was written to fill a void in the compensation literature. Since then, surveys have shown that merit pay remains a frequently used method of incentive compensation, and research into the merit pay process continues to grow. However, other forms of incentive pay, such as gainsharing, continue to receive the most attention, as evidenced by the number of books and articles on this topic in the popular press. In response to the frequent use of merit pay in organizations and the growing body of research, a book-length treatment of merit pay was needed. What we hope to do with this second edition, beyond updating, is to link merit pay with the many changes going on in total compensation or "reward management" (R. Heneman, 2001a, 2002). We also will argue that, even among all the challenges and changes that organizations currently face, there is still "merit" in appropriately conceived and implemented merit pay plans (Bates, 2003c).

Is your school system considering teacher merit pay? Now is the time to understand the potential benefits and pitfalls of performance-based teacher pay, as well as how today's most successful programs were developed. Drawing on substantial research with school districts, Gary Ritter and Joshua Barnett provide a step-by-step approach to setting up a merit pay system in your school district. Readers will find, An overview of existing merit pay programs and their strengths and weaknesses, A review of the 12 most common myths about merit pay and how school leaders can respond, Six guiding principles for designing a merit pay program, along with how-to's and timelines for every phase, Guidance on creating balanced assessments based on multiple measures of teacher effectiveness, developed in collaboration with teachers, Ensure that-your district's merit pay program supports teachers' professional growth, schoolwide progress, and student achievement. Book jacket.

Reward your best teachers for the great work they do! Is your school system considering teacher merit pay? Now is the time to understand the potential benefits and pitfalls of performance-based teacher pay, as well as how today’s most successful programs were developed. Drawing on substantial research with school districts, Gary Ritter and Joshua Barnett provide a step-by-step approach to setting up a merit pay system in your school district. Readers will find An overview of existing merit pay programs and their strengths and weaknesses A review of the 12 most common myths about merit pay, and how school leaders can respond Six guiding principles for designing a merit pay program, along with how-to’s and timelines for every phase Guidance on creating balanced assessments based on multiple measures of teacher effectiveness, and developed in collaboration with teachers Ensure that your district’s merit pay program supports teachers’ professional growth, schoolwide progress, and student achievement. "Ritter and Barnett bring much-needed researched clarity to this complex issue. For school administrators, education policy makers, legislators, and others interested in school reform, this book is a must-read." —Rod Paige, Former U.S. Secretary of Education "This guide is a useful resource for undertaking merit pay, preventing pitfalls, and most importantly, offering solid recommendations for creating well-designed implementations." —Gary Stark, President and CEO National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

This booklet examines the premises, practicalities, history, and politics of merit pay for teachers. A discussion of the current context of the merit-pay debate focuses on the claims made for merit-pay programs and the assumptions behind the proposals. Following an analysis of similarities and contrasts among merit-pay plans, the author gives special consideration to the issues in selecting outstanding teachers: performance criteria, quotas per district, temporary or permanent awards, and the problems of evaluation. With the history of merit-pay debate as a background, arguments for and against the concept are then summarized. Since arguments for merit pay are often drawn from the analogy with business, a review of the use of merit pay in business and government concentrates on the government's degree of success in adapting merit-pay principles to the public sector. The characteristics of a school are then compared to those of businesses, where merit pay has been successful. Finally, the author projects the political prospects of merit pay and assesses its worth in school reform. (JW)

Dialog between practitioners and academics has increasingly become the exception rather than the rule in contemporary public administration circles. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, Debating Public Administration: Management Challenges, Choices, and Opportunities tackles some of the major management challenges, choices, and opportunities of the twenty-first century facing public managers across various subfields of public administration. Informed by contemporary pressures on public managers to reconceptualize purpose, redefine administrative rationality, recapitalize human assets, reengage resources, and revitalize democratic constitutionalism, the book offers students, practitioners, and researchers an opportunity to take stock and ponder the future of practice and research in public administration. Organized by three sets of major management challenges facing the field—Rethinking Administrative Rationality in a Democratic Republic, Recapitalizing Organizational Capacity, and Reconceptualizing Institutions for New Policy Challenges—the book takes an uncommon approach to the study of these topics. In it, leading practitioners and academics comment on condensed versions of articles appearing in the Theory to Practice feature of Public Administration Review (PAR) from 2006 through 2011. The authors and commentators focus on some of the best current research, draw lessons from that literature for practice, and identify gaps in research that need to be addressed. They expertly draw out themes, issues, problems, and prospects, providing bulleted lessons and practical takeaways. This makes the book a unique one-stop resource for cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-professional exchanges on contemporary challenges.