Patronage systems in the public service are universally reviled as undemocratic and corrupt. Yet patronage was the prevailing method of staffing government for centuries, and in some countries it still is. In Jobs for the Boys, Merilee Grindle considers why patronage has been so ubiquitous in history and explores the political processes through which it is replaced by merit-based civil service systems. Such reforms are consistently resisted, she finds, because patronage systems, though capricious, offer political executives flexibility to achieve a wide variety of objectives. Grindle looks at the histories of public sector reform in six developed countries and compares them with contemporary struggles for reform in four Latin American countries. A historical, case-based approach allows her to take into account contextual differences between countries as well as to identify cycles that govern reform across the board. As a rule, she finds, transition to merit-based systems involves years and sometimes decades of conflict and compromise with supporters of patronage, as new systems of public service are politically constructed. Becoming aware of the limitations of public sector reform, Grindle hopes, will temper expectations for institutional change now being undertaken.

"Nice work, boys!" was a phrase Hanalei often heard thrown at her throughout her time working in the ski industry and restaurant kitchens. As one of the only women in both fields, one of the youngest, and a new leader, she details her struggles, successes, and failures learning leadership on the job. You'll be right there next to her at 1 p.m. on a Saturday, cooking hundreds of lunches at a hole-in-the-wall seafood spot. You'll get an inside view of what goes on at a ski resort from a mountain operations employee. You'll meet the people she met and hear what she learned through her experiences.

On cover: Responses to violence in everyday life. Dated May 2003

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Boys: their Work and Influence" by Anonymous. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.