Public Personnel Management in the Caribbean: A Comparative Analysis of Trends in the Dominican...

After first describing the characteristics of five Caribbean island nations (the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and Grenada), this article discusses their respective public personnel management systems. Each country differs with respect to laws, structures and

procedures. But they share common geographic and historical characteristics that have had a profound effect on public personnel management. Specifically, their common antecedents have affected how they develop civil service systems, training and evaluation, recruitment and selection, pay and benefits, and other aspects of the administrative career system. In conclusion, the article presents an analysis of common trends in the evolution of public personnel systems in all these countries, based on their common necessity to increase the effectiveness and rationality of the public services their governments provide.

This article outlines some general trends in public personnel management in the Caribbean. It was presented at a round table on "Trends in Human Resource Management in the Public Sector" in San Jose, Costa Rica in February 2000. It first presents some general information on the Caribbean to give readers some understanding of the context. The second part is a comparative systemic analysis of the most relevant aspects of human resource management (HRM) in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, and Saint Vincent and Grenada, culminating in a summary of development trends and issues.

This article was originally published as: "Tendencias en la Administracion de Recursos Humanos en el Sector Publico del Caribe. Casos: Republica Dominicana, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, San Vicente y Las Granadinas," in Violeta Pallavicini Campos and Ferdinando Goni Ortiz (eds.), 2000. Memoria del Congreso Internacional: Avances y Desafios de la Administracion de los Recursos Humanos al Inicio del Tercer Milenio. San Jose, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, pp. 51-60. Permission to translate and reprint in Public Personnel Management is given to the IPMA by the author and by the sponsors of the Congreso Internacional.

The Caribbean offers a variety of public HRM systems with various levels of development. But its countries share a number of common problems. And, as Dr. Jorge Morales points out, "...the growing interdependence of nations in various regions of the world increases the necessity for reciprocity. Recent European examples show without a doubt that people must be familiar with the basic institutions of all the countries that form part of a region if one wants to derive the greater benefit that the region inherently provides. Regional cooperation treaties, increased interagency cooperation and an increase in communications among peoples are all examples of how important it is to know what others are doing in order to improve our situation and help others improve theirs."

An examination of public personnel management experiences in the Caribbean leads us to conclude that, in general, only a merit-based personnel system can guarantee to citizens that the public service is in the hands of people sufficiently qualified to provide the services to which users are legitimately entitled.

The author apologizes in advance for any errors of fact or judgement that the text might contain, and asks readers to excuse any errors or omissions related to their own countries.

General Data on The Caribbean

The Caribbean region refers to the eastern part of the American continent between North and South America. The Caribbean is divided into two regions, continental and insular. The continental Caribbean comprises the Central and South American countries that border on the Caribbean Sea. The insular Caribbean is made up of the Bahamas and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The Greater Antilles is Cuba, Santo Domingo, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles is the group of small islands that form an archipelago from Puerto Rico to the northern coast of Venezuela.

The climate here is tropical. Differences in altitude, continental mass, and an island's location and configuration determine the climate, which can be hot, temperate or cool. This region is constantly struck by violent tornadoes, hurricanes, and strong tropical depressions that usually move from east to west. The fauna and flora are abundant and varied. Both the insular and the continental Caribbean have similar economic characteristics. All are heavily dependent on agriculture, tourism, livestock and mining.

The region also shares a common history. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the insular Caribbean was continuously attacked by the European nations (England, France and the Netherlands) seeking to weaken Spain by conquering these islands. The United States joined this effort in the Spanish-American War of 1898. By the end of that century, these four countries controlled most of the Caribbean (except Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

The insular Caribbean is 14 independent nations, one semi-independent nation and 12 colonies. Its population is made up of three main ethnic groups and mixtures, among them: descendents of European colonizers and black African slaves, and more recent immigrants.

Public Personnel Management Systems in the Caribbean

The Dominican Republic

The terms "civil service" and "administrative career" have specific definitions. In general, civil service describes a body of law that regulates relationships between the government and its public employees. The administrative career system is a more general effort to increase the professionalization and modernization of the public service.

HRM in the executive branch of the Dominican Republic's national government is regulated by Law No. 14-91 of May 20, 1991 (also called the Civil Service and Administrative Career Law), its Enforcement Regulations No. 82-94 of March 20, 1994, and other supplemental regulations. These establish a legal, administrative, and technical system commonly termed the Civil Service. The President of the Republic is the titular head of this system, but in practice the President confers to the Secretary of State and other executive officers the responsibility for implementing and evaluating executive branch HRM policies.

The primary agency responsible for coordinating public sector administrative reform -- including civil service reform -- is the National Office for Administration and Personnel (or ONAP, by its Spanish acronym), created by Law No. 55 of November 1965. The Civil Service and Administrative Career Law and pursuant rules regulate all public personnel functions, such as recruitment and selection, job classification and evaluation, training, performance evaluation, disciplinary action, and employee rights and responsibilities. These laws are based on generally accepted principles and systems of modern human resource management in the public sector.

The Civil Service and Administrative Career Law were strengthened in February 1999, when the President issued Decree No 75-99, which incorporated seven executive branch ministries into the administrative career system. ONAP is the agency responsible for implementing the reforms necessary to incorporate those workers currently under the Civil Service into the Administrative Career system. Performance evaluation of these employees is a high priority, and over 1,300 employees have been evaluated to date. ONAP also plans to strengthen this integrated personnel system by completing additional projects, such as (1) a national public employee data base to be used for job matching; (2) easier access to public employment through rational recruitment and selection processes; (3) a universal job classification and evaluation system for administrative career employees; (4) performance-based employee appraisal; (5) more comprehensive and cost-effective training programs to enhance staff development and professionalization; and (6) a coherent pay system for the entire public sector, including performance-based pay. It is too soon to evaluate the effects of these efforts. But the government, and those public servants who are hoping to achieve a more professional public service, strongly support the implementation of this Administrative Career system.

Cuba

Human resource management in Cuba is based on Decree-Law No. 147 (1994), on the "Reorganization of the Central Administration Organisms of the State." While its primary objectives were increased administrative decentralization and flexibility for independent agencies and state enterprises, it also ordered a functional review of the functions of various administrative agencies and state enterprises intended to encourage decentralization of operations and decision-making. This would leave ministries and executive branch agencies responsible for policy oversight and the regulating role assigned by the state.

This measure resulted in significant downsizing (from 23,000 to 9,000 public employees) and a number of public personnel reforms in state-run enterprises that were promulgated in 1998 by Decree-Law No. 187. Interestingly, this law attempts to reconcile the traditional centralized planning and control procedures typical of socialist governments with the emergent principles of flexibility, accountability and customer service that characterize the new public management. While reliance on the socialist principle of "from everyone according to his capacity, to everyone according to his need" continues, it is now linked more closely to individual and group performance-based pay incentives. It establishes the following general public personnel management objectives: a clearer link between the pay and performance, pay incentives sufficient to motivate workers to seek positions that require greater qualifications and responsibilities, objective performance evaluation, and a merit pay system self-financed through productivity increases. To achieve these objectives, 18 salary groups were established, ranging from Salary I with 130 pesos to salary XVIII with 700 pesos. In addition, five percent -- seven percent of salaries in this performance-based pay system go toward retirement and health benefits.[1]

Since 1996, agency directors have been covered by a code of ethics that establishes behavioral norms and performance standards. However, no law specifies the rights and responsibilities of public employees in general. Professional public administration training primarily occurs at universities and graduate institutes. The standardized curriculum includes information systems, management (including MBO and project management), and finance.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's experience in public personnel management began under Spanish sovereignty from 1493 to 1898. Initially, the public sector was under a highly centralized monarchical colonial framework designed to maintain central control over a far-flung empire, rather than decentralized or flexible systems that encouraged, what Spain considered, the risk of colonial autonomy.

Puerto Rico became a U.S. protectorate in 1898 following the collapse of the Spanish empire. In 1900, the U.S. Congress approved the Foraker Law, giving Puerto Rica a civil government. Although this law did not mention the civil service by name, it did establish a government structure and personnel system that closely resembles that of the United States. The first Civil Service Act was passed in 1907, followed by three others: Law 88 of Civil Service (1931), Law 345 of Public Service Personnel (1947), and Law 5 of Public Service Personnel (1975). Together, these statutes have prompted the development of merit-based personnel practices and an administrative career system. At present, public personnel management in Puerto Rico is a fascinating combination of merit-based practices, politically powerful unions that exert significant pressure on the government, and traditional hierarchical and centralized Spanish bureaucratic traditions. As Angel Medina[2] states, "Puerto Rico does not attempt to model best 'practices' in personnel management, but its experience does show that personnel management is a learning process requiring participation and consensus-building attention of all components of society, including the government, employees and unions."

Structurally, the system consists of a centralized personnel management system for executive agencies. The Personnel Management Central Office (OCAP) provides policy direction and agency assistance, and an Appeals Council (JASAP) protects employee rights through an appeal and adjudication process. However, many national government agencies -- the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and over 40 autonomous agencies and public enterprises -- are excluded from the system.

Despite legal protection for employee rights, the public personnel system in Puerto Rico continues to be plagued by complaints of unwarranted discharge for political reasons, following changes of government, unjustified layoffs, inadequate job safety, inequitable salaries, sexual harassment, and unclear definition of employee rights and responsibilities. In an effort to become more focused on management, rather than control, the OCAP recently changed its name to Labor Advice and Human Resource Management Central Office (OCALAR).

Jamaica

The Jamaican civil service system differs from that of the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico in several important respects. First, the British (Westminster-Whitehall) model of parliament government emphasizes the importance of the opposition party, through formal constitutional responsibilities and an official role for this party and its leader. The British parliamentary tradition also emphasizes the concept of a neutral, autonomous and professional career service not influenced by politics. Rivalry between political parties is intense, and since partisan governments were introduced a century ago, the main two political parties have continually alternated in power, generally on the basis of a rotation of two consecutive terms.

Another characteristic of the Jamaican administrative system is excessive centralization and reluctance to delegate power. This problem is exacerbated by political and constitutional restrictions, and by the relatively new role of the state in administrative modernization. While these changes have expanded government functions, they have not necessarily led to corresponding changes in administrative attitudes toward citizens or agency managers. This gap between formal policies and actual agency performance is apparent with respect to public personnel management, where central agencies seriously limit the flexibility and effectiveness of agency managers: "However, even though new institutions have been created (including entities for personnel management and training), and the personnel management systems have been modernized to a certain extent, these systems and the people that comprise them have not been developed at the same speed so as to fulfill the needs and expectations of a developing society and economy. Policies and institutional programs have not managed to respond fast and efficiently to the changing conditions of the internal and external environment."[3]

There are also problems with low employee morale caused by pay inequities -- particularly inadequate salaries for professional, managerial and technician groups. This, along with the excessive centralization of decision making in issues pertaining to personnel, has contributed to a decline in the prestige of the civil service and the morale of its members. These circumstances have also led to deterioration of the ability of the civil service to attract and retain the number and quality of personnel required in key agencies and sectors of the workforce.

Jamaica has attempted to improve the working conditions of the public employees, and in particular, to attract and retain qualified workers through an administrative reform program. However, this program has been criticized for perpetuating salary inequities. For example, in an attempt to attract qualified personnel, the program increased high-ranking officials' salaries, while leaving the salaries of lower-level professional and technical workers unchanged.

Structurally, the Public Service Commission (PSC) was created to develop a permanent professional service. Its elected members serve as an impartial and independent body to protect the public employees against discrimination in selection, promotion, transfers, and disciplinary action; to ensure equal opportunities for fair treatment based on merit; and to minimize the influence of politics, nepotism or favoritism on personnel actions.

The Permanent Salary Review Board (PSRB) makes periodic recommendations concerning salaries for employees in the national civil service, local governments, and some autonomous institutions. The Ministry of Public Service hears all salary claims, considering arguments by government agencies (including the Ministry of Finance), unions and employee associations, and other governmental and nongovernment organizations.

St. Vincent and Grenada

As in Jamaica, civil service institutions, structures, and legal practices are theoretically based on a British model. The public service is divided into different services: the Police Service, the Civil Service, the Teaching Service, the Medical, and the Legal Service. Because the Civil Service includes a large variety of positions, it has a complex job classification system. The Constitution provides for three regulatory commissions: the Public Service Commission, the Police Commission, and the Legal Service Commission. Each has seven members appointed for two-year terms. These commissions are intended to protect public employees from undue political influence; provide continuity and stability in government; maintain the integrity of the civil service system as a neutral, impartial and impersonal administrative tool; and protect employees against political favoritism in selection, promotion, transfer, or disciplinary action.

However, these lofty ideals are not always observed in practice. While the system is intended to encourage selection and promotion based on seniority and performance, it remains unclear where government reform efforts will be effective at reducing managerial discrimination and political favoritism. As Steven E. Steward concludes, "There are government plans to introduce a new performance evaluation system, based on merit and individual capacity, for promotion, appointing, and salary increases. The proposed system will be judged objective or nonobjective depending on whether these plans are implemented or not."[4]

Conclusions

What conclusions can be drawn from this analysis? First, it is evident that these Caribbean island nations have evolved different types of public personnel systems based on their historical colonial patterns of development. In particular, their history reflects, first, the influences of Spanish colonial culture, and then later the successful efforts by other European nations and the United States to acquire their own empires as the Spanish empire weakened.

Second, Caribbean public administration and public personnel management have been influenced by the political, economic and social consequences of their status as colonies. According to Gladstone C. Mills,[5] public administration in all Caribbean countries has been influenced by "centuries of slavery and the plantation and colonial government system." These conditions have left a legacy of attitudes and behavior patterns that have been preserved for over a century and a half after these countries became independent. For example, the cultural conditioning resulting from this legacy has led to nonparticipative decision-making expressed through excessive centralization and reluctance to delegate power in the various areas of the public administrative endeavors. In the area of human resource management, this imposes serious limitations on agency effectiveness and employee rights.

Third, with respect to current trends in human resource management, much research and analysis indicates a need for legal, structural, and procedural reforms. This has been spurred to a great extent by economic pressures on the public sector, which have in turn increased the demand for greater efficiency and better quality in public service delivery. Changes in HRM have also been encouraged by the need to enhance managerial responsibility, to increase the transparency of public budgeting, and to remain competitive with the private sector in the face of changing workforce conditions.

Finally, it can be expected that the reform process will focus on the following areas:

* Decentralization of HRM responsibility from central agencies to line departments and agencies

* Delegation of HRM responsibility within line departments or agencies

* Policy oversight that emphasizes basic standards and good practices rather than micro-management

* More flexibility with respect to payment, employment and hiring systems

* Training and development to build agency capacity to meet program demands

* Measures to reduce costs by downsizing and improving efficiency

To a greater or lesser extent, each of these Caribbean island countries has made a decision to improve public HRM. In Puerto Rico, the central personnel agency (OCAP) has taken serious efforts to change its role from centralized compliance to decentralized consultation and assistance to agency managers. The Dominican Republic, after an evaluation process, implemented an intensive program to incorporate public employees into the civil service and administrative career system. Cuba strengthened its training system by creating a School of Public Administration. Jamaica, through its Administrative Reform Program, improved the working conditions of its public employees to retain those who belonged to the civil service, and to attract more qualified personnel. Finally, St. Vincent and Grenada implemented programs to introduce a new performance-based employee evaluation system designed to change traditional methods of determining salaries and making personnel actions.

Notes

[1] Presentation by Lic. Claudio Vega Llanes, Director of Human Resources and Public Relations, Cuban Ministry of Economy and Planning on the Meeting about Public Administration, CIF-FIIAP, Cartagena, Colombia, September 1998.

[2] Presentation at the Seminar, "The Civil Service in the Caribbean," Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestre (PUCMM), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 1989.

[3] Mills, Gladstone, presenter at the Seminar, "The Civil Service in the Caribbean," Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestre (PUCMM), Santo Domingo, October 1989.

[4] University Level Caribbean Program Lome IV, August 1998, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

[5] Presentation at the Seminar, "Civil Service in the Caribbean," p. 141, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestre (PUCMM), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1989.

Donatila German Perez
Ex-Director
National Office of Administration and Personnel (ONAP)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Donatila German Perez completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration at the Pedro Henriquez Urena National University in Santo Domingo, and her Masters in Public Administration at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestre (PUCMM) in 1983. Her twenty-year career in the public service in the Dominican Republic culminated in the position of Director of the National Office for Administration and Personnel (Oficina Nacional de Administracion y Personal -- ONAP), the national agency responsible for enhancing government effectiveness through modernization, decentralization, and improved management techniques. She has published several books and many articles on improving public personnel management, and has worked as a trainer and visiting professor at a number of universities and training centers in the Dominican Republic.