Comment Number: OL-10505685
Received: 3/11/2005 3:16:50 AM
Subject: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment
Title: National Security Personnel System
CFR Citation: 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901
No Attachments

Comments:

I have worked in Federal service for more than 30 years under the present personnel system. I have moved to many times within the Department of Defense, mostly with the Army and Navy. I have had young and dumb supervisors, had some crazy supervisors, and had supervisors with huge egos-often their power goes to their head. I survived it all because I was under the present system. One never knows what kind of supervisor one is going to get until they get there. One will be reluctant to transfer under the new system because the supervisors will have too much power, abuse their power, and fire people just because they do not like them. So it will be much more difficult for a person to have a Government career under the new system. The present system is bad enough. I have seen a supervisor fire an employ, try to ruin him yet when it went to court the employee won. The personnel office was teaching that as a management technique - an 'us and them' mentality. The subordinate is the enemy. The supervisor was rid of the employee during his tour and PCSed. The cost to the Government was excessive not to mention the damage to the employee's reputation. And I have seen a military supervisor run off an employee just because he was old and the supervisor wanted some young blood. The supervisors just lie and trump up a case against the employee to get rid of them. I was even told to do that because I had a subordinate who had/has a bad attitude and stirred up trouble. I would not lie to get rid of him because I do not believe that is right. Then my supervisor did not have the backbone to deal with the employee because he did not want management to know he had problems so he could get promoted when his supervisor retired the next year. He was promoted although I wonder about his fitness for the job. The new system will lead to there being less corporate knowledge in the organizations because there will be a higher turnover rate. The Government is not the private sector and never will be. The Government will go ahead with the new system but I believe it is crazy to change it. The employees need protection from over zealous and unreasonable supervisors and I do not believe the new system provides that protection. I like Edwards Deming management methods which was popular in Government in the early 1990's. One point he made was the employees are willing workers. They just do what management allows. The problem is usually in the process so constant improvement in the process is needed. One cannot inspect quality into the product. He was a brilliant man and was a positive infulence on management. But many supervisors would take the attitide that it may work for Joe over there but not for me. My employees are the problem and I need to get rid of them or whip them into shape. They did not learn a single thing about how to be a better manager and just continued to use the stick to motivate their people with fear. I have often thought it would be great for employees to be able to rate their supervisor without repercusion to their well being but unfortunately we all know how many whistle blowers get treated. So that is not likely to ever happen. Fortunately, I have a great supervisor now but no one knows how long that will last. Due to the employees having such different supervisors, some good and some terrible, the system we have now is the best and I hate to see it changed. A person is rewarded by longivity and that is not bad. I have been a GS-12 step 10 for over 10 years and there is no more advancement in my grade. I can live with that. I will try to do a good job because of presonal pride. I expect the new system will cause office politics to get worst than ever. It is bad enough as it is. I have seen people stab their peers in the back to try and get ahead, and some do and some don't. The union concerns for employee protection are well founded. I would 'can' the new system now and stay with what we have.