Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hack Boss McCain: Will He Ever Learn?


Presidential hopeful John McCain bows to the altar of extrinsic motivation with his call for "pay for performance." Boss McCain wants federal employees to focus on their compensation more than their work. Yet, in his response to a P4P question, John clearly shares his concern about employees' lack of focus on their work.

Q: The Bush administration would like to see "pay for performance" replace the General Schedule pay system for federal workers. If elected, what would you do regarding pay for performance?

A: "The civil service has strayed from its reformist roots and has mutated into a no-accountability zone, where employment is treated as an entitlement, good performance as an option, and accountability as someone else's problem. Our current system isn't fair to the many good federal workers who do not receive recognition for commitment and excellence and must pick up the slack of those who aren't doing their jobs. We must identify excellence in civil service, reward and reward it appropriately."

Horse hockey! None of the above management problems of accountability or performance can be solved with a pay system. John's and George's solution will make matters worse. Leadership is needed, something sorely lacking in our nation's Capital and corporate board rooms. (Barrack rolled a gutter ball on this same question. He never weighed in on "pay for performance". Amazing!)

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