CHAPTER FOUR

THE MERIT PRINCIPLE

Literary merit means quality, excellence, which deserves reward. In public personnel administration,
merit is a principle, which involves entry to get service, higher payment, and promotion to higher grades
by way of tests, and examination of fitness. In the broader sense, merit system, in modern government,
means a system in which comparative achievement governs individuals' selection and progress in public
employment. It is based on open competition (posts are made publicly) and any one can compete.
1.1 History of Merit Principle

In order to have personnel system based on sound principles, it is necessary that it should be based upon
merit system. The earlier substitutes for the merit system were three - sale of offices, the patronage sys-
tem and the spoils system.
1.1.1 Sale of offices

Writing about the history of French Personnel System, Prof. Herman Finer indicated that until revolution,
almost every office, central or local were attainable - only by private purchase, gift or inheritance. All
public offices were a species of private property, and a voluminous jurisprudence governed their
transmission. It may seem odd today to sell public offices to the highest bidder, but it was defended in
France in those days on the ground that it brought revenues to the State, enabled the common man to
acquire posts and took the public offices out of court favoritism and politics.
1.1.2 Patronage system

The patronage system prevailed in England and most of the other countries. Under it the appointing
authority selected the candidates on the basis of personal favour or political grounds. In other words,
patronage is the power of elected and appointed officials to make partisan appointments to office or to
confer contracts, honors, or other benefits on their political supporters.
1.1.3 Spoils system

The spoils system prevailed in U.S.A. which was its ancestral home. It means that public office
constitutes a spoil to be enjoyed by the political party victorious at the polls. When a new party came into
power it dismissed all the employees appointed by its predecessor and filled the vacancies with its own
favorites. This system is also designated as "Hiring and Firing" of public officials' and employees.

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However, in U.S.A. the system suffered an eclipse in 1881 when President Garfield was assassinated by a
dissatisfied employee who was removed by him from the office. To save the future presidents from such
terrible tragedies Pendleton Act was passed by the Congress in 1883. The Act gave the civil service
permanency of tenure and its present character.
However, the spoils system to some extent does persist even now. In India some temporary or provisional
appointments are made without consulting the Public Service Commission. Thus the political party in
power is in a position to appoint certain employees of its choice without consulting an expert body.
People appointed on ad hoc basis gain experience and ultimately on the basis of long experience, get
selected through the Public Service Commission’s at a later stage. This amounts to perpetuation of spoils
system.
Reasons behind the Spoils System

1. Americans' faith in democratic principle induced them to opt for such a system. They advocate
equality of rights and opportunities. The simplicity of their administration during 18 th century was also
responsible for upholding such a view.
2. Personal motive also played predominant part for opting for such a system. The Chief Executive is
in a position to get assistance of a band of loyalists chosen by him on the basis of their personal
qualifications.
3. The system is consistent with the system of party government. The policy envisaged by a party can
be properly implemented by officials appointed by the party boss. Besides in a party government system,
nepotism is an effective device of rewarding the party henchmen.
4. The theory of rotation of office also favors the system. This theory is considered as an effective
means of stopping government from becoming a caste alien to the people, a means of maintaining the
responsibility of officials to the people."
Defects of Spoils System

1. First, the 'spoils system' is a pain on efficient administration (i.e. inefficiency, an increase in
public costs, class of office seekers, political corruption, waste of time and others).
2. Second, it causes a profound degradation into the life of politicians and "tends to place the contest
of political parties on a materialistic plane of struggle for selfish advantage rather than one for the

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achievement of ends looking to public welfare." The spirit of public service is damped and its place is
taken by selfish interest and political chicanery.

3. Third, the employees make an illegitimate use of their offices to promote the welfare of their
political parties or that of political chieftains to whom they are indebted for their appointment. National
interests are thus completely ignored.
4. Fourth, anything like a development of a true esprit de corps and desire to excel is impossible as
the further promotion of employees depends on the political influence that they can exert.
5. Fifth, frequent replacement of high administrative officials is detrimental to the keeping of
continuity of experience which is so very essential for efficient administration.
It is on account of these evils that the system is being abandoned even in its home country. It is being
increasingly realized that the perpetuation of this system brings politics and administration to the lowest
ebb, and consequently makes the administrators face public ridicule.
1.2 Merit System

In contrast to the Spoils System, the merit system avoids all the above-said evils. Merit system implies a
system in which the appointment and conditions of service of an employee are determined solely at his
own intrinsic merit-which includes his educational and technical qualifications, personal capacities and
physical fitness.
Under merit system, recruitment is made through open competitive examination held by a general
personnel agency. No distinction is made among citizens on the basis of any party affiliation. Civil
servants remain neutral in politics and promotions take place strictly on the basis of merit.
This system has, in fact, gained great popularity. In various democracies civil service rules have been
framed to apply the merit system to the selection and recruitment of public services. The following
conditions are generally laid down by the modem civil service regulations:
(a) Employees should neither be appointed nor removed on political considerations.
(b) Employees should not be forced to contribute money or services to party organization.
(c) An independent and impartial Civil Service Commission should be set up to exercise control over
civil services regarding their recruitment, promotion and other disciplinary matters.
(d)The civil service positions be filled on the basis of written examinations or other tests.

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 (e) A special procedure may be adopted for protecting the employees against removal of political
considerations.
Merit System Principles

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 put into law the nine basic merit principles that should govern all
personnel practices in the federal government:
i. Recruitment from all segments of society, and selection and advancement on the basis of ability,
knowledge, and skills, under fair and open competition
ii. Fair and equitable treatment in all personnel management matters, without regard to politics, race,
color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or handicapping condition, and with proper regard
for individual privacy and constitutional rights
iii. Equal pay for work of equal value, considering both national and local rates paid by private
employers, with incentives and recognition for excellent performance
iv. High standards of integrity, conduct, and concern for the public interest
v. Efficient and effective use of the federal workforce
vi. Retention of employees who perform well, correcting the performance of those whose work is
inadequate, and separation of those who cannot or will not meet required standards
vii. Improved performance through effective education and training
viii. Protection of employees from arbitrary action, personal favoritism, or political coercion
ix. Protection of employees against reprisal for lawful disclosures of information
Steps for open Competition

1. Adequate publicity of jobs (vacancies). Vacancy announcement must be open to everyone and
announcement must be posted at public areas.
2. Realistic standards when exams are set. Qualification standards must reasonably be related to the
jobs and there must be impartiality applied to all candidates.
3. The knowledge of the result. After the tests and examinations are conducted, every candidate
should get access how the evaluation was done, what points are given to each criteria and other related
factors if necessary. That is simply mean transparency.
Qualities of Merit

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1. Competence: The government has to be served by trained, qualified and enlightened civil servants
that lead to effectiveness and efficiency.
2. Neutrality. This is an essential complement to the merit system because it guarantees the
government that career officials /civil servants will give impartial advise, criticisms, and assistance in all
matters of administration.
3. Equality of opportunity. The job has to be open equally and fairly for the competent candidate of
nations' citizens. This opportunity has two important implications.
A. Economic implications in that every capable citizen must be employed, in which it has
positive impact for its economic sense.
B. Question of Representation /widening the domain the domain of candidates/ majority of
the citizens can be represented in the civil service.
Advantages of Merit System

1. It brings out public administration from the mess of political intrigues and personal whims and accords
it a place on scientific lines. This effects efficiency in administration and purifies political life.
2. Right man is put at the right place and full justice is done by providing equal opportunities to all the
citizens to compete for any office of the State (i.e. equality of opportunity and equality of treatment for
all).
3. It frees the employees from the economic worries. The adoption of equitable rates of remuneration and
proper retirement benefits relieve them of economic worries. Thus they are in a position to serve
wholeheartedly any political party that comes in power.
4. Neutrality in politics is the sine qua non of efficient administration. That is possible only if merit
system is adopted.
Though merit system has been widely adopted in the world still it would be too much to say that
patronage and spoils system have completely disappeared or the merit system has been universally
adopted. In U.S.A. it is estimated that the number of posts excluded from the merit system will still be
50,000 to 100,000.
Disadvantages of Merit System

Despite the fact that merit system has been universally acclaimed as a better alternative to Spoils System.
Still it too has its pitfalls:
 Since powers of appointment are concentrated in the hands of Civil Service Commissions, the

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principle of responsibility stands undermined. In other words, program leaders and supervisors have no
authority in motivating their workers. They can not make decision on the promotion of subordinates.
 It is felt that loyalists may not be recruited and there may be occasional conflicts between the political
heads and the permanent services.
5. Role of personnel agencies

Personnel agencies are important in maintaining uniform rules and procedures in public organizations. It
also limits competition among different establishments and agencies of government. Besides, it reduces
the possibility of disparity among employees in the same system. The basic functions of personnel
agencies are the following:
 Formulating Personnel Policy:
The first important task of any central personnel agency is to ensure the formulation of a good policy
based on internal and external sources, research studies and special investigations.
Personnel policy is the heart of personnel management. A good personnel policy would ensure the
development of uniformity and consistency in dealing with personnel issues. By establishing ‘ground
rules’ for administration, personnel policy helps to avoid confusion and misunderstanding as well as
reduce the effects of pressures up on management.
 Estimation of Current and Future Manpower recruitments:
It is responsible for recruitment planning, policy and research, running of centralized recruitment
operations and selection processes. It determines future staffing requirements to enable to meet the
objectives of the service in the most effective and economical way, and ensure that suitable staff are
recruited, trained and retrained to fulfill these objectives.
 Research:
It undertakes research in aspects of public personnel such as recruitment, reporting and training
techniques, appraisal, interview, job satisfaction, manpower wastage.
 Maintenance of Records:
It maintains and develops personnel records and information systems and provides a common service to
various departments, in the form of statistics relating to the manpower.
 Designing Appraisal Systems:
It develops appraisal plans to facilitate the development of personnel.
 Human Resource Accounting and Audit:
Human Resource accounting is the term used to describe the accounting methods, systems and

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techniques, which coupled with special knowledge and ability, assist personnel management in the
valuation of personnel in financial terms. It is the measurement of the cost and value of people for the
organization.
Human Resource Auditing is the continuous and systematic process of ascertaining whether personnel
policies are being put into action as designed. The objects of such auditing are:
o To confirm that the policies of personnel management are being properly executed and to draw
attention to those areas where policies appear to be inadequate.
o To verify that the information used by personnel management to control human resources is
both adequate and accurate.
o To conduct a systematic survey and analysis of all operative functions of personnel, with a
summarized statement of findings for correction of deficiencies.
2.3 Role of Federal Civil Service Agency (Ethiopian Experience)

It is possible to draw the duties and responsibilities of the Federal Civil Service Agency from the Federal
Civil Servants Proclamation No. 262/2002. Some of the basic tasks are the following: (Articles 4/1; 5/2-
3; 10; 11/2; 14/2; 17; 20/2-3; 22; 26/3; 29; 42/3; 50/2-3; 84/2/e; 86; 87 and 88)
 Determines the classes of positions and grades to which all positions in government offices shall be
distributed as well as the qualification requirements for each class of positions;
 Prepares class specification for each class of positions;
 Classifies positions to classes of positions and grades on the basis of organizational set up of
government offices and job specifications;
 Examines and decides on comments and complaints forwarded by government offices and civil
servants on classification of positions;
 Undertakes studies on salary scales to be applicable to civil servants and submits same to the Council
of Ministers for approval; and supervises their proper implementation upon approval;
 Undertakes periodical revisions of salary scales based on economic changes and other relevant
conditions and submits same to the Council of Ministers at least once every five years;
 Undertakes studies on the payment of various allowances and submits same to the Council of
Ministers and up on approval supervises their implementation;
 Issues directives on circumstances in which young person’s above the age of 14 and under age 18 may
be appointed as civil servants and on the conditions of service applicable to them.

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 Issues directives with regard to advertising vacant positions and the preparation and conducting of
examinations and disclosing the results thereof;
 Authorizes payment of step salary higher than the base salary where it is deemed necessary;
 Provides permission to government organizations to appoint a foreign national on a temporary basis;
 Issues directives on the recruitment of temporary civil servants;
 Issues detailed directives on the promotion of civil servants;
 Issues directives on performance evaluation;
 Issues directives on the options of granting compensatory leave or overtime pay to a civil servant who
has worked overtime;
 Undertakes a joint study (with Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance) on the amount of
contributions to be made by civil servants towards medical benefits;
 Trains HRM staff on the basis of the training needs of government offices and coordinates and
supports the training program of the different government offices;
 Issues a policy with regard to the conditions of civil servants training locally and abroad and
supervises the implementation of same;
 Approves extension of services;
 May delegate its powers and duties to any government offices;
 Has the powers and duties to supervise the implementation of this Proclamation and regulations and
directives issues hereunder; and
 Issues directives necessary for the proper implementation of this Proclamation and Regulations issued
pursuant to the Proclamation.