Searching for Effective HRM Reform Strategy in the Public Sector: Critical Review of WPSR 2005 and Suggestions

In a rapidly changing society, governments could use the HRM reform measures provided in the World Public Sector Report 2005 (WPSR 2005) as important guidelines for realizing continuous innovation and recovering trust in public administration. The 2005 report provides a nearly full set of methodologies as well as informative advice in promoting public sector reform, including HRM reform, for many countries, particularly for developing nations or transitional economies. Nonetheless, the 2005 report has limitations. Thus the purpose of this article is as follows: to identify major contents of, and lessons learned from, the measures for reforming ‘HRM in the public sector’ (hereafter PHRM) proposed by the 2005 report; to critically review the PHRM reform measures suggested in the report; and to propose future research agendas to provide developmental and structured PHRM reform measures that are required by governments in many countries around the world, particularly in developing countries and transitional economies.

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