398 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
resist innovations. Instead, agencies should provide learning environments,
invest in development opportunities, and train and retrain their employees
when dictated by changes in technology or demands for service.
As Cohen and Eimicke (2002, p. 11) noted, the “ effective public manager
of the twenty - fi rst century will need to be creative, innovative, and entrepre-
neurial, as well as a lifelong learner. Stability, complacency and routine
will increasingly be replaced by change, new problems, and new solutions.
Get used to it. ”Challenges of Strategic Human Resources Management
The demographic characteristics of the labor force have changed. There
have been increases in the number of women, racial and ethnic minorities,
older employees, disabled, and homosexual and transgendered individuals
in the workforce. Organizations must recognize underlying attributes or
nonobservable characteristics, such as different learning styles, different
working styles and values, and different types of personalities, as well as
differences in culture, socioeconomic background, educational background,
occupational background, and professional orientation.
To accommodate the changing workforce and to minimize confl ict,
organizations should promote a greater awareness of diversity issues and
cultural differences. It is also important that they audit their human resources
functions to ensure that they are free from bias. Recruitment selection, train-
ing and development, performance evaluation, and compensation and ben-
efi ts should be administered in an equitable fashion. To avoid discriminating
against the disabled, the essential functions of positions and the KSAOCs
necessary for successful performance must be identifi ed.
Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, employers can no
longer force employees to retire when they reach a certain age as long as
they are still capable of performing their jobs. In fact, the U.S. Congress
is encouraging individuals to work longer and delay retirement, thereby
delaying when they will receive Social Security benefi ts. Fewer employ-
ees retiring at early ages combined with fl atter organizational structures
results in fewer promotional opportunities and career plateauing. To retain
a motivated and energetic workforce, new types of career enhancement
opportunities need to be developed to challenge employees. To older
employees who are reluctant to retire, organizations may want to offer
part - time work, phased retirements, or early retirement buyouts.