HRM in the public administration in Pakistan: from personnel administration to strategic alignment

This chapter explores HRM practices in public administration in Pakistan while capturing major trajectories of civil service reforms in different eras. Three major developments are prominent in reform movements: strengthening of civil bureaucracy (with personnel administration practices); retrenchment of public workforce (under the slogan of professional HRM practices); and quality enhancement of public servants (through training, development, and rewards based on performance). These shifting priorities of HRM are in line with the global public administration trends from traditional public administration to new public management to new public governance. After describing the historical background and administrative landscape of Pakistan, the chapter provides a comparison among the three major shifts in the HRM practices in Pakistan, including the grading structure, recruitment, compensation, promotion, performance appraisal and training and development. The chapter also encapsulates the motivations, challenges, and diffusion of reforms in each phase.