Pay-for-Performance and the Senior Executive Service: Attitudes about the Success of Civil Service Reform

The Senior Executive Service, created by the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, envisioned a more dynamic, entrepreneurial federal government. The federal government implemented recognition and pay-for-performance objectives to guide this transformation. Using data from the 1989 Merit Principles Survey, this study examines the attitudes that SESer's hold on its success. While those exhibiting higher levels of extrinsic motivation and more acceptance of performance appraisal judge CSRA somewhat more successful, neither intrinsic motivation nor job satisfaction apparently affects these views. Nor do those deemed "high fliers" among SES members exhibit strong attitudes on CSRA success.