Examples of the Spoils System in Politics

Examples of the Spoils System in PoliticsExamples of the Spoils System in PoliticsThe spoils system refers to the process whereby elected officials reward political supporters with government jobs. The goes back to President Andrew Jackson. The term was meant to be pejorative. It was related to a speech by Senator William L. Marcy who said, To the victors belong the spoils. In a lot of ways, the spoils system makes sense. Once elected, political leaders need subordinates around them who are loyal and will keep the leaders best interest in mind. With a campaign just ended, campaign staffers need employment. Conveniently, the leader-elect has jobs to fill. Hard-working campaign staffers can slide into junior-level positions campaign managers and strategists can be slotted into upper-level positions, and political allies can be given plum jobs as repayment for their public endorsements and behind-the-scenes work securing support from big money donors. Government organizations still use policy-laden hiring processes to fill jobs however, those who benefit from the spoils system are often hired in spite of policies and processes designed to ensure fair competition in hiring. When the big boss says to hire someone, that someone gets hired. How the Spoils System Works While the spoils system has been prevalent in the federal government, it is also at play in state and local governments as well. Here are some examples of the spoils system at work When a candidate for the US presidency wins an election, current and former elected officials of the new presidents political party make up the bulk of the Cabinet. However, awarding supporters with jobs does not end there. Many of the presidents campaign staff are awarded White House jobs and positions at executive branch agencies. After serving as the Barack Obama campaigns chief strategist, David Axelrod took a job in the White House as Senior Advisor to the President which he held from January 2009 to January 2011. He left the White House to take a job with Obamas re-election campaign. After working on numerous campaigns over his career, Karl Rove found himself rewarded with a Senior Adviser position and later Deputy Chief of Staff in the George W. Bush administration after working on several of Bushs campaigns on his ascension through public offices to the US presidency. Bush called Rove The Architect for Roves work on Bushs 2004 reelection campaign against Senator John Kerry.The spoils system isnt limited to presidential politics. Say a citizen is elected as mayor of a large US city. Under the strong mayor form of government, the mayor typically appoints one or more deputy mayors to help run the day-to-day operations of the city while the mayor handles external affairs. The mayor must also appoint department heads. There are plenty of jobs available for the mayor to implement the spoils system. Campaign staffers and relatives of donors may be in line for jobs.

The Top 5 Reasons to Terminate an Employee

The Top 5 Reasons to Terminate an EmployeeThe Top 5 Reasons to Terminate an EmployeeReasons to fire an employee include disciplinary and wertzuwachs issues that you canelend solve. Here are the top five reasons to fire an employee. Lack of Integrity An employee may lack integrity whereby youve caught them in repeated lies or underhanded actions. Lies by commission, omission, and obfuscation can chip away at the trust you have for an employee. An employee may believe that one little lie wont hurt their standing with the organization, but even the smallest lie or untruth, when discovered, can diminish your regard for the employee. And, because organizational teams are so entwined, its only a matter of time before youll find out that the employee lied. Lies of omission are just as deadly in chipping away at trust. In a lie of omission, the employee fails to give you particularly relevant pieces of information. Or, the employee leaves out the part of the story that will make him or h er look bad. When an employee fails to share the whole picture, you are often blindsided when you receive the rest of the information from aleidher source. The third way employees chip away at your belief in their integrity is through obfuscation. They may believe that if they muddy the water enough, or overwhelm you with details, then you may not see that their performance has been subpar. Once an employee establishes these patterns of behavior with his employer, the trust dissolves. When you no longer trust an employee, its time to let the employee go. Unable to Do the Job Due to Incompetence If an employee, after training, coaching, repeated practice, and a reasonable amount of time receiving feedback, demonstrates that they are not capable of performing the fundamental requirements of the position, its time to fire the employee. Of course, you can decide to try the employee out in a different position, change the requirements of the current job, or create a performance impro vement plan. However, bear in mind that the more time you commit to the employee, the more money itll cost for development and training. It may be more prudent to let a person go early on when you see the lack of ability. Remember that you hire for todays job and tomorrows vision. Unable to Work in the Culture An employee may demonstrate that they just dont fit the corporateculture. For example, the employee may not be a team player or work well with others. Of course, any employer wants diverse approaches, thoughts, experiences, and backgrounds to provide innovative and creative solutions. However, a fundamental set of shared values is the glue that binds employees together in productive teams and workgroups. A new employee should be able to demonstrate that they can fit into the existing culture quickly. For example, lets say a new developer at a software company claimed during their interviews that they were a team player and liked to work as part of a team. They may have eve n cited successful college team projects as an example. But when the employee comes on board, its evident that the employee doesnt work well with others, is combative, defensive, and uncooperative. As a result, it may be necessary to let the employee go. Showing Up Late or Missing Work Whether its showing up late for work or not finishing a project as predicted, you cannot depend on this kind of commitment-phobic employee. Of course, everyone misses the occasional deadline, but the best employees keep their boss informed about the challenges along the way and renegotiate due dates as needed. The employee who fails to keep commitments blindsides the boss, lets their teammates down, and is not available to deliver what coworkers expect, and need. A department or job is like a cog in a wheel. The other parts of the organization depend on the output of each employee to produce their work. Code of Conduct Violations Every employer has the right to expect employees to act ethicall y as defined in the company policy as well as the code of conduct. This includes such behaviors as accepting gifts from vendors when company policy forbids it, developing inappropriate relationships with customers, and not treating co-workers as equals with respect. Examples of unethical behavior include Any harassment or bullying of a coworkerAccepting gifts that exceed the gift policy guidelinesPromoting lavish spending by employees who are attending a conference or entertaining customersAccepting a bribe from a vendor or customer All of these behaviors can and should result in employment termination for the employee. Anything else is disrespectful of your other employees and will breed cynicism and ill will.

The Many Benefits of Finance Conferences

The Many Benefits of Finance ConferencesThe Many Benefits of Finance ConferencesIts important to develop and update your skills and knowledge throughout your career. On-the-job training is a good way to get started, but more training is needed to sustain professional growth and avoid stagnation, and thats where finance conferences come in.Conferences offer excellent opportunities to focus on skills directly related to your career. The American Payroll Associations Annual Congress, for instance, offers education and training opportunities for payroll professionals, and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Conference presents topics devoted to management accountants and financial professionals, from new practitioners to seasoned professionals.Here are just some of the benefits you can find by attending finance conferences for career developmentEducational opportunitiesA professional conference gives you the opportunity to gain vital knowledge thats otherwise not available on t he job. Compliance updates, best practices and new career field techniques are a few of the things you can learn at a professional conference.Recertification creditsFor those career fields with certifications - and for finance and accounting professionals, there are many to choose from - some of the workshops will offer a chance to earn recertification credits. These credits are necessary to keep your certification up-to-date.Networking opportunitiesNetworking is a great benefit of professional conferences. You can attend lectures, and then linger afterward to mingle with the presenters and participants. By connecting with other professionals in your field, you have an opportunity to share ideas and knowledge with others. You can exchange business cards, build friendships and expand your network.When you join professional organizations, you often find discounted registration at the events they host. The Accounting Financial Womens Alliance (AFWA), for example, offers lower fees f or its national and regional conferences as a benefit of membership. As a result of the reduced cost, you may be able to attend more conferences, providing more opportunities to network and update your knowledge of accounting standards and trends.Cant get to the conference? Often, conference organizers will offer webinars and conference recordings. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), for example, has downloadable slides from webinars. Robert Half has on-demand webinars, too.Cisco WebEx also has an extensive catalog of free webinars relating to the business industry, including ones geared toward developing soft skills like leadership abilities. Some accounting news publications - Accounting Today, AccountingWeb and CPA Practice Advisor - offer free webinars. Subscribe to our newsletterWhen you subscribe to the Robert Half newsletter, youll get articles and resources to help you build a successful career in accountin g and finance - all sent directly to your inbox. Click the button below to sign up todaySUBSCRIBE NOW Mark Coindreau Mark Coindreau is director of public relations, video and chapter relations for the American Payroll Association (APA).