1. According to the author:

“At all levels of government—but especially at the federal level—more of government’s work depends on creating, managing, and leveraging partnerships with the many partners on which government depends to get its work done. More of the work of government managers focuses on focusing these partnerships on solving problems, instead of simply managing agencies.”

What does this mean and how do you think this changes the needed skill set for today as compared as compared to a century ago?

 2. What was the Government Accountability Office's 2003 perspective on human capital management in government? What are the four issues that create a challenge for building human capital in government? In your opinion, can these issues be resolved?

3. What was the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act designed to do? What is the Senior Executive Service (SES)? How do candidates receive positions through the SES system? How do promotions work?

4.  Discuss President Obama’s 2015 Executive Order strengthening the Senior Executive Service.

5. Turnover is a major problem when staffing political appointees. For decades the median length of service for presidential appointees has been a little more than two years. What are some problems created by rapid turnover? Can these problems be overcome with the existing system?

6. The text quotes Paul C. Light’s 2008 book saying that “the federal service is suffering its greatest crisis since it was founded in the first moments of the republic . . . running out of energy [and] unable to faithfully execute all the laws.” In short, Light finds that although government is functioning well, human capital problems are impeding progress at fundamental levels, and only by reforming these problems will the U.S. government be able to rise to its twenty-first-century challenges. From what you have read in this chapter, do you agree with Light: Is the problem of human capital in government as dire as he says, or do you think he is overstating the case? Think of specific examples from the text that would support your claim.

7. What do you think of the Senior Executive Service? Do you think it is compatible with democracy? Why or why not?