Secret Service Personnel Management

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1. Debate It: Select a Secret Security Agency and take a position for or against the "Rule of Three" approach. Discuss two reasons and examples to support your position.

The ability for management to be chosen for high positions within the government shouldn't be predicated upon a rule of three that only limits selection for the highest positions to three candidates. This archaic selection process is inadequate because it doesn't enable the selection process to consider the most qualified applicants. A more appropriate selection process would entail choosing future leaders through the use of categorical ranking, which would provide the organization with the widest range of potential qualified candidates. Several categories are used for this type of selection process wherein the candidates are rated under different categories ranging from "most qualified," "qualified" and "unqualified," with predetermined criteria utilized to rank applicants. In essence, the most qualified leaders will be procured from the largest number of applicants, which ensures that more qualified applicants can be taken from the pool of applicants because more qualified applicants have applied for the job.

2. Using your selected agency, analyze the reasons for and practice of recruiting and hiring a qualified workforce.

The reason that the Secret Service must ensure that it hires and recruits the most qualified personnel is because of the dual mission that the agency serves for the United States wherein it is the nation's vanguard of protection in regard to protecting the nation's financial infrastructure and payment systems, which are vital for ensuring the integrity of the economy while also providing the primary protection for national leaders such as the President of the United States as well as visiting heads of state and government. Therefore, the impetus to hire the most competent and qualified employees is evident as the U.S. Secret Service should only recruit and retain the most qualified individuals. To ensure this mission is accomplished, the agency uses outside sources such as LeapFrog Solutions (LFS) to help in achieving its recruitment goals. These agencies are vital for reaching out to the target populations to provide the Secret Service with the most qualified applicants by developing strategies and plans that will advertise most effectively to reach target audiences while providing the best value on a limited budget. These ...