Part 2, Chapter 5 Age of Optimism Summary

At the time of Moses' appointment, the city functions on the basis of patronage, controlled by Tammany. City workers owed the ward boss for their livelihoods. James and Moskowitz, on the Municipal Civil Service Commission where Moses worked as a staffer, ask him for his ideas. He responds that they have to reform the efficiency rating system, a method used for reviewing employees. He explains to them what changes have to be made and why. He begins work on the project, spending so much time running back and forth to City Hall that he finally is given a desk in the Commissions office. He recommends standardization of salaries and open competition for promotions. He devises the system of assigning weights to each function of a job that allows an employee to be ranked according to...