Civil service is the body of government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial. It is the permanent government of a nation through which public administration is operated.
Civil servants refer to employees selected and promoted on the basis of a merit and seniority system, which includes examinations as well. Civil service can be classified into two parts: a) rank in person, and b) rank in the job.
Rank-in-Person
The kind of civil service in which roles and responsibilities are given as per rank or hierarchy is called rank-in-person. Rank-in-person personnel system tends to put more emphasis on employee development by way of movement through ranks and closed systems.
In this system, qualification is required as per rank. Likewise, an employee is paid on the basis of rank regardless of the assignment involved. Thus, it is a system of performance based on ranks rather than ranks based on performance.
Rank-in-Job
Rank-in-job is a personnel system in which the salary and rank of an individual are determined by the job that the individual holds. In this system, roles and responsibilities are identified on the basis of the job rather than rank.
Rank in job is a scientific management system because job analysis and job specification are carried out to identify the required personnel.