Why was the Senior Executive Service created in the United States in 1978?

The Senior Executive Service (SES) was created in the United States in 1978 to address limitations within the existing federal civil service structure.

While the U.S. merit system was designed to select individuals with specific knowledge or skills for individual positions, it was criticized for failing to make the most effective use of the talent available to the government. The SES was established to overcome these inefficiencies by facilitating more effective promotion and deployment of high-level personnel across the federal government.1