You're missing the point - companies compete in the open market and recommendations may be signals used in the hiring process, but not in evaluating somebody's

You're missing the point - companies compete in the open market and recommendations may be signals used in the hiring process, but not in evaluating somebody's performance on job. If a hire doesn't work out, usually it parts ways with the company, with the evaluation period being meant to make this painless and it's in a company's best interest to hire the best people, otherwise it's not able to compete. But a public institution is not subject to market forces. A public institution doesn't have to compete, won't go bankrupt, being part of government has tremendous influence on other people's lives and is always financed by other people's taxes. Now that changes the equation quite a lot.