TAKING THE 'HIGH ROAD': DOES PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION ALTER ETHICAL DECISION MAKING PROCESSES?
In: Public administration: an international quarterly, Band 93, Heft 3, S. 627-645
ISSN: 0033-3298
In: Public administration: an international quarterly, Band 93, Heft 3, S. 627-645
ISSN: 0033-3298
In: Journal of public administration research and theory, Band 26, Heft 3, S. 433-447
ISSN: 1477-9803
In: Public administration: an international journal, Band 93, Heft 3, S. 627-645
ISSN: 1467-9299
Although public administration scholars have long been interested in promoting administrative ethics, recent lapses in judgment by government employees make the study of ethics even more pressing. Yet, we know relatively little about how public values and publicly oriented motives influence the ethical obligations employees reference when confronting organizational problems. We employ Perry's (2000) process model of public service motivation to connect public values, public service motivation, and employees' understanding of their ethical obligations. Using data collected from over 1,400 managers in United States municipal governments, we present findings that suggest that public service motivation appears to be positively correlated with ethical obligations rooted in virtue and integrity, or high road ethics, for less professionalized employees. Further, broader constellations of public values encourage increased application of high road ethics for the same employees, but only to the extent that they foster public service motivation.
In: Public administration: an international journal, Band 94, Heft 1, S. 204-222
ISSN: 1467-9299
This article asks whether and how transformational leadership in the public sector can influence the use of normative public values in organizational decisions. We focus on transformational leadership's influence on three core normative public values (representation, equity, and individual rights). The extent to which public organizations and their employees emphasize normative public values in their decision‐making can signal important messages to external stakeholders about respect for and responsiveness to all citizens, valuing citizens from different walks of life equally, and respect for constitutionally guaranteed rights. We propose a model in which transformational leadership has a direct influence (infusing) and an indirect influence (convincing others) on employee use of public values in organizational decision‐making. Empirical tests provide support for the proposed model, with the indirect influence (convincing others) providing a stronger impetus. The article concludes with a discussion of the results and implications.
In: Public administration: an international journal, Band 92, Heft 4
ISSN: 1467-9299
Students of public management often argue that imposing market-based logic on public sector organizations can undermine the altruistic motives of public employees. Focusing on the complex relationships between 'reinventing government' reforms, bureaucratic red tape, and public service motivation (PSM), we contend that the effects of reinvention reforms on PSM change as a function of the ability of reforms to cut bureaucratic red tape. A series of structural equation models reveal that the relationships between reinvention reforms, bureaucratic red tape, and PSM are much more complex than previously thought. Contrary to conjectures in the mainstream PSM literature, implementing market-like reforms in public organizations positively influences PSM, if one views the reform as minimizing red tape. Adapted from the source document.
In: Journal of public administration research and theory, Band 25, Heft 3, S. 751-775
ISSN: 1477-9803
In: Journal of public administration research and theory, Band 25, Heft 3, S. 849-876
ISSN: 1477-9803