This commentary on the article "Different strokes for different folks? The translation of public values into official meanings" considers the merits of the authors' arguments and offers several recommendations for researchers interested in public values.
This article draws on a sample of city managers, assistant city managers, and department heads in U.S. local government jurisdictions to examine whether theoretical assertions about the relationships between performance-related pay, public service motivation, and employee job satisfaction hold empirical merit. Contrary to theoretical expectations, findings from an ordered logistic regression and a series of Monte Carlo simulations suggest performance-related pay is associated with greater job satisfaction, especially among employees who possess stronger public service motives. Results also suggest variable pay may be particularly important to employees who have lower levels of public service motivation.
A substantial body of research underscores the importance of congruence between employee and organizational values. Yet, despite evidence that value congruence affects key individual and organizational outcomes, several gaping holes still exist in the research. We add to existing public management scholarship by: (1) examining whether and how value congruence affects an employee's affective organizational commitment; and (2) responding to recent calls for scholars to clarify the processes through which value congruence shapes employee attitudes and behavior. Drawing on dyadic data compiled on a sample of senior managers in US local governments, results indicate that value congruence is associated with higher levels of affective organizational commitment. Additionally, value congruence is even more important in instances when higher levels of goal ambiguity are present.Points for practitionersStudy findings have several practical implications for public managers. First, results indicate that managers must acknowledge and account for employees' perceptions of organizational goal ambiguity if they hope to retain employees. To this end, managers would do well to design goals in concert with their employees; the process of co-creating goals may help limit ambiguity. Second, managers must create robust communication systems that welcome disagreement and recognize the importance of effective dialogue on the nature of goals. Finally, managers should provide feedback on goals at regular intervals in order to help employees understand expectations.
Previous studies within and outside of the field of public administration consistently find positive organizational outcomes when there is high compatibility or fit between employees and organizations—a concept now widely known as person–organization fit. Previous public administration scholars have established the link between employees' person–organization fit perceptions and employee turnover intention. However, no previous study has examined whether there is a link with actual turnover. This study addresses this gap in the literature on public sector employee fit by examining the relationship between one particular type of fit—mission congruence—and public employee turnover. Using nationally representative data on public school teachers, we find that teachers in U.S. schools who perceive themselves to be compatible with their organizations' central mission are at least 11% more likely to remain at their current school. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for research and practice.
The application of psychometric statistical techniques, such as confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, has grown significantly in public administration research over the past three decades. Given the growth in the application of these techniques, we take stock of the ability of these statistical approaches to advance public administration theory by examining their use in two areas of research: public service motivation and red tape. We further argue that theoretical and methodological diversity in public administration is desirable, so long as scholars recognize that the application of new and multiple methods in a single study do not inherently lead to better tests of theory. Instead, scholarship should focus on emphasizing that each theoretical and methodological approach adds significant, yet partial, contribution to public administration scholarship.
In 1995, U.S. News and World Report ( U.S. News) released its first ranking of public affairs master's degree programs. The rankings have been conducted every 3 years since and have grown in importance to public policy and public administration programs. This study considers the history and background of ranking public policy and administration graduate programs, the rationale used by U.S. News, and the methodology used by U.S. News. This is followed by a longitudinal analysis of these rankings from 1995 to 2016. Findings are presented in a conceptual framework of academic rankings using concepts of equilibrium, specialization, diffusion of innovations, and institutional isomorphism. The implications of this framework and the findings of our analysis are spelled out for public affairs deans, directors, and faculty seeking to improve their ranking as well as those seeking to hold on to their present rankings.
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.
