Much theory suggests that manager–employee gender congruence (that manager and employee share the same gender) may influence employee accountability. This article empirically tests this notion by examining how manager–employee gender congruence among public service employees relates to two key aspects of bureaucratic accountability: (a) organizational goal alignment and (b) compliance with organizational rules and regulations. Using school fixed effects on teacher survey data and administrative school data, we find that male teachers with male principals are less aligned with their school’s goals and less compliant with its rules and regulations than are male teachers with female principals.
An entrepreneurial public agency pursues the implementation of innovative programs that may broaden public service choices, increase service quality, and more effectively serve citizens. Such public entrepreneurship depends on risk taking and risk tolerance; however, public servants tend to be generally risk averse in their behaviors and personal preferences, and are therefore less likely to pursue entrepreneurial approaches to public problems. Using social exchange theory as a framework to understand the reciprocal relationship between agency and employee, this study examines whether agency behaviors might alter the risk aversion of those employees and make the agency environment more conducive to entrepreneurship. Findings suggest that managers’ demonstration of risk tolerance, reward for creativity and innovation, and agency solicitation of employee input are positively related to employee perceptions of higher risk tolerance among their peers.
This article explored the dynamics of interpersonal trust relationship between political appointees and career managers. Premised on the contemporary public management reforms at the state level, the article found a relatively limited level of interpersonal trust from the perspectives of career managers, and that correlated positively with managerial variables such as flexibility of discretion, participatory management, communication, and commitment. A simple regression analysis, complemented with qualitative data analysis, revealed that managerial variables such as flexibility of discretion, communication, and length of service have significant implications for a trustful relationship between political officeholders and career public managers, accounting for 52% of the variance in the regression model. Juxtaposing the states that have adopted radical civil service reforms and those with moderate reforms, the article found that career managers operating under the two models did not express significant difference in terms of interpersonal trust in their relationship with political appointees.
This article sought to understand the association between employee satisfaction with several family-friendly programs and turnover in U.S. federal agencies. It also built on previous cross-sectional studies that examined the relationship between these benefits and both attitudes and outcomes. More specifically, this article used social exchange theory to develop hypotheses regarding the effect of telework, alternative work schedules, child care subsidies, elder care, employee assistance programs, and health and wellness programs on turnover. Furthermore, 4 years of panel data were obtained from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and FedScope to test the hypotheses. Consistent with social exchange theory, results from the balanced panel model indicate that satisfaction with family-friendly programs in general had a significant, negative effect on turnover. The results also indicate that telework, alternative work schedules, child care programs, and health and wellness programs reduced turnover. Telework, employee assistance programs, and health and wellness programs were significant at the .10 level. Elder care programs, on the other hand, were not found to have an impact on turnover. The implications the results have for theory and practice are discussed in the article.
This article adopts a qualitative approach to investigate public service motivation (PSM) among the government employees in Hong Kong. The government employees are not a homogeneous whole but a nuanced combination of rational self-interested motives, and PSM may help to explain the entry reason as well as work efforts of government officials of various ranks and employment terms, different nature of work, postings as well as time periods. Various obstacles to the development of PSM among the different groups are found, and the means of encouraging PSM are discussed. However, it should be pointed out that the primary requirements for a government employee should be competence and a "sense of responsibility" in carrying out the duties of the post concerned, while PSM serves only as an additional merit, indeed of secondary importance.
In recent years, the notion of place attachment has become one of the most engaging topics for tourism marketing researchers. Despite increased attention by researchers, little attention has been given to the relationship between destination image and place attachment. Few studies have examined the influence of various factors of destination image on place attachment. These factors are important because destination managers and administrators need to make substantial efforts to establish a positive image of their resort to attract potential visitors. We developed and tested three models to define the multitude of factors that affect the place attachment of a tourist resort. The study was conducted using a multi-dimensional survey. Using structural model to test relative hypothesis, the results of this research are presented. The study’s practical implications and limitations are also discussed.
Despite the considerable research to investigate the influence of organizational injustice on employees’ counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), relatively little attention has been paid to the role of moral identity. In the present study, we posit that people’s moral identity serves as a buffering factor between organizational injustice and CWB among Chinese public servants. Consistent with the hypotheses, survey results showed that organizational justice and moral identity interacted to influence Chinese public servants’ CWB. Specifically, when the moral identity of Chinese public servants was low, the negative correlation between organizational justice and CWB was more pronounced. Theoretical implications to the moral identity and organizational injustice literature are discussed, as well as the practical implications and suggestions for future research.
The comparison between self-expectations and perceived situations of one organization usually affects people’s perception of work. The present study proposes that perceived organizational health is a mediator for the relationships between job expectations and job self-efficacy, and between job expectations and job satisfaction. Also, job self-efficacy plays a mediating role between perceived organizational health and job satisfaction. The questionnaires were developed for Chinese participants. Data were collected from 477 junior employees in the public bus companies. Results indicated that the first two propositions had been confirmed. Both of them produced a complete mediating effect. Then they were combined and fitted in the same model, of which the fitness was good. The research outcomes were consistent with the social cognitive theory. Strengths, limitations, and future orientations have been discussed.
Basic-level police work in China is regarded as highly stressful. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between stress, job satisfaction, job burnout, and locus of control as related to the police work. The article consists of an empirical study with a sample of 521 basic-level policemen and policewomen in an autonomous region of China. Participants completed a series of questionnaires that included Police Stress Questionnaire, the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Internality, Powerful Others, and Chance Scale. The results indicated that police stress was negatively related to job satisfaction, whereas it was positively related to job burnout. The relationship between police stress and job satisfaction was mediated by job burnout. Locus of control acted as a moderator in the stress–burnout relationship as well as in the burnout–satisfaction relationship. The findings had certain practical implications for mental health, police management, and personnel recruitment of police in China.
The concept of approaching psychological capital (PsyCap) as an influencer on behaviors and results at both an individual and an organizational level is gaining support from a growing body of research. However, to date, the construct and impact of the PsyCap on adolescents’ behavioral outcomes have not been tested. If tested, an understanding of the psychological construct and its impact could be helpful for teachers and administrators in adjusting institutional methodology in accordance with the mental health status of the students. We explore the impact of PsyCap and the moderating role of perceived social support. We also adopt an innovative perspective to detect how to reduce problem behaviors. A construct of PsyCap of adolescents and the relationships among PsyCap, perceived social support, and behavioral problems is proposed. The findings provide a strong evidence-based recommendation for the use of PsyCap in a public school education management.
The changing demographics of Australian society and its workforce have propelled Australian Public Service (APS) organizations to proactively engage in diversity management (DM). Despite this growing imperative for DM in the APS, there has been little inquiry into the effectiveness of such programs. The aim was to investigate how an APS agency was transforming its commitment to DM into action. The findings revealed that a significant gap exists between the rhetoric of what the DM policy seeks to achieve and the reality experienced by employees in the areas of targeted recruitment, employee retention, and employee development. The practical implications of findings for wider stakeholders responsible for designing and implementing DM are discussed and limitations are noted together with recommendations for future research.
Given the current fiscal climate, budgetary pressures may have important implications for recruitment and retention of military personnel. In response to this issue, we join two literatures to study motivational differences in undergraduate college students and Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets: Moskos’ Institutional and Occupational (I-O) enlistment motivation model and Kim et al.’s revised Public Service Motivation (PSM) scale. We survey ROTC cadets and undergraduates at a mid-size public university and find that PSM is higher for ROTC cadets than regular undergraduates. We also find that for ROTC cadets, the institutional motivators for enlistment correlate positively with the rational, normative, and affective dimensions of PSM. In addition, we find increases in the Occupational motivator and the compassion PSM dimension reduce the likelihood of being an ROTC cadet whereas the Institutional motivator and the self-sacrifice PSM dimension are positively related with being an ROTC cadet.
Organizational justice (OJ) has been one of the topics studied most frequently in last decade’s years but mostly in the context of Western countries. This study tests the construct validity of OJ in the context of Chinese societies first, testifying four-dimensional OJ model is the best one, which includes distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and leadership justice. Second, the regression analysis of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) on OJ has been done; it was found that distributive justice (DJ) and interpersonal justice (IJ) have a positive effect on Organizational Citizenship Behavior Beneficial to Supervisor (OCBS), whereas procedural justice (PJ) and IJ have a positive effect on Organizational Citizenship Behavior Beneficial to Organization (OCBO). Last, the mediating role of social exchange between OJ and OCB was tested and verified—Perceived organizational support (POS) mediates PJ, leadership justice (LJ), and OCBO, whereas leader–member exchange (LMX) mediates DJ and IJ. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Collaboration is essential to public management. In the Chinese culture, collaborators’ satisfaction is considered key to quality of collaboration. Focusing on the role of negotiation in collaboration, this article presents an integrative negotiation theory that explores the development of collaborators’ satisfaction during negotiation process. Priming methodology was adapted to explore the causal relationship between collaborator’s level of satisfaction and its predicting variables, such as experienced emotions during negotiations and sense of profitability. The results were pertinent to the field of collaborative public management and negotiation.
The motivation of public managers to provide accurate personnel performance appraisals in the public sector is an unexplored area of study in public administration. This study provides preliminary steps in developing a rater motivation model (RMM) for the public administration field. The RMM is built using three primary determinants of rater motivation (felt accountability, incentive structures, and public service motivation). In addition, this study examines the variations in raters’ perceived rating accuracy depending on the existence of a reward system for accurate appraisers and an organizational forced distribution rating system. The sample consists of public officials working in various levels of the U.S. and Korean governments. This study uses confirmatory factor analysis to construct measures of rater motivation and multiple regression analysis to observe the relationship between the determinants and the rater’s perceived performance rating accuracy. The findings suggest that raters are significantly affected by all three determinants of rater motivation as well as by the presence of rewards for accurate appraisal and a forced distribution rating system. Implications for both the public administration literature and practice are suggested.
Public management reforms have promoted a new type of public career: boundaryless employees following lateral career trajectories in different organizations. The literature opposes boundaryless careers to the traditional career for life, based on vertical trajectories of promotion and tenure. The implicit image of the boundaryless careerist is one of fast-moving, intrinsically motivated professionals who self-direct their career across "old" organizational barriers. In this article, we study whether boundaryless career mind-sets are the vanguard of a more flexible and mobile workforce. We describe how many public employees experience boundaryless career mind-sets, and we analyze what drives them. Our research shows that boundaryless mind-sets are still rather exceptional. The traditional career mind-set within the organization prevails and many employees are very satisfied with it. Only public employees who are highly educated, invest in their own career and networks, and were successful in previous mobility experiences report a boundaryless career mind-set. Nevertheless, our research also points to a higher potential for boundaryless career mind-sets.
The purpose of this study was to examine the role between family-friendly employee benefits programs (FFEBPs) and organizational commitment and employee motivation (self-efficacy) among a sector of municipal employees. In particular, the effects of two FFEBPs (leave programs/time off programs and work-stress family programs) were assessed on organizational commitment and job self-efficacy outcomes. Three hundred forty-seven local government professionals completed an online survey that was used to measure the variables of interest. Results found significant mean differences of employees’ job self-efficacy and organizational commitment levels between agencies with work–family stress management FFEBPs and agencies without these programs. However, the effects of leave programs/time off FFEBPs were not significant predictors of an employee’s job self-efficacy.
Magnet-style characteristics are considered important to the recruitment and retention of nurses. Little is known about nurses’ perceptions of these characteristics across public, private, and third sector health care organizations. The primary aim of this paper is to examine these characteristics across sectors to determine whether differences in key Magnet-style characteristics exist. Given the employee-level focus, demographic factors were also considered. Australian nurses (n = 459) were recruited using an online panel. No differences between sectors on work environment dimensions were found. Gender, age, employment type, and tenure revealed significant relationships with various work characteristics. Similarities in the work perceptions across sectors implies no specific sector will be differentially impacted by the increasing nurse shortages. An increasing emphasis on contemporary work environments will increase the presence of Magnet-like characteristics irrespective of sector. These results highlight the potential of practice permeability occurring, particularly in a system with common policy and operational drivers.
A recent survey of 19,261 university students in Canada revealed the Government of Canada as the employer of choice, among the millennial generation. Drawing on the employer knowledge framework, we explore how the Millennials make career choices, what they find attractive, and how public service may help them achieve their career goals, work values, and work/life choices. Specifically, the Millennials prioritized balancing personal life and career, pursuing further education, and contributing to society as their top career goals. Those who indicated a career choice in public service also rated high ethical standards, social responsibility, and a progressive working environment as ideal employer characteristics. Moreover, the Millennials also consider an inclusive work environment and having diverse colleagues to be important factors when accepting employment. Overall, there appears to be a good fit between the factors the Millennials find important and a career choice in public service. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Telecommuting is an increasingly popular organizational dynamic that presents unique challenges for workers, managers, and human resources departments regarding how employees relate to their organizations, as well as what telecommuters need from their managers to be satisfied, committed employees. Much is known about how employees in private companies relate to their organizations in a standard work setting. However, little is understood about how teleworkers in government organizations relate to their organizations, and how managerial leadership behaviors influence the organizationally related outcomes of telecommuters. This article reviews some of the challenges with telecommuting, focusing on telecommuting’s impact on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The article then presents a prominent leadership style dichotomy and assesses the impact of the two leadership styles on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The substitutes for leadership are included in this assessment. To synthesize these literatures, the final section of the article combines telecommuting challenges and leadership style to suggest the leadership style that best mediates the negative aspects of telecommuting and is, therefore, most important for employees in a telecommuting environment. Areas for further research are also considered.
This article describes the results of a comparative case study of two competence development trajectories within Dutch public administration organizations. These two trajectories are rather different: One can be seen as a more theory-driven training approach whereas the other can be seen as practice-driven coaching. Their theoretical distinctions are elaborated upon, and the ways in which these differences impact upon their contributions to individual and organizational learning processes are analyzed. The article concludes with some observations on the relative value of both approaches as well as some conclusions about the ways in which the two approaches can strengthen each other and enhance individual and organizational learning.
Merit pay is based on individual performance and is one of the most widely accepted methods to encourage and recognize meritorious job performance. At the core of an agency’s merit pay increase system is the performance appraisal instrument and interview. A recent study discussed the steps involved in creating job-specific performance appraisal instruments that can be used to assess employees’ range of performance and the interview process involved in conducting a well-defined performance appraisal. This article builds on this previous research and focuses on the final steps of a pay-for-performance system to determine how much of a merit increase will be given for different levels of performance. A case study methodology is used to review the literature on the ways in which organizations differentially compensate individuals based on their performance; to implement the recommendations of the literature review to develop a model for the distribution of merit pay increases for the Elmhurst Park District (Elmhurst, Illinois), and to evaluate employees’ attitudes toward the newly developed model in contrast to a previous model. Comparison of employee attitudes toward the original system and the newly developed system found significant mean differences on four of the six items assessing the employees’ overall satisfaction with the system and their perceptions of distributive justice.