Accounting for personal disposition and organizational context: connecting role ambiguity, public service motivation, and whistle-blowing in federal agencies

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1313-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall S. Davis ◽  
Edmund C. Stazyk ◽  
Christopher M. Klingeman
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Role Ambiguity ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
Whistle Blowing

Public Service Motivation and Decisions to Report Wrongdoing in U.S. Federal Agencies: Is This Relationship Mediated by the Seriousness of the Wrongdoing

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 810-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Gerard Caillier
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
The Public ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Prosocial Organizational Behavior

Scholars have argued that whistle-blowing is consistent with public service motivation (PSM), given that whistle-blowing is a form of self-sacrifice and concern for the public interest. Such a connection is also consistent with the Prosocial Organizational Behavior (POB) Model. However, only one article was found that examined the direct association between PSM and whether or not employees reported unlawful acts. Furthermore, no article was found to explore the relationship between PSM, whistle-blowing, and seriousness of wrongdoing—an important intervening factor that influences decisions to report. This is surprising because whistle-blowers can prevent detrimental harm to individuals and society and yet we still know little about the internal motives that cause them to come forward. Consequently, the connection between PSM and whistle-blowing was investigated further in this article. Consistent with the POB Model, PSM was positively associated with whistle-blowing generally, as well as internal and external whistle-blowing. Seriousness of wrongdoing was also found to have a positive effect on whistle-blowing. Furthermore, seriousness of wrongdoing was found to moderate the relationship between PSM and only internal whistle-blowing. The implications of the findings are discussed in the article.

Public Service Motivation in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Public Voices ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Mastracci
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Buffy The Vampire Slayer ◽  
The Public ◽  
American Popular Culture ◽  
Public Servant ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

In this paper, the author examines public service as depicted in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS). First, she shows how slaying meets the economist’s definition of a public good, using the BtVS episode “Flooded” (6.04). Second, she discusses public service motivation (PSM) to determine whether or not Buffy, a public servant, operates from a public service ethic. Relying on established measures and evidence from shooting scripts and episode transcripts, the author concludes Buffy is a public servant motivated by a public service ethic. In this way, BtVS informs scholarship on public service by broadening the concept of PSM beyond the public sector; prompting one to wonder whether it is located in a sector, an occupation, or in the individual. These conclusions allow the author to situate Buffy alongside other idealized public servants in American popular culture.

Volunteerism in Times of Crisis: An Unconventional Response to Processing Unemployment Insurance Claims

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-225
Author(s):  
ChiaKo Hung ◽  
Morgen S. Johansen ◽  
Jennifer Kagan ◽  
David Lee ◽  
Helen H. Yu
Keyword(s):  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Insurance Claims ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Public Agency ◽  
The Relationship

This essay provides a reflective commentary outlining Hawai’i’s unconventional response for employing a volunteer workforce of public servants when faced with the task of processing an unprecedented backlog of unemployment insurance claims triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although efforts are still ongoing, this essay applies volunteerism and public service motivation as a framework to explain why public servants would serve in a voluntary capacity at another public agency. The intent of this essay is to spur conversation on how public servants are further stepping up to the frontlines during times of crisis, as well as expand knowledge on the relationship between volunteerism and public service motivation.

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