Edmund C. Stazyk

Understanding Affective Organizational Commitment: The Importance of Institutional Context

This study proposes and tests a model of affective organizational commitment that seeks to capture aspects of the unique institutional context of public organizations. An analysis of survey data from seven public sector organizations suggests external control increases organizational goal ambiguity and two types of bureaucratic red tape, which, in turn, negatively affects affective commitment. Although personnel red tape has a direct adverse impact on affective commitment, procurement red tape is not found to have a significant effect. Organizational goal ambiguity’s influence on affective organizational commitment, however, is mediated through its effect on centralization and role ambiguity. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these relationships and possible explanations for instances when findings are not consistent with expectations.

Crowding Out Public Service Motivation? Comparing Theoretical Expectations with Empirical Findings on the Influence of Performance-Related Pay

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.

How Important are Competitive Wages? Exploring the Impact of Relative Wage Rates on Employee Turnover in State Government

In recent years, public management research has made great strides in explaining the drivers of employee turnover in the public sector, with key findings related to the role of employee loyalty, organizational satisfaction, person-organization fit, and compensation. This article contributes to this growing body of literature by assessing the influence of a previously untested driver of employee turnover at the state level of government: public—private wage equity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, results suggest that public—private wage equity does not significantly influence voluntary separation rates, whereas state government unionization and the average age of state government employees are found to be indirectly related to voluntary separation. Results also point to the potential implications of ethnicity, gender, and public service motivation in state government employee turnover and provide key insights for those seeking to further understand the impact of reduced expenditures on public sector wages and shifting age distributions in public sector employment.

Vive la Différence? The Impact of Diversity on the Turnover Intention of Public Employees and Performance of Public Agencies

ABSTRACT This article addresses previous shortcomings in diversity management scholarship by testing an expanded diversity model borrowed from the work of Page (2007). Pages model assumes diversity can be measured as both a mean and a variance, and that it consists of cognitive, identity, and preference characteristics. We link Pages conceptualization of diversity to both individual-level outcomes and organizational performance. Results indicate cognitive, preference, and identity diversity have either no or small, mixed effects on employee turnover intentions and agency performance; instead, findings suggest employee voice and organizational size and structure matter more than diversity in our sample. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical ramifications of our findings.

Sustainability, Intergenerational Social Equity, and the Socially Responsible Organization

Drawing on perspectives from several academic traditions, we argue that sustainability is best understood as intergenerational social equity. When viewed thusly, it is possible to determine what socially responsible organizations look like in practice. After reviewing historic claims and evidence of sustainability, we turn to modern applications of institutionally based sustainability. We then describe sustainability in the framework of an intergenerational social equity model, claiming that the legacies of social and cultural institutions are evidence of sustainability in action. We conclude with a discussion of what it means for an organization to be socially responsible given our understanding of sustainability.

Putting the Methodological Cart Before the Theoretical Horse? Examining the Application of SEM to Connect Theory and Method in Public Administration Research:

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.

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

Abstract Organizational psychologists and HRM scholars have long argued that prosocial organizational behaviors enhance organizational performance. However, prosocial behaviors are motivated by both self-interested and altruistic intent. Moreover, some have recognized that the factors that encourage shifts between egoistically and altruistically motivated prosocial behaviors may result from inherent tensions between individual disposition and situational contexts. As such, this study draws from literature examining prosocial behavior to evaluate whether work situations with clear task expectations dampen the extent to which prosocial personal dispositions diminish egoistically motivated prosocial behavior. Findings from a series of structural equation models reveal that altruistic dispositional traits diminish egoistic motives for engaging in one specific prosocial behavior, whistle-blowing. However, findings also reveal that work situations characterized by clear task expectations dampen the negative effect of altruistic dispositions on egoistically motivated whistle-blowing. Our findings imply that managers can adjust organizational contexts to capitalize on the enhanced benefits resulting from altruistically motivated prosocial behaviors.

Ranking Public Policy and Administration Graduate Programs, 1995-2016 An Analysis and Discussion

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.

Book Review: Rethinking Public Sector Compensation: What Ever Happened to the Public Interest?ReillyT. (2012). Rethinking Public Sector Compensation: What Ever Happened to the Public Interest?Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. 192 pp.

Thom Reilly has enjoyed a long and distinguished career, having administered a statewide child welfare system and served as a county manager in Clark County, Nevada, and as vice-chancellor for the Nevada System of Higher Education. Reilly, a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration, is currently a professor and director of the School of Social Work at San Diego State University and an executive director for the Caesars Foundation. In Rethinking Public Sector Compensation, Reilly employs his considerable knowledge and background to examine how public employees are compensated. He argues public employees