G. de Graaf

Management of competing public values and ethical decisions

Abstract The main objective of the article is to review relevant literature on (competing) public values in public management and to present a number of perspectives on how to deal with value conflicts in different administrative settings and contexts. We start this symposium with the assumption that value conflicts are prevalent, the public context can be characterized by value pluralism, and instrumental rationality does not seem to be the most useful to understand or improve value conflicts in public governance. This begs the question: what is the best way to study and manage value conflicts? The contributions to this symposium issue approach value conflicts in public governance from different perspectives, within different countries and different administrative and management systems, hoping to contribute to the debate on how to deal with important yet conflicting public values in public management, without pretending to offer a conclusive strategy or approach.This introductory article also presents and reviews the contributions to this symposium issue.

Using Q methology in administrative ethics

Q methodology is seldom used by academics and practitioners in the field of administrative ethics, but it has important potential for empirical studies. Q offers a procedure and conceptual framework with which to study subjectivity in the social context. It has the advantage of bringing marginalized viewpoints to the fore but also has some drawbacks. The appendix provides a basic introduction to Q and shows how it can be used in research.Q methodology is seldom used by academics and practitioners in the field of administrative ethics, but it has important potential for empirical studies. Q offers a procedure and conceptual framework with which to study subjectivity in the social context. It has the advantage of bringing marginalized viewpoints to the fore but also has some drawbacks. The appendix provides a basic introduction to Q and shows how it can be used in research.

Public Values in Public–Private Partnerships

Although public–private partnerships (PPPs) are often evaluated in terms of efficiency, their impact on public values is often neglected. In order to find out what we know about the public values–PPPs relation, this article reviews public administration literature and describes two opposite perspectives. The first perspective argues that public values are at stake whereas the second argues they are safeguarded or even reinforced. We argue that the assumptions of both perspectives are biased and incomparable due to the fact that each perspective holds a different ontological understanding of the concept of public values. Finally, we provide some ideas for further research.

The good cause: theoretical perspectives on corruption

From conceptualization to ideas on practical policy recommendations, The Good Cause presents a state-of-the-art study on the causes of corruption. A cohort of internationally-recognized researchers from the various academic fields that study corruption come together to explain their different theoretical perspectives and offer an introduction to corruption theory. The Good Cause integrates research to date, delves into the dilemmas within theoretically framing and empirically studying corruption, and gives direction to future research. Understanding different theoretical perspectives illuminates new viewpoints on an important social phenomenon and the spectrum of possibilities available to us in treating it analytically and practically. Those of us concerned with problems of public integrity are better off now that we have a clear, thorough analysis of the principles guiding discourse and action on corruption. So many have either ignored the challenge of understanding corruption or have failed trying to grasp its complexity that it is startling to read a book that takes the challenge head on and succeeds chapter by chapter. Each analytic approach, represented by a first rate scholar, is connected to the overall mission of presenting an accessible, sophisticated review of corruption and the ideal of honesty in governance. This book is an invaluable asset to scholars and practitioners alike. Prof. Frank Anechiarico, Maynard-Knox Professor of Government and Law, Hamilton College, New York ‘After a generation of renewed effort against corruption it is time to step back and reconsider the big picture. This book gives us a challenging view of the emergence of key concepts of corruption and reform, of new perspectives on the origins of corruption problems and the nature of change, and of ways in which we need to adapt familiar ideas to new knowledge and circumstances. It will stimulate important conversations among refomers and scholars alike.’ Prof. Michael Johnston, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, Colgate University; author of ‘Syndroms of Corruption’ and co-editor of ‘Political Corruption: Concepts and Contexts’ ’This book brings together world experts to discuss the complex nature of corruption that undermines the legitimacy, performance, and credibility of all institutions. The emphasis is on the impact of corruption on public policy, law, and administration. The contributors investigate why corruption has persisted throughout history and why it is so difficult to combat.’ Prof. Gerald E. Caiden, University of Southern California, School of Policy, Planning, and Debelopment; author of ‘Where Corruption Lives’

What Works: The Role of Confidential Integrity Advisors and Effective Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing and whistleblowers have received a great deal of attention over the last decade. By now, we know quite a bit about the whistleblower. Whistleblowing (in particular, internal reporting systems) has received less attention. When it comes to effective whistleblowing, we know least about those factors we can most easily influence. Here, the focus is on one possible part of an internal reporting system: the confidential integrity advisor (CIA). Our main research question is: What is the most effective internal reporting system and what role should the confidential integrity advisor play? The analysis of this research is based on different data sources. First, 25 CIAs from many different types of public organizations were interviewed. Second, a survey was carried out among Dutch civil servants (nxa0=xa07543). CIAs can play an important role in an effective reporting system. It is important that they are supported by management, have clear descriptions of their duties and tasks, and receive support fr...Whistleblowing and whistleblowers have received a great deal of attention over the last decade. By now, we know quite a bit about the whistleblower. Whistleblowing (in particular, internal reporting systems) has received less attention. When it comes to effective whistleblowing, we know least about those factors we can most easily influence. Here, the focus is on one possible part of an internal reporting system: the confidential integrity advisor (CIA). Our main research question is: What is the most effective internal reporting system and what role should the confidential integrity advisor play? The analysis of this research is based on different data sources. First, 25 CIAs from many different types of public organizations were interviewed. Second, a survey was carried out among Dutch civil servants (n = 7543). CIAs can play an important role in an effective reporting system. It is important that they are supported by management, have clear descriptions of their duties and tasks, and receive support from supervisors. To improve the effectiveness of the reporting system, addressing the role of supervisors is a logical place to start.

Give me a break!: Associations between informal caregivers' attitudes toward respite care and characteristics of caregivers, care recipients and the care giving situation

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVEnBecause informal health care is now recognized to be indispensable to health care systems, different forms of respite care have been developed and publicly funded that supposedly alleviate caregivers perceived burdens and help prolong the care giving task. Nonetheless, the use of respite care services is low even among substantially strained caregivers. To throw light on this low usage, this paper explores the associations between attitudes towards respite care, characteristics of the care giving situation, and the need and use of respite care.nnnMETHODnThe survey, administered to a sample of 273 informal caregivers, addressed caregiver, care recipient, and care giving situation characteristics, as well as the familiarity and use of respite care services. It also included a sub-set of 12 statements eliciting attitudes towards respite care from an earlier study [Van Exel NJA, De Graaf G, Brouwer WBF. Care for a break? An investigation of informal caregivers attitudes toward respite care using Q-methodology. Health Policy 2007;83(2/3):332-42]. Associations between variables were measured using univariate statistics and multinomial logistic regression.nnnRESULTSnWe found three caregiver attitudes, distributed fairly equally in the sample, that are apparently associated with caregiver educational level, employment status, health and happiness, as well as care recipient gender, duration and intensity of care giving, relationship, co-residence, need for surveillance, and subjective burden and process utility of care giving. However, the relation between attitude and familiarity with and use of respite care services is ambiguous.nnnCONCLUSIONSnAlthough further exploration is needed of the mix of Q-methodology and survey analysis, the overall results indicate that a considerable portion of the caregiver population needs but does not readily ask for support or respite care. This finding has important policy implications in the context of an ageing population.

Introduction to a Symposium in Integrity and Integrity Systems

Welcome to this symposium issue of IJPA, which is based on papers presented at the European Group of Public Administration annual conference in Bergen, Norway in September 2012. The papers are from the permanent study group on Quality and Integrity of Governance, which has been running for eleven years and in that time has produced a wide range of conceptual and empirical research from Asia, Australasia, Africa, and both North and South America. We are delighted to be able to continue this tradition here, and the following articles for the symposium all have a European flavor, encompassing studies from North, South, West, and East, which nevertheless covers a spectrum of integrity issues, from the local, through the national, to the supra-national. We begin in Southern Europe, with Jiménez-Sánchez, García-Quesada, and Villoria’s discussion in “Integrity Systems, Values and Expectations: Explaining Differences in the Extent of Corruption in Three Spanish Local Governments.” The article focuses upon the Local Integrity Systems in three separate locales and looks at the way in which each has tackled the problem of corruption relating to increasing levels of urban development. The authors found that despite differences in the level and nature of corrupt practices in each area, Local Integrity Systems alone could not account for such differences. Nor could public values, which were found through survey data to be broadly similar across each case. Jiménez-Sánchez et al. suggest, therefore, that broader explanatory factors may be at play including informal rules and context-dependent relationships. All of these make the continued search for a set of generalized local integrity measures a quest worth striving for.