Gjalt de Graaf

On value differences experienced by sector switchers

This article examines experienced differences in values between employees in the public and private sector. To elucidate them, the authors interviewed 30 employees of the public sector previously employed in the private sector and 30 employees of the private sector previously employed in the public sector, all of them in the Netherlands. The major conclusion is that the values of profitability, competitiveness, and customer orientation have a greater influence on business decisions; in public organizations, values such as legitimacy, lawfulness, accountability, and impartiality play a larger role. However, great differences exist among the organizations within each sector.This article examines experienced differences in values between employees in the public and private sector. To elucidate them, the authors interviewed 30 employees of the public sector previously e...

From Galaxies to Universe: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Analysis of Public Values Publications From 1969 to 2012

The study of public values (PVs) is generating growing interest in public administration and public management, yet many challenges and unanswered questions remain. For the study of PVs to progress, we need to go beyond the traditional boundaries of public administration and management, to explore how and why scholars in different disciplines use the concept, and how and where approaches to the concept differ and overlap. This article represents the first step in that effort. Specifically, the article uses a meta-analysis of 397 PVs publications from across 18 disciplines to generate a preliminary map of the PVs research terrain. Our findings show an increasing number of PVs publications over the decades, but with particular growth since 2000. Moreover, although PVs research is flourishing in public administration, it appears to be subsiding in other disciplines. Implications of these and other findings are discussed.

Competing values in public management

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.

Managing Conflicting Public Values: Governing With Integrity and Effectiveness

The articles of this symposium were all part of the First Global Dialogue on Ethical and Effective Governance, a conference organized by the VU University in Amsterdam in May 2009. In this introduction we focus on the subtitle of the conference: governing with integrity and governing effectively/efficiently – both are intrinsically valued. The importance of governing with moral public values like transparency, equity, and honesty is clear. Yet it is also clear that acting on moral values does not always produce the required policy outcomes. The potential conflict between governing with integrity and governing efficiently and effectively is the central theme of this symposium.The articles of this symposium were all part of the First Global Dialogue on Ethical and Effective Governance, a conference organized by the VU University in Amsterdam in May 2009. In this introduction we focus on the subtitle of the conference: governing with integrity and governing effectively/efficiently – both are intrinsically valued. The importance of governing with moral public values like transparency, equity, and honesty is clear. Yet it is also clear that acting on moral values does not always produce the required policy outcomes. The potential conflict between governing with integrity and governing efficiently and effectively is the central theme of this symposium.

Coping With Public Value Conflicts

Good governance involves managing conflicting values, leading to the main research question, which consists of three parts: Which public value profiles do public administrators have, which value conflicts do they experience, and which coping strategies are used? Here, previous literature on public value conflicts is discussed first and linked to the literature on street-level bureaucrats and on coping strategies. Then two case studies are presented: a municipality and a hospital. The findings show six different value clusters that administrators adhere to and clarify which value conflicts are typically experienced in various public sector organizations and which different coping mechanisms are used.

Good Governance Performance Values and Procedural Values in Conflict

Good governance codes usually end with a list of public values no one could oppose. A recurrent issue is that not all of these values—however desirable they are—can be achieved at the same time. With its focus on performance and procedural values of governance, this article zooms in on the conflict between two different types of values, signifying and exemplifying how output and outcome on one hand and the process of governance on the other may coincide or collide. The main research question is, “What is the nature of value conflict in public governance and what specific conflicts between performance and procedural values do public actors perceive?” A literature review and two case studies involving aldermen and the most senior public administrators in public governance set out to answer these questions. The most frequently perceived conflict is between lawfulness and transparency in procedure, on one hand, and the attainment of effectiveness and efficiency as performance values on the other.

The Bright Future of Value Pluralism in Public Administration

In their critique of Spicer’s and Wagenaar’s account of value pluralism (VP), Talisse, Overeem, and Verhoef seem to suggest either that VP does not exist or that it is irrelevant for public administration (PA). My argument is that in public governance, there are many conflicting intrinsic values. This means we can speak of incommensurability, the key feature of VP, and there is much potential for PA in this realization. I propose additional research questions on the nature of value conflict in late modern governance: which intrinsic values conflict in public governance, how often do they conflict, and how is this dealt with by both individuals and institutions? Answers to these questions will have a great deal of practical relevance and might possibly lead to what Beck Jorgensen and Rutgers call a new “Public Values Perspective (PVP)” in PA.In their critique of Spicer’s and Wagenaar’s account of value pluralism (VP), Talisse, Overeem, and Verhoef seem to suggest either that VP does not exist or that it is irrelevant for public administration (PA). My argument is that in public governance, there are many conflicting intrinsic values. This means we can speak of incommensurability, the key feature of VP, and there is much potential for PA in this realization. I propose additional research questions on the nature of value conflict in late modern governance: which intrinsic values conflict in public governance, how often do they conflict, and how is this dealt with by both individuals and institutions? Answers to these questions will have a great deal of practical relevance and might possibly lead to what Beck Jørgensen and Rutgers call a new “Public Values Perspective (PVP)” in PA.

Without Blinders: Public Values Scholarship in Political Science, Economics, and Law—Content and Contribution to Public Administration

How and why are public values studied within public administration’s cognate disciplines? This question is addressed through a qualitative analysis of 50 public values (PVs) publications in political science, economics, and law published between 1969 and 2014. The findings show that political scientists intuitively connect PVs to the actual public rather than to government agencies and employees, whereas legal scholars often view PVs as public interests or rights. Economists are mostly concerned with how PVs can be qualified vis-a-vis private “value” and values. In short, each discipline views PVs in accordance with its key foci and epistemologies; as such, “wearing blinders” is not exclusive to one discipline. Moreover, a citation analysis shows that PVs scholars in the field of public administration seldom engage with literature from these disciplines, and vice-versa, even though doing so provides opportunities for broadening the discipline’s understanding of PVs and how they conflict, across various st...How and why are public values studied within public administration’s cognate disciplines? This question is addressed through a qualitative analysis of 50 public values (PVs) publications in political science, economics, and law published between 1969 and 2014. The findings show that political scientists intuitively connect PVs to the actual public rather than to government agencies and employees, whereas legal scholars often view PVs as public interests or rights. Economists are mostly concerned with how PVs can be qualified vis-à-vis private “value” and values. In short, each discipline views PVs in accordance with its key foci and epistemologies; as such, “wearing blinders” is not exclusive to one discipline. Moreover, a citation analysis shows that PVs scholars in the field of public administration seldom engage with literature from these disciplines, and vice-versa, even though doing so provides opportunities for broadening the discipline’s understanding of PVs and how they conflict, across various stages and functions of policy and administration, in the pursuit of good governance.

Integrity Violations and Corruption in Western Public Governance: Empirical Evidence and Reflection from the Netherlands

How often integrity violations occur in Western governance, and the precise nature of these violations, is as yet not very clear. Data on this subject—drawn from experience in the Netherlands—are presented here. The main research question is: What is the scale of integrity violations within Dutch public governance and what is the nature of these violations? The article provides the results of research on the perceptions of 7,315 Dutch civil servants who were surveyed on integrity violations in their work surroundings. All told, 2,035 respondents (nearly 28%) reported suspicion(s) of integrity violations in their direct working environment in the preceding two years. A substantial proportion of respondents said that they had experienced inappropriate and ill-mannered behavior and relatively “small” violations, such as profiting at the expense of the organization (fraud, abuse of resources) through noncompliance with working-hour regulations or by abuse of the organization’s resources. Integrity of governance in a Western context concerns corruption (and fraud), but there are indeed many other types of integrity violations that are prominent in the eyes of public sector employees. The moral quality of governance is thus also related to other values and norms than incorruptibility and impartiality. It seems important to incorporate this perspective into the fierce theoretical and practical debate on the corruption and integrity of governance.

The art of good governance: how images from the past provide inspiration for modern practice

Since the early 1990s, discourse on ‘good governance’ has become more prevalent. What ‘good governance’ means and entails, however, and when we can speak of ‘good’ governance in this discourse, is ...Since the early 1990s, discourse on ‘good governance’ has become more prevalent. What ‘good governance’ means and entails, however, and when we can speak of ‘good’ governance in this discourse, is not always clear. Many scholars in public administration and other social sciences writing about good governance have used visual interpretations of good governance from centuries ago to illustrate their case in point. Here, we also use pictures from the past – Lorenzetti’s Sienese frescoes to be more precise – yet, not as an illustration, but as the core of the argument. Our main research question is: how can Lorenzetti’s frescoes of Good Governance inspire our modern-day conception of good governance? We conclude that good governance is governance by good governors, and good governors are governors guided by benevolence. We end with a discussion of what that entails for modern-day governance practice. Points for practitioners Governance without integrity violations is not necessarily good governance. Benevolence is needed for that.