"During the last three decades, social and behavioral scientists have intensively studied the motivating power of public service. The research focuses on varied concepts-public service motivation, altruism, and prosocial motivation and behavior. This research has produced a critical mass of new knowledge for transforming the motivation of public employees, civil service policies and management practices. The book is the first to look systematically across the different streams of other-oriented motivation research. It is also the first to synthesize research across applied questions that public organizations and their leaders confront, including: recruiting and selecting staff who will ethically and competently pursue public service; designing public work to leverage its meaningfulness; creating work environments that support intrinsically-motivated, prosocial behavior; compensating and rewarding employees to energize and sustain public service; socializing employees for public service missions and values; and leading employees for causes great than themselves"--

New behavioural science knowledge about motivation in public service from a pioneer of the field.

Human Resource Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems offers provocative and thorough coverage of the complex issues of management in the public sector. This Seventh Edition encourages active learning for students through skill-building exercises, problem-solving tasks, and new sections on critical thinking.

Discover the latest insights in organization theory from a comprehensive and masterful volume Understanding and Managing Public Organizations, 6th Edition provides readers with an authoritative reference for scholars, masters, and doctoral students in public management and public affairs programs in the United States and other nations. The 6th Edition of Understanding and Managing Public Organizations presents the latest research and insights from organization and management theory and their application to public organizations and the people in them. The book expands coverage from previous editions about organizational goals, performance and effectiveness, strategy, decision-making, structure and design, organizational change, operating environments, individuals and groups, motivation and work-related attitudes, leadership, teamwork, and more. Authors and professors Hal Rainey, Sergio Fernandez, and Deanna Malatesta provide new and expanded coverage of such topics as The context and distinctive character of public and nonprofit organizations, including expanded coverage of "publicness" and of the legal context including "state action" Performance management, measurement, organizational effectiveness, and managing for high performance Representative bureaucracy, workforce diversity, and performance Communication and information technology Employee engagement and empowerment, intrinsic motivation, self-determination theory, public service motivation, and positive organizational behavior—resilience, self-efficacy, optimism, and hope Recent developments in theory and thought on leadership, including authentic leadership, shared leadership, servant leadership, and integrated leadership Design and process topics including red tape and green tape, administrative burdens, and organizational routines Theoretical perspectives such as behavioral theory of decision making, resource dependence theory, and others, and their implications for public and nonprofit organizations Advances in theory and practice about rapid developments in collaborative governance, organizational networks, partnerships, and contracting Since the book is used in courses for students in numerous public affairs programs, this new edition updates the Instructor’s Guide, with new and revised PowerPoint slides, cases, exercises, and discussion and examination questions These materials, with the topics in the chapters, are designed to address the learning outcomes required by NASPAA accreditation requirements Belonging on the shelf of scholars and students in public affairs, as well as anyone interested in public management or organization theory, this new edition of Understanding and Managing Public Organizations provides an advanced and comprehensive enhancement to a widely used and compelling series of previous editions.

Managing for results is increasingly important for the success of public organizations. Performance and Innovation in the Public Sector is a comprehensive textbook that examines a broad range of performance strategies. Today’s public managers require a broad toolkit and a deep, current understanding of the following: performance management, digital government, collaboration, strategic planning, innovation, lean government, and managing people for performance. This book provides a thorough overview of broad paradigms and their emergence, practical strategies along with examples and up-to-date applications, and an appreciation for the diverse contexts of public organizations resulting in varied and tailored improvements. Each chapter assists students in applying each tool at work. Performance and Innovation in the Public Sector provides a balance of scholarship and practice, offers flexibility for instructors, and is written in an accessible style that students and professionals appreciate. This revised, much-anticipated third edition includes an increased emphasis on improving governance and innovation, as well as up-to-date examples that demonstrate best practices for performance in diverse public sector settings.

Chris O’Leary looks afresh at the reasons for prosocial work choices in the first substantive critique of Public Service Motivation (PSM). With critical analysis of theoretical and empirical research to date, this book explores the pros and cons of PSM and interrogates the reasons why people choose to work in the public and third sectors. It proposes an alternative theory for the pursuit of service, rooted in rational choice theory, that shows public servants are expressly motivated to confirm their values and identity through their work. For those involved in public policy, administration and management, this is a constructive and stimulating review of an important but often neglected aspect of the sector.

Provides a systematic overview, analysis, framework, research agenda, and strategic directions for the study of public sector innovation. The authors discuss: how public organizations and public sector employees can innovate, barriers and impediments, governments' role for innovation, sources of innovation, types of innovation, ethics.