Review of Public Administration and Management

Abstract

A Study to Determine the Impact of Management on Public Service Motivation in Public Sector Employees

Daniel McClure

The intentions of this project are to provide information on the developing concept of Public Service Motivation (PSM) in Public Employees, specifically academic advisors in higher education. Initially there will be a review of existing literature on public service motivation and academic advisement. Specific topics will include research on desired rewards, developmental factors of PSM, organizational effects on PSM, measurement of PSM, how PSM influences performance, and methods to impact PSM. With a review of the literature in consideration, a research study will follow. It will be specific to the relationship, if any, of PSM and Management. The study examines twelve academic advisors with six different supervisors. Each advisor and supervisor were interviewed and their responses were collected to a pre-determined set of questions that identify their Public Service Motivation levels. That data was organized and compared with other responses to observe trends and factors that impact the PSM levels across advisors. The conclusion of the study was that management does have a significant impact on PSM levels in academic advisors. This is important as it suggest the need for additional training and development of supervisors to more successfully capture and utilize high PSM levels in public servants.