How Public Service Motivation (PSM) is Used[edit]

PSM helps employees get the most out of their job experience and is rapidly
evolving to work towards employee goals and company needs effectively. Efforts to
manage employee behavior within government organizations by focusing on financial
rewards may not have the desired effect and could potentially have a negative
impact on employee motivation and performance seeing as how those that do work in
the public sector are usually not motivated by financial gain. According to Perry,
PSM in today's society is more about focusing on employee commitment to an
organization rather than benefits of a higher salary. One way PSM output can be
measured is by team performance which encourages individuals to engage in behaviors
that are best for the team�s success and productivity.[1] Performance can be
measured in different categories and various outcomes can be utilized in order to
help the organization set goals and interpret the results to tweak their
motivational techniques. One area or aspect of management that relies heavily on
motivation is when an organization or company determines how to distribute rewards
to employees. Gottfredson emphasized that rewards may be the most important tool
that business leaders have to coordinate and motivate team members[1] with the idea
that rewards can be monetary or promotional, but motivation plays a key part in how
hard employees will work to receive rewards.
Perry�s Public Service Motivation Scale[edit]
Public Service Motivation serves to provide the general public with an idea of what
motivates individuals to choose career paths within the public sector as opposed to
the private. Previous research emphasized that PSM was influenced by various social
and political factors that ultimately drive employees to take an interest in the
public sector. The history and concept of public service motivation has been
studied by authors who contributed to the understanding of the practice itself such
as Perry and Wise who coined the term PSM in 1990, and other political figures such
as Woodrow Wilson who founded the field of Public Administration. Perry and Wise
stated that PSM is often influenced by various social, political, and institutional
factors and failure on the organization's part to recognize the motivation of its
employees could lead to the discouragement of such individuals from the public
sector.
Mission Valence[edit]
Mission Valence can be viewed as an employee�s perception of the attractiveness or
salience of an organization�s purpose or social contribution.[2] Mission Valence is
a concept formulated by Rainey and Steinbauer in 1999 that serves to provide a
better understanding of what compels an employee to uphold and achieve goals within
their organization. Mission Valence enhances the satisfaction that an individual
experiences or anticipates to receive from advancing the organizational mission,
and in turn, it has the "potential to influence the ability of the organization to
recruit, retain, and motivate its employees."[2] Ultimately, linking the
organization�s mission to the values and characteristics of the employee can
increase the potential effects of PSM as members of the organization become
committed to its success. Rainey and Steinbauer attribute mission valence to
enhancing the satisfaction of an employee when the organization�s mission or goal
is achieved thus giving the employer the ability to motivate his or her employees
and seek their retention. With the desire to help others, public employees are more
likely to seek employment within a public organization because the particular
mission of that organization often aligns with their own personal values. Previous
studies enhance the notion that leadership along with effective management can
increase employee mission valence through its ability to promote public service
motivation.
Transformational Leadership[edit]
Main article: Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership moves away from a traditional management perspective
that is based on self-interest and the exchanging of rewards for positive
performance, and instead proposes the ideology of value based leadership to inspire
and thus motivate employees. Although value based leadership is not new to the
scope of public management, it is important to understand the evolution of how
employers communicate the vision of the organization�s purpose to their employees.
Transformational leadership can motivate employees by appealing to their ideals and
moral values, which in turn leads to a more effective and meaningful work
environment. Transformational leaders create shared organizational value through
"inspirational communication, ongoing practices, setting meaningful goals and
designating significant work."[3] Paarlberg and Lavigna exclaim that linking
transformational leadership and public service motivation to human resource
management strategies will not radically improve the outcome of the workplace, but
rather steadily transform management practices to garner the best organizational
outcome to better motivate public sector employees.
The Role of Organizations in Promoting PSM[edit]
The impact of organizational institutions can either have a positive or negative
ramifications on the motivational attitude of employees. According to Perry and
Wise, whose theories contributed to the understanding of the ongoing relationship
between one's overall motivation and the public interest, provided the widely
accepted definition of PSM as an individual�s "predisposition to respond to motives
grounded primarily or uniquely in public institutions and organizations."[4] Under
this definition, organizations have the duty and responsibility to foster an
environment that allows employees to feel as if they are able to contribute to the
general welfare of the public and can achieve their goals. Various scholars and
researchers emphasize the role of organizations as an important aspect of PSM and
indicate several factors that face employees on a regular basis that could either
promote or hinder PSM. Perry and Wise specify those factors of an organization that
influence PSM to include culture within an organization which can negatively be
associated with PSM as hierarchical cultures tend to emphasize rule-based control
of employees and bureaucratic personality,[4] employees that experience red tape
who often are characterized with lower levels of PSM as red tape includes rules
regulations, and procedures that remain in force and entail a compliance burden,
but do not advance the legitimate purposes the rules were intended to serve.[4]
Employees who had a lower level of job satisfaction were reported as more willing
to tolerate red tape as opposed to those employees characterized with higher levels
of PSM who were frustrated with the limitations of such constrictions. Educational
level of organizational members reportedly had a positive relationship on the
overall level of PSM of the individual. Wright, Pandey, and Moynihan emphasize that
it is vital that organizational leaders understand the various factors that affect
PSM in order help employees achieve their