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AASXXX10.1177/0095399718760592Administration & SocietyReddick et al.

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Administration & Society
2020, Vol. 52(2) 207­–232
The Professional Mind- © The Author(s) 2018
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Administration

Christopher G. Reddick1, Tansu Demir1,

and Greg Streib2

Abstract
We develop a theoretical model of city manager professionalism addressing
professional guidance and commitment, and four public service values:
ethical solutions, neutral competence, political responsiveness, and political
solutions. We tested these professionalism values on a national survey sample
of city managers in the United States. Using structural equation modeling,
we found evidence that professionalism acted directly on reported ethical
behavior, and ethical behavior indirectly explained political responsiveness
positively and political solutions negatively through neutral competence.
Our analysis supports arguments that public service professionalization is
possible and clarifies the pathways toward this important goal. Our study
focuses on understanding how involvement in professional associations
and activities relates to city manager perceptions of their own values and
competence.

Keywords
professionalism, survey research, local government, public administration
values

1The University of Texas at San Antonio, TX, USA

2Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

Corresponding Author:
Christopher G. Reddick, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 W. Cesar E. Chavez
Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78207, USA.
Email: Chris.Reddick@utsa.edu
208 Administration & Society 52(2)

Introduction
Professions exert influence in our society, but not without controversy in the
field of public administration. They arose in the Progressive Era, which was
a time of reform dominated by belief in rationality, efficiency, and scientific
advancement. Leonard White (1935) was among the first to introduce these
ideas to the developing field of public administration, which he initially pre-
sented as a force for good. Since these days, however, the professionalization
of public administration has been viewed as both unlikely and problematic.
As Schott (1976) stated, “public administration, as the practice of public
management, is not now and has little chance of becoming a true profession”
(p. 253). Likewise, Pugh (1989) compiled a strong case against a profession
of public administration. That said, Pugh himself acknowledged a paradox
that involved the pursuit of professional attributes without the possibility of
attaining professional status. Pugh echoed Waldo’s (1968) conclusion that
public administration should “act like a profession” whether we get there or
not. Pugh and Waldo have seized on a practical option, but we know little
about the effectiveness of this à la carte approach to professionalization.
From this, our central research question of this paper is as follows:

Research Question 1: Can we customize professionalization to suit the

needs of public administration?

This study contributes to the understanding of how involvement in profes-

sional associations relates to city manager values and competence. Empirical
research on city managers’ attitudes and preferences adds to our understand-
ing of trends in the field. In addition, studying city managers will provide us
with a deeper understanding of professional values in public administration.
We examine this question through a study of city managers. We do not
seek to justify professional status; rather, we assess the benefits of profession-
alization as an ongoing process (Fox, 1992; Kamto, 1997). The professional-
ization of city managers is worth studying in its own right, of course, but
there are also lessons for the broader field of public administration. City man-
ager professionalization has progressed more rapidly than some other areas
of public administration. For example, the International City/County
Management Association (ICMA) maintains a credentialing program requir-
ing ongoing training (Streib & Rivera, 2005). ICMA also offers training pro-
grams, which augment their annual conference program. They also support
research in the field, online networking, and an extensive library of profes-
sional publications. Perhaps most importantly, the ICMA established a code
of ethics nearly 100 years ago. The ICMA is not alone in its efforts, of course,
Reddick et al. 209

but it does give us a great example of professionalization in progress appli-

cable to city managers.
For our examination of professionalism values in public administration,
we lay out our work in the following sections. We first establish the linkages
between professionalism and values, and then we discuss our model of pro-
fessionalism values and public administration. After establishing a context,
we describe our survey, the sample, and our data collection methods. Then
our theoretical model is tested. Finally, we provide a discussion of the find-
ings, implications of our research on professionalization, city management,
and the status of public administration.

Professional Values and Public Administration

Public administration has drawn many ideas about professionalization from
research in sociology, which provided our initial ideas on assessing city man-
ager professionalization, and our research builds on this same tradition. A
classic empirical model developed by Hall (1968) is our foundation. He iden-
tified five attributes of professions: (a) use of professional organization as a
primary referent, (b) belief in service to the public, (c) belief in self-regula-
tion, (d) sense of a calling to the field, and (e) autonomy. As Hall stated,
“Movement toward correspondence with the professional model is the pro-
cess of professionalization” (p. 92). He based his argument partly on the work
of Wilensky (1964) who found that developing professions passed through
distinctive stages that began with structural changes and evolved into a set of
attitudes. Hall described professions on a continuum according to their con-
formity with these core attributes.
Hall’s work is not new to public administration. Many authors have refer-
enced his model in professionalization-related research (Ammons & King,
1982; Edwards, Nalbandian, & Wedel, 1981; McDonald, 2010), and some
applied it in survey studies. Yeager, Rabin, and Vocino (1982) conducted a
national study of public affairs and political science students, and Sabet and
Klingner (1993) studied professionalization among local government person-
nel directors. As is the case with others, we test the development of public
service professionalization.
As Hall discussed, professionalization has traditionally increased opportuni-
ties for judgment. This is a double edge sword for public administration, given
the need to protect the public interest, but Lynn (2001) affirmed that public
administration is a field of judgment and debates about the discretion and neu-
tral competence have never ceased since the founding of the field (Wilson,
1887). How public administrators think and ultimately act is one of the biggest
questions in the field (Kirlin, 1996). Past work in professionalization has
210 Administration & Society 52(2)

stressed the need for practitioners to thread a thin line between administration
and policy. Both Mosher (1938) and Schott (1976) warned of the narrow focus
that professionalization might produce, based on either personal or profes-
sional interests (or both), as opposed to the broader public interest. Furthermore,
both of these authors recommended ICMA type strategies for providing appro-
priate socialization for producing more “evolved” professional leaders. Schott
(1976) suggested public administrators needed socialization toward a broader
view, for example.
Values matter to our research because city managers are community lead-
ers. Many public administration authors (both academics and practitioners)
have concluded that government administrators must weigh the public inter-
est in ways foreign to most occupations. Box (1993) suggested value-driven
actions such as community engagement might mitigate the enduring con-
cerns about rational and powerful appointed leaders. Others see community
building and support for democratic values as defining professional local
governance (Nalbandian, O’Neill, Wilkes, & Kaufman, 2013). Nalbandian
(1990) argued that professionalism must be consistent with the practice of
local self-governance and not just in theory.
One initiative led by the former executive director of ICMA was a Task
Force on Professionalism with developing what he called “value propositions”
of local government professionals (Keene, Nalbandian, O’Neill, Portillo, &
Svara, 2007). From this task force, value practices were produced such as add-
ing value to the quality of public policy in their communities, taking a long-
term and community-wide perspective, and making a commitment to ethical
practices, including democratic and community values, equitable and fair out-
comes, and organizational excellence and innovation.
Past empirical research on these topics is hardly definitive, but we are fol-
lowing a well-worn path. Svara (1985) found that city managers demon-
strated a calling to service and a service ethic, and research has shown a
relationship between professionalization and support for democracy among
local government department heads (Streib, 1992). Menzel (1997) found that
ethics courses in masters of public administration programs were having an
impact. These past research efforts predate many ICMA initiatives. Our
research adds to what we already know and provides a more current perspec-
tive on the development of the local government profession.

Professional Guidance and Public Administration

Values Model
Figure 1 shows our theoretical model of professional guidance, along with
our expected relationships. We discuss the basis for these expectations in the
following section:
Reddick et al. 211

Figure 1.  Model of professional guidance influence on public administration values.

Professional Guidance
As with Hall, we examine attributes (elements) of professionalization and
assess the level of correspondence with an established standard, but we seek
different ends. Hall was concerned with professional status, as was classi-
cally defined in sociology. In contrast, we examine progress toward public
professionalization—the development of a city manager mind-set that
acknowledges and respects public service values. This is a core issue for the
field—whether professional socialization can better prepare public adminis-
trators to assume public responsibilities. As we show in Figure 1, we model
the associations between professional guidance (commitment to professional
norms) and reported value-based judgments. The values we address are
drawn from public administration responsibilities, especially in a local gov-
ernment setting where city managers have direct contact with both citizens
and elected leaders.
Our professional guidance items asked about commitments that are rele-
vant and essential, including meeting attendance, reading professional arti-
cles, attending workshops and taking courses, and keeping up with best
practices in city management (Green, Keller, & Wamsley, 1993). Our respon-
dents were busy professionals, so our survey was brief and to the point. We
used attributes that got right to the heart of what defined a professional city
manager—currency in the professional knowledge of the field. Of course,
our professional guidance items also relate to the primary means of getting
training and becoming socialized into this public profession. Our survey
212 Administration & Society 52(2)

Table 1.  Model Constructs and Survey Statements.

Construct Survey statement

Professional Guidance
Ethical Solutions
Neutral Competence
Political Solutions
Political Responsiveness
I often attend meetings of my professional
association (e.g., ASPA, ICMA, etc.).
I regularly read articles about management/
administration.
I regularly attend workshops, take courses, or
use other methods to continue my professional
education.
I keep up with best practices and innovations in city
management.
When I make a decision, I consider ethics (questions
of rightness, fairness, and justice) as important as
efficiency and effectiveness, if not more.
I know that some of the decisions I made within the
past year have been unpopular. I have no regrets.
I make sure that I maintain equal distance to interest
groups in the city so I will not be identified with a
particular interest.
Policy proposals to the city council are grounded in
verifiable, factual analysis.
To protect public interest, I must sometimes shade
information I provide elected officials to guide their
decisions.
For meetings to be productive, I must sometimes
find ways to limit input from the public.
I vigorously carry out policies elected officials
adopted even when I completely disagree with
them.
I give elected officials the credit for policy decisions,
even when those decisions are based on a policy
proposed by city staff.
I do my job by keeping in mind that my performance
as a city manager is determined by the degree to
which I meet the policy expectations of the council.

Note. ASPA = American Society for Public Administration; ICMA = International City/County
Management Association.

items are presented in Table 1, and each of the professional values are dis-
cussed in the following section. Table 2 reports in summary format the con-
structs, their definitions, survey items, and supporting studies from the
literature.
Reddick et al. 213

Table 2.  Study Constructs, Definitions, Items, and Literature.

Studies in the
Construct Definition Survey items literature

Professional Discovery and application Items aimed at Svara (1985);

Guidance of current professional measuring managers’ Yaeger, Rabin,
knowledge, skills, use of professional and Vocino
standards, and insights resources to better (1982)
to a person’s job. their service.
Ethical Solutions Application of normative Items aimed at Adams (1993);
standards to the official measuring the weight Streib and
conduct of the person; managers assign Rivera (2010);
Deciding what is right, to ethics in their Svara (2014)
fair, or just. decision-making
process.
Neutral Ability to do the work of Items aimed at Demir and Nyhan
Competence government expertly, measuring the extent (2008); Kaufman
and do it according to which managers (1956)
to explicit, objective make decisions based
standards rather than on expert knowledge
to personal or party or rather than personal
other obligations and or political loyalties
loyalties. and interests.
Political Engaging in political Items aimed Banovetz (1994);
Solutions manipulation for self- at measuring Feiock, Jeong,
serving purposes. manipulating and and Kim (2003)
limiting access to
information.
Political Being responsible to the Items aimed Adams (1993);
Responsiveness elected representatives at measuring Wolf (1999)
of the public and being managers’ loyalty
ready to implement and responsiveness
policies in conformity to elected political
with legislative intent authority.
and instructions.

Ethics and Public Service Professionalism

Svara (2014) asked the question, “Can public administration be a true profes-
sion without an enforceable code of ethics?” (p. 562). No is an obvious
answer, and the reason has roots in cronyism and professionalization.
Addressing the public interest requires actively recognizing public responsi-
bilities and setting aside political concerns. Ethics requires character and a
sense of right and wrong derived from public service values. This is the
essence of public service ethics that we sought to address with our survey
items.
214 Administration & Society 52(2)

These conflicting pressures were well described by Adams (1993). He

argued that the relationship between professionalism and ethics is oxymo-
ronic—a chimera of incongruous parts. In his view, technical rationality
overwhelmed initial tendencies toward moral reasoning. Viewing public ser-
vice on an equal plane with efficiency and effectiveness would be great prog-
ress from this perspective. Adams (1993) sees ethical codes as a shallow
response for administrators driven by technical concerns. External controls,
such as ethical codes, compensate for the lack of internal control and instru-
mental reasoning. From the perspective of Adams’s (1993) stinging critique,
true public service professionalism is next to impossible, though he did see
hope for “enclaves of ethics” as a solution to overcome our cultural connec-
tions to technical rationality. City management might be such an enclave, and
this is something that our research can test, at least regarding what city man-
agers themselves report about their decision-making.
There is the ever-present threat that administrators may only see a job with
a paycheck, rather than focusing on public service values. In this scenario,
administrators may lack independent judgment that is necessary for public
administration. Cooper (2004) argued that public professionals must weigh
three potentially competing perspectives: (a) organizational values and laws,
(b) citizenship with ethical obligations that derive from citizenship, and (c) the
public interest of society. We define these public concerns as “rightness, jus-
tice, and fairness.” Decisions of this sort require a breadth of judgment that
organizations often do not require or reward. Administrators are pressured to
follow bureaucratic ethics, which addresses values such as efficiency, efficacy,
expertise, loyalty, and accountability (Quill, 2009). Thus, one can be a good
worker and succeed while ignoring public service responsibilities.
There is an existing literature on ethics in local government that offers
some insights into the ethical codes themselves and how well administrators
know them (Svara, 2014). Benavides and Dicke (2016) examined ICMA’s
code of ethics and public sector professionalism. They concluded that the
ICMA code encouraged professionalism by indicating what behavior is
acceptable and unacceptable. In addition to words in the code, ICMA also
offers education, workshops, webinars, and other training. The ICMA also
investigates complaints and recommends sanctions for ethical violations.
These efforts certainly might guide professional behavior.
Streib and Rivera (2010) directly tested the ethical knowledge of city
managers and found an association between ethical knowledge and local
government experience. It may be that experience helps develop a public
administration mind-set, and that experience would also bring more exposure
to ICMA training opportunities. Another study found that members of the
American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) were found to agree that
Reddick et al. 215

public administrators had a responsibility to set the tone for the government
(Bowman & Knox, 2008). This survey study also found widespread support
for ASPA’s ethical code. Members believed that ASPA could advance ethics
in its professional efforts. Berman (1999) extended the Streib (1992) study in
a comparison of professionalization and values among local government and
nonprofit managers, and he found linkages between professionalization and
morality, neutrality, and public concern. Berman (1999) also isolated training
impacts and found that revitalized cultures (featuring open communication)
were associated with higher professionalism. Fear-based cultures reduced
professionalization. Thus, the development of public service professionaliza-
tion might also depend on work culture.
From this research on ethics and public service professionalism, we can
state the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1 (H1): Professionally guided managers are more likely to

prefer ethical solutions.

Neutral Competence and Professionalism

As Kaufman (1956) stated, neutral competence is the “ability to do the work
of government expertly, and do it according to explicit, objective standards
rather than to personal or party or other obligations and loyalties” (p. 1060).
The applicable slogan for those seeking neutral competence became “Take
administration out of politics.” From this definition, neutral competence has
three essential elements, which are expertise, neutrality, and hierarchy (Demir
& Nyhan, 2008). Past survey evidence found that neutral competence was
significantly associated with planning activity but negatively associated with
democratic accountability (Demir & Nyhan, 2008). Planning might enable
administrative responsibility. Alternatively, neutral competence might be
incompatible with other city manager responsibilities. Stillman (1977) argued
that city managers are different from other public sector professionals since
they are administrative generalists. Neutral competence is difficult for city
managers since being neutral experts without understanding the political con-
text would jeopardize their existence.
Our survey items recognize the reality that city managers must be viewed
as neutral in policy debates, which requires avoiding any perception of favor-
itism. City managers must not become identified with a particular (political)
interest. That said, city managers must ground their recommendations in
facts, which we also addressed in our survey items. Our approach recognizes
the unique challenges managing the politics–administration dichotomy pres-
ents for city managers as politically savvy experts.
216 Administration & Society 52(2)

Discussions about the politics–administration dichotomy provide the

backdrop for discussing neutral competence in the field of public administra-
tion (Georgiou, 2014). From a strict perspective, neutral competence requires
“loyally carrying out whatever legitimate policy political superiors com-
mand” (Long, 1993, p. 4). However, his or her level of obedience could pre-
vent city managers from opposing policies contrary to the public interest. The
ICMA document Practices for Effective Local Government Management set
a different standard—Managers are required to act in the long-term interests
of the communities they serve. This requires independent thought. Judgment
is needed, as is persuasion. However, skilled city managers work through the
elected representatives that they serve. They also need an understanding of
constitutionalism and possess concerns for the rights of citizens (Cooper,
2004), and need listening and thinking skills (Gomes & Streib, 2014; Stivers,
1994), in addition to knowledge of their policy environment (Kearney &
Sinha, 1988).
One study of neutral competence and discrimination in municipal govern-
ment found administrators treating citizens fairly but not necessarily as sen-
sitively as the circumstances may have required (Thomas, 1986). Strict
neutral competence leads them astray. Another study of the Bureau of Budget
(BoB), from 1939 to 1948, found a very professional agency that was respon-
sive to presidential needs while preserving neutral competence (Wolf, 1999).
This neutrality sprung from the professionalism of the BoB—they believed
their decisions had long-term ramifications on what was best for the presi-
dency. Professionalization and thinking skills helped the BoB administrators
develop a broader perspective on their situation.
From the research on neutral competence, ethics, and professionalism, the
following two hypotheses are tested:

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Professionally guided managers are more likely to

prefer the value of neutral competence.
Hypothesis 3 (H3): Managers who prefer ethical solutions are more likely
to accept neutral competence.

Political Solutions and Professionalism

Much of the literature on professionalism and political solutions focuses on
city managers. City managers need “political skills” if they hope to lead
city governments. They need to match technical competence with excel-
lence in human relations and political skills (Banovetz, 1994). According to
Montjoy and Watson (1995), a strict view of the politics–administration
dichotomy would preclude city managers from engaging the policymaking
Reddick et al. 217

process—because politicking and policymaking are inseparable. Failure to

maintain an appropriate balance between politics and administration would
threaten professional standards and/or ethics. City managers operate at the
intersection of political and administrative worlds, and despite the desire of
these managers to simply “do their job,” they must serve the elected offi-
cials (Nalbandian, 1994). City managers must manage conflicts and solve
problems while maintaining their political neutrality (Pammer, Marlowe,
Jarret, & Dustin, 1999).
It is no surprise that research finds a positive relationship between pro-
fessionalism and political acuity—the ability of managers to understand
the political environment (Daniel & Rose, 1991). City manager tenure can
be shortened by divisive conflicts in city hall or the community (Feiock &
Stream, 1998). Appointed managers in mayor-council cities appear to have
more freedom for political engagement (Frederickson & Johnson, 2001).
City managers must check their expertise to some extent and defer to polit-
ical leaders (Feiock, Jeong, & Kim, 2003). Role sharing between city man-
agers and council members has been found to occur (Demir & Reddick,
2012). In the tight political spaces of city governments, neutrality still
serves as a shield, but it can also become a burden when quick action is
needed.
Our items addressing political solutions go beyond simply requiring neu-
trality. We ask about political activism rooted in dishonesty—achieving polit-
ical goals through manipulation. Might managers shade information they
provide to elected officials? Might they limit public input to move beyond
public disputes? These are examples of political solutions that violate public
service values. These actions are also conceivable and perhaps effective in
some cases, at least in the short term. This is the question we examine: Are
professional city managers successfully socialized to reject these types of
manipulation when dealing with elected officials or the public?
From the research on political solutions and professionalism the following
hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 4 (H4): Managers who believe in neutral competence are less

likely to commit to political solutions.

Political Responsiveness and Professionalism

Professionalism can be seen to conflict with political responsiveness because
responsiveness can be read as subservience (Demir, 2011). The subservience
position was well defined by Herman Finer (1941):
218 Administration & Society 52(2)

Servants of the public are not to decide their own course; they are to be
responsible to the elected representatives of the public, and these are to
determine the course of action of the public servants to the most minute degree
that is technically feasible. (p. 336)

In this view, public administrators merely carry out the wishes of their “polit-
ical bosses” (Demir, Reddick, & Nank, 2015). Stillman (1977) aptly labeled
this as the “hired hand.”
However, research shows that city managers often accept the spokesman
role because they are most able to discuss the city and its operations (Demir,
2011), and the neutrality of bureaucrats is increasingly questioned in modern
American politics (Rourke, 1992). Strict subservience does not appear to
meet the needs of the modern state because neutral competence requires
advice to elected officials that is candid and unbiased. As Svara (2001) noted,
the relationship between elected officials and administrators encompasses
both political control and professional independence. Responsiveness is
needed, of course, but impractical at the extreme.
In providing a framework of administrative responsibility, Selden, Brewer,
and Brudney (1999) analyzed statements from practitioners and scholars
from interviews about bureaucratic responsibilities, roles, and values. The
results revealed that administrators are not neutral professionals, and they
resist being controlled by elected officials. Administrators are more action-
oriented and possess a strong commitment to the agency, clients, and public
interest, as they act in a professional capacity.
However, professionalism also needs constraints. We speak above about
the need for judgment and values, but Jos and Tompkins (1995) have exposed
the possible folly of this ambition. They question whether public administra-
tors can offer the breadth of knowledge and judgment skills needed to clarify
public purposes. As Adams (1993) suggested, the pressures to perform and
conform are likely to take precedence. While administrators may find them-
selves with some discretion, they may lack the time and energy to put that
discretion to good use. The need for administrative wisdom is evident, but the
level of capacity is doubtful. We can teach and test calculus, but training
people for moral reasoning is a more dubious goal. We might look back to the
ethics study of Streib and Rivera (2010) where experience enhanced ethical
knowledge on actual test items that were normed against the responses of
practicing managers. Newly minted MPA graduates were not producing the
highest scores. Ethics appeared to be learned on jobs offering access to
repeated training.
Our items manage this complex topic by focusing on the necessary fact
that city managers must respect the rights and privileges of elective office.
Reddick et al. 219

This is at the core of public service values in a democracy. Our items address
this bottom line. Do managers vigorously administer decisions that they do
not support? Do they accept their support role in political decision-making?
And, do they acknowledge the authority of their elected council? Our items
address crucial aspects of political responsiveness.
From the research on professionalism, neutral competence, and political
responsiveness, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 5 (H5): Managers who believe in neutral competence are

more likely to promote political responsiveness.

Research Method
This study surveyed a sample of 1,000 city managers provided by ICMA,
which were representative of the U.S. geographic regions. We mailed the
questionnaires to managers with a cover letter describing the purpose and
scope of our project. Surveys were addressed directly to city managers as
listed on the ICMA mailing list. After two mailing waves, 438 city managers
had responded to the survey for a response rate of 44%. A comparison of the
total sample of 1,000 city managers with the 438 managers that responded
indicates that the mean city population sizes were 25,076 (responded) and
27,587 (total sample). The minimum population size was identical for both
groups, but the maximum population was 439,041 (responded) compared
with 1,445,632 (total sample). A few large cities skewed the population mean.
Of the responding city managers, 88.6% were male; the average age was
53.7, and the average tenure was 14.2 years. Regarding education, 20%
reported having earned a bachelor’s degree, and 70% held a master’s degree.
Of those, 70% of the graduate training was in public administration, policy,
or a related field.1
Table 3 reports on the constructs and statements. We crafted several items
for each construct. Survey items were developed in light of contemporary
public administration literature. Because we employ self-report measures,
social desirability bias is a concern. Social desirability bias is defined as the
tendency of research subjects to give socially desirable responses instead of
providing responses that reflect their genuine feelings (see Fisher, 1993; Jo,
Nelson, & Kiecker, 1997). Because our survey items deal with sensitive
issues such as ethics, we had to be extra cautious. To deal with this concern
properly, we assured city managers of full confidentiality of their responses
and promised them that having data collected, we would shred returned sur-
veys. The literature recommends composing survey items in an indirect fash-
ion to minimize bias in responses.
220 Administration & Society 52(2)

Table 3.  Descriptive Statistics.

Survey statement M Median SD

Professional Guidance
  I often attend meetings of my professional 3.66 4 1.12
association (e.g., ASPA, ICMA, etc.).
  I regularly read articles about management/ 3.93 4 0.84
administration.
  I regularly attend workshops, take courses, or 3.86 4 0.86
use other methods to continue my professional
education.
  I keep up with best practices and innovations in city 3.95 4 0.73
management.
Neutral Competence
  I make sure that I maintain equal distance to interest 4.15 4 0.77
groups in the city so I will not be identified with a
particular interest.
  Policy proposals to the city council are grounded in 4.11 4 0.74
verifiable, factual analysis.
Ethical Solutions
  When I make a decision, I consider ethics (questions 4.52 5 0.66
of rightness, fairness, and justice) as important as
efficiency and effectiveness, if not more.
  I know that some of the decisions I made within the 4.14 4 0.74
past year have been unpopular. I have no regrets.
Political Solutions
  To protect public interest, I must sometimes shade 1.86 2 0.94
information I provide elected officials to guide their
decisions.
  For meetings to be productive, I must sometimes 2.09 2 1.04
find ways to limit input from the public.
Political Responsiveness
  I vigorously carry out policies elected officials 4.18 4 0.67
adopted even when I completely disagree with
them.
  I give elected officials the credit for policy decisions, 4.28 4 0.74
even when those decisions are based on a policy
proposed by city staff.
  I do my job by keeping in mind that my performance 4.07 4 0.76
as a city manager is determined by the degree to
which I meet the policy expectations of the council.

Note. ASPA = American Society for Public Administration; ICMA = International City/County
Management Association.
Reddick et al. 221

Since this study is part of a larger professionalism survey, we had some

indirect questions that can be compared with our direct items used in this
article. For example, the statement “I often attend meetings of my profes-
sional association” is comparable with the indirect statement of “It is impor-
tant for city managers to regularly attend professional meetings.” The
correlation between these direct and indirect items is .52 (p < .01). For exam-
ple, the direct item “For meetings to be productive, I must sometimes find
ways to limit input from the public” is comparable with the indirect item
“Few regulations restrict a city manager’s behavior.” The correlation between
the two is .30 (p < .01). We made a number of similar comparisons between
direct and indirect items as far as the structure of our survey allowed and
found positive and statistically significant correlations mostly.
Another concern is the generality of the statements. We have collected
data from a large sample of city managers who work in different environ-
ments, so we had to compose statements in a general fashion that would
apply to the broadest group of managers. Responses to survey statements
were measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (strongly disagree)
to 5 (strongly agree).2

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

We employ SEM methodology to test the proposed theoretical model. This
method helps researchers test two or more relationships among directly
observable or latent (construct) variables. It takes a confirmatory approach
and is particularly used to evaluate theoretical models with multiple relation-
ships. Reported fit indices are assessed to determine the extent to which a
specified model fits empirical data. Since this research deals with relatively
broad concepts, SEM is especially suitable in that it allows using multiple
indicators to more effectively capture concepts.
More recent empirical research using SEM of members of a citizen survey
in South Korea showed that perceived accountability (to external authority)
had a positive influence on professionalism (Jung, Andrew, & Kwon, 2014).
This research also involved citizen representatives, and they reported a posi-
tive relationship between professionalization and participatory governance.
Finally, in an examination of local government water utilities, Teodoro (2014)
found that one of the benefits of professionalism is that those agencies that
are headed by professional engineers commit fewer regulatory violations
than those that are led by nonengineers. Professional engineers in the execu-
tive ranks of local government utilities lead to greater compliance with fed-
eral drinking water regulations.
222 Administration & Society 52(2)

Like any statistical procedure, SEM does not by itself prove causality
(Bagozzi & Yi, 2011; Iacobucci, 2009). What this particular technique does,
however, is to show whether empirical data fit a specified model by compar-
ing observed covariances with model-implied covariances. Since covariation
is not causation, caution must be taken in the discussion of results. It is clear
that our data are nonexperimental and not sequentially ordered, and we can-
not eliminate rival explanations. Alternative models that fit data equally well
or better can be offered, and if their theoretical assumptions are fairly sound,
they would serve as legitimate models that aim at explaining social phenom-
ena represented by the models.

Data Analysis
As previously shown, Table 3 reports on the descriptive statistics for the vari-
ables. Table 4 reports bivariate correlations for the study variables. From an
analysis of the variables, we notice that most of the responses are in the high
three to low fours, indicating neutral/agree responses. However, for the politi-
cal solutions items, disagreement is common. The model tested uses the
Maximum Likelihood estimation method. It converged after 10 iterations.
Table 5 reports the fit indices (χ2 = 119.159, df = 60, p < .05). SEM programs
generate a number of fit indices. There is no consensus in the literature on
which ones should be used to assess goodness of the model fit. Kline (1998)
suggests reporting at least four fit indices. Hooper, Coughlan, and Mullen
(2008) suggested reporting root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA),
standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), comparative fit index (CFI),
and one parsimony index such as parsimony normed fit index (PNFI). Hu and
Bentler (1999) proposed a two-index format. We used CFI, non-normed fit
index (NNFI), normed fit index (NFI), and RMSEA to assess model fit, as they
are the ones least affected by the sample size (Fan, Thompson, & Wang, 1999).
The values of comparative fit indices such as CFI and NNFI indicate the
proportion of the improvement of the overall fit of the researcher’s model
relative to a null model. The typical null model is an independence model in
which the observed variables are assumed to be uncorrelated. For example,
a value of .90 for NNFI is interpreted to suggest that the relative overall fit
of the researcher’s model is 90% better than that of the null model estimated
with the same sample data (Kline, 1998, p. 129). The values of CFI and
NNFI should be at least .90 to suggest an adequate model fit. RMSEA tells
how well the model, with unknown but optimally chosen parameter esti-
mates, would fit the population covariance matrix (Byrne, 1998). Values of
RMSEA lower than .08 have long been taken to suggest adequate model fit
(MacCallum, Browne, & Sugawara, 1996). Comparing our fit index values
 Table 4. Correlations.

V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13

V1  
V2 .40**  
V3 .63** .51**  
V4 .46** .58** .61**  
V5 .13** .14** .14** .17**  
V6 .01 .10* .09 .10* .29**  
V7 .12* .21** .20** .17** .29** .29**  
V8 .10* .13** .19** .20** .23** .23** .27**  
V9 −.08 −.11* −.05 −.10* −.05 −.10* −.15** −.01  
V10 −.04 −.06 −.05 −.05 −.13** −.20** −.15** −.03 .29**  
V11 .15** .10* .14** .23** .22** .16** .13** .17** −.13** −.02  
V12 .16** .16** .10* .15** .17** .21** .22** .21** −.15** −.16** .38**  
V13 .08 .11* .00 .10* .11* .13** .06 .08 −.02 −.04 .28** .42**  

Note. Variables are in order of appearance in Table 3.

*Correlation is significant at .05 (two-tailed). **Correlation is significant at .01 (two-tailed).

223
224 Administration & Society 52(2)

Table 5.  Fit Indices.

RMSEA CFI NNFI NFI

Achieved .048 .95 .92 .90
Suggested thresholds <.08 ≥.90 ≥.90 ≥.90

Note. RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CFI = comparative fit index; NNFI
= non-normed fit index; NFI = normed fit index.

Table 6.  Model Statistics.

Factor Squared multiple

Manifest variable loading SE correlation
1. Professional Guidance .68 N/A .47
2. Professional Guidance .65 .06 .43
3. Professional Guidance .84 .07 .70
4. Professional Guidance .74 .05 .55
5. Neutral Competence .52 N/A .27
6. Neutral Competence .54 .15 .29
7. Ethical Solutions .57 N/A .32
8. Ethical Solutions .46 .15 .22
9. Political Solutions .64 N/A .21
10. Political Solutions .46 .22 .40
11. Political Responsiveness .52 N/A .27
12. Political Responsiveness .77 .23 .59
13. Political Responsiveness .52 .16 .27

Note. The variables follow their order in Tables 1 and 2.

with those thresholds endorsed by SEM researchers, we deem that our theo-
retical model achieves a good fit to the data. As the values of fit indices
show, our model achieves an adequate fit to the data. RMSEA is much lower
than the suggested cut-off value. CFI, NFI, and NNFI all obtain values equal
to or greater than .90.
Table 6 reports statistics for the tested model. As seen in the table, all
manifest variables have loadings greater than .40, and they are all statistically
significant (p < .001). The table also reports standard errors and the explained
variances for each item.

Results
On the whole, our findings confirm that city management professionalization
is important and has an interesting twist. The important linkage between
Reddick et al. 225

Figure 2.  Theoretical model and coefficients.

professional guidance and a preference for ethical solutions (H2; B = .43, p <
.001) was confirmed, but the link between professional guidance and neutral
competence (H1; B = −.11, p > .05) only happens indirectly. However, man-
agers who prefer ethical solutions are more likely to accept neutral compe-
tence (H3). This may suggest that ethical values are compartmentalized and
affirms the importance of ethical education and training. It appears critical in
linking professional guidance to the development of public service profes-
sionalism. Furthermore, managers who believe in neutral competence are
less likely to support political solutions (H4; B = −.42, p < .001), and manag-
ers who believe in neutral competence are more likely to support political
responsiveness (H5; B = .52, p < .001).
The model explains 19% of the variance in ethics and 86% of the variance
in neutral competence. The explained variance is 27% and 18% for political
responsiveness and political solutions, respectively. As seen in Figure 2, pro-
fessional guidance does not have a direct impact on neutral competence but
shows an indirect effect on neutral competence through ethics.3
In our statistical analysis, we used a relatively small number of items,
which helped us obtain a relatively high response rate,4 and a clear picture
emerges across these items. Respondents with high professional guidance
scores also scored well on ethics, ethical solutions were closely linked to sup-
port for neutral competency (democratic principles), and neutral competence
leads to a rejection of political solutions and support for political responsive-
ness. The highest score across our survey items was for an ethics item address-
ing judgment and democracy. This large sample affirms that professional
public service attributes do foster desirable public service values. Respondents
expressed support for fairness and justice over efficiency and effectiveness.
226 Administration & Society 52(2)

Conclusion
Our hypotheses were straightforward and flowed from the initial design of
this instrument, and the findings corresponded to our expectations with four
out of five hypotheses being supported. That said, the central importance of
ethical solutions was unexpected. The suggestion is that concerns for justice
and fairness drive concerns for neutral competence (avoiding favoritism) and
political responsiveness (respect for elected officials and democracy).
Avoiding political solutions also fits this ethics-based mind-set.
Flowing from Hall’s model and taking that up through the evolution of the
ICMA and their code of ethics, we can see an expanded role for professional
associations. Earlier writers touted the value of education, which remains
relevant, but ICMA and local government experience link directly to the
work that city managers do. Our findings closely echo the ICMA Code of
Ethics (https://icma.org/icma-code-ethics), which calls for “a constructive,
creative, and practical attitude toward local government affairs and a deep
sense of social responsibility as a trusted public servant,” and maintains that
“the chief function of local government at all times is to serve the best inter-
ests of all people.”
Many have discussed the need for better linkages between professionals
and academics, but this objective has not received serious attention for
decades. Strikingly, better relationships between academics and professional
associations may become a cornerstone for future development of applied
public administration. There is a body of scattered research now that could
become more relevant, and city managers are poised to play a key role in
many of our nation’s more pressing problems. Council leadership and man-
ager/council relationships also need more attention. We offer one small study,
but it is perhaps a first step toward a richer body of collaborative work involv-
ing academics and professional associations.
Skeptics have their place in research, of course. Past writings might suggest
that professionalized public servants might choose corporate options such as
efficiency and effectiveness over public service goals. We find this is not so,
but it is possible our respondents are simply trained to say the right things.
Also, we know nothing about those managers who did not respond to our
survey. These possibilities deserve serious consideration. What we can say at
this point is that our survey responses were anonymous and voluntary, and our
response rate was good. Finally, asking about values of city managers through
a survey instrument could represent some bias. Despite these limitations, we
believe that this is an understudied area and worthy of more research.
Our findings are most valuable to those interested in city manager profes-
sionalization, but they may also provide useful insights for other fields of
public administration practice. Although we have little to say about the actual
Reddick et al. 227

means of professionalization, the ICMA efforts are thoroughly discussed

elsewhere. Of course, ICMA is not the only professional association closely
linked to public administration. There is much more to be said about these
different relationships.
Returning to our initial research question of whether we can customize
professionalism to suit the needs of public administration, our initial find-
ings show that some of the common pillars of public values in public admin-
istration were found to significantly affect professionalism. Our study
showed that perhaps looking at a different model, from what has been tradi-
tionally tested in the professionalism literature (i.e., Hall, 1968) seems war-
ranted for public administration. We believe that the unique values and
constraints in public administration demand further investigation of this
important research area.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

Notes
1. We collected our entire data from city managers. One concern with our data-
set and analysis is common source bias. When both exogenous and endogenous
variables come from the same source, it is possible that the data might be biased,
and therefore, results might not be reliable. The methodology literature sug-
gests various strategies to deal with this issue prior to and after data collection to
minimize the impact of common source bias on data (Favero & Bullock, 2014;
Jakobsen & Jensen, 2015; Meier & O’Toole, 2013a, 2013b). We assured full
confidentiality of responses to the managers and stated clearly that results would
be released in aggregate form only to encourage genuine assessments from city
managers. Having the data collection stage completed, we administered addi-
tional statistical tests to examine the extent to which common source bias affects
our test results. The literature suggests a number of methods. We implemented
Common Latent Factor Technique (CLFT) in structural equation modeling
(SEM) to more accurately model the variance attributable to common source
bias. The test results show about 5% common variance only. Since this is much
less than the critical threshold of 50%, we consider that common source bias
does not significantly affect the reliability of our results.
2. One of the most important challenges in designing a survey instrument for testing
our theoretical constructs was crafting survey statements that would effectively
capture the concepts yet would not lead participants in a particular direction.
228 Administration & Society 52(2)

Lack of pretested surveys increased our challenge even further. SEM is particu-
larly useful in our case as it takes into account measurement errors when statisti-
cally analyzing data.
3. We tested an alternative specification with direct paths drawn from ethics to
political solutions and political responsiveness. Although the directions of the
associations turn out to be as anticipated, the coefficients do not obtain statistical
significance. For model parsimony purposes, nonsignificant paths were removed
from the final model.
4. Some of the statements in the original survey were not included in the final
model as they had large residuals and reduced model fit. Since we used only a
limited number of variables for each construct, reliability scores for some con-
structs lessened but, overall, ranged from 0.42 to 0.80. SEM, however, partials
out measurement errors when estimating model parameters.

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Author Biographies
Christopher G. Reddick, PhD in Political Science from University of Sheffield,
U.K. Professor Reddick is Chair of the Department of Public Administration within
the College of Public Policy at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He was the
founding Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Public Administration in the
Digital Age.
Tansu Demir, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration
at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His areas of research include public admin-
istration theory, local government administration and city managers, professionalism,
and administrative power.
Greg Streib, PhD, works on a range of issues involving public management, policy
implementation, and evaluation. Some focus areas include the professionalization of
local government management, technology applications in government, and the
implementation of public management reforms.