Private passions, the public good and public service reform

Hoggett, Paul; Mayo, Marjorie; Miller, Chris

Abstract

There has been considerable recent discussion of the impact of public service reforms on the work ethics and motivations of public service workers. In this article we draw upon recent research on the ethical dilemmas facing regeneration workers in order to look more closely at the role of values in the working lives of public service professionals. Focusing on the commitment to social justice, we argue that such values find expression in two interlinked ways, as something workers have and as a process of giving value to different goods. Our research reveals that while both aspects of values are rooted in people's life experiences the second dimension is more contingent and relational. While public service reforms appear to have less impact upon workers' pregiven values, they can and do have an impact on the way in which these values find expression in attachment to different goods. To understand the effect of such reform processes on workers' motivations we therefore need a more complex conceptual framework than that provided by either simple public sector ethos/private sector ethos distinctions or by models of economic individualism offered by writers such as Julian Le Grand. © 2006 The Author(s) Journal Compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Citation

Hoggett, P., Mayo, M., & Miller, C. (2006). Private passions, the public good and public service reform. Social Policy and Administration, 40(7), 758-773. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2006.00531.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2006
• Journal: Social Policy and Administration
• Print ISSN: 1467-9515
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9515
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 758-773
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2006.00531.x
• Keywords: public good, public service reform
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1035061
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2006.00531.x
• Additional Information: Additional Information : An output from an ESRC funded research project rated as 'outstanding'. Focused on the role of values, it highlights values as something professionals have, and as a contingent and relational process of giving value to different goods. The article contributes to our understanding of agency. It suggests that in understanding the relationship between modernisation and workers' motivations we need a more complex conceptual framework than is offered by the public sector/ private sector ethos distinctions or those of economic individualism. Social Policy and Administration was chosen as a key contributor to these debates. Contribution 33%