Overcoming the tensions between values: a challenge for French public service managers and their training schools

Abstract

While there is universal recognition of their important role in the functioning of administrations and for the motivation of public officials, the values that serve as a reference for the public service are witnessing a change in the way they are understood and implemented in practice, particularly with regard to the new requirements of public management. The analysis developed in this article centres on the interplay between various dimensions relating to the perception and use of the key values of the French civil service and highlights the tensions that prevail despite the apparent preservation of the axiological reference universe of those concerned. It raises the question of the role of schools in the training of values management. It draws on the results of a survey conducted in France by the network of civil service schools (Réseau des écoles de service public; RESP) among managers undergoing training and their teachers and supervisory staff. Points for practitionersThe study shows that organizations that are responsible for the initial or continuing training of civil servants offer a breeding ground for the (re)production of public service values. However, for civil service managers to be able to deal with the potential tensions between values (no clear hierarchy, apparent contradictions) it is necessary to develop their capacities for reflective analysis and practical application that will allow a critical distance and promote a contextualized ethical approach.

Managing Value Conflicts in Public Innovation: Ostrich, Chameleon, and Dolphin Strategies

“…This reflects the commonly shared view that there are always conflicting or incommensurable values in governance (Bozeman, 2009;De Graaf et al, 2016;Larat & Chauvigné, 2017;Mériade & Qiang, 2015;O'Flynn, 2007;Oldenhof, Postma, & Putters, 2014;Van der Wal et al, 2011;Williams & Shearer, 2011). Thus, value conflicts are not to be simply integrated in or avoided as obstacles to innovation, but rather managed or even utilized for fine-tuning innovation.…”

“…However, this innovation may at the same time compromise the privacy rights that others within or outside the organization consider to be a higher public value. Empirical research has confirmed this, showing how values affect various forms of public decisions (De Graaf et al, 2016;Larat & Chauvigné, 2017;Mériade & Qiang, 2015;Van der Wal, de Graaf, & Lawton, 2011).…”

Challenges to inform the curricula of Master of Public Administration programmes

“…Considering that an antecedent cannot simultaneously be an antecedent and a defining attribute for the same concept (Walker and Avant, 2014: 173), the antecedents identified from the selected material are those events that may explain the nature and the dimensions of the concept and phenomenon to which it refers. The analysis of the selected texts revealed that the following categories of antecedents are associated with the concept ‘challenge’ within the context of this study: the diversity of legitimate expectations of the population or citizens of a country for the performance of public functions (Hellevik, 2012: 572); the diversity of individual, societal, political, judicial, administrative, multinational, regional and national role players (Christensen et al, 2015: 359); orientations, such as ethical principles, ethos and values (Larat and Chauvigné, 2017: 2–3); the conflicting or overlapping nature of political authority, constitutions, legislation, mandates, delegations and directives authorising PA functions (Hellevik, 2012: 654, 572; Tibane and Lentsoane, 2016: vi, ix, 7, 64); diverse international and/or country-specific priorities, strategies, requirements and expectations with regard to PA functions (Constantin et al, 2018: 19; Hellevik, 2012: 557, 568); and performance agreements, service targets and standards for PA functions (Brusca and Martínez, 2016: 1; Hansen, 2014: 32). …”