Discretion of the Future: Conceptualizing Everyday Acts of Collective Creativity at the Street‐Level

Visser, Esme; Kruyen, Peter M.

doi:10.1111/puar.13389

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Decision‐makers in need of creative solutions would thus do well to probe the perceived creativity of potential policy solutions among myriad of actors, including political overseers, public managers, front‐line implementors, partner organizations, and clients (cf. Visser and Kruyen 2021). In such a way, the consensual assessment technique can be applied in practice to measure and strengthen the creativity of policy solutions used to address complex societal problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Decision‐Makers’ Generation of Policy Solutions amidst Negative Performance: Invention or Rigidity?

Voet

Lems²

2022

Public Administration Review

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Behavioral theory proposes that decision-makers engage in search to identify satisfactory policy solutions to organizational problems. For complex problems, required solutions cannot be identified merely through search, but must be created and designed. While behavioral theory suggests that negative performance will spur creative solution generation, threat-rigidity theory provides a competing view that decision-makers' creative efforts are ultimately thwarted through restricted information processing and constriction of control. We test these competing expectations through a survey-experimental comparison of the creativity of policy solutions in response to negative budgetary performance, generated by a nationally representative sample of local government decision-makers. The findings indicate that negative performance decreases the creativity of policy solutions as rated by policy experts, and reveals that key mechanisms of threat-rigidity theory are at play. This reduced generation of creative policy solutions amidst negative performance places limits on public organizations' capacity to adapt to adverse circumstances. Evidence for Practice• This experiment examines decision-makers' capacity to generate creative policy solutions to complex societal problems, as rated by independent policy experts. • More creative policy solutions are not seen as less practically or politically feasible and are rated as more effective, indicating that creativity is a crucial component of effective policy responses to wicked problems. • Negative performance information decreases the creativity of policy solutions that decision-makers put forward. • This reduced creativity is explained by threat-rigidity effects: decision-makers emphasize increased monitoring, reduced collaboration, and an efficiency orientation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Decision‐Makers’ Generation of Policy Solutions amidst Negative Performance: Invention or Rigidity?

Voet

Lems²

2022

Public Administration Review

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“…Since leadership is required in public administration to resolve its inherent imperfections (Behn, 1998 ), the kind of leadership that public administrators should be practicing needs to be examined, including their initiative, motivation, inspiration, and other qualities (Terry, 1995 ). This article contributes to further understanding this issue by conducting ethnographic research and discussing both research and practical implications (Visser and Kruyen, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This framework provides a lens to study daily frontline exercises in the workplace, the interactions between leaders and followers, and the relationship between work performance and leadership styles. Zooming in comprises observing details and specific work activities to make sense of how this is achieved (Visser and Kruyen, 2021 ). In this case, we pinpointed staff members' law enforcement actions led by the respective directors, and we explored the bigger picture by observing the background context in which leadership was executed to better understand their interactions and the structural impacts.…”

Section: Methodology and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inquiry of the Practice of Leadership in Chengguan: A Study Based on the Ethnographic Research of Z City

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Chengguan, the Urban Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, has been criticized for its dismal public image and poor job performance. Based on an ethnographic case study in Z City, we analyzed the type of leadership that results in passive work performance in Chengguan, and we examined whether any leadership style can be used to improve Chengguan's image and performance. We developed a new leadership ontology of CNP (Cognition–Normalization–Performance) on this foundation, and ethnographic research was conducted in three phases: leader's cognition, followers' normalization, and organization performance. Several implications were drawn. Leader selection should be cautious and can be improved by studying the leader's traits and behavior. This is done by investigating candidates' leadership career paths, trait characteristics, motive profiles, and other qualities. It is useful to change leaders by strengthening followers' unity and cohesion by setting up a labor union, youth federation, women's federation, and other groups. A leader should be selected among individuals who have completed leadership training as opposed to appointing one from outside the organization. On the one hand, the superior should help to improve the leadership environment (context), supervise problems in the organization's operation and performance, and track changes over time. On the other hand, the leader can also provide the followers with a flexible and adaptive place of work.

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“…The bureaucrat job's main objective is to ensure a successful policy implementation by working together with the client to overcome any obstacle. Hence, discretion provides bureaucrats with the ability to apply their judgments and implement what they think fits the needs of citizens (Hupe 2016;Joshi and McCluskey 2018;Lipsky 2010;May and Winter 2007;Lieberherr 2019;Visser and Kruyen 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Examination of Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Discretion and the Moderating Role of Supervisory Support: Evidence from the Field

Hassan

Ariffin

Mansor

et al. 2021

Administrative Sciences

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This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the discretion of street-level bureaucrats and their willingness to implement as well as between discretion and client meaningfulness by testing street-level bureaucrat theory in a different context. The effect of discretion on willingness to implement and client meaningfulness may differ due to perceived supervisory support. Data from 241 bureaucrats (labor inspectors) in the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources indicated that discretion significantly influences bureaucrats’ willingness to implement and client meaningfulness. Critically, the moderating role of perceived supervisory support augmented only the positive impact of discretion on client meaningfulness; for example, this relationship is more significant among bureaucrats who perceive high supervisory support. This study sheds new light on the notable role of supervisory support in ensuring that discretion enhances client meaningfulness and willingness to implement.

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Discretion of the Future: Conceptualizing Everyday Acts of Collective Creativity at the Street‐Level

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Cited by 24 publications

References 61 publications

Decision‐Makers’ Generation of Policy Solutions amidst Negative Performance: Invention or Rigidity?

Decision‐Makers’ Generation of Policy Solutions amidst Negative Performance: Invention or Rigidity?

Inquiry of the Practice of Leadership in Chengguan: A Study Based on the Ethnographic Research of Z City

An Examination of Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Discretion and the Moderating Role of Supervisory Support: Evidence from the Field

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