The 2017 John Gaus Award Lecture: What If We Took Professionalism Seriously?

Perry, James L.

doi:10.1017/s1049096517001810

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 67 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This study also offers support for an approach to discretion that goes beyond the frequently used approach-in organizations as well as in science-that emphasizes the "amount" of discretion street-level bureaucrats should be granted. The study provides evidence that a focus on the professional use of discretion might be more fruitful (Evans, 2011;Perry, 2018). This approach acknowledges the importance of street-level discretion for performance, without implying that the use of discretion is merely up to the individual employee and their personal preferences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Managing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Performance by Promoting Professional Behavior Through HRM

Berkel

Vries

Knies

2021

Public Personnel Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article connects human resource management (HRM) research to studies of street-level bureaucracies and public professionals. It investigates the intermediary role of professional behavior in the HRM–individual performance link in the context of public human service organizations. The article hypothesizes that human resources (HR) practices, aimed at enhancing street-level workers’ abilities, motivation, and opportunities, strengthen these workers’ professional behavior; that professional behavior and individual performance are positively related; and that professional behavior mediates the relationship between HR practices and individual performance. The analysis of findings from a survey study of street-level workers in local welfare agencies implementing welfare-to-work policies in the Netherlands shows support for the mediating role of professional behavior in the HRM–individual performance chain. Based on this evidence, the article concludes that the professional behavior of street-level workers in public human service organizations deserves scrutiny of both HRM scholars and HR practitioners who are interested in promoting the performance of public professionals.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Managing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Performance by Promoting Professional Behavior Through HRM

Berkel

Vries

Knies

2021

Public Personnel Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While a single study cannot resolve all aspects of a professionalism agenda for public administration (Perry 2018), we sought to consider how professionalism relates to a defining feature of modern governance, the use of performance metrics. The paradox of performance regimes is that they demand greater performance even as they often alienate the very professionals whose expertise is needed to generate better outcomes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This section considers how professional frontline employees are important for performance management systems, a role that has been largely overlooked in public management research, reflecting a broader inattention to the role of professionals. James Perry dedicated his 2017 John Gaus Lecture to the intellectual blind spots created by this inattention: “Scholars and practitioners should move forward expeditiously on a professionalism agenda to fill knowledge gaps, integrate disparate research streams, and affirm an identity that has fit the reality of public administration for nearly half a century” (Perry 2018, 99).…”

Section: Professionals and Performance Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling the Performance Regime Paradox: A Problem‐Solving Approach Engages Professional Goal‐Based Learning

Moynihan

Bækgaard

Jakobsen

2019

Public Administration Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Public performance regimes are bedeviled by a paradox: they must engage the specialized knowledge of professionals who often perceive those very regimes as a threat to their autonomy. The authors use a mixed-method analysis of performance management in Danish hospitals, with separate data for managers and frontline professionals, to offer two insights into this challenge. First, the study shows that managerial behavior-in the form of performance information use-matters to the way frontline professionals engage in goal-based learning. Second, it shows that the way managers use performance data matters. When managers use data in ways that reinforce the perception of performance management as an externally imposed tool of control, professionals withdraw effort. However, when managers use data in ways that solve organizational problems, professionals engage in goal-based learning. The threat to professional values that performance regimes pose can therefore be mitigated by managers using data in ways that complements those values. Evidence for Practice • To make performance regimes work, public managers must engage professional employees whose expertise provides insight into the causes behind organizational performance, as well as the levers to improve results. • This study of Danish hospitals shows that frontline hospital professionals are more engaged in goal-based learning if their managers use performance data for problem-solving. • Professionals are less likely to engage in goal-based learning when their managers use data for reward and control. • Professionals are wary of the threats of performance regimes even as political leaders want to make those regimes work: a compromise path for both groups is to commit to aligning performance regimes with professional values.

show abstract

“…While emotional labor is part of the everyday work of local administrators, scholars have historically described emotions as a challenge to notions of professionalism (Thompson 1975). The term professionalism implies that public servants have a “specialized knowledge” of their work (Perry 2018, 95), that is gained through specialized training. While traditional organizational research often suggests that the presence of emotions jeopardizes professionalism, and more broadly, bureaucratic rationality (Putnam and Mumby 1993), recent literature challenges these assumptions and proposes that emotions can supplement professionalism (Mastracci and Adams 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional Labor and Professionalism: Finding Balance at the Local Level

Humphrey

2021

State and Local Government Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When examining emotions and professionalism, scholars have questioned how these concepts can coexist. Using ten interviews with local administrators, this exploratory study suggests that emotions and professionalism are interrelated—to be professional, an administrator must be skilled in emotional labor. Specifically, professionalism acts as a display rule regulating the emotional behavior of employees. An employee's ability to meet this display rule impacts their individual social capital, along with experiences of emotional contagion from other organizational members. By connecting emotional labor to professionalism, these findings suggest that the emotional competencies of local administrators should receive greater emphasis in professional training programs.

show abstract

The 2017 John Gaus Award Lecture: What If We Took Professionalism Seriously?

Cited by 13 publications

References 67 publications

Managing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Performance by Promoting Professional Behavior Through HRM

Managing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Performance by Promoting Professional Behavior Through HRM

Tackling the Performance Regime Paradox: A Problem‐Solving Approach Engages Professional Goal‐Based Learning

Emotional Labor and Professionalism: Finding Balance at the Local Level

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About