It has become apparent, especially over the past decade, that the services provided by government have not been meeting public expectations. Canadians are calling not only for increased efficiency in government but for, greater integri ty and greater responsiveness to their needs as well. In large part because of public concerns, not only in Canada but around the world, we have witnessed a trend towards re-inventing public organizations. Efforts to reshape and renew public organizations in Canada have led these organizations to espouse new values such as innovation, creativity and openness which have not traditionally been associated wi th publ ic sector management and operations. Many academics and practitioners are now arguing that a new paradigm of public organization - the post-bureaucratic paradigm- is emerging and that this development will bring about revolutionary change in public sector management. The purpose of this thesis is to examine both the traditional and the new values of the public service to determine which values will remain important in the years to come. Since many public organizations are espousing values that have traditionally been associated wi th business rather than public organizations, the thesis compares the values currently espoused by public and business organizations. In addition, this thesis demonstrates that at the same time as there has been a shift in public service values, there has been a iii related shift from the classical bureaucratic paradigm of public organization toward a post-bureaucratic paradigm. The thesis presents a new "value framework" so as to assist public administrators to understand the changes that are taking place and to provide a basis for further scholarly work in this area. Much of the thesis is devoted to explaining the evolution from the traditional public service values to a new set of values. One of the major findings of the thesis is that several new values are currently being espoused by public organizations and that most of these new values are usually considered to be "business" values. It is clear that the shift in public service values is paving the way for a paradigm shift towards new forms of public sector management and organization. The current value system in the public sector is comprised of a blending of both traditional and new values; this new set of values is central to efforts to renew and reshape government.

Department of Political Science

09/07/2009

09/07/2009

09/07/1995

http://hdl.handle.net/10464/2033

eng

Brock University

Electronic Thesis or Dissertation