Relationship betwee0n human resource practices and work attitudes: Study at the Undersecretariat of Social Services

Authors

  • Sebastián Valdebenito Pedrero

Abstract

Based on a survey applied on July 2019 at the Undersecretariat of Social Services of the Chilean Ministry of Social Development and Family, this study analyzes the relationship that exists between the civil servant’s percep¬tion about human resource practices and their work attitudes. The results allow to show that the civil servants who positively value communication practices, teamwork, training and promotion opportunities are more com¬mitted to the organization and satisfied with their jobs. According to the author, these findings reflect the importance of having regular and robust information in order to adopt improvements in human resource practices, therefore, promoting the quality of public services.

Keywords:

Public Management, Human resources practices, Job satisfaction, Organizational commitment, Organizational performance

References

Allen, N. & Meyer, J. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and nor- mative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupation Psychology, 63, 1–18.

Banco Mundial (2008). Chile: Estudio de Evaluación en Profundidad del Programa de Mejoramiento de la Gestión (PMG). Banco Mundial.

Banco Mundial (2014). Pay flexibility and government performance: a multicountry study. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

BCN (2003). Historia de la Ley Nº 19.882. Regula nueva política de personal a los funcionarios públicos que indica. Santiago: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile.

BCN (2016). Historia de la Ley Nº 20.955. Perfecciona el Sistema de Alta Dirección Pública y Fortalece la Dirección Nacional del Servicio Civil. Santiago: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile.

Benkhoff, B. (1996). Disentangling organizational commitment: The dangers of the OCQ for re- search and policy. Personnel Review, 26 (1/2), 114–131.

Bertrand, M., Burgess, R., Chawla, A. & Xu, G. (2020). The Glittering Prizes: Career Incentives and Bureaucrat Performance. Review of Economic Studies, 87 (2), 625–655.

Blom, R., Kruyen, P., Van der Heijden, B. & Van Thiel, S. (2020). One HRM Fits All? A Meta- Analysis of the Effects of HRM Practices in the Public, Semipublic, and Private Sector. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 3–35.

Borzaga, C. & Tortia, E. (2006). Worker Motivations, Job Satisfaction, and Loyalty in Public and Nonprofit Social Services. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35 (2), 225–248.

Centro de Estudios Públicos (2017). Un Estado para la Ciudadanía. Informe de la Comisión de Modernización del Estado. Santiago, Chile: Centro de Estudios Públicos.

Centro de Sistemas Públicos (2016). Estudio de Diseño e Implementación de los Incentivos Institucionales del Sector Público. DIPRES, BID & CSP.

Cronbach, L. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16 (3), 297–334.

Dalal, R. (2013). Job Attitudes: Cognition and Affect. En I. Weiner, Handbook of Psychology. Volume 12: Industrial and Organizational Psychology (págs. 341–366). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Frei Ruiz-Tagle, E. (1993). Un Gobierno para los Nuevos Tiempos. Bases programáticas del segundo Gobierno de la Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia. Santiago.

Gibbons, R. (2005). Incentives Between Firms (and Within). Management Science, 51 (1), 2–17.

Gould-Williams, J. (2003). The importance of HR practices and workplace trust in achieving su- perior performance: a study of public-sector organizations. Human Resource Management, 14 (1), 28–54.

Gould-Williams, J. (2007). HR practices, organizational climate and employee outcomes: evaluat- ing social exchange relationships in local government. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18 (9), 1627–1647.

Gould-Williams, J. & Davies, F. (2005). Using social exchange theory to predict the effects of HRM practice on employee outcomes. Public Management Review, 7 (1), 1–24.

Grund, C. & Sliwka, D. (2001). The Impact of Wage Increases on Job Satisfaction–Empirical Evidence and Theoretical Implications. (No. 387). IZA Discussion Paper series.

Ko, J. & Smith-Walker, A. (2013). The relationship between HRM practices and Organizational Performance in the Public Sector: Focusing on mediating roles of Work Attitudes. International Review of Public Administration, 18 (3), 209-231.

Koster, F. & Fleischmann, M. (2017). An international comparison of job security, social security, and extra effort. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 37 (13/14), 823-839.

Krumpal, I. (2011). Determinants of Social Desirability Bias in Sensitive Surveys: A Literature Review.

Quality and quantity, 47 (4), 2025-2047.

Locke, E. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. En M. Dunnette, Handbook of indus- trial and organizational psicology (págs. 1297-1343). Chicago: Rand McNally College Ed.

Meijerink, J., Beijer, S. & Bos-Nehles, A. (2020). A meta-analysis of mediating mechanisms be- tween employee reports of human resource management and employee performance: di- fferent pathways for descriptive and evaluative reports? The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-49.

Meyer, J. & Allen, N. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment.

Human Resource Management Review, 1 (1), 61-89.

Mostafa, A., Gould-Williams, J. & Bottomley, P. (2015). High-Performance Human Resource Practices and Employee Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Public Servic Motivation. Public Administration Review, 75 (5). 747-757.

Mowday, T., Steer, S. & Porter, L. (1979). The Measurement of Organizational Commitment.

Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14 (2), 224-247.

Namdeo, S. & Rout, S. (2016). Calculating and interpreting Cronbach’s alpha using Rosenberg assessment scale on paediatrician’s attitude and perception on self esteem. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 3 (6), 1371-1374.

Ng, T. & Feldman, D. (2009). Re-examining the relationship between age and voluntary turnover.

Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74 (3), 283–294.

Ng, T. & Sorensen, K. (2008). Toward a Further Understanding of the Relationships Between Perceptions of Support and Work Attitudes: A Meta-Analysis. Group & Organization Management, 243-268.

OCDE (2016). Engaging Public Employees for a HighPerforming Civil Service. OECD Public Governance Reviews.

Perry, J. (1996). Measuring Public Service Motivation: An Assessment of Construct Reliability and Validity. Journal of Public Administration, Research and Theory, 6 (1), 5-22.

Perry, J., Engbers, T. & Jun, S. (2009). Back to the future? Performance-related pay, empirical re- search, and the perils of persistence. Public Administration Review, 69 (1), 39–51.

Pliscoff, C. (2005). Sistemas de incentivos monetarios y reforma del Estado: Elementos para una discu- sión necesaria. Documento de Trabajo N°4. INAP, Universidad de Chile.

PNUD (2015). THE SDGs and New Public Passion. What really motivates the civil service? Singapore: Global Centre for Public Service Excellence.

Rainey, H. (2014). Understanding People in Public Organizations: Motivation and Motivation Theory. En H. Rainey, Understanding and Managing Public Organization (págs. 257–397). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ramírez, Á. (2004). El proceso de reforma del Estado y modernización de la gestión pública en Chile: lecciones, experiencias y aprendizajes (1990-2003). Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública.

Robbins, S., Judge, T. & Vohra, N. (2017). Motivation concepts. En S. Robbins, T. Judge & N. Vohra, Organizational Behavior (págs. 194–259). India: Pearson India Education Services.

Schuster, C., Fuenzalida, J., Meyer-Sahling, J., Mikkelsen, K. S. & Titelman, N. (2020). Encuesta Nacional de Funcionarios en Chile: Evidencia para un servicio público más motivado, satisfecho, comprometido y ético. Santiago: University College London, Centro de Sistemas Públicos, Dirección Nacional del Servicio Civil, University of Nottingham; Roskilde University.

Weibel, A., Rost, K. & Osterloh, M. (2009). Pay for Performance in the Public Sector—Benefits and (Hidden) Costs. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 387–412.