On the Desirability of Bonus-payments in Public Sector Remuneration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26481/marble.2013.v5.174Abstract
Two-third of all OECD countries implemented a bonus system to reward their employees. This study identifies the two main arguments of the proponents of these bonus systems. First, bonuses would motivate public servants and second, new talented staff would be attracted to the public service. By means of Political Discourse Evaluation, this paper shows that whether these arguments are convincing, is determined by on one’s expectations of a public servant. If one supposes that public servants should be motivated by some intrinsic urge to make the world a better place instead of by monetary rewards, the argument becomes less acceptable. Furthermore, this analysis shows that the acceptability of the arguments depends on the doubtful assumptions that humans act fully rationally and suitable targets for public servants can be set.
References
Stokes, D. (1996). The Changing Environment of Education for Public Service. Journal of Public Policy and Management 15(2), 158-170.
United States Government Accountability Office (2004). Human Capital: Building on the Current Momentum to Transform the Federal Government. GOA Report No. 04-976T.
Dick, T. (2003, July 11). A little extra on the Side. Sydney Morning Herald.
House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee (2009). Executive Pay in the Public Sector: Written Evidence. London, UK.
Hood, C. (1995). The new public management in the 1980s variations: on a theme. Accounting, Organizations and Society 20(2), 93-109.
Public Sector Bonus Review Urged (2009, June 22). BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/ scotland/8112434.stm.
Magee, K. (2009, March 5). Civil service bonuses criticized. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ news/northern_ireland/7927189.stm.
Asch, B. (2005). Economic Complexities of Incentive Reforms. In R. Klitgaard & P. Light (eds.), High Performance Government: Structure, Leadership, Incentives. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.
Fetter, J., & Mitchell, R. (2003). Relationships and the Adoption of High Performance Work Practices: Final Report Prepared for the Workplace Innovation Unit. Victoria: Industrial Relations.
Dutta, P. (1999). Strategies and Games: Theory and Practice. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell.
Barnard, C. (1938). The Functions of the Executive. Boston: Harvard University Press.
Mill, J. (1844). Essays on some unsettled questions of political economy; and on the method of investigation proper to it. London: Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer.
Jacob, B., & Levitt, S. (2003). Rotten Apples: An Investigation of the Prevalence and Predictors of Teachers Cheating. Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(3), 843-877.
Williams, B. (1980). Reinforcement, Behavior Constraint, and the Overjustification Effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39(4), 599-614.
Maslow, A. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review 50(4), 370-96.
O’Donnell, M. (1998). Creating a Performance Culture? Performance-based Pay in the Australian Public Service. Australian Journal of Public Administration 57(3), 28-40.
