The concept of public service ethic as a differentiating factor between public and private professionals: Construct development and application

Public Service Ethic has been identified in the literature, but has not been clearly delineated, defined, or empirically tested. The current research defines Public Service Ethic as a value system which represents a person's dedication to service, to society, and to a belief in the regime values of equality, equity, and justice. The construct developed here to test this definition took the form of a survey which measured career ideals, personal values and ethics, view of the world and view of self, professionalism, occupational values, and a belief in regime values. The test sample consisted of all MPA and MBA students enrolled in core or required courses in ten universities in Texas. Construct validity was examined using factor and discriminate analysis. Three factors were identified. One factor represented Organizational Commitment. A second factor represented Service to Society, and a third factor represented Sector Differentiation. Discriminate analysis revealed that the second and third factors differentiated MPA students from MBA students. Regime values did not differentiate between the two groups.

The optimal model for prediction of program enrollment contained only the factor representing Service to Society. The optimal model for prediction of work sector preference contained the factors representing Service to Society and Sector Differentiation. The factor representing Organizational Commitment added little explanatory power to any of the models considered, and did not significantly correlate with the other factors. The optimal model for prediction of Service to Society contained the variables, public sector employment of parents, and political party preference of the respondent. The optimal model for prediction of Sector Differentiation was dominated by political party preference of the respondent. From this investigation Public Service Ethic appears to consist of two factors which are separate and distinct from Organizational Commitment, and by implication, from job involvement. The new construct has implications for future research. Practical implications exist for educational program recruitment and content as well as employer recruitment.