An honour to be coveted: pride,recognition and public service

Abstract: Efforts to enhance public‐service pride and recognition are based in large part on three related propositions: that an increase in public servants' pride will lead to improved performance; improved performance will lead to greater public recognition of the public service; and greater public recognition will increase public servants' pride. These propositions can be examined by relating the concepts of pride and recognition to those of organizational commitment, job satisfaction, motivation and morale. Intrinsic incentives and less tangible extrinsic incentives are more important to public servants than to private sector employees. Given the relative scarcity of tangible extrinsic rewards in the public sector, governments are well advised to ensure adequate provision of less tangible rewards like appreciation and approval. Among the major future‐oriented government initiatives affecting pride and recognition are measures to foster a learning organization, to promote citizen‐centred service through effective use of information and communications technology, and to move the public service from a rules‐based towards a values‐based institution.