The Public Service Motivated Volunteer: Devoting Time or Effort?

Non-profit organizations, corporate volunteer programs, and government workplace schemes are asking volunteers for their time and effort. But, with the changes in how people volunteer, such as episodic, micro, and cyber volunteering, those managing volunteers need to understand whether they should focus on encouraging volunteers to donate more time or effort. Using public service motivation to measure volunteer\u2019s propensity to engage in volunteering, we compare three outcomes: time spent volunteering, frequency of volunteering, and volunteering intensity. In a sample of 411 volunteers, we find public service motivation is associated with more time spent volunteering, increased frequency, and higher levels of volunteering intensity. However, volunteering intensity explains the most variance. These findings suggest that how the individual perceives they exert volunteering intensity may be useful among public service motivated volunteers

Public service motivation and public sector employment preference: Comparing Italian and British students

Previous research has suggested that an individual\u2019s public service motivation (PSM) is positively linked to a preference for public sector employment. The authors explore this link using a sample of British and Italian undergraduate students. They found a positive relationship between PSM and public sector job preferences among Italian students but not with the British students. The UK has implemented more NPM-style reforms than Italy and this could be impacting on public sector recruitment. Implications for recruitment and retention the public sector are discussed. Continuous reform pressure in many countries makes public sector employment highly unattractive to young job market candidates. Based on the results of a comparative analysis of public service motivation (PSM) and attraction to working in the public sector in Italy and the UK, the authors discuss institutional and managerial problem areas that lead to young graduates taking employment in the private or not-for-profit sector

Diversity, Gender and Quotas: Some academic Evidence

In the Winter 2012 issue of e-Organisations & People an article by Sue Lieberman was reprinted (originally Lieberman, 1995) exploring the different views and behaviours of men and women in the workplace. Its key assumption was that a better understanding of these issues may be useful for the organisation. While the above mentioned article raises a lot of important issues, the instances described are single cases combined with anecdotal evidence. Thus, it would be interesting to investigate such diversity issues in a more systematic way. In this article I briefly describe two research projects trying to take a more systematic approach. To put this in a wider context I outline the debate on gender quotas for boards briefly in the following section

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? A young traveler\u2019s decision making problem

Las Vegas is the capital of gambling in the US. The city is well known for attracting travelers due to its busy night life and casino density. In 2018, Las Vegas had more than 42 million visitors of which 20% indicated their gambling budget is more than USD 600. Gambling has been and still is the primary economic motor of the city. The website statista.com reports that "the average cost per night of accommodation in Las Vegas reached 128.85 U.S. dollars in 2018 ". It also reports that Las Vegas tends to host more than 18 thousand conventions annually since 2001

Agent-based modeling as a tool for Public Management research

his chapter introduces the use and usefulness of agent-based modeling (ABM) simulation techniques for the study of public administration, management and policy. It explains the nature of agent-based models, summarize their advantages and disadvantages and illustrate their use in an application. The explanations allow the reader to develop basic understanding of the agent-based modeling process. Based on the exploration it suggests that a number of different software platforms have been developed to help in applying ABM, pointing to NetLogo as the most frequently used software. In the second part of the chapter the authors exemplify how an agent-based simulation is used to study how problem solving affects the levels of public service motivation (PSM) of volunteers operating in the South of the UK, and belonging to different types of activities, related to (1) religious, (2) youth, (3) culture, (4) health, and (5) civic organization