Papers by Simon Anderfuhren
Subtitled "Recommendations for the implementation of Cannabis policies aligned with inte... more Subtitled "Recommendations for the implementation of Cannabis policies aligned with international Human Rights standards, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2016 UNGASS outcome document", this report explains how the reform of hemp and cannabis policies can sustain or make harder – depending on the policy options chosen – the attainment of the 2030 United Nations agenda for Sustainable Development. | The reformist trend in Cannabis policy globally is an ongoing movement unlikely to be stopped. A deficit of democratic monitoring of the generalization of legal Cannabis markets could represent a threat for affected populations and public health. Ethics are needed. A renewed interest and takeover of the topic Cannabis by all categories of the population are urgent. A one-size-fits-all policy seems neither desirable nor possible, both for geographical imperatives and for the diversity of uses and products of the plant. This makes consensual policy models (exportable and generalizable) difficult to emerge. Rather than trying to solve the equation of the perfect Cannabis policy and its infinite variables, a more feasible approach would be to step aside, list all the different public policies that affect, or are involved with Cannabis, and address them individually. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals is but a perfect tool for this purpose. This discussion paper highlights important research and experiential outcomes from scholars, civil society organizations, affected populations, and market stakeholders. It seeks to show the potential of the Cannabis plant in appropriately regulated settings as transformative for our societies – so long as ethical practices and sustainable approaches are kept central. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive guide. It is designed as a valuable resource to contribute to post-prohibition studies, and help understand, from diverse public policy perspectives, the links between the policies of Cannabis and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the impact of the former on the latter.
This article analyzes whether and to what extent the policy environment of civil servants has an ... more This article analyzes whether and to what extent the policy environment of civil servants has an impact on their level of Public Service Motivation (PSM). It hypothesizes that public employees working in different policy domains and stages of the policy cycle are diversely motivated by four PSM orientations (Compassion, Commitment to the public interest, Self-sacrifice and Attraction to politics). The empirical results are based on a survey of 6885 Swiss civil servants. They show that those in charge of Welfare State policies are inclined to have higher levels of ‘Compassion’, whereas those performing core state functions report lower levels. Furthermore, employees whose main tasks are related to policy formulation display high levels of the ‘Attraction to politics ’ dimension of PSM. This study questions the generalization of previous findings on PSM that are based on heterogeneous survey populations.
The Public Service Motivation (PSM) perspective was developed to counterweight, and somewhat nuan... more The Public Service Motivation (PSM) perspective was developed to counterweight, and somewhat nuance work motivation theories that were mostly based on the premise that human rationality is above all egoistic and strictly economical. On the basis of six original studies, I have implemented this perspective in Switzerland. I have shown that the conceptualization and the measure of PSM are subject to variations based on the nationally promoted public values, and therefore that the substantive content of PSM is not definite. Regarding the question of what is subject to sustain and foster PSM, I have exposed the relevance to analysing separately the subcomponents of PSM, as each of them are influenced by different factors. Hence, my study on the subject have revealed the importance of exploring configurations of social capital, cultural belongings, political practices and orientations as well as the practicing of different civic behaviours; when in the qualitative study, it appeared that...
Yearbook of Swiss Administrative Sciences, 2010
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2016
This study investigates whether work opportunities have an impact on stress and the related turno... more This study investigates whether work opportunities have an impact on stress and the related turnover intentions of employees working in intergovernmental international organizations. It contextualizes the job resources and demands model within international organizations' specific work conditions. The empirical test is based on original data from a survey administered in four major organizations of the United Nations system. Results demonstrate that social work opportunities and work-life balance are organizational levers reducing stress and willingness to quit for employees who are facing red tape or the stresses of being an expatriate. In this context, the relationships between these work opportunities and turnover intention are partially mediated by stress. Contextualized HR management propositions are made to help organizations coping with these management challenges.
Ritz Adrian Giauque David Varone Frederic Anderfuhren Biget Simon Sinelli Peter Umfragereport Motivation Von Angestellten Im Offentlichen Sektor Ergebnisse Gemeinden, 2009
Public Administration, 2015
The independence of international civil servants (ICSs) from their country of origin is often pre... more The independence of international civil servants (ICSs) from their country of origin is often presumed but rarely accounted for empirically. In order to address this gap, we investigate whether ICSs face conflicts between national and international interests and which conditions are more conducive to the manifestation of this conflict in international organizations. We adopt a mixed-methods design, including a survey with 1,400 respondents working in two United Nations humanitarian organizations, followed by semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of respondents. The findings show that such conflicts matter for ICSs, hierarchical grade has stronger explanatory power than the other factors, and the higher the level in the international organization, the less frequently ICSs face conflict. The qualitative analysis explains these results by pointing to the effects of socialization among ICSs but also by shedding light on a related effect: dilution of national identity, as well as on the implications of locally recruiting lower-level staff.
Routledge Handbook of International Organization, 2012
International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2015
This study aims at identifying the organisational antecedents of public service motivation (PSM).... more This study aims at identifying the organisational antecedents of public service motivation (PSM). It focuses on human resources management (HRM) practices as one category of organisational factors that impact on PSM. Concretely, this research questions how intrinsic and extrinsic HRM practices are related to PSM and whether these relationships are direct or mediated by person-organisation (P-O) fit. The empirical findings are based on a survey of 6,885 civil servants working in Switzerland. Regression analyses highlight that intrinsic HRM practices are positively related to PSM, whereas extrinsic ones are negatively related to PSM. Furthermore, mediation tests shows that only the intrinsic HRM practices are mediated by PO fit. Thus, civil servants who value intrinsic work incentives maintain a high PSM level when they perceive congruence between their individual expectations and the values of their organisation.
This article analyses if and to what extent the PSM level of public employees depends upon the po... more This article analyses if and to what extent the PSM level of public employees depends upon the policy domains (welfare, utilities, infrastructures and environment, core state functions and general administration), and the stage of the policy cycle (formulation and implementation) in which they are involved. The empirical results obtained from a sample of 6'885 Swiss civil servants working in municipalities and cantons show that differences among policy sectors principally impact one dimension of PSM: employees in charge of policies related to the welfare State are inclined to have higher levels of "Compassion", whereas those responsible for security, legal services and justice policies report lower levels. Furthermore, civil servants whose main tasks are related to policy formulation are more prone to developing high levels of the "Attraction to politics" dimension of PSM. Consequently, this study questions the generalisability of previous findings on PSM that are based on heterogeneous survey populations.
The present study aims to identify organisational antecedents of public service motivation (PSM).... more The present study aims to identify organisational antecedents of public service motivation (PSM). According to the current scientific literature, organisational antecedents of PSM have been understudied thus far. In order to fill this research gap, we question whether human resource management practices might be related to PSM. Our findings, based on a survey in an important Swiss municipality (N = 859), surprisingly highlight that extrinsic HRM practices are significantly related to PSM, whereas intrinsic ones are not. Furthermore, when taking into account work-related outcomes, such as job satisfaction and organisational commitment, there is evidence of full mediation effects towards extrinsic HRM practices from organisational commitment.
L’idee selon laquelle les organisations productives se trouvent en concurrence pour attirer a ell... more L’idee selon laquelle les organisations productives se trouvent en concurrence pour attirer a elles les meilleurs salaries est aujourd’hui tres largement repandue, que ce soit parmi les dirigeants, dans la presse, ou meme dans les manuels de management. Des lors, la guerre des talents parait ineluctable. C’est oublier toutefois que les salaries, qu’ils travaillent dans le secteur public ou prive par ailleurs, ne sont pas uniquement mus par des considerations utilitaristes, rationnelles et materielles. Ils ne visent pas avant tout a vendre leurs talents, pour autant qu’ils soient conscients qu’ils en possedent, mais plutot a travailler dans un environnement organisationnel en accord avec les valeurs auxquelles ils croient et auxquelles ils sont attaches. Les aspects materiels du travail ont de l’importance, a n’en pas douter, mais les dimensions ideelles et valorielles ont souvent ete sous-estimees dans la litterature scientifique contemporaine. Cet article a pour ambition de montrer que les valeurs doivent etre reintroduites dans l’analyse des processus motivationnels des salaries. Grâce a la notion de « motivation a l’egard du service public » (MSP) nous montrons que les agents publics sont attaches a des missions, objectifs et valeurs qui definissent en partie leurs activites professionnelles. L’etude empirique se base sur un important echantillon d’agents publics municipaux et cantonaux suisses et analyse les antecedents et les resultats de la MSP. Les enseignements qui en decoulent suggerent que, si guerre des talents il doit y avoir, alors les valeurs compteront elles aussi.
Public Administration, 2013
This article analyzes whether and to what extent the policy environment of civil servants has an ... more This article analyzes whether and to what extent the policy environment of civil servants has an impact on their level of Public Service Motivation (PSM). It hypothesizes that public employees working in different policy domains and stages of the policy cycle are diversely motivated by four PSM orientations (Compassion, Commitment to the public interest, Self-sacrifice and Attraction to politics). The empirical results are based on a survey of 6885 Swiss civil servants. They show that those in charge of Welfare State policies are inclined to have higher levels of 'Compassion', whereas those performing core state functions report lower levels. Furthermore, employees whose main tasks are related to policy formulation display high levels of the 'Attraction to politics' dimension of PSM. This study questions the generalization of previous findings on PSM that are based on heterogeneous survey populations.
Review of Public Personnel Administration, 2014
After decades of management reforms in the public sector, questions on the impact of leadership b... more After decades of management reforms in the public sector, questions on the impact of leadership behavior in public organizations have been attracting increasing attention. This article investigates the relationship between transformational leadership behavior and organizational citizenship behavior as one major extra-role outcome of transformational leadership. Referring to a growing body of research that shows the importance of public service values and employee identification in public administration research, we include public service motivation and organizational goal clarification as mediating variables in our analysis. Structural equation modeling is applied as the method of analysis for a sample of 569 public managers at the local level of Switzerland. The findings of our study support the assumed indirect relationship between leadership and employee behavior and emphasize the relevance of public service values when analyzing leadership behavior in public sector organizations.
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Papers by Simon Anderfuhren