Rewards in Bureaucracy and Politics

Abstract

A fundamental question in the field of administrative sciences is how rewards support the motivation and performance of civil servants and the efficiency of organizations. Literature of public administration categorizes rewards with some dimensions, such as formality, tangibility, measurability, etc. However, these interpretative models seem to be incomplete because they don’t classify all the elements of rewards system within the domain of public administration. The purpose of this paper is to systematize the categories of rewards in a new taxonomy that also considers the dimension of legality in order to create a comprehensive interpretative model in public sector.

This theoretical framework here may be applied to analyze many elements of rewards system in public administration in order to support fruitful management implications. Moreover, this study begins the process of clarifying and generalizing, as far as possible, the manifold elements of rewards system in public organizations to lay a foundation for the development of more sophisticated taxonomies and theories.

Keywords: Rewards, Compensation, Pay, Gifts, Bribery, Reputation, Public Administration, Politicians, Bureaucrats, Public Organization, Rewards System, Abuse of Power

JEL Classification: D73, H0, J30, J33, J45, M12, M52