ISSN 0798 1015
ISSN 0798 1015
Vol. 39 (# 11) Year 2018. Page 19
Olga V. ROGACH 1; Tatyana M. RYABOVA 2; Elena V. FROLOVA 3; Tatyana A. EVSTRATOVA 4; Maxim S. KOZYREV 5
Received: 06/11/2017 • Approved: 10/12/2017
ABSTRACT: The development of the civil service institution is primarily related with the improvement of its personnel policy, the fight against corruption, the introduction of ethical standards, and the technologies of employee career management. These problems are the most significant limitations of the social-economic and political development of a state and, when you resolve them, a considerable attention should be paid to the social and psychological well-being and climate of public authority employees in order to minimize the negative phenomena of their professional activity psychological aspect. In order to determine the specifics of the social-psychological climate development in government bodies, whose employees should be oriented toward the solution of significant tasks of state development, the author's team conducted the study in the Federal Service for Russian Federation Financial Monitoring. By applying the "Pulsar" test, the "Integral Satisfaction with Labor" test, developed by A.V. Batarshev, the method of observation and personal interview, the authors partially refuted the hypothesis that the rigid formalization of civil servant activities, including the regulation of actions, the pressure of superiors, routine, the emphasis on discipline and a high level of personal responsibility, is the dominant factor of social-psychological climate disruption in state bodies of power. In the course of the study it was revealed that the social-psychological climate in the collective of the state authority can be characterized as favorable and unstable. The collective of employees is a sufficiently mature group, able to perform production assignments, despite a fairly common phenomenon: “employee turnover”. According to the results of the performed tests, the authors characterize the modern civil servant as an effective, purposeful, energetic, constantly raising his level of knowledge, interested in effective work, which is against the image of a civil servant that has become stale in society. |
RESUMEN: El desarrollo de la institución de la función pública se relaciona principalmente con la mejora de su política de personal, la lucha contra la corrupción, la introducción de estándares éticos, y las tecnologías de la gerencia de la carrera del empleado. Estos problemas son las limitaciones más significativas del desarrollo socio-económico y político de un estado y, cuando se resuelven, se debe prestar una atención considerable al bienestar social y psicológico y al clima de la autoridad pública empleados con el fin de minimizar los fenómenos negativos de su actividad profesional aspecto psicológico. Con el fin de determinar las especificidades del desarrollo del clima socio-psicológico en los organismos gubernamentales, cuyos empleados deben orientarse hacia la solución de las tareas significativas del desarrollo del estado, el equipo del autor realizó el estudio en el gobierno federal Servicio de monitoreo financiero de la Federación rusa. Mediante la aplicación de la prueba "pulsar ", la prueba "satisfacción integral con el trabajo", desarrollada por A.V. Batarshev, el método de observación y entrevista personal, los autores refutaron parcialmente la hipótesis de que la formalización rígida de las actividades de los funcionarios , incluyendo la regulación de las acciones, la presión de los superiores, la rutina, el énfasis en la disciplina y un alto nivel de responsabilidad personal, es el factor dominante de la interrupción del clima socio-psicológico en los cuerpos de poder del estado. En el curso del estudio fue revelado que el clima social-psicologico en el colectivo de la autoridad del estado se puede caracterizar como favorable e inestable. El colectivo de empleados es un grupo suficientemente maduro, capaz de realizar asignaciones de producción, a pesar de un fenómeno bastante común: "rotación de empleados". Según los resultados de las pruebas realizadas, los autores caracterizan al funcionario moderno como un efectivo, útil, enérgico, constantemente elevando su nivel de conocimiento, interesado en un trabajo eficaz, que está en contra de la imagen de un funcionario que se ha vuelto rancio en la sociedad. |
The system of federal bodies of executive power is called upon to carry out public administration in the relevant spheres of society, which makes the issues of official conduct and the development of a social-psychological climate in the collectives of employees of the state apparatus an actual one. "The erosion of the civil service ethics, the problems in the field of staff continuity planning, the lack of competent leadership" are considered as the most significant limitations of the country social-economic and political development (Magbadelo, 2016). The reduction of corruption, the development of pluralism in public administration, the focusing on the needs of citizens is the most significant vector of civil service modernization in modern conditions (Pyper & Burnham, 2010). At the same time, the researchers' emphasis on the social and psychological well-being of state executive body employees is explained by a number of reasons, among which there is the need to minimize the negative phenomena of psychological support for their professional activities, due to the public significance and the public nature of actions (Biliktueva E.B., 2009).
The following paradox has developed in the interaction of society and the administrative apparatus for several decades: most of society members note an overall satisfaction with provided public services in their surveys, but at the same time they characterize the civil servants negatively (Matei A., Matei L, 2014, Pratama AP, 2015; Fragkou P., 2013; Walle S. de van, 2008). The evaluation of employee performance of the public administration apparatus by society and the development of the social and the psychological image of an official behavior of the bureaucracy in the public opinion as an autonomous group of the social and professional group has a negative impact on the development of public service image (Frolova, E.V., 2017). The social-psychological portrait of a modern civil servant should be added by such a touch as the "bureaucratic" nature of official behavior. According to modern researchers, this characteristic seems to be the norm for most part of modern bureaucracy (Magbadelo J. O., 2016).
An important factor that determines the specifics of the social-psychological climate formation and development in the state executive bodies is the possibility of administrative resources use in personal interests as a combination of opportunities, which gives a substitute for a public post in a state apparatus, thus generating self-interest and bribery. According to V.V. Moiseyev and V.N. Prokuratova administrative possibilities are not a negative phenomenon, however, the fact is that there is a belief in the minds of officials that in modern conditions of Russian reality it is quite normal to use possibility of administrative resource application for personal purposes with impunity (Moiseyev V. V., Prokuratov V.N., 2012). This has the most destructive and depressing effect on the functioning of the state apparatus and the development of the social-psychological climate in a team. This state of affairs gives grounds for the conclusion that the potential of the social-psychological climate of modern Russian bureaucracy is not aimed at serving the people, but at gaining privileges and the satisfying of personal needs at the expense of society interests.
Statistical and sociological data testify to the slowed pace of the social-psychological climate formation and development in government bodies, where a new system of an employee development as a professional does not correspond to the conditions of a reformed society. Let us pay attention to the fact that the satisfaction with work, which is based on the assessment of personal interest in the work performed, the satisfaction with existing relationships with employees and the management of a team, the level of claims in professional activity, the satisfaction with the conditions, work organization, etc. makes an integrative indicator reflecting the well-being or unhappiness of an individual in the work collective (Batarshev AV, 2002; Buley N.V et al., 2016).
At present, the most important signs of a favorable social-psychological climate have been singled out already and substantiated in science, including a benevolent attitude and the rejection of harsh criticism, a free expression of personal opinion, the lack of official pressure on subordinates and the practice of making collegial decisions on the matters of importance to a team, the sufficiency of employee professional activity information support, the satisfaction with the belonging to a team and a high degree of emotional inclusion (Ryff C.D., 1995; Petrovsky A.V., A.V. Yaroshevsky, 2001). Thus, it can be argued that the nature of the social-psychological climate as a whole depends on the degree of group development, where the higher the degree of the collective development, the stronger an existing positive relationship.
The social-psychological climate of the collective is considered by the authors as the totality of social-psychological processes and phenomena in an organization that determine the character of interpersonal relations, the vector of group attitudes and states, the community of collective opinion and intragroup traditions.
In modern science, the vast majority of applied research in the field of social-psychological climate, both in Russia and abroad, was conducted by the experts in organizational psychology, which is associated with the obvious importance of social-psychological climate evaluation and improvement in the context of a wide range of organizational tasks solution. Thus, F. Lutens (1999), E. Schein (2002) and a number of other scientists determine the social-psychological climate of a collective as one of the leading characteristics of organizational culture, created by a general feeling of space, communication style between employees and the model of their behavior by a physical organization.
In his scientific works Brehm J.W (1966) offers an integrative model of employee satisfaction with his work, according to which there is a certain personal parameter that affects this feeling. T. Wright (1973) suggests to call this personal parameter as a positive affect, where people with a high level of its imagination are distinguished by activity, enthusiasm, optimism and interest.
In the framework of our publication among the many existing foreign works, the authors' works are of interest for psychological climate study as an individual perception of the worker's working environment (Boris B. Baltes, Ludmila S. Zhdanova, Christopher P. Parker, 2009; RogachO.V. et. al, 2016), work satisfaction based on three main characteristics of staff self-assessment - emotional work, self-efficacy and the focus on personal achievement (Christine Mathies, Liem Viet Ngo, 2013), the study of the institutionalized form of corruption in state bodies (Izhak Berkovich, 2015) and the impact of planning on the organization performance in the public sector (Boyne & Gould-Williams, 2003), the creation of an enabling working environment within a part-time work (Amy S. Wharton and Mary Blair-Loy, 2002) and the struggle with stress in working activity (Peter Barck-Holst et al., 2015; Chris Kyriacou, 2001).
The analysis of different approaches and points of view on the essence of the social-psychological climate allows us to conclude that it is a polyfunctional social-psychological education by which any activity of a collective is mediated. The specificity of the social-psychological climate consists in its representation as an integral and a dynamic characteristic of all members of collective mental states. At the same time, the relationships that have developed between the employees act as objective conditions for labor interaction and communication, stipulating the choice of the behavioral model of workers.
Based on the foregoing, let's conclude that the essential characteristics of the social-psychological climate can be the degree of team cohesion and the degree of an employee satisfaction with his work.
The purpose of the study is to determine the specifics of the social-psychological climate development in public authorities, whose employees should be oriented toward the solution of significant tasks of state development. The author's team conducted the study. The empirical basis for the study was the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring. The following fact is of particular interest: the formation of the social-psychological climate of this authority collective is subordinated to the specifics of the service to counteract the legalization of proceeds from crime, to counteract the financing of terrorism, and other characteristics of professional activity impose their imprint on interpersonal relations development in a team, the level of conflict and stress in work operations. The research was conducted from February 10 to April 10, 2017, the sample comprised 52 employees of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service at the age of 30 to 57 and with more than 5 years of work experience.
The authors put forward the hypothesis that the rigid formalization of civil servant activities, including the regulation of actions, the pressure of superiors, routine, the emphasis on discipline and a high level of personal responsibility are the dominant factors in the disruption of the social-psychological climate in state bodies of power.
In the course of the study, the following methods of social-psychological climate study in the organization were used:
- Pulsar test (Pochebut L.G., 2002). This methodology is designed to assess the degree of a team development on the basis of the social-psychological conditions of its member analysis: the preparedness for activity, orientation, organization, activity, cohesion, integration and referential nature.
- "Integral Satisfaction with Labor" test, developed by A.V. Batarshev. The importance of this technique use within the framework of the study conducted by the authors is that the results obtained with its help allowed us to assess not only the overall satisfaction of employees with their own work, but, above all, its components.
In order to validate the specified toolkit, the authors used such research methods as a personal interview and the method of observation.
As follows from the data presented in Table 1, the respondents' estimates are concentrated in the range of 8-9 points, while there are no radically different views of civil servants on this issue. This circumstance indicates a fairly objective measurement of the basic conditions concerning the social-psychological climate of a collective.
Table 1
Assessment of a team development degree on the basis of it
members social-psychological conditions analysis (Pulsar test).
Sign |
Number of people, according to the displayed scores |
Total |
|||||||||||
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
||
Preparedness to activity |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
30 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
8,8 |
Orientation |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
32 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
8,7 |
Organization |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
37 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
8,6 |
Activity |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
37 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
8,9 |
Cohesion |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
36 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
8,9 |
Integrity |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
34 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
8,8 |
Referentiality |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
8,8 |
According to the obtained results, a team can be defined as a sufficiently mature group capable to perform production tasks. Disclosing the essential content of the presented data, the authors draw the following conclusions.
Firstly, the overwhelming majority of employees who took part in the study of the social-psychological climate, and this makes 73%, are inclined to believe that they have good professional training corresponding to the duties being performed. At the same time, 58% of respondents want to improve their qualification, considering that they need additional knowledge to increase the level of professional success. Note that about 21% of respondents tend to consider themselves the holders of professional authority, which is based on profound professional knowledge and the experience of its successful application in practice. However, despite such a positive characterization of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service employee professionalism, there are those (6%) who specify the workers in their team with an insufficient qualification, who damage the professional authority of the collective by their conceit.
Secondly, 77% of respondents have a common group task, where each of the employees seeks to satisfy his interests in the framework of its decision. And only 17% of the interviewed employees of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service believe that their collective understands and understands the overall goal as their own, as they highly value such qualities as integrity, honesty and unselfishness. At the same time, 6% of the employees who took part in the study are inclined to believe that each member of the collective has its own individual goals and values that dominate in their professional activities.
Thirdly, in the opinion of the majority of respondents, the relations among the employees are based on the principles of mutual assistance and benevolence, the principle of cooperation is cultivated particularly. It ensures team cohesion and an effective performance of their labor duties. However, among the respondents there were also those who adhere to the opposite position, believing that when you try to organize a teamwork, there is much controversy, fuss and waste of time. It is pointed out that the collective has no person with good organizing talent. Thus the higher authorities have to interfere in the work of the work collective too often. It is noteworthy that among the respondents there are those who consider themselves to be passive, who are not involved in collective work.
Fifthly, it has been established that it is natural to consider fairness in relation to each other as the norm of organizational behavior for the overwhelming majority of state body employees. If necessary, an assistance is provided to inexperienced employees, they support newcomers and provide some guidance in new conditions. In cases of difficulties, a team unites temporarily, and if personal problems occur, an emotional support of colleagues is felt. It is fair to say that the results of the study established the existence of a group of civil servants who show indifference to each other, do not take part in the problems of their colleagues, and in the case of crisis they show confusion and emotional alienation.
Sixthly, 73% of respondents consider it possible, to develop an important decision jointly, if necessary, where all members of the team try to participate actively in the process, taking into account the opinion of the majority. In its turn, 8% of employees tend to determine a narrow circle of activists who participate in important decisions for a team, taking into account the opinions and the interests of only a few people, but not all members of the team. At the same time, in their opinion, final decisions are taken at a closed meeting and without a public discussion.
Thus, the received assessments on the one hand, indicate the maturity of the team, capable to perform production assignments, and, on the other hand, they make it possible to identify groups in the collective of civil servants, one of whom is in antagonistic relations with others.
Based on the results obtained by the use of A.V. Batarshev's technique(Table 2), the authors conclude that the overall satisfaction with the work of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring employees is quite professional. The highest indicator for this method is the interest in work and the preference of performed work and not high earnings, which are interrelated criteria. This shows that the staff of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring includes people who are primarily focused on the result and enjoy the process of its achievement. As it was noted during the conversation, the staff turnover is present, but it is related first of all with the fact that the new employees are not interested in the specificity of this collective professional activity.
Table 2
Evaluation of integral satisfaction with work (A.V. Batarshev's technique)
№ |
Sign |
Maximum score |
Obtained average score |
Summary |
1 |
Interest in work |
6 |
6 |
78% |
2 |
Satisfaction with work achievements |
4 |
3 |
|
3 |
Satisfaction with employee relations |
6 |
4 |
|
4 |
Satisfaction with management relationship |
6 |
4 |
|
5 |
The level of professional activity |
4 |
3 |
|
6 |
Preference for a job to high earnings |
4 |
4 |
|
7 |
Satisfaction with working conditions |
4 |
3 |
|
8 |
The developed sense of professional responsibility |
2 |
1 |
|
9 |
Overall satisfaction with work |
28 |
22 |
Let's pay attention to the fact that, actually, all categories reflecting the professional aspect of social-psychological climate representation have the highest scores, while the emotional aspect of the relationship, in particular the satisfaction with relationships of employees, the satisfaction with management relationship, etc. has a lower indicator.
The data obtained during the conversation testify the following: 78% of respondents consider the management style of their leader to be democratic, linking this position to the fact that in most cases they participate in decision-making (43%), do not feel rigid pressure "from above" (51%), there are no conflicts with management (63%) and so on. In its turn, 12% of the respondents are inclined to mark the authoritarian features of management in the majority of work operations, while 10% found it difficult to answer, due to an ambiguous choice of the chiefs of management methods and the means of motivational influence in various situations.
It is interesting that among the leadership of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring the opinions divided somewhat differently. In particular, 84% of respondents consider themselves to be democratic leaders, while 16% tend to see authoritarian features in their management style. At the same time, 68% of respondents are inclined to discuss the decisions with their subordinates, or rather, to work them out in connection with the need for an expert opinion in most cases, but in all cases the decision is left for a boss.
It should be noted that more than 62% of the polled civil servants note the existence of good relations with the leadership, the absence of conflict situations and insoluble contradictions, as well as their timeliness and objectivity of the resolution, was noted by 77%. At the same time, 70% of the respondents would have turned to a boss with personal problems in a case of need. Let's pay attention to the fact that according to the conducted conversation, a leader impresses with his personal qualities for 64% of the respondents, and 85% note him as a professional of a higher level than his subordinates. However, despite such a positive characterization of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring leadership, only 28% note the use of opportunities concerning an informal leadership of a chief for service and educational tasks solution, 32% of respondents tend to see positive influence on the social-psychological climate in the actions of a head. Whereas 41% of the respondents suppose the absence of any managerial actions on the part of the authorities to maintain and develop the psychological, emotional and other aspects of the climate representation in a team.
The performed conversation allowed to identify a number of problem nodes in the relationship between a leader and subordinates. First of all, the uniformity of work volume distribution and the workload for each member of the collective was noted only by 19% of the polled civil servants. The remaining 81% of respondents are inclined to believe that professional tasks are put in such a way that they are solved effectively, regardless of the load uniformity on employees, since the result is important.
The same situation appears also in the case of the degree of fairness and transparency determination in the evaluation of the collective members, as well as in the distribution of remuneration, the solution of material, housing and other problems. In other words, according to the opinion of 85% of the interviewed employees from the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring, the distribution of remuneration is the same as the distribution of work assignments, which allows workers to perceive an increased workload adequately. As in any collective, there are those who do not agree with a current state of affairs (8%), but there are those who refrained from answering these questions (7%).
According to the obtained results, the collective of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service can be defined as a sufficiently mature group able to fulfill production targets. The current turnover of staff ensures the removal from the work collective, the people who do not have a predisposition to a given type of professional activity or who do not share the specifics of an authority employee functional. The results of the research showed that the social-psychological climate in a research team can be characterized as a favorable and an unstable one. The revealed instability can be the consequence of the contradiction between business and emotional relations of employees, between the behavior of the collective active members and those who do not share a group opinion. Besides, as in any collective where a human factor dominates, it is possible to single out a group of "oppositionists" which is not inclined to share common-group values, criticize the higher leadership and their colleagues.
As the study showed, the employees of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service have a high level of professional qualifications in their overwhelming majority, and, therefore, are sufficiently prepared to fulfill their tasks and are aimed to achieve the goal of collective activity. There is a division of common interests in the working groups, and the membership in it is valuable and significant for employees, which reduces staff turnover and ensures the stability of the collective. The fact that the team seeks to organize work independently shows the degree of group relations development. However, the absence of a planned result achievement in a number of cases is justified by the lack of a good organizer in a team, and this emphasizes the importance of rigid hierarchy and subordination in the civil service.
One should note a high degree of team member involvement in joint activities especially, where only a small part of the collective is not inclined to share group expectations and the requirements for their role behavior, provoking the emergence of conflicts. In such cases the difficulties arise with a sense of worker community, an awareness of a collective integrity and unity. There can be contradictions in the working groups between the behavior of active employees and those who do not share a group opinion. There are also contradictions between the business and emotional relations of employees, which indicates the presence of groups within a collective.
Thus, the hypothesis put forward by the authors was not confirmed in the course of the study. The study made it possible to characterize a modern civil servant as an efficient, purposeful, energetic, constantly raising his level of knowledge, interested in effective work. Despite an established society opinion about bureaucracy and the "elitism" of the civil service, involving professional deformation, the civil servants demonstrate the solidarity of the team and the desire to work for results. At that, each employee satisfies his interests through the solution of the tasks assigned by a body.
1. Assistant professor at the Department of Management and Administration. Russian State Social University, The Russian Federation, Moscow
2. Assistant professor at the Department of Management and Administration. Russian State Social University, The Russian Federation, Moscow
3. Doctor of sociological sciences, docent, professor of the Department of Management and Administration. Russian State Social University, The Russian Federation, Moscow
4. Assistant professor at the Department of Management and Administration. Russian State Social University, The Russian Federation, Moscow
5. Assistant professor at the Department of Management and Administration. Russian State Social University, The Russian Federation, Moscow