The purpose of this thesis is to increase our knowledge about corruption issues. It examines the connection between the institutional frame and the individual’s choice made in his institutional role. The study is based on the theories of rational choice institutionalism and public ethos and the empirical data is analyzed from a social constructivist perspective. The addressed research questions are:-How is the institutional frame within the Mauritian public sphere being created, with special focus on shaping the norms saying that corruption is not accepted?-Does the institutional frame, and specifically the public ethos as a norm, influence the individual’s rational choice when deciding not to act corruptly?The empirical material has been collected in Mauritius, and the study uses the Mauritian local government as the example for the institution. According to the theory of rational choice institutionalism, public servants make rational choices, within the frames of the institution. Institutions are to be seen as a wider concept, where both the formal and informal institutions are included, such as norms, institutionalized actions and processes. The public ethos, a norm specifically connected to the democratic, public areas of the society, states that the public servant’s institutional role is different from a private person’s role. According to the theory about the social construction of the reality, the individual’s perception and understanding of his surroundings, the image of his reality, is shaped by the institutional frame and this frame delimits the options to choose among. The analysis is made with the help of a model which illustrates the layers of the institution, and the individual in the institutional frame, which thereby affects his rational calculations. The model is also used to illustrate the result of the analysis, by showing the factors that influence the norm-shaping process. The analysis and the conclusions of the study indicate that the creation of the institutional frame is strongly influenced from the society with an anti-corruption agenda, in form of legislation and government agencies, which have a resilient effect on the norm-shaping. Further, the presence of the public ethos norm is shown as an element of the institutional frame. The public servant, when making a rational calculation to decide to act or not to act corruptly, is situated within this institutional frame. The conclusion of the thesis indicates that the individual’s rational choice is strongly affected by the institutional frame, showing that the public servant does take in consideration the public ethos norms in his institutional role. Even though economic reasons influence how the public servant decides to act, those are reinforced by the institutional norms.

The role of principals in public education in Sweden has during the last decade been subjected to a number of reforms and structural changes that is without parallel in modern history. For example, the number of principals has doubled, the turnover is considerable and, while in the past being a principal has been an occupation for men, now women are in the majority. The limited Swedish research that has been carried out indicates that principals have multidimensional tasks that are often contradictory. In addition, principals find themselves in a situation where administration dominates at the cost of a more curriculum-based leadership. A majority of these research studies employ a macro-perspective that tends to marginalise the intentions of the actors and the impact of education as a socially-constructed sensemaking process. This thesis examines the role of the principal. The theoretical framework employed in this study derives from social psychology. Within this framework the role of the principal is perceived to be constructed in the intersection of the different domains of public education. This role is then related to the notion of a public ethos based on sets of democratic values. The empirical basis of the investigation is a case study of all principals and their superintendent (director of education) in a smaller Swedish municipality. Data was gathered in a number of interviews that extended over a school-year. The results, in short, suggest that the role of principals is being redefined and can in this process be interpreted with different emphases, that the different domains interpret the role of the principal from different rationalities and that goal-steering and related issues get treated more or less as symbolic rituals. These results are then discussed from the point of different discourses and sensemaking processes in education. It is concluded that the role of the principal is constructed in a discursive intersection. This discussion is then contrasted with a view where principals' emotional labour is highlighted and related to the primary processes of schooling and the societal functions of education.

This paper is based on Lennart Lundquist thesis of the importance of incorporating both democratic and economic values in public administration, what he calls "our public ethos", as economic values have become increasingly important due to the development of New Public Management. The paper aimed to investigate which economic or democratic values could be identified in relation to e-government in an analysis of three Swedish administrative authorities' policy documents. To obtain the purpose of this study, following question was asked: ● Which economic or democratic values can be identified in relation to e-government in a review of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Police Authority and the Employment Service's policy document? A ideal-type analysis was used as a method, and the measurement point consisted of democratic and economic values in our public ethos. The result turned out to be that both economic and democratic values can be found in the documents. It is arguable that New Public Management has had an impact on all, but its hegemonic position could not be substantiated. The dissertation's analysis section also pointed out that, in addition to emphasizing democratic values, e-government reforms can also strengthen these.

Abstract  This essay is interested in the changes that have taken place in the view of competence among the civil servant. As a state employee, you are indeed employed on behalf of the authority, but by extension you are also appointed on behalf of the citizens. As the work is a socially useful mission, special requirements are placed on the work being done with special regard to democratic values such as legal certainty, the equal value of people and providing citizens with efficient and good service, a so-called special public ethos.  Due to the sweeping social changes that society has undergone in the last twenty years, including increased globalization and digitization, different and increased demands are placed on working life today than before. These changed conditions have meant that the requirements for what an employee is expected to be able to do are more complex in today's working life, and the concept of competence has become an accepted term to describe the special requirements that are set in today's working life. Competence as a concept can be briefly described as that you as a person must be able to act appropriately based on a given situation, which places demands on something more than formal qualifications such as requirements for education and previous experience. By quantitatively analyzing the content of job advertisements for administrators at the Tax Agency, I have investigated changes in which qualifications and competences are in demand at two different times. I have then done a comparative analysis where I have identified similarities and differences based on three different themes, formal competence, informal competence and the civil servant role. The result shows that the requirements for competences linked to above all efficiency have increased, while descriptions of competences based on a common societal mission have decreased. The conclusion is that modern requirements for the competence of government officials have followed the general social development and have crowded out traditional public values based on democratic values such as legal certainty and equality, a so-called public ethos. / Sammanfattning   Den här uppsatsen intresserar sig för vilka förändringar som har skett i synen på kompetens hos den statliga tjänstemannen. Som statsanställd är man visserligen anställd på uppdrag av myndigheten men i en förlängning är man också tillsatt på uppdrag av medborgarna. Eftersom arbetet utgörs av ett samhällsnyttigt uppdrag ställs särskilda krav på att arbetet sker med särskild hänsyn till demokratiska värden såsom, rättssäkerhet, människors lika värde och att ge medborgarna effektiv och god service, ett så kallat offentligt etos.  Med anledning av de genomgripande samhällsförändringar som samhället genomgått de senaste tjugo åren med bland annat ökad globalisering och digitalisering så ställs det andra och nya krav i arbetslivet idag än tidigare. Dessa ändrade förutsättningar har inneburit att kraven på vad anställda förväntas kunna är mer komplexa i dagens arbetsliv och begreppet kompetens har blivit ett vedertaget begrepp för att beskriva dessa särskilda krav. Kompetens som begrepp kan kort beskrivas som att en person ska kunna agera ändamålsenligt utifrån en given situation vilket ställer krav på något mer än formella kvalifikationer såsom utbildning och tidigare erfarenhet.  Genom att kvantitativt analysera innehållet i platsannonser för handläggare på Skatteverket undersöks i denna uppsats förändringar i vilka kvalifikationer och kompetenser som efterfrågas vid två olika tidpunkter. En jämförande analys har genomförts för att identifiera likheter och skillnader utifrån tre olika teman: formell kompetens, informell kompetens och statstjänstemannarollen.   Resultatet visar att kraven på kompetenser kopplat till framför allt effektivitet har ökat samtidigt som beskrivningar på kompetenser utifrån ett gemensamt samhällsuppdrag har minskat. Slutsatsen är att moderna krav på kompetens hos statliga tjänstemän har följt den allmänna samhällsutvecklingen och har trängt undan traditionella offentliga värden såsom demokrati, rättssäkerhet och jämlikhet, ett så kallat offentligt etos.

Municipal urban management and the democratic flexible guardian – a study concerning the officials’ changing work in the urban management process in the municipality of Norrköping. The purpose of this study is partly to analyse how implement measures in a change project (in the municipality of Norrköping) may impact the officials, linked to the urban management process, in their work practices. The study also aims to problematize a political science theory by Professor Lennart Lundquist (from 1998) that states how officials should relate to their office. The reason behind this problematizing stems from a shift in the municipalities’ responsibilities over the last 20 years. They have gone from having a more exclusively administrative responsibility to focus more on societal investment. The analysis of this study shows that a lot of the implement measures have a positive impact on the officials’ work practices, although some risks were found. The study also indicates that the imbalance between economical and democratic values (that is addressed in Lundquist’s theory) tend to even themselves out in order for a more sustainable development to be achieved.

Den digitala klyftan är inget nytt fenomen utan har diskuterats sen 1970-talet då skillnaden ianvändandet och tillgång av video och telefax avsågs. Idag syftar den digitala klyftan snararetill användningen och tillgången till Internet. Andersson (2003) identifierade sex olikagrupper som hon ansåg ingick i den digitala klyftan. I den här studien används teorin om detoffentliga etoset som utgångspunkt för att kunna analysera den digitala klyftan. Syftet medstudien är att diskutera vad det är för perspektiv som genomsyrar svenska myndighetersverksamhet i e-Förvaltning, men även att bidra till en diskussion som handlar om att urskiljaoch förstå om den digitala klyftan är ett demokratiskt problem.Offentligt etos är ett samlingsnamn som innefattar olika begrepp och dimensioner somgenomsyrar den offentliga verksamheten. Offentligt etos delas in i två perspektiv: ettdemokratiskt (politisk demokrati, rättssäkerhet och offentlig etik) och ett ekonomiskt(funktionell rationalitet, kostnadseffektivitet och produktivitet).Resultatet av de intervjuer som har genomförts pekar på att en viss förskjutning motekonomivärden äger rum i de svenska myndigheterna. Förskjutningen är däremot inte av denkraften att demokrativärdena inte bejakas, utan myndigheterna ser fortfarande till allamedborgares bästa.Så länge den digitala klyftan existerar skapas dock effekter. Myndigheterna måste lägga storaresurser på de som exkluderas och att den personliga kontakten finns kvar blir av yttersta vikt.Den digitala klyftan tillsammans med lagstiftning gör också att e-Förvaltningens utvecklingdämpas.Det pågår arbete både från myndigheters sida men också från regeringens som ska minska ochfå bort klyftan. Den digitala klyftan existerar fortfarande med de äldre medborgarna somstörsta problem, men tack vare det arbete som görs på området så är bör det inte betraktas somett demokratiskt problem. Om den dagen kommer då myndigheterna inte längre bejakardemokrativärdena, då kommer det leda till att klyftan breder ut sig och blir ett demokratisktproblem.

Consultants have had an increased influence in the public sector which in return have created a need for consultants in different aspects of public organizations. This comparative case study has inquired the many-sided ramifications of increasing use of consultants in public organizations. The method of analyzing the different impacts of consultant use has been through an ethical lens based on Lundquist theory of “public ethos” together with Furustens consequences of consultant use to easier identify negative consultant impact on public organizations. The result of this study shows that increasing reliance of consultants can lead to a misrepresentation of the goals and scope of operation within public organizations.

Syftet med föreliggande uppsats är att undersöka närbyråkraters upplevelser av sin roll somoffentligt anställd, och sitt handlingsutrymme i en post-NPM era av styrningsidéer. Dettainnebär att kartlägga hur de upplever den komplexa rollen som närbyråkrat och dehandlingsutrymme som det innebär i en politiskt föränderlig miljö. Studien, som är avkvalitativ sort, genomfördes hos Socialtjänsten i Malmö. Alla tjänstemän i offentlig verksamhet behöver förhålla sig till de krav samhället ställer pådem, det offentliga etoset. Närbyråkrater har ytterligare en utmaning i att hanterahandlingsutrymmet som innebär en balans mellan rättssäkerhet och etik ochsituationsanpassat beslutsfattande i mötet med medborgare. De senaste decennierna harpräglats av ett antal styrreformer som har kommit att påverka hur offentlig verksamhetutformas och bedrivs. Många forskare är eniga om att styrreformer med inspiration frånnäringslivet har haft negativ inverkan på den offentliga sektorn, och i förlängningensamhället i stort. Studier visar också att idéer från styrreformer sällan byts ut, utan iställetkompletteras till nuvarande och skapar komplexa hybridsystem som ofta gör organisationenineffektiv och svårstyrd. Resultatet speglar närbråkraternas egna upplevelser och visar ett komplext samband därmotstridiga styrlogiker styr inom organisationen, där både styridéer från begreppet NPM ochpost-NPM identifieras. Resultatet visar också komplexiteten i samlevande styrlogiker ochstyrsystem låter närbyråkrater befinna sig i ett spänningsfält mellan sig själv ochbeslutsfattare, där handlingsutrymme att situationsanpassa bedömningar är fritt, menresurserna tillhanda kontrolleras av en organisation i politisk föränderlig miljö. Vidare verkardet finnas ett unikt handlingsutrymme inom handlingsutrymmet i socialarbetarrollen,bestående av hur man förhåller sig till det frihet under ansvar som rollen innebär. Slutligendiskuteras delar av empirin i relation till en ännu inte etablerad teori kring motivation tilloffentligt arbete där intressanta fynd görs. / The purpose of this essay is to investigate local bureaucrats' experiences of their role aspublic employees, and their discretion in a post-NPM era of governance ideas. This meanscharting how they experience the complex role of street-level bureaucracy and discretion thatthis entails in a politically changing environment. The study, which is of a qualitative nature,was carried out at the Social Services in Malmö. All civil servants in public organizationsneed to consider the demands society places on them, the public ethos. Street-levelbureaucrats have another challenge in managing the room for action, which involves abalance between the rule of law and public ethics and situationally adapted decision-makingwhen in contact with citizens. The last few decades have been characterized by a number ofgovernance reforms that have come to influence how public organizations are designed andfunction. Many researchers agree that governance reforms inspired by business have had anegative impact on the public sector, and by extension also the society at large. Studies alsoshow that ideas from management reforms are rarely replaced, but instead supplemented tocurrent ones and create complex hybrid systems that often make the organization inefficientand difficult to manage. The result reflects the street-level bureaucrats’ own experiences andshows a complex relationship where conflicting management logics rule within theorganization, where both management ideas from the concept of NPM and post-NPM areidentified. The result also shows the complexity of coexisting management logics andmanagement systems when bureaucrats find themselves in a tension field between themselvesand decision-makers, where discretion to adapt assessments to the situation is current, but theresources at hand are controlled by an organization in a politically changing environment.Furthermore, there seems to be a unique discretion within the street-level bureaucratsdiscretion in the social worker role, consisting of how one relates to the role of freedom underresponsibility that the social worker role entails. Finally, parts of the empirical evidence arediscussed in relation to a not yet established theory about motivation for public work whereinteresting findings are made.