Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Date
Summer 8-1-2017
Downloads before May 2022
131
Abstract
Under United States President Barack Obama’s administration, the President’s Management Agenda mandated several actions to respond to the problem of poor relationships between and among federal government managers and employees. The purpose of the study was to examine whether a difference in perceptions of employee empowerment and organizational excellence, existed between the employees of higher and lower performing federal agencies, as measured by the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The theoretical framework of public choice theory posited that performance in public sector organizations could be improved by emulating the business sector by prioritizing performance, cost, efficiency, and accountability in an organization’s underpinnings. The research question for the study examined whether differences existed between the employees of higher and lower performing federal agencies as measured by indices of the FEVS, when controlling for gender, age, and education. This effort to create a better organizational culture for federal agencies was examined using secondary data obtained from the 2014 FEVS, designed to measure employees’ assessment of their work environment. This quantitative study involved a nonexperimental, correlational, and descriptive research design. Multiple regression analysis determined differences among the dependent variables as portrayed within the high- and low-performing agencies. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic variables. Analysis results of the 2014 FEVS report determined that no difference existed between employees (n = 258) from higher and lower performing agencies as measured by the FEVS, controlling for gender, age, and education. This study contributes to social change by enabling agencies to determine where managerial improvement is needed in agencies. The aim is to change and address the workforce culture of employees and managers, while building stronger public agencies at all levels of the federal government.
