The Importance of Culture and Values in Public Reforms

Abstract

This chapter emphasizes the importance of culture and values in public reforms. The culture of public administration represents the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that may shape the ways in which people behave and get things done. Although culture is a common word in agencies, it can still be seen as a secret coded approach to a subjective expression social glue of what is going on in an institution or how things are done. The author suggests that decision-makers should carefully analyse all relevant aspects, and different contexts in which actions are made and decisions are taken. The chapter emphasizes the importance of recognizing the complexity of modernization and the success or failure of reforms in the public sector because it shares a common denominator in cultural theory, which gives direction for public reforms. Finally, cultural theory can help describe the complexity of modernization in the public sector.