Exploring the Trust Question in the Midst of Public Management Reforms

Abstract

This article explored the dynamics of interpersonal trust relationship between political appointees and career managers. Premised on the contemporary public management reforms at the state level, the article found a relatively limited level of interpersonal trust from the perspectives of career managers, and that correlated positively with managerial variables such as flexibility of discretion, participatory management, communication, and commitment. A simple regression analysis, complemented with qualitative data analysis, revealed that managerial variables such as flexibility of discretion, communication, and length of service have significant implications for a trustful relationship between political officeholders and career public managers, accounting for 52% of the variance in the regression model. Juxtaposing the states that have adopted radical civil service reforms and those with moderate reforms, the article found that career managers operating under the two models did not express significant difference in terms of interpersonal trust in their relationship with political appointees.