Policy Positions of Bureaucrats at the Front Lines: Are They Susceptible to Strategic Communication?

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Title: Policy Positions of Bureaucrats at the Front Lines: Are They Susceptible to Strategic Communication?
Authors: Andersen, Simon Calmar1 simon@ps.au.dk, Jakobsen, Morten1 mortenj@ps.au.dk
Source: Public Administration Review. Jan/Feb2017, Vol. 77 Issue 1, p57-66. 10p. 2 Charts, 2 Graphs.
Subject Terms: *Civil service, *Policy sciences, *Organizational communication, *Attitude (Psychology), Strategic communication, Influence, Middle managers, Frames (Social sciences), Prompts (Psychology), Psychology
Abstract: It is well established that bureaucrats' implementation of policies is influenced by their own policy positions, that is, their attitudes toward the given policies. However, what affects the policy positions of bureaucrats? This article focuses on whether the policy positions of bureaucrats at the front lines of government are susceptible to frames and cues embedded in communication. Based on the notion that bureaucrats often adhere to certain professional norms when developing their attitudes toward policies, the authors hypothesize that communication frames and cues that align policies with such norms move bureaucrats' policy positions in favor of the policy. Results of four studies in European and American settings among mid- and street-level bureaucrats show support for the hypothesized effect. They also show that aligning policies with dimensions outside professional norms is ineffective, possibly even producing opposite effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Public Administration Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Policy Positions of Bureaucrats at the Front Lines: Are They Susceptible to Strategic Communication?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Andersen%2C+Simon+Calmar%22">Andersen, Simon Calmar</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> simon@ps.au.dk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jakobsen%2C+Morten%22">Jakobsen, Morten</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> mortenj@ps.au.dk</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Public+Administration+Review%22">Public Administration Review</searchLink>. Jan/Feb2017, Vol. 77 Issue 1, p57-66. 10p. 2 Charts, 2 Graphs.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Civil+service%22">Civil service</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Policy+sciences%22">Policy sciences</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organizational+communication%22">Organizational communication</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitude+%28Psychology%29%22">Attitude (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Strategic+communication%22">Strategic communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Influence%22">Influence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+managers%22">Middle managers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Frames+%28Social+sciences%29%22">Frames (Social sciences)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prompts+%28Psychology%29%22">Prompts (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology%22">Psychology</searchLink>
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  Data: It is well established that bureaucrats' implementation of policies is influenced by their own policy positions, that is, their attitudes toward the given policies. However, what affects the policy positions of bureaucrats? This article focuses on whether the policy positions of bureaucrats at the front lines of government are susceptible to frames and cues embedded in communication. Based on the notion that bureaucrats often adhere to certain professional norms when developing their attitudes toward policies, the authors hypothesize that communication frames and cues that align policies with such norms move bureaucrats' policy positions in favor of the policy. Results of four studies in European and American settings among mid- and street-level bureaucrats show support for the hypothesized effect. They also show that aligning policies with dimensions outside professional norms is ineffective, possibly even producing opposite effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Public Administration Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/puar.12584
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Civil service
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Policy sciences
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      – SubjectFull: Organizational communication
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      – SubjectFull: Attitude (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Strategic communication
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      – SubjectFull: Influence
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      – SubjectFull: Middle managers
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      – SubjectFull: Frames (Social sciences)
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      – SubjectFull: Prompts (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Psychology
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      – TitleFull: Policy Positions of Bureaucrats at the Front Lines: Are They Susceptible to Strategic Communication?
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              Text: Jan/Feb2017
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