In China moral character is of primary importance as far as the five dimensions of civil servants’ performance appraisal concerned. We generally regard “having both morality and ability, morality foremost” as the fundamental standard and principle of selecting and appointing cadres. Researchers have expressed increasing interest in civil servants’ moral character construct, its measurement and relationship with performance (Xiao 2008). Given that the concepts of virtue and competence are in practice very similar and ethical competence is an indispensable part of public manager’s competency model and leadership traits (Macaulay 2006, Virtanen 2000, Wang 2007), we put forward the conception of moral competence. Many literatures on competency theory and leadership theory have indicated that effects of different competences on different ingredients of performance vary widely (Holmes and Joyce 1993, Motowidlo l997, Russell 2001, Jin 2004). However there is a dearth of empirical research defining indicators of public servants’ moral competence and surveying its effect on job performance (Li 2010). Therefore, this paper argues on two questions: what’s the structure and indicators of public servants’ moral competence in China? And how does moral competence effect on job performance among public servants?
Based on literature research, interviews and expert discussions, we designed and improved questionnaire. The data was collected from full-time public servants in 5 provinces of central and eastern China. Mean, Corrected Item-Total Correlation (CITC) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) of data were conducted to screen and delete items. It is determined that public servants’ moral competence model is made up of 6 factors 30 items including professional ethics, political morality, devotion, good faith & pragmatism, work style and personal qualities. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of data confirmed validity of the model. Conclusions of correlation analysis and regression analysis show that public servants’ moral competence has significant positive effect on job performance. The six factors of public servants’ moral competence can positively predict job performance. Such findings may boosts further studies on the structure and measurment of moral competence and performance appraisal of public servants in China.
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