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Home > Japanese Society and Culture > No. 5 (2023)

 

Japanese Society and Culture

Keywords

Q methodology, Q sort, perception of university students, civil servant, public administration

Received Date

9-6-2022

Revised Date

10-25-2022

Accepted Date

11-9-2022

Publication Date

3-31-2023

Abstract

This study questioned what kind of gap in perceptions of work perspectives exists between current and aspiring civil servants in the first place, and whether there are differences in perceptions of work perspectives between students who aspire to become civil servants and those who aspire to work in the private sector. This was examined in an exploratory approach by using data from Q Sort, a Q methodology study, to capture the value perceptions surrounding work perspectives, particularly among students who aspire to become civil servants. The data compared were students aspiring to become civil servants, students aspiring to work in the private sector, and current civil servants. As a result of the comparison, several characteristics of students who aspire to become civil servants were found. For example, there was a significant difference in the averages of social contribution attitudes, rule-abiding consciousness, and the tendency to think carefully before taking action compared not only with students who aspire to work in the private sector but also with those who are currently in the civil servants' profession. In addition, compared to students who wanted to work in the private sector, students who wanted to work in public service had a larger mean difference and a significant difference in their awareness of reaching out to and involving others and creating a network beyond the organization. Compared to current civil servants, the mean differences were significantly lower for being proactive in one's work and being interested in various things. It can be pointed out that while students wishing to become civil servants have a strong sense of social contribution and compliance with rules, they may also have a rather passive attitude. On the other hand, it is interesting to observe that there was almost no difference in the average difference between those who aspired to the private sector and those who aspired to the civil servants regarding their stability consciousness. This overturns the common stereotype that stability-minded people aspire to become civil servants. These characteristics may indicate implications that could contribute to recruitment and training in HR management in public administration.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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