Public Administration Perspective

Identifying the Behavioral Competencies of Street-level Bureaucrats: A Quranic Perspective

Document Type : Research Article (with qualitative approaches)

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Operations Management and Decision Sciences, Faculty of Industrial Management, College of Management, University of Tehran

Abstract

Purpose: The Holy Qur'an is full of principles and foundations that can be the light of the way for better service from the agents to the general public. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the behavioral competencies of street-level bureaucrats based on Quranic verses.
Design/ methodology/ approach:  The approach of this research is qualitative and its method is content analysis. For this purpose, Quranic verses related to the behavioral competencies of street-level bureaucrats were first analyzed and coded. Then the identified codes were compared, analyzed and categorized with other authentic Islamic texts.
 Research Findings: Findings shows that the behavior of street-level bureaucrats and many issues and challenges related to it will affect the satisfaction of citizens. The most important behavioral competencies that were counted from the Quran and Islamic texts in this case include: justice, anti-tyranny and fairness, commitment to work, trustworthiness, good company, patience, moral virtues, the ability to solve problems, provide information and respond accurately and calmly. The dimension of "justice and anti-tyranny and fairness" includes the components of "justice among people, not oppressing oneself and others, oppression by non-believers". The components of the dimension of work" include "responsibility and accountability, acceptance of one's mistakes, advice for tact and rationality, and keeping promises". The dimension of "trustworthiness" consists of 4 components: "observance including promise and trust, handing over the trust to its owner, being trusted, and maintaining and informing about assets and resources". The components of the "Patience" dimension were identified, including 4 components "Patience and Endurance, Punctuality (the value of time), reward for meritorious actions such as patience, patience against the enemy's harassment". The components of the "good association" dimension include 11 components of "cooperation and participation in good deeds, sacrifice and self-sacrifice, forgiveness (forgiveness), forgiveness and correction, peace and humility, effort and its reward, moderation and moderation." , mocking and not looking for fault, goodness and service to servants (citizens or general people), anger, and spending" were identified. The components of the dimension of "informing and responding accurately and calmly" including 4 components of "informing role, helping people and the disabled, respecting the rights of others, and paying attention to the environment as a way to meet needs" should be identified.
Limitations & Consequences: It is obvious that with a longer investigation and time, a larger number of Islamic sources that have emphasized these indicators can be obtained. In this research, the effect of each competency on the organization's performance and citizens' satisfaction has not been determined.
Practical Consequences: If street-level bureaucrats have superior behavioral competencies, public satisfaction will increase and this will help to increase public trust, and ultimately, human and social capital will be improved. In this research, the effect of each competency on the organization's performance and citizens' satisfaction has not been determined. In future studies, it is suggested to investigate the correlation between the competencies of street-level bureaucrats and the performance of relevant executive bodies, as well as to study and research the relationship between the competencies of bureaucrats and the variables of citizens' satisfaction with the provision of services and public trust and the level of administrative health. At the same time, evaluating the performance of the government and governments based on the performance of the administration, one of the examples of which is the behavior of street level bureaucrats, can be considered in future researches.
Innovation or value of the Article: First, most of the articles emphasized job analysis, which is a retrospective approach, but in this article, it focuses on the behavioral competence of government employees, and most of the articles examined the competencies of managers and high-level officials, but in Here, the competence of street-level bureaucrats was emphasized. Also, in previous studies, Islamic and Quranic texts were rarely used to adapt behavioral competencies.
Paper Type: Original Paper
 

Keywords

  1. Akbarnejad, M., Rasooli, A., Dashti, A., & Homayun nia, M. (2015). The approach of training moral virtues on the consolidation of society in the Holy Qur'an with an approach based on the ideas of Allameh Tabatabai. Two quarterly educational teachings in Quran and Hadith, 1(1), 94-108. (In Persian)
  2. Alkhatib, A., & Bernstein, M. (2019). Street–Level Algorithms: A Theory at the Gaps Between Policy and Decisions. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings (CHI 2019), May 4–9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland, Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300760
  3. Allah Bedashti, N., Hedayati, A. A., & Borjali-zadeh, R. (2011). Ethics of professions in religious studies. Quarterly Journal of Medical History, 3(8), 37-63. (In Persian)
  4. Al-Sahifa, al-s (2005). Translation by Mehdi elahi ghomshei. Published in danesh hooshyar. (in persian)
  5. Alvani, S. M., Ghorbanzade, V., Eslampanah. M. (2017). Prioritization of effective criteria on the prevention of administrative corruption by relying on Islamic guidelines. Journal of Business Administration, 9(2), 283-306. (In Persian)
  6. Amedi, A. (1958). Ghorarhghekam. Translation by Ansari, Mohamma ali. Published in Mohammad Ali Ansari Qomi. (in persian)
  7. Amirpour, S., Safaee-pour, M., & Abbas-pour, M. (2015). Investigating the level of satisfaction of citizens with the performance of the municipality of Handijan. Geography and urban planning of Zagros landscape, 7(23), 53-72. (In Persian)
  8. Arabi, H. (2012). Solutions to strengthen trustworthiness in the individual and social dimension. Two Scientific-Specialized Quarterly Journals of Islam and social sciences, 3(5), 155-173. (In Persian)
  9. Arefi, A., Mansoori, M., Tarhani, S., & Beiranvandzadeh, M. (2019). Measuring the level of citizens' satisfaction with the performance of the municipalities of Lorestan province. Geography and human relations, 1(3), 863- 875. (In Persian)
  10. Bayani, A., Ranjbar, M., Bayani, A., & Asghar. (2012). Investigating the relationship between social problem solving ability and depression and social phobia in students. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 22(94), 92-99. (In Persian)
  11. Bordbar, Gh. & Shakeri, F. (2011). An Analytic Study on Competency Based Selection and Appointment of the Head of Departments in Yazd University. Research in production and operations management, 2(2), 28-101.
  12. Brodkin, E. Z. (2012). Reflections on street‐level bureaucracy: past, present, and future. 30th anniversary expanded , New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2012.02657.x
  13. Buffat, A. (2015). Street-Level Bureaucracy and E-Government. Public Management Review, 17(1), 149-161.
  14. Carroll, D. A., & Yeo, J. (2024). What Can Reform Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Unwarranted Discretionary Behaviors? Principles? Principals? Or Both?. The American Review of Public Administration, 54(3), 242-254.
  15. Chang, A., & Brewer, G. A. (2023). Street-Level bureaucracy in public administration: A systematic literature review. Public management review, 25(11), 2191-2211.
  16. Cohen, N. (2021). Policy entrepreneurship at the street level: Understanding the effect of the individual. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
  17. Cooper, C. A., Dale C., Audrey, R., & McCord, D. M. (2014). Personality and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from a Sample of Street-Level Bureaucrats. International Journal of Public Administration, 37(3), 155-162.
  18. Davidovitz, M., & Cohen, N. (2022). Which clients inspire or reduce the trust of street-level bureaucrats?. Administration & Society, 54(8), 1516-1541.
  19. Davidovitz, M., & Cohen, N. (2023). “I have learned my lesson”: How clients' trust betrayals shape the future ways in which street‐level bureaucrats cope with their clients. Public Administration, 101(1), 335-351.
  20. De Boer, N. (2020). How do citizens assess street‐level bureaucrats’ warmth and competence? A typology and test. Public Administration Review, 80(4), 532-542.
  21. de Boer, N. (2021). The (un) intended effects of street-level bureaucrats’ enforcement style: Do citizens shame or obey bureaucrats?. Public Policy and Administration, 36(4), 452-475.
  22. Dick-Sagoe, C. (2020). Decentralization for improving the provision of public services in developing countries: A critical review. Cogent Economics & Finance, 8(1), 1804036.
  23. Ehsan, M. (2013). The selection criteria of agents in the political career of Imam Ali (peace be upon him). Retrieved from: https://al-falah.ir/content/detail/1357. (In Persian)
  24. Esmaili, M. (2013), People are dissatisfied with the performance of some organizations, Retrieved from: https://www.isna.ir/news/zanjan-45570 (accessed at July.30.2024). (In Persian)
  25. Evans, T. (2020). Street-level bureaucrats: Discretion and compliance in policy implementation. In Oxford research encyclopedia of politics. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1422
  26. Faraji Khyavi, F., Bahrami, F., Sharifi, S., & Mohammadi, M. (2016). The relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior in teaching hospitals of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz: a short report. Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, 14(1), 795-802. (In Persian)
  27. Friedline, T., Oh, S., Klemm, T., & Kugiya, J. (2020). Exclusion and marginalization in financial services: Frontline employees as street-level bureaucrats.
  28. Ghaedi, M.R., & Golshani, A. (2016). Content analysis method, from quantitative to qualitative. Quarterly of psychological methods and models, 7(23), 57-82.
  29. Ghasemi, R., Hashemi–Petroudi, S. H., Mahbanooei, B., & Mousavi–Kiasari, Z. (2013). Relationship between Infrastructure and Technological Readiness based on Global Competitiveness Report: a Guidance for Developing Countries, 1st In 7th National Conference on Electronic Commerce & Economy(pp. 19-21).
  30. Ghasemi, R., Mahbanooei, B., & Beigi, R. G. (2018). The Relationship between Labor Market Efficiency and Innovation. In Proceeding of 11th International Seminar on Industrial Engineering & Management (ISIEM), (Nov. 27-29, 2018 Makassar, Indonesia)(pp. 142-149).
  31. Golan‐Nadir, N. (2024). Religion and public administration at the micro level: The lens of street‐level bureaucracy theory in democracies. Australian Journal of Public Administration. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ full/10.1111/1467-8500.12626
  32. Golan-Nadir, N., Cohen, N., & Rubin, A. (2022). How citizens’ dissatisfaction with street-level bureaucrats’ exercise of discretion leads to the alternative supply of public services: The case of Israeli marriage registrars. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 88(4), 977-994.
  33. Haghi, Y., & Karami Nasab, S. (2021). Investigating the level of satisfaction of citizens towards the performance of the municipality and city council (case study: Garmi city). Geography and human relations, 11(3), 128- 142. (In Persian)
  34. Hill, Heather. (2003). Understanding Implementation: Street-Level Bureaucrats' Resources for Reform. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART, 13(3), 265-282.
  35. Jansen, E., Javornik, J., Brummel, A., & Yerkes, M. A. (2021). Central‐local tensions in the decentralization of social policies: Street‐level bureaucrats and social practices in the Netherlands. Social Policy & Administration, 55(7), 1262-1275.
  36. Karimi Haji Khademi, H., & Nasrollahi, M. (2019). intellectual and ideological characteristics of the agents of the religious government based on the verses and traditions. Strategic studies of humanities and Islamic sciences, 12(2), 135-148. (In Persian)
  37. Keikha, N. (2015). Political ethics in Farabi's thought. Islamic Wisdom Quarterly, 2(5), 129-151 (In Persian)
  38. Knight, B., & Paterson, F. (2018). Behavioural competencies of sustainability leaders: an empirical investigation. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 31(3), 557-580.
  39. Kolibáčová, G. (2014). The relationship between competency and performance. Acta universitatis Agriculturae et silviculturae mendelianae brunensis, 62(6), 1315-1327.
  40. Lewis, B. D., & Pattinasarany, D. (2009). Determining citizen satisfaction with local public education in Indonesia: The significance of actual service quality and governance conditions. Growth and Change, 40(1), 85-115.
  41. Lipsky, M. (2010).  Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service, 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition. Russell Sage Foundation. 30 Anv Exp. P  293.
  42. Lotta, G., Pires, R., Hill, M., & Møller, M. O. (2022). Recontextualizing street‐level bureaucracy in the developing world. Public Administration and Development, 42(1), 3-10.
  43. Mahbanooei, B., & Naqipor far, V. (2014), Identification Managerial competencies in The Quran With Pattern of Behavior Moses Gods Peace be upon him, 1st International Conference of Management, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
  44. Mahbanooei, B., Gholipour, A., & Aboyee, A. M. (2016). A competency model for general health managers (Case: Iran medical of health and education), Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 9(2), 217-241.
  45. Mahbanooei, B., Hasanzadeh, H., & Jamalian, A. (2015). Iran’s Labor Market Efficiency’s Competitiveness in comparation with other countries in the region: as the key intangible asset. In 3rd Annual Conference on Strategic Management, Tehran, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Iran, Dec(pp. 15-16).
  46. Mahbanooei, B., Poorezzat, A. A., Zarei Matin, H., & Yazdani, H. R. (2019). E-Health Cods of Medical Ethics based on Virtue Approach in Hospitals. Journal of Ethics in Science and Technology, 14, 29-36. (In Persian)
  47. Mahbanooi, B., & Pourezzat, A. A. (2023). Education Policy Guide for human capital: An Importance-Performance Analysis in Iran. Journal of Educational Planning Studies, 11(22), 1-22.
  48. Majlesi, M. B. (2017). Beharolanvar. Translation by Abolhasan, Mosavi Hamedani. Published in Ganjineh. (in persian)
  49. May, P. J., & Winter, S. C. (2009). Politicians, managers, and street-level bureaucrats: Influences on policy implementation. Journal of public administration research and theory, 19(3), 453-476.
  50. McClelland, D. C. (1973). Testing for competence rather than for" intelligence.". American psychologist, 28(1), 1-14.
  51. Metanat Pur, M. T. (2011). The moral life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). New history, 4(9), 107- 120. (In Persian)
  52. Mikkelsen, K. S., Madsen, J. K., & Baekgaard, M. (2024). Is stress among street‐level bureaucrats associated with experiences of administrative burden among clients? A multilevel study of the Danish unemployment sector. Public Administration Review, 84(2), 248-260.
  53. Mohaghar, A., Mahbanooei, B., Behnam, M., & Khavari, Z. (2018). Analyzing OECD's Labor Market Efficiency in 2018. Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 341-353.
  54. Mukand, R. (2020). Role of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Mgnregs Implementation: Jharkhand. In New Dimensions in Federal Discourse in India(pp. 186-209). Routledge India.
  55. Nahadi, H. Siahkali Moradi, J. Hoseini, S.M. (2020). Investigating the causes of organizational rage in street-level bureaucrats. (Case study: Rural Cooperative organization of Qom province). Interdisciplinary Scientific Quarterly of Strategic Knowledge, 38(10), 359-382. (In Persian)
  56. Nasr Esfehani, Gh., Etebarian. A., & Sharifi, S. (2022). Designing a Competency model of street-level bureaucrats in the implementation of policies. (Case of study: General Directorate of Economic Affairs and Finance of Isfahan province). Iranian Political Sociology Monthly, 5(12). 2396-2405. (In Persian)
  57. Niknam, M. (2021), Is the performance of the police satisfactory?, Retrieved from: https://www.irna.ir/news/84192203 (accessed at: June.03.2024). (In Persian)
  58. Nothdurfter, U., & Hermans, K. (2018). Meeting (or not) at the street level? A literature review on street‐level research in public management, social policy and social work. International Journal of Social Welfare, 27(3), 294-304.
  59. O’Brien, N. (2023). Politics and Administrative Justice: Postliberalism, Street-Level Bureaucracy and the Reawakening of Democratic Citizenship. Policy Press.
  60. Parchami, D., & Ghavidel, Z. (2020). Job capital and commitment to work Study sample: Tehran government offices. Social Development and Welfare Planning, 11(41), 1-22 (In Persian)
  61. Peeters, R., & Campos, S. A. (2023). Street-level bureaucracy in weak state institutions: a systematic review of the literature. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 89(4), 977-995.
  62. Petrovsky, N., Xin, G., & Yu, J. (2023). Job satisfaction and citizen satisfaction with street-level bureaucrats: Is there a satisfaction mirror?. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 33(2), 279-295.
  63. Piore, M. J. (2011). Beyond Markets: Sociology, street‐level bureaucracy, and the management of the public sector. Regulation & Governance, 5(1), 145-164.
  64. Poorezzat, A. A., Zarei Matin, H., & Yazdani, H. R., Mahbanooei, B., (2020), Designing of the Virtue-based Organizational Ethics in the Hospital, Faslnamah-i akhlaq-i pizishki 13 (44), 1-13. (In Persian)
  65. Pourezzat, A., Mahbanooei, B., Ghasemi, R., & Rafiei, S. (2022). Governance Performance Evaluation System (GPES). University of Tehran Press, Iran: Tehran. (In Persian)
  66. Profiroiu, A. G., & Hurdubei, R. (2018). Universality of behavioral competency models. Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 13(3), 113-119.
  67. Proudfoot, J., & McCann, E. J. (2008). At street level: Bureaucratic practice in the management of urban neighborhood change. Urban Geography, 29(4), 348-370.
  68. Ramírez, V., & Ramírez, V. (2021). Street-Level Bureaucrats: From Obedience to Participation. Relational Well-Being in Policy Implementation in Mexico: The Oportunidades-Prospera Conditional Cash Transfer, 129-156.
  69. Rane, N. L., Achari, A., & Choudhary, S. P. (2023). Enhancing customer loyalty through quality of service: Effective strategies to improve customer satisfaction, experience, relationship, and engagement. International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science, 5(5), 427-452.
  70. Rangriz, H. (2020). Governments’ Accountability Discourse in the Administrative System Using Critical Discourse Analysis. Iranian Journal of Public Policy, 6(1), 200-220 (In Persian)
  71. Rangriz, H. (2021). Examining the accountability discourse of governments in Iran's administrative system using critical discourse analysis. Public policy, 6(1), 200-220. (In Persian)
  72. Rastegar, A. A., Mahbanooei, B., & Ghasemi, R. (2012, May). Canonical correlation analysis between technological readiness and labor market efficiency: A secondary analysis of countries global competitiveness in 2011–2012. In 13th International Conference on Econometrics, Operations Research and Statistics (ICEOS-2012)(pp. 24-26).
  73. Razavi, S. M., Ghasemi, R., & Mahbanooei, B. (2015). Prioritizing the Middle East Countries based on Goods Market Efficiency’Indicators. In International Research Conference on Business, Economics and Social Sciences, IRC-2015, Istanbul, Turkey. 27th to 28th February.
  74. Rokni yazdi, M. M., & Rokni Yazdi, F. (2006). Patience, persistence in the face of difficulties. Mishkat Journal, 25(2), 57-76 (In Persian)
  75. Schierenbeck, I., Spehar, A., & Naseef, T. (2023). Newly arrived migrants meet street-level bureaucrats in Jordan, Sweden, and Turkey: Client perceptions of satisfaction–dissatisfaction and response strategies. Migration Studies, 11(4), 523-543.
  76. Seyed Javadin, S. R., Mahbanooei, B., & Ghasemi, R. (2016). A Cause-Effect Diagram for Prophet Moses' Managerial Competencies by Using Grey DEMATEL. Iranian Journal of Management in the Islamic University, 4(10), 207-226. (In Persian)
  77. Shamsaee, M., & Hoseini Azad, S. A. (2021). The role of transparency in the interpretation of the condition of fair and just treatment in international investment law. Quarterly Journal of Public Law Studies, 51(2), 797-817. (In Persian)
  78. Sharif razi, M. Nahjolbalaghe. E. (2000). Translation by mohammad dashti. Published in mashhooer. (In Persian)
  79. Sheidaeian, Z. Abdollahy, A. (2019). Study of Hierarchical Relationship Model between the prosecution service and the police in the Criminal Process. Criminal Law Research Quarterly, 8(29), 135-170. (In Persian)
  80. Shojaee, M. S. (2021). Method of qualitative content analysis of religious texts: theoretical foundations and implementation steps. Biquarterly Journal of Islamic Education, 14(27), 41-73. (In Persian).
  81. Shojaei, A. A., Mahbanooei, B., Farahani, A., & Pourezzat, A. A. (2023). Organizational Ethics Indicators in Iranian Hospital: An Importance-Performance Analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 28(5), 593-603.
  82. Siahkali Moradi, J., Tahmasebi, R., & Hamidizade, A. (2019). Understanding the role played by street-level bureaucrats in the interpretation and implementation of public policies: a study of selected traffic laws of Iran. Public Policy Quarterly. 5(2), 119-142. (In Persian)
  83. Smith, S. R. (2012). Street-level bureaucracy and public policy. Handbook of public administration, 431-446.
  84. Sobhaninia, M. (2014). Quran is the book of ethics. Dar al-Hadith Publications. Qom, Iran. (In Persian)
  85. Supriyanto, A., Wiyono, B. B., & Burhanuddin, B. (2021). Effects of service quality and customer satisfaction on loyalty of bank customers. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1937847.
  86. Tabatabaee, M. H. (2023). Tafsir al-Mizan. Translation by Seyed Mohammad Bagher Mosavi. Published in Darlfekr. (in persian)
  87. Tavakkoli, A., & Mahbanooei, B. (2014). Studying the Ranking of Regional Countries Competitiveness Based on Public and Private Institutions’ Indicators and Providing Some Strategies for Enhancing the Position of Islamic Republic of Iran, Journal of Iran's Economic Essays, 10(20), 135-162. (In Persian)
  88. Tavusi Simkani, R. Mazareei, M. Talebi, E. (2018). Content analysis of the sixth grade experimental science book based on the Merrill model in the academic year 2017-2018. Research Journal in Basic Science Education, 5(16), 25-41 (In Persian)
  89. Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) (2024), Honoring clients in the administrative system, Retrieved from: https://bazresi.tums.ac.ir/
  90. Thomann, E., & Lieberherr, E. (2023). 25. Bringing street-level bureaucrats’ behaviour into policy evaluation. Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation, 391.
  91. Toosi, M. H. (1985). Taheeb Al-Ahkam in Shahr al-Maqnaa by Sheikh Mufid Radwanullah alaihi. Publication: Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyeh. (In Persian)
  92. Tu, W., Hsieh, C. W., Chen, C. A., & Wen, B. (2024). Public service motivation, performance-contingent pay, and job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats. Public Personnel Management, 53(2), 256-280.
  93. Vahidi, M.R. (2023), The bureaucracy of the administrations is the biggest cause of citizens' dissatisfaction in Kerman, Retrieved from: https://www.irna.ir/news/85149992/ (accessed at Jul.01.2024). (In Persian)
  94. Wahyudi, M. (2022). The role of street-level bureaucrats in citizen participation: analysing the impact of the public comment mechanism on Indonesia’s supreme audit institution(Doctoral dissertation, University of Birmingham).
  95. Zarychta, A., Benedum, M. E., Sanchez, E., & Andersson, K. P. (2024). Decentralization and corruption in public service delivery: Local institutional arrangements that can help reduce governance risks. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 34(2), 238-254.
  96. Zarychta, A., Grillos, T., & Andersson, K. P. (2020). Public sector governance reform and the motivation of street‐level bureaucrats in developing countries. Public Administration Review, 80(1), 75-91.
Public Administration Perspective
Volume 15, Issue 3 - Serial Number 59
2024
Pages 130-154