A Tale of the Half Full or Half Empty Cup: Core Values in Local Government Organizations in Practice

Scholars argue that core values must operate throughout an organization’s layers to support that organization’s performance and legitimacy. Yet, little evidence exists—especially at the local level—on whether public managers work to infuse core values throughout their units and on whether such efforts trickle down through these organizations. This article reports suggestive evidence on these questions from original interviews and surveys with leaders and staff in two North Carolina local governments. Leaders report taking several steps to weave core values into their units; however, subordinates report uncertainty about these values, impeding their application in the organization’s work