The relationships between these dimensions are not a constant and are likely to be in tension. With the trend of
increasing demands made on public sector funding there is a constant pressure for public sector professionals to
introduce innovative ways of working in performing their role, and to be more efficient and effective. Part of the
thrust of NPM reform is to make organizations more accountable in their delivery of public services and
emphasizes competition, targets and controls (Wright 2001). Thus, NPM and related businesslike public sector
reforms over the last 25 years may well be accepted as a value system within the public sector by some employees,
namely managers and those it empowers. However, case study evidence suggests that some front line public sector
workers do not necessarily buy into some of these ‘new’ values and the managerialism that replaces more traditional
professionalism under bureaucracy (Exworthy and Halford 1998; Kirkpatrick et al. 2005). This is an intriguing issue
that merits further attention. It may be that public sector professionals are committed to their colleagues and/or the
users of their services rather than the particular organization that they work for. If changing organizational values
appear to privilege organizational goals, associated with economy, efficiency and effectiveness, rather than citizen
and/or user interests, then OCB may be threatened. In terms of our conceptualization of the public service ethos,
any change in public service practices may impact motivation towards public service. Similarly, if the public
interest is identified with particular group, or organizational, goals, then OCB towards the organization may be
weakened. It is therefore, considered that in this context OCB directed towards other individuals within the orga-
nization (such as co-workers and fellow professionals) rather than towards the organization are prevalent.