Assessing the impact of mission attachment on agency effectiveness in U.S. federal agencies

Abstract

Elected officials and public managers have emphasized the importance of having a strong mission statement as a way of accomplishing organizational mission. However, having a well-designed mission alone does not guarantee organizational success. The point is not the content or clarity of the mission statement itself, but how strongly public employees are attracted to their organizational mission. This study analyzed data from a large-scale federal employee survey to understand how federal employees perceive the organizational mission and how those perceptions are related to agency effectiveness. The results showed that mission attachment appeared to have the strongest positive effect on perceived agency effectiveness, above and beyond effectiveness-related correlates and demographic variables. The result suggests the potential role of mission attachment as a key variable of agency effectiveness, especially in a time of budget crisis.