Hester Paanakker

these mutual perceptions substantially shape, and even distort, the reality of the frontline craft, as well as how values come into play. Furthermore, this thesis contributes insight into how value divergence can be a critical source of organizational conflict and dysfunctionality, of poor public servic delivery, and of street- level frustration and, to a lesser extent, of moral stress. This provides a fruitful ground for future research into related and unrelated sectors, to further examine and specify the type of effects and the existing causal relationships. Finally, this thesis advances understanding of how often abstract public values apply to concrete work situations in public service delivery at street level, and how different types of actors in the policy hierarchy understand the role, prominence, and meaning of values in the light of public craftsmanship at the frontline. For street-level professionals in the prison sector, this can create awareness on the shared identity they and their direct frontline colleagues have in craftsmanship perspectives, on the common challenges they face in penal practice, but can also help identify common ground for frontline workers to level with their superiors. For policy makers, the thesis can raise awareness of the profound value gap that the policymaking level is perceived to create between themselves and management and street-level implementation in penal facilities. Also for middle-management and managing directors, it can create awareness that they may tend to disperse and demand different values from the ones they would ideally see shaping frontline behaviors in public service delivery. And even when they do explicitly and consciously seek to address intrinsic values that support good public service delivery to clients, citizens, or patients, they should be aware that they are unlikely to be perceived as doing so by the hierarchical layers below them, be it managers, or street-level professionals. This perceived value gap forms the ideal breeding ground for negative value stereotypes and their negative effects at the frontline. For the sake of upholding frontline craftsmanship, frontline job satisfaction and commitment, and the quality of public service delivery, this is a wake-up call to managers at all levels to further close or narrow this value gap. Policy makers and managers need to acknowledge there is a lot of goodwill and commitment to penal values that serve clients among street-level workers, need to actively facilitate frontline professionals to understand and recognize how their core values are reflected by policy tools, systems and instruments, and need to equip them to critically assess how and why (as well as why not) they can mold their professional practice to realize intrinsic values in sometimes 204 Summary in English