The article makes an attempt to identify link between the models of public service and some effective methods of stimulating civil servants’ performance. Making use of the basic elements of the institutional theory helps draw a conclusion that development of the public civil service in accordance with the NPM models does not only take into account any positive externals for modeling informal relations, but ignores their historical, social and cultural role in the country. Key words: civil service, gifts exchange theory, institutional economy, stimulation of civil servants, models of bureaucracy.