ethics essay
Ethics in Public Administration: Chapter Eight
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Safeguarding ethical autonomy
Responsibility
External
Superiors
Politicians
Citizens
The Law
Internal
Values
Beliefs
Principles
Ethical Autonomy—public good above loyalty to party, person or organization
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Dealing with Unethical Superiors and organizations
Cases of conflicting loyalties
Motivation to blow the whistle: four perspectives
Power relationships (intimidation?)
Conceptions of fairness and justice
Perceived impact on overall welfare
Attributions of intentionality and friendship
Examples
Fitzgerald—DOD cost overruns led to ostracization
Coplin—upgrading meat, understaffed to retaliate
Ellsberg—Pentagon Papers, retaliation but ultimate exoneration
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Consequences
Ambiguity of effectiveness and possibility of retaliation
Often not fired outright or because of the related issue
Challenger space launch
Boisjoly, engineer, warned against launch
Fired after hearing
PTSD
Optimistic re power and importance of decision
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Whistleblowers and organizations
“Crackpots” or normal people?
Whistleblowers are perceived more positively now, possibly because many health and safety issues emerge
Importance of enhancing moral development
Alternatives to whistle blowing
Trusted dissent channels
Collaborative communication and problem-solving channels
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Pressures discouraging bringing issues to light
Political pressures
Nixon’s “Malek Manual”—how to exact compliance
Team Player Ethic
Ethical autonomy threatens smooth running
Code of Ethics for Government Services (1958)
Loyalty to principle and country above person, party, or government entity
Exposure of corruption
Support of code; public office seen as public trust
Often superiors do not abide by code
The Agentic shift
Shift from autonomous or self-directed and systemic or organizational.
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Causes of Team Ethic
Nature of public organizations
Lack of profit motive leads to focus on appearances--“Impression management”
British more apt to blow the whistle and resign
Consequences more damaging to US protesters
Private sector norms
Boardroom ethic of loyalty prevents speaking out
Anti-tattling Conditioning
Bureaucratic norms
Lose loyalty to politicians, law, citizens
Subservience strengthens as one moves up
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Agentic Shift
Milgram’s shock experiments—obedience to hierarchy
Nuremberg Trials—Eichmann “following orders”
Even his “clichés” reflected absorption into the organization
Link with empathy broken; only link with superiors
Zimbardo’s prison/warden simulation
Had to be stopped early
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Organizational Remedies
US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) – 1978
Report in 1997 shows strong progress in encouraging and protecting whistleblowers.
ASPA statement on whistleblowers (1979)
Importance of policies that articulate ethical standards
Regular communication of expectations to employees
Dissent channels for alternative views to be heard
Management’s focus on merits of complaint rather than assumed motivations
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Individual Responsibility
The Nuremberg Principles
Individuals are ultimately responsible for their actions
Neither official role nor obedience to authority excuse
Final Safeguard
Individual responsibility counterbalances agentic shift
When organizational goals displace legal mandate and public good displaced by private interests, commitment to responsible conduct combats corruption, along with public push for accountability
The virtue of the practitioner protects the common good
Majority of whistleblowers, even those suffering serious negative consequences, would do it over again
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Pressures against ethical autonomy
Organizational dominance
Whyte (1956) The Organization Man
Scott and Hart (1979) “role hierarchy”
Organizational delimitation and transcendence
Ramos (1981)—”Market dominated social reality”
Personal actualization subordinated to economizing
Antidote: para-economic model of society--enclaves
Professional, political, and community identities as well as organizational/bureaucratic
Workplace Bill of Rights
Ewing (1977) Freedom Inside the Organization
Corporations suppress freedom of speech, press and assembly; due process; privacy; freedom of conscience
Law of contracts plus Roman law encourages subordinate compliance
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Components of Ethical Autonomy
Delimitation of Loyalty
Cultivate personal , professional, citizenship, and community relationships outside the organization
Establishment of legal and institutional mechanisms
Contain organizational power
Protect individual rights
Self-Awareness
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Self Awareness
Ethic of Awareness
internal focus—self-esteem, role awareness, self-direction
Increasing control over non-conscious aspects of our behavior
Kohlberg (1984) stages of moral development
1. Obedience and punishment
2. Self-focused need satisfaction
3. Social approval
4. Rules and authority
5/6. Principled thinking that transcends punishment, needs, approval or rules.
Role Evaluation
Is it legitimate for anyone?
Is it legitimate for me?
Is it legitimate in its enactment?
Bork firing Cox, Watergate prosecutor
AG Richardson resigned, Deputy AG Ruckelshaus fired
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