Case Study 4

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CHAPTER 7

The Ethics of Public Service

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understanding the importance of ethics to public administrators

2. Learning how to address an ethical dilemma

3. Understanding the issues of administrative responsibility

4. Exploring the variety of issues that present ethical issues to administrators

5. Learning how to create an ethical climate in an agency

 SUMMARY OVERVIEW

This chapter considers the ethical issues faced by public managers, focusing on the fundamentals

of ethical deliberation, administrative responsibility, the moral and ethical problems that may

arise for administrators in public organizations, and the importance of providing an ethical

climate in a public or nonprofit agency. Emphasis is placed on the ability of the administrator to

understand the context in which public problems arise and to work out those problems in a

careful, reasoned, and ethical fashion. As part of this discussion, the chapter elaborates on

tensions between efficiency and responsiveness as ethical dilemmas experienced by the public

administrator.

The authors begin by defining the terms morality and ethics, noting that, although the two are

used interchangeably, the distinction between them is important not only for philosophical

reasons but also because of the deliberative aspect of ethics. The authors argue that by

understanding the context in which an action occurs, working through the arguments on all sides,

and arriving at a set of guidelines for action, public managers can act with greater clarity and

confidence; thus, the steps of ethical deliberation are discussed in detail. This discussion includes

an examination of the predominate moral philosophies or approaches to deciding on the proper

course of action, the levels of moral development through which individuals pass, and the variety

of approaches one might use to help ensure he or she is acting in an ethical manner.

The focus moves next to issues of administrative responsibility, which involve the potentially

conflicting demands on the public manager to operate as efficiently as possible while being fully

responsive to a wide variety of stakeholders. This tension between efficiency and responsiveness,

the authors argue, characterizes many of the problems that public administrators face. This

includes an examination of the limits on administrative discretion, which involves the question of

how we can ensure that administrators exercise discretion in a way that is consistent with the will

of the people. As part of this discussion, the authors explore the classic Finer-Friedrich debate

over external and internal controls on administrative discretion. This section also addresses

ethical arguments for public participation and transparency in government, and explores the

ethical issues associated with the increasing involvement of for-profit and nonprofit organizations

in the delivery of public programs.

86 Chapter 7: The Ethics of Public Service

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Next, the authors turn to the kinds of ethical problems that may occur in the context of work in

public organizations. This includes an examination of the relationship between public

administrators and elected officials, which creates a unique and pervasive set of issues for the

public manager. As part of this discussion, issues of organizational authority, particularly that of

“following orders,” are addressed. Another area of potential ethical difficulties for public

administrators that is addressed is that of conflicts of interest. As the authors point out, finding

ways to avoid conflicts of interest has been central to ethics legislation at all levels of government

for decades. The authors trace the history of this kind of legislation at the federal level,

referencing details of how recent presidential administrations have approached this issue. This

section closes with an exploration of whistle-blowing, or employee disclosure of problems in

public organizations, and the prohibitions defined by law on political activities by civil service

employees.

The chapter concludes with a consideration of how managers can promote more ethical behavior

in public organizations. This includes formal controls, such as rules and regulations and codes of

ethics, and more informal means of establishing an ethical climate, such as leading by example,

valuing ethical behavior, and encouraging free and open communication throughout the

organization.

 CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. APPROACHES TO ETHICAL DELIBERATION

 Take Action: STEPS IN ETHICAL DELIBERATION

A. Reasoning, Development, and Action 1. Moral Philosophy 2. Moral Psychology 3. Moral Action

B. Post-Modern Ethics

II. ISSUES OF ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY

A. The Limits of Administrative Discretion

 Exploring Concepts: TODAY’S LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

B. Avenues for Public Participation

C. Transparency in Government

 Exploring Concepts: OBAMA’S ELEMENTS OF OPEN GOVERNMENT

D. The Ethics of Privatization

III. ETHICAL PROBLEMS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

A. Interacting with Elected Officials

B. Following Orders

C. Conflicts of Interest

D. Whistle–Blowing

 Take Action: TEN TIPS FOR POTENTIAL WHISTLE-BLOWERS

E. Prohibitions on Political Activities

Chapter 7: The Ethics of Public Service 87

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 Exploring Concepts: ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED UNDER THE HATCH

ACT

IV. MANAGING ETHICS

A. Establishing an Ethical Climate

 Take Action: INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES FOR INTEGRATING ETHICS INTO AGENCY OPERATIONS

V. SUMMARY AND ACTION IMPLICATIONS

 KEY TERMS

Cooptation Situations in which citizens are made to feel involved, but allowed to exercise little

real power.

Deontology Belief that broad principles of rightness and wrongness can be established and are

not dependent on particular circumstances.

Ethical or moral relativism Belief that moral judgment can be made only by taking into

account the context in which action occurs.

Ethics Process by which we clarify right and wrong and act on what we take to be right.

Ethics audit Evaluation of the value premises that guide an organization’s action.

Morality Practices and activities considered right or wrong and the values those practices reflect.

Neutral competence The belief that a neutral public bureaucracy following the mandates of a

legislative body will meet the requirements of democracy.

Objective responsibility Assurance of responsiveness through external controls.

Subjective responsibility Assurance of responsiveness based on an individual’s character.

Utilitarianism Philosophy of the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

 WEB LINKS

The following are links to general discussions of ethics in government:

Center for Public Integrity: (http://www.iwatchnews.org/).

Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy:

(http://policy.gmu.edu/Home/ResearchPublications/ResearchCenters/InstituteforPhilosophyandP

ublicPolicy/tabid/464/Default.aspx).

Josephson Institute of Ethics: (www.josephsoninstitute.org).

The following is a link to the primary federal agency dealing with ethics issues:

Office of Government Ethics: (www.usoge.gov).