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160 The Ethics Challenge in Public Servic;:

No Closure

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A thorny problem challenges you to put it all together ffl. Even ;:issuming yo1.. do, is this all there is? Of course not. But this book is for public managers, ,,·he are not and do not want to be philosophers or theologians. Managers prefe:-

other pursuits, which is easy to understand ar.:::

Testing Ethical Decisions respect. Just turn on a faucet, cross a bridge. or get married.

Why not adopt a few authoritative rules and settle the problems once ar.c:

for all? Because simplistic rules are no solution in our complicated world and art not the point anyway. Judgment and action are. Not everything can or shoulc: be reduced to a snappy slogan on a oumper sticker or a twenty-second souP-::: bite. The polar extreme of hairsplitting and quibbling over exquisite niceties doe-, not help managers either. Remember Lewis Carroll's Through the Lool..--i.ng Glas,;:

Tweedledee says, "Conh·ariwise ... if it was, it might be; and if it were so, :: would be: but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic."

After thousands of years of discussion and tons of paper, closure :, improbable-and impossibly arrogant. Then, too, anyone promising the I�: word on the subject rejects the challenging future anticipated for public service.

Case: A Late Night Surprise

This case, written by Carole L. Jurkiewiez, original/y appeared in PA Times in 1998. The readers' responses appeared in subsequent issues of PA Times.

Dennis, the city manager of a financially strapped municipality, is working uncharacteristically late at night. The offices are empty and quiet as he is leaving. He notices a sliver of light corning from the door of the new budget director, Susan. He decides to stop in and praise her for her excellent report in which she discovered errors that will save the city millions of dollars, projecting for the first time in many years a budget surplus. As he approaches her office, he can see through the few inches the door is open that she is in a passionate embrace with Gary, the assistant city manager. Employment policy strictly forbids dating between employees, threatening dismissal to those who do.

Dennis's code of ethics requires him to enforce this policy, yet at the same time he does not want to lose either or both of his valuable employees. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to bring in someone else with their experience and credentials for the amount of money the city is able to pay. What should Dennis do? Should he report Susan and Gary, in accordance with policy? Should he overlook the situation, believing the city will be best served in the

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Resolving Ethical Dilemmas 161

long run? Should he speak to each of them and threaten to tell if they don't end the relationship?

READER RESPONSES

[Dennis, the city manager,] should look outside of the current policy box and analyze all of his alternatives. If legislating morality worked there would be no need for vice squads. In my opinion, you should not come between two people who are in love or are falling in love even if they happen to be public officials. Instead, if he feels he needs to do something about Susan and Gary, he should work to change the policy prohibiting dating between employees. Is an embrace in a public office after hours in the bowels of a government building considered dating or is dating seen as an open affair in public? Either way, who cares? The ethical thing to do is to have the guts to eliminate a staid and outdated policy. Ethics is a matter of judgment about doing the right thing and then having the guts to take responsibility for your actions and standing behind your decisions.

The assistant city manager and finance director are key members of the city's executive management team. They and the city council set the tone for city employees and the public's perception of what behavior standards are acceptable for the organization.

The city manager must, at a minimum, notify the assistant and the finance director in writing that the behavior will cease immediately and result in termination if it occurs again. The notice and counseling should focus on the employees' excellent work records and [their] value to the city. But their responsibility for setting behavior standards takes priority over their administrative competencies.

It is too easy for the city manager to overlook behavior by the executive team that is not tolerated for line employees. Being "valuable" to the organization should not be a license to deviate from behavior standards. If anything, they should be held to a higher level since they set the standard for other employees and send a message to the employees about what is acceptable. The manager needs to think about what type of message he wants to send down the line!

Dennis did not speak to them directly. He used the next staff meeting (with Susan and Gary in attendance) as an opportunity to discuss the policy and introduced a hypothetical situation for discussion that closely mirrored the one he was in. After discussion about alternative approaches to handling the situation, the staff agreed that they would tell if in the same position. Business went on as usual, and he never encountered Susan and Gary in a romantic embrace again. He doesn't know if they understood the veiled warning he was trying to give them or they simply ended the relationship. He's generally happy about the outcome.

READER RESPONSE

This solution ... has several problems. First, the leveling of discipline (warnings) upon the whole to reach the few may be a diplomatic and perhaps innovative

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The Ethics Challenge in Public Service

solution, but it may open up the manager to unexpected consequences and organizational resentment, thereby impacting the agency's morale. It occurs to me that the age-old management tool of bringing the offenders to task, given the existence of the rule forbidding dating, would be to present his hypothetical case in private to the offenders.

Second, honesty or the fear of confronting issues head on may be problematic in this case. Using my approach leaves no doubt in anyone's mind about appro­ priate behaviors and would have involved as few people as possible in resolving a disciplinary issue.

Regardless of which approach might be taken, consider what might happen to employee morale should the following also have occurred: the city manager was not the only late-night worker to ob1erve the passionate embrace, and the word gets around about the romance [and) neither of the top managers are fired.

Discussion Questions

1. What should Dennis do? What should Dennis think about? 2. Try using the checklist in Exhibit 6.1 and decision-making model in

Figure 6.1 to work through this case and evaluate the proposed alternatives.

Note: The case is reprinted with revision by permission of the American Society for Public Administration. Case by Carole L. Jurkiewiez, "A Late Night Surprise!" PA Times,

Mar. 1998. Follow-up material, Apr. and Aug. 1998. http://www3.niu.edu/~tp0dcm /aspa/ethicsec/moments/moments.htm. Based on an actual case.

Thinking It Over

1. Explain how "rational" decisions actually are unconsciously shaped by framing.and anchoring.

2. The mayor tells you to delay the release of sensitive information to the city council until after its next meeting. Use the Decision-Making Checklist (Exhibit 6.1) to work through the issues in such a request.

3. "Do good" and "do no harm" are both important ethical duties for public servants. Give one policy or administrative example in which there is a tension between the two duties.

4. Why does corruption capture the headlines when it is often the same old story with different actors?

5. Review at least three online reports from credible sources (such as the Gov­ ernment Accountability Office) on Huricane Katrina. \IVhat are the ethical issues or implications raised by the identified shortcomings in governmental performance?

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