Week 10 Public Administration

LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS

2

LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS

Leadership and Ethics

Raheem Dow

Angela Smith

Modern Public Administration

Strayer University

09/06/2017

One of the major issues that public administrators have to deal with is social welfare. Social welfare entails programs meant for protecting the people from insecurities of life and other economic risks. The welfare policy ensures that the underprivileged or disadvantaged citizens, regarding access to resource and wellness, are not exploited in the society. In addition to helping the individuals to adjust to the environment, the social welfare policy may also involve manipulation of the environmental forces in order to help these people. This may require marshaling of the available resources to promote the well-being of the less privileged. The main focus of social justice is to ensure that the well-being of all individuals is safeguarded. The methods of administration of the social welfare programs as well as the scope of coverage for the program may largely vary in different countries. However, social welfare programs are mainly targeted for the elderly, children, individuals who are sick, those with low or no income, and the dependent survivors. Some social concerns for the welfare policy may include poverty, educational inequality, hunger, income disparity, discrimination, homelessness, and inability to access quality healthcare. (Ciulla, Uhl-Bien, & Werhane, 2013).

There are many ethical issues that the management of the social welfare programs has to consider. Some of these issues include accountability and utilitarianism. The welfare policy is not a single system but instead a complex system with independent programs for addressing an individual social problem. This complexity of the welfare policy calls for accountability from the management. Public administrators must be accountable for their decisions for them to manage the bureaucratic system with effectiveness. Leaders should hold themselves responsible for their actions and decisions. Utilitarianism involves ensuring that the greatest good of the social welfare programs is experienced by the greatest number of citizens. While several of the welfare programs phase out around poverty, there is an increasing inconsistency in deciding the person in need and the one who is not. The result is that some people get many benefits of the welfare programs while others get very few or none. This raises an ethical concern for the public administrators to ensure that the social welfare programs help a maximum number of citizens. (Weber, 2012).

Organizational structure plays a significant role in shaping the organizational ethics in any organization. The organizational structure governs the mode of communication within an organization. The structure in an organization also dictates employees' interactions as it outlines the reporting strategies in the organization. Positive interactions within the organization are associated with good organizational ethics. Collaboration is a key factor in deciding the kind of prevalent organizational ethics. If the structure of the organization does not support collaboration and cooperation between employees, it might negatively affect the organization's standards. Positive organizational principles are in association with the integration of efforts by employees across the organization. While a centralized organizational structure may prevent the misuse of power by employees, it may contribute to unethical behavior in the organization since there is no upward communication and thus the management may be unaware of unethical practices at the lower levels in the organization. The decentralized structure promotes integration and communication among employees and thus may promote ethical conduct. It also encourages employee empowerment, encouraging employees to uphold organizational ethics. The organization chart thus determines the levels of hierarchy in the organization, hence shaping the corporate ethics. (By, & Burnes, 2013).

An example of an agency where the issues outlined above may not be considered unethical is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS). This organization provides health care coverage through programs such as the Medicare, Medicaid, the Health Insurance Market place, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The main aim of the CHIP is the improvement and modernization of the National Health System. It seeks to ensure that individuals have equal access to quality health care by improving access at lower costs. The agency operates under strict guidelines which outline the qualification requirements for these programs based on the age of an individual and disposable income. Meaning that there is hardly a problem on deciding the eligibility of a person to any of the programs covered by the agency. Therefore, equal access to the benefits of the agency is guaranteed for all. (https://www.cms.gov/)

Using the Inventory of Public Management Skills Management, I realized that I have good skills in integrity, oral and written communication, and continual learning. However, some of the skills which might affect my ability as a leader in addressing ethical issues include interpersonal skills and public service motivational skills. I realize that as a leader, I should lead by example. I, therefore, need to have competent interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills would help me in giving performance views in a more constructive rather than a destructive manner. Inability to provide constructive performance views to employees is likely to alter their morale and thus affect their performance. To be able to address the ethical issues effectively, I would need effective motivational skills to encourage other subordinates to work towards ethically achieving the set goals. Developing effective motivational skills starts with self-motivation. As a leader, I would need to identify the factors that motivate me to achieve personal goals. Being conversant with my self-motivation would enable me to learn and understand the possible ways of motivating my fellow employees. Thus, I would want to improve on my interpersonal skills as well as motivational skills. (In Boaks & In Levine, 2017).

To become an effective public administrator, first I would want to develop my human skills. Human skills govern the ability of a leader to initiate cooperation within a team and to work cohesively, within a team, along with other members of diverse teams. To build my human skills, I would start by understanding my different attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions. I would try to understand the usefulness of these attitudes as well as their limitations in a team context. This would help me in growing my moral identity. Moral identity is the ability of a person to identify themselves with the positive moral traits which qualify them to be good leaders. Conscientiousness is another important leadership trait for any effective public administrator that I would want to develop. It enables public administrators to be able to figure out different situations from different viewpoints and thus make informed decisions. To become an effective public administrator, I intend to develop my conscientiousness by taking up more challenging tasks. This would improve my reasoning abilities and vigilance when handling important tasks. It would also enhance my interpersonal skills as I would pay more attention to creating effective performance teams and working close to my team members to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This will enable me to devise the effective motivational strategies to use in motivating my team. I would thus grow not only the interpersonal skills but also motivational skills as well. (Weber, 2012).

References

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By, R. T., & Burnes, B. (2013). Organizational change, leadership and ethics: Leading organizations toward sustainability. London: Routledge.

Ciulla, J. B., Uhl-Bien, M., & Werhane, P. H. (2013). Leadership ethics. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE.

https://www.cms.gov/

In Boaks, J., & In Levine, M. P. (2017). Leadership and ethics.

Weber, E. T. (2012). Morality, leadership and public policy: On experimentalism in ethics. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

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