Political neutrality, merit and fitness, and ethics are among the priced principles of the offices in the public sector. The public sector’s orientation is geared towards the provision of goods and services that are predominantly in favor of the people. Nevertheless, the apparent imperfection of the management system of the public sector is an immediate indication of the possibility of corruption, or any unethical practices unbecoming of a government employee for that matter.
The issue of ethics in public service is as old as government itself. Yet, “post-Watergate morality” has produced an enduring and unprecedented level of concern about the integrity of democratic governance (Garment, 1991). Jeremy Plant (1997) points out, “are now considered as significant as the traditional concerns of Wilsonian Public Administration” like efficiency. Driven by the increase in public attention (Adams, et al., 1993) and the recognition of the underlying importance of ethical conduct in government (Thompson, 1992). In addition, much of the writing in the field has been codified (Madsen and Shafritz, 1992, 1990; Cooper and Wright, 1994; Reynolds, 1995). As far as public-sector ethics are concerned, corruption is a management problem. It spawns in circumstances where even the optimum regulations do not make it further than the statute manuscripts and where feeble public institutions not make the grade to impose the rules or endow with sufficient control, oversight and transparency. Integrity is an elementary stipulation of democratic government. In addition, counteracting corruption and encouraging public integrity are significant mechanisms of supporting economic progress and making a flourishing conversion to a market economy. Moreover, managers are anticipated to comply with ethics laws covering monetary admission, post-employment, private gain from public office, preferential treatment, impartiality, and public trust. Little is acknowledged about the efficacy of these statutes, but what is known advocates that the laws, and the ethics commissions that inspect violations, are deficient to ensure commendable actions (Dobel 1993; Smith 1999; Williams 1996, 1999). Legal compliance is not adequate to avoid wrongful conduct, and fostering proper behavior requires ongoing initiatives relevant to daily management (Menzel 1999).
Similarly, beyond training aimed at individuals are programs to nurture ethics across the organization. Some suggest that a key to creating an ethical climate is moral leadership (Berman, West, and Cava 1994; Cooper and Wright, 1992; Moore and Sparrow 1990). Other studies (Brumback 1991) suggest that leadership is most effective in conjunction with efforts such as incorporating ethical concern into the personnel systems (from selection through training to evaluation), adopting an ethics code, and requiting compliance with pertinent laws. Corruption is a term of many meanings and, indeed, the beginning of wisdom on the issue is to subdivide and unpack the vast concept. At the broadest level, corruption is the misuse of office for unofficial ends. Different varieties of corruption are not equally harmful. Corruption that undercuts the rules of the game devastates economic and political development. In this light, based on the discussions above, one could posit that ethical problems and corruption is predominantly based on misdeeds in public management. This shows that corruption is among public sector employees are caused by mismanagement. Leadership in the management level in the public sector dictates the level of efficiency or rampancy of corruption in an organization. Corruption is therefore not a cause, but a symptom of breakdown. To understand it means to address the factors influencing ethical behavior in the public service.
References:
Adams, Mark A., Jeremy W. Barber, and Hildy Herrera (1993). “Ethics in Government.” American Criminal Law Review 30(3): 617-642.
Berman, Evan M., Jonathan P. West, and Anita Cava. 1994. Ethics Management in Municipal Governments and Large Firms: Exploring Similarities and Differences. Administration and Society 26(2): 185-203.
Bruce, Willa. 1994. Ethical People are Productive People. Public Productivity Review 17(3): 241-52.
Brumback, Gary. 1991. Institutionalizing Ethics in Government. Public Personnel Management 20(3): 353-63.
Burke, Francis M., and Amy Black. 1990. Improving Organizational Productivity: Add Ethics. Public Productivity and Management Review 14(2): 121.
Cooper, Terry L., and N. Dale Wright, eds. (1992). Exemplary Public Administrators. San Francisco, CA- Jossey Bass.
Cooper, Terry L., and N. Dale Wright. 1992. Exemplary Public Administrators. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Dobel, J. Patrick. 1993. The Realpolitik of Ethics Codes: An Implementation Approach to Public Ethics. In Ethics and Public Administration, edited by H. George Frederickson, 158-76. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Garment, Suzanne (1991). Scandal The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics. New York: Times Books.
Klitgaard, Robert. (1998) “Combating corruption.” UN Chronicle. Volume: 35: 1. pp. 90.
Madsen, Peter, and Jay M. Shafritz (1992). Essentials of Government Ethics. New York: Meridian.
Menzel, Donald C. 1992. Ethics Attitudes and Behaviors in Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis. State and Local Government Review 24(3): 94-102.
Moore, Mark H., and Malcolm K. Sparrow. 1990. Ethics in Government: The Moral Challenge of Public Leadership. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Plant, Jeremy F. (1997). “Using Codes of Ethics in Teaching Public Administration.” In James S, Bowman and Donald C. Menzel, eds., Teaching Ethics and Values in Public Administration: Program Innovations, Teaching Strategies, and Ethical Issues. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Reynolds, Harry W., Jr. (1995). “Symposium: Ethics in American Public Service.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 537 (January).
Smith, Robert W. 1999. Enforcement or Ethical Capacity? A Preliminary Assessment of State Ethics Commissions. Unpublished paper delivered at the annual meeting of the American Society for Public Administration, April 9-13, Orlando, Florida.
Thompson, Dennis F. (1992). “Paradoxes of Government Ethics.” Public Administration Review 52(3): 254-259.
Williams, Russell L. 1996. Controlling Ethical Practices Through Laws and Rules: Evaluating The Florida Commission on Ethics. Public Integrity Annual 1: 65-72.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment