Attached is my assignment for this week. Please follow instructions all the way through and give the best work you can. If there are any questions or you cannot open links or pdf. please let me know t

Read:

• Required

  • Cooper, T. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    • Chapter 1: Introduction

    • Chapter 2: Understanding Ethical Decision Making

  • Module notes

View:

• Required

  • Websites

    • Fieser, J. (n.d.). Ethics (Links to an external site.). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/#H1

    • Williams, G. (n.d.). Responsibility (Links to an external site.). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/responsi/#H1

  • Online video:

    • Films Media Group. (Producer). (2009). Ethics: What is right? (Links to an external site.) (Films On Demand video) [49 min 40 sec].Retrieved from http://digital.films.com.vlib.
      excelsior.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8496&xtid=32706
      [Transcript is included with the video in Excelsior library]

• https://digital-films-com.vlib.excelsior.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=32706

Discuss:

• M1D1: Application of Ethical Theories (MO#1; CO#1)

• M1D2: Analyzing “Role” & “Responsibility” (MO#2; CO#1)

Submit:

• M1A1: Application Assignment #1–Personal Ethics Statement (MO#3, 4; CO#1)

Module 1: Module Notes: Levels of Ethical Reflection

As Cooper (2012) describes it, ethics can be an active process through which an administrator identifies his or her responsibility in a concrete manner. As administrators make decisions regarding specific ethical dilemmas they encounter, they develop their own ethical identity and character traits (Cooper, 2012). This is a dynamic process that can be intentional if public administrators consciously focus on their decision-making and the consequences of those decisions. The following scenario describes an ethical dilemma and the steps the administrators took to resolve it.

The Revelation:

Jane is the Director of Operations for a non-profit organization in Excelsiorville called The Pedestrian Advocates of Excelsiorville (PAE), and Timothy is a member of the Board of Directors. Last week, Jane discovered through a conversation with Timothy’s administrative assistant that the agency’s Executive Director, Amber, had been doing consulting work on the side for the past year. This consulting work included leadership trainings for two current Board members’ organizations, including Timothy’s organization. Amber has likely earned thousands of dollars for this work. Jane also knows that Timothy’s company was just awarded the contract for the agency’s accounting work for the next year.

Jane’s Analysis of the Situation:

After discovering this information, Jane first sat down to draft a nasty e-mail to Amber, her boss, driven by the anger she felt about Amber’s actions. After getting this initial emotional reaction out of her system (and deleting the e-mail), certain sayings popped into her head like “being a good team player,” “honesty is the best policy,” and “don’t air your dirty laundry” as she turned over in her mind what potential problems the director’s actions could create for the agency and what Jane should do about her newfound knowledge. Jane then realized that she needed to outline some concrete approaches to handle this information and some of the potential consequences faced by the agency. Jane had begun an ethical analysis without even realizing it. She remembered from one of her undergraduate courses something about a cost–benefit analysis being useful for making decisions in situations like these.

Ethical Questions:

If Jane identifies the potential costs to the agency and weighs those against any benefits, how does that help Jane in making her decision about what to do? What fundamental ethical principles should she focus on? What character traits does Jane rely upon or develop in working through this ethical dilemma? If Jane decides to do nothing, how could that decision further shape her personal ethics?

What do you think Jane should do? We will explore these questions further in the next section.

You may have noted that Jane’s reactions proceeded through the first three of Aiken’s levels of ethical reflection that Cooper outlines in Chapter 2. First, Jane experienced the expressive level through her emotional expression of anger, which included her value judgment about Amber’s actions and drafting the e-mail she later deleted. Next, the maxims that popped into her head represented the moral rules level of ethical reflection. This is where we start to sort through what conduct is appropriate and inappropriate, and what actions can be taken in response to inappropriate conduct. The third level of ethical reflection is where higher level ethical analysis occurs—the “ethical analysis level”—and can be used when moral rules are ineffective or are in conflict, as in Jane’s situation. This level includes determining the fundamental ethical principles that should guide our conduct. For example, one of the potential problems with Amber’s consulting relationship and subsequent award of the contract to Timothy’s company is a conflict of interest. If Jane values a public administrator’s duty of loyalty to the organization above any loyalty she feels to her boss or to the team (including the Board), then she would find that Amber’s actions create a conflict of interest that is unethical and that violates Jane’s values.

Regarding answering the questions posed, there may not be one “right” answer but a multitude of possible responses. There are also multiple approaches and underlying ethical theories to aid an administrator in deciding the action to be taken. Identifying the potential costs to the agency and weighing those against potential benefits, Jane is applying a utilitarian approach called a cost-benefit analysis. Utilitarianism seeks to attain the greatest good for the greatest number. Another approach is virtue ethics that focuses on the individual’s character rather than on duty (deontology) or consequences (teleology).

We will continue to examine these concepts and more specific decision-making approaches in subsequent modules.

One more thing to note as you proceed through the course: Cooper asserts that ethical decision-making is a dynamic and active process. Even deciding to take no action is taking an action. Practice identifying the steps you would take as you consider your responses to ethical dilemmas (whether real or hypothetical) and note how developing a personal ethic is part of developing your own personal leadership style. Analyzing ethical dilemmas and developing one’s leadership style can involve identifying and employing certain character traits as well. Jane could draw on character traits such as being courageous and honest in confronting Amber and encouraging her to sever her consulting relationship with Timothy’s company.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

As mentioned previously, we will focus on the practical aspects of applying ethical theories to ethical decision-making. For this discussion, you need to research a real-world ethical dilemma faced by a public organization or an ethical breach experienced by a public organization and discuss how that organization or an individual administrator applied or could have applied ethical theories to the decision-making to resolve that dilemma or breach. This organization can be one you currently work for or have worked for. An example in the for-profit business world is when an automotive manufacturer determines that one of its vehicles has a faulty part, and it applies a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether to recall the vehicles or stay silent.

Respond to the following:

• First, find a real-world ethical dilemma faced by a public organization or an ethical breach experienced by a public organization (perhaps disclosed by a whistleblower). Share in your initial discussion post how the organization or individual administrator applied ethical theories to its decision-making process about that dilemma or breach. Discuss whether you agree with how the organization handled the situation.

• If it is not clear from your research what approach the organization used, discuss what approaches they could have used to reach a decision. For instance, you could discuss whether a utilitarian (teleological) approach would have served the organization in resolving the ethical dilemma or whether a duty-based (deontological) approach would have been better suited to the scenario

Primary response (approximately 500 words) 

ASSIGNMENT 2:

Cooper (2012) describes “responsibility” as one way to define “the scope of accountability and obligation in the context of law and common culture” (citing Winter, 1996, pp. 254-255) and as a way to define “a common set of values among people of divergent cultures and traditions.” He describes “role” as the “bounded obligations” we take on. A public administrator often wears many different hats and has to not only determine which hats to wear when but also what to do when conflicts arise.

Respond to the following:

• Briefly describe your current or desired position in public administration and identify the various roles you play in that position. Comment also on what conflicts, if any, arise from carrying out those roles.

• Describe the responsibilities that accompany the various roles you identified, ranking these responsibilities from the most important to the least important. Why did you choose to rank them that way?

Primary response (approximately 500 words) 

ASSIGNMENT 3:

For the Application Assignments in this course, you will apply ethical theories and leadership approaches practically to real-life situations, reflecting on and resolving ethical dilemmas.

This assignment has two parts. The first part (personal ethics statement) should be one page, and the second part should be two to three pages.

Part I: Draft your own personal ethics statement for working in the government or a nonprofit organization. You might wish to review the ASPA Code of Ethics to use as a springboard for creating your own ethics statement.

ASPA Code of Ethics (Links to an external site.)

Part II: Define descriptive and prescriptive models of ethical decision making and discuss how these models could or do inform your own personal ethics and your approaches to decision making when faced with an ethical dilemma.

ASPA Code of Ethics link:

https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/About-ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics.aspx?hkey=fefba3e2-a9dc-4fc8-a686-3446513a4533