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E T H I C S IN P U B L I C A D M I N I S T R AT I O N : C H A P T E R S F I V E A N D S IX C HAPTER F IVE C ONFLICTS OF R ESPONSIBILITY Chapter Three describes the nature of roles in modern and postmodern society. Chapter Four discusses objective and subjective responsibility. We have many roles, each of which consists of many sets of obligations and interests. Therefore, conflicts can be frequent, even between the roles of citizen and administrator. C ONFLICTS OF A UTHORITY Conflict between objective responsibilities imposed by two or more sources of authority The law Superiors Politicians The public T HE M AJOR , THE C APTAIN , AND C ORPORAL M ONTAGUE What are the facts: law, superior’s orders, impact on subordinates? What are the Principles: personal values, beliefs? What alternatives do most justice to both objective and subjective responsibility May need to subordinate orders to law, principle May not be one easy answer May be painful but the pain is understood R OLE C ONFLICTS : I NSIDE VS . O UTSIDE Politics and Toilets Public health officer Duty to citizens Duty to Director Leader in National Public Health Association Champion of high standards Writer of Guidelines Raising Salaries or Raising Hell?
Loyalty to staff vs. solidarity with management Responsiveness to staff vs. authority of management Union interests vs. department interests R OLE C ONFLICTS : I NSIDE VS . I NSIDE C ONSEQUENCES OF R OLE C ONFLICTS Moral deterioration : frustration and inability to make decisions Sense of responsibility reduced : pressure and chance determine decisions Withdrawal: resignation, leave of absence, retirement Avoid responsibility: avoid conflict and difficult decisions Develop problem -solving ability: alternatives that satisfy desires and requirements without violating codes “M ORAL C REATIVITY ” Understand facts of situation Understand roles, values, codes Consider all possible alternatives Project consequences on roles and codes Anticipate self -satisfaction level Justify chosen alternative in terms of principles and consequences T HAT MODEL AGAIN C ONFLICTS OF I NTEREST Public role vs. self interest Broader than just economic interest Broader than what is or isn’t legal “Situation in which a public employee has a private or personal interest sufficient to influence or appear to influence the objective exercise of his official duties.” Institute of Public Administration of Canada T YPES OF C ONFLICT OF I NTEREST Bribery Influence Peddling Information Peddling Financial Transactions Gifts and Entertainment Outside employment Future employment Dealings with relatives M AINTAINING THE P UBLIC T RUST National Academy of Public Administration (after Watergate): The officials in this political scandal did not understand that “their obligations to the public as a whole entail an additional and more rigorous set of standards and constraints associated with the concept of public. Many practices which are permissible, even normal, in the private sector are, or should be, forbidden in government.” Even the APPEARANCE of a conflict is interest is problematic. C HAPTER S IX MAI N TAI N I N G R ESP ON SI BL E CON DU CT Personal Emphasis up to now Cultivate an awareness of ethical dilemmas Develop ways to conceptualize them Practice ways to think about resolution Need to consider organizational policy and management Is a code enough? Is a design better? T HE S ITUATIONAL C ONTEXT Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect Sensitive, caring students become brutal in a prison simulation Trevino(1986) : individual and situational variables interact with cognitive component to determine how an individual will decide Both job characteristics and organizational culture can contribute. I NTERNAL AND E XTERNAL C ONTROLS Carl Friedrich: internal more important; Herman Finer: external institutional controls more. Neither is sufficient alone; issue is emphasis.
Pay attention to more laws, management controls, performance evaluation tightening Pay attention to counseling, training, professional codes of conduct. The real issue: How to integrate the two “M UCH A DO A BOUT S OMETHING ” What are the facts? What are the principles involved? What alternatives might resolve this? E XTERNAL C ONTROLS Max Weber (1946) “The honor of the civil servant is vested in his ability to execute conscientiously the order of the superior authorities, exactly as if the order agreed with his own conviction.” They are “tools” of the organizations. Without Sympathy or Enthusiasm: The Problem of Administrative Compassion, Thompson (1975). The problem is: the “tools” are people. E THICS L EGISLATION Does the law define obligation; is personal discretion reduced? Law is a collective ethical judgment, a moral minimum established by the political community. Principles and priorities are still critical. People still engage in ethical assessments of laws Vary in seriousness, sophistication, legitimacy E THICS L EGISLATION Started with Andrew Jackson’s sharing of the “spoils” Influence peddling, information peddling, and public funds for personal gain were common No “science of administration” or concept of “public servant” After that many federal and state ethics laws and committees C ODES OF E THICS Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions online database Some focus on peer esteem and have no formal enforcement Others censure, suspend, or expel:
National Education Association (NEA) International City/County Management Association (ICMA) ASPA Revised many times, awareness and use have increased Enforcement not a part of it due to diverse membership Tenents : Serve the public interest Respect the Constitution Demonstrate personal integrity Promote ethical organizations Strive for professional excellence ASPA P ROS AND C ONS OF E THICS L EGISLATION Pros Provide broad constraints on decision -making Provide sanctions for irresponsible decision -making Provide cautionary examples Cons Broad and subject to interpretation Difficult to enforce Enforcement may be demoralizing P ROS AND C ONS OF C ODES OF E THICS Pros Can present lofty ideals of profession Can be tailored to fit specific situations Can be mechanism for clarifying values of group Cons Vague loftiness can inhibit concrete application Difficult to enforce Enforcement may be irrelevant — members can leave the association Can stifle discretion and inhibit job performance I NTERNAL C ONTROLS Responsiveness: the internalization of “technical knowledge” and sensitivity to “public sentiment” Friedrich(1935) External controls are “poor substitutes for a sense of duty. …. One cannot commandeer responsibility. One can only cultivate it, safeguard its roots, stimulate its growth, and provide it with favorable climatic conditions.” Fritz Marx (1940) T HE N EW P UBLIC A DMINISTRATI ON Minnowbrook Conference 1968: Began the movement Administrators not simply neutral instruments of elected officials but bring to policymaking and administration a commitment to change. Organizational change, social equity, and good management are strongly bound together. Client -oriented administration: the public and its problems are the focus of concern. T ENENTS OF THE N EW P UBLIC A DMINISTRATIO N M OVEMENT Administrators inevitably involved in politics Political control over bureaucracy is essential External political controls are not enough External points of reference (management techniques, professional standards, democratic government) engender internal values and thus enhance responsible conduct. P R OS OF I N TER N AL CON TR OL S Values internalized remain in the decision process. (Even if supervisor or external controls are weak or absent.) Internalized values are likely to create a responsive bureaucracy that takes into account the unique dimensions of concrete situations. Cultivating internal controls give a person self - confidence even in the midst of difficult decisions. C ONS OF I NTERNAL C ONTROLS In a society with relative values, whose values should be adopted? Internal controls can be unreliable and self - serving can contaminate responsibility Competing internal values can create conflict, e.g. technical or professional standards can compete with sensitivity to public concerns.