1D2-08-Write A Personal Code of Ethics for A Public Servant in Public Administration
Ethics in Our Public Service Lives
Ethics in the Public Sector
Ethics as exhibited in the public sector has long been debated as a topic that has changing relevance and
sometimes changing definitions, depending on the era and challenges the country faces at the time.
Things that we as the public being served consider problematic in our public servants today has been
happening for as long as we have had a government, and yet today we are outraged. Is this a symptom
of our modern times, when we know so much that used to be hidden from our view?
Think about the indiscretions of various elected officials that have come to light over the recent years.
We are disappointed and even angered by unfaithful husbands holding high office, yet dating as far back
as Thomas Jefferson or the more modern assumed liaisons of John F. Kennedy, our elected officials have
dallied just like private citizens. Jefferson’s out of wedlock children were no secret then, and we still hold
Kennedy in high esteem despite what we have learned, so why are we harder on elected officials today?
Personal and Moral Agendas
Indiscretions are only one example of ethics in public service. Another great debate arises around the use
of elected office to advance extreme personal agendas. Religious Right or Liberal Left, at times our
government leaders may appear to be listening to only their own advisors or their own particular
leanings, rather than the people who elected them to office in the first place. Alternately, they do listen
to their own followers, but ignore the other half of the country that does not hold the same views. Should
public servants advance only their own perspectives and the viewpoints of their followers, or when they
took their oath of office, did they only agree to uphold the laws for those that they agree with?
Morality politics becomes obvious in another realm of government when we choose to make decisions for
those who are deemed to be incapable because of some characteristic. A welfare mom who keeps having
kids to get more government benefit is probably gaming the system, and should not be placed in the
same category as a single mom who is just trying to get back on her feet and needs the government
support until she can do so. The system, though, may lump them together, dragging down the mom who
is trying and catering to the mom who is not. Who decides for each of them, and how should these
decisions be made?
Taxes
Taxes have traditionally been another issue of ethical debate in the U. S. Some taxes are deemed to be
regressive, hurting the poor more than the wealthy just by the nature of what they tax. An increased tax
on gasoline will take a bigger bite out of the paycheck of a middle class person or someone poorer than a
wealthy person. Someone with a smaller paycheck would also have a harder time replacing the old gas-
guzzling car with a new hybrid. How should public servants deal with taxes to make sure that they do not
unwittingly hurt a major part of the population?
Public Protection
The task of protecting the population also brings up moral and ethical issues. The wife who cannot escape
the beatings of her husband despite court orders, the children who are left with their abusive
grandparents because not enough evidence can be gathered, and the elderly who suffer at the hands of
caregivers in nursing homes are stories that rip at our hearts. In each, government plays a role. Is it
ethical to cut funding for those programs, knowing that the suffering and abuse will continue and even
grow?
These are just a few of many examples of ethical dilemmas faced by public servants. In some cases,
wrongs are due to a poor individual moral compass, or an inability to understand that what others don’t
know can hurt them. In other cases, lying, stealing or cheating is obviously intentional and done with full
knowledge that it is wrong. In any of these types of situations, most of us know what to do and make
that choice. The ones who do not often end up on the evening news. Ethical Subtleties
The more subtle situations are the ones we really struggle with, though. Perhaps a family that does not
technically qualify for a government benefit but could really use the benefit in order to survive and thrive
gets some special coaching on what to say or how to fill out a form by a well-meaning case worker. Or
someone technically breaks a law but gets a break from a peace officer because they tell a compelling
story. Or consider the building inspector who looks the other way when signing off on the permit because
even though a code was broken, it was already approved by someone else on the permit checklist.
We mean well, and then we are faced with a case where the law or regulation is just wrong when applied
in a particular case. How do we manage the ethical dilemmas in our own public service lives? This course
introduces you to the concepts of ethics, morality, virtue, consequentialism and other factors that help us
to be ethical public servants. Moreover, it helps us to develop a better understanding about how to
handle those cases when the right thing to do may not take into account rights as defined by the
government.