Ethics in Public Administration: Chapter Six 1 MAINTAINING RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT 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? 2 The Situational Context 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. 3 Internal and External Controls 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 4 “Much Ado About Something” What are the facts? What are the principles involved? What alternatives might resolve this? 5 External Controls 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. 6 Ethics Legislation 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 7 Ethics Legislation 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 8 Codes of Ethics 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) 9 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 and the law Demonstrate personal integrity Promote ethical organizations Strive for professional excellence | Click to view larger image Stock photo Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn From The Code Of The West by Owen, Ja Sign in or register to save and share this item. Sign in or ...

1. Ethics in Public Administration:
Chapter Six
1
MAINTAINING RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
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?

2. 2
The Situational Context
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.
3
Internal and External Controls
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

3. 4
“Much Ado About Something”
What are the facts?
What are the principles involved?
What alternatives might resolve this?
5
External Controls
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.

4. 6
Ethics Legislation
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
7
Ethics Legislation
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

5. 8
Codes of Ethics
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)
9
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 and the law
Demonstrate personal integrity
Promote ethical organizations
Strive for professional excellence

6. |
Click to view larger image
Stock photo
Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn From The Code Of
The West by Owen, Ja

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ASPA
11
Pros and Cons of Ethics Legislation
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

9. 12
Pros and Cons of Codes of Ethics
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
13
Internal Controls
Responsiveness: the internalization of “technical knowledge”
and sensitivity to “public sentiment” Friedrich(1935)

10. 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)
14
The New Public Administration
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.
15
Tenents of the New Public Administration Movement
Administrators inevitably involved in politics
Political control over bureaucracy is essential

11. External political controls are not enough
External points of reference (management techniques,
professional standards, democratic government) engender
internal values and thus enhance responsible conduct.
16
PROS OF INTERNAL CONTROLS
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.
Cons of Internal Controls
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

12. professional standards can compete with sensitivity to public
concerns.
18
ASPA CODE OF ETHICS
HTTP://WWW.ASPANET.ORG/PUBLIC/ASPA/RESOURCES/C
ODE_OF_ETHICS/ASP
A/RESOURCES/CODE%20OF%20ETHICS1.ASPX
I. Serve the Public Interest
Serve the public, beyond serving oneself. ASPA members are
committed to:
1. Exercise discretionary authority to promote the public
interest.
2. Oppose all forms of discrimination and harassment, and
promote
affirmative action.
3. Recognize and support the public's right to know the public's
business.

13. 4. Involve citizens in policy decision-making.
5. Exercise compassion, benevolence, fairness and optimism.
6. Respond to the public in ways that are complete, clear, and
easy to
understand.
7. Assist citizens in their dealings with government.
8. Be prepared to make decisions that may not be popular.
II. Respect the Constitution and the Law
Respect, support, and study government constitutions and laws
that define
responsibilities of public agencies, employees, and all citizens.
ASPA members
are committed to:
1. Understand and apply legislation and regulations relevant to
their
professional role.
2. Work to improve and change laws and policies that are
counterproductive
or obsolete.
3. Eliminate unlawful discrimination.
4. Prevent all forms of mismanagement of public funds by
establishing and
maintaining strong fiscal and management controls, and by
supporting
audits and investigative activities.
5. Respect and protect privileged information.
6. Encourage and facilitate legitimate dissent activities in
government and

14. protect the whistleblowing rights of public employees.
7. Promote constitutional principles of equality, fairness,
representativeness,
responsiveness and due process in protecting citizens' rights.
III. Demonstrate Personal Integrity
Demonstrate the highest standards in all activities to inspire
public confidence
and trust in public service. ASPA members are committed to:
1. Maintain truthfulness and honesty and to not compromise
them for
advancement, honor, or personal gain.
2. Ensure that others receive credit for their work and
contributions.
3. Zealously guard against conflict of interest or its appearance:
e.g.,
nepotism, improper outside employment, misuse of public
resources or the
acceptance of gifts.
4. Respect superiors, subordinates, colleagues and the public.
5. Take responsibility for their own errors.
6. Conduct official acts without partisanship.
IV. Promote Ethical Organizations
Strengthen organizational capabilities to apply ethics, efficiency
and

15. effectiveness in serving the public. ASPA members are
committed to:
1. Enhance organizational capacity for open communication,
creativity, and
dedication.
2. Subordinate institutional loyalties to the public good.
3. Establish procedures that promote ethical behavior and hold
individuals
and organizations accountable for their conduct.
4. Provide organization members with an administrative means
for dissent,
assurance of due process and safeguards against reprisal.
5. Promote merit principles that protect against arbitrary and
capricious
actions.
6. Promote organizational accountability through appropriate
controls and
procedures.
7. Encourage organizations to adopt, distribute, and periodically
review a
code of ethics as a living document.
V. Strive for Professional Excellence
Strengthen individual capabilities and encourage the
professional development of
others. ASPA members are committed to:
1. Provide support and encouragement to upgrade competence.

16. 2. Accept as a personal duty the responsibility to keep up to
date on
emerging issues and potential problems.
3. Encourage others, throughout their careers, to participate in
professional
activities and associations.
4. Allocate time to meet with students and provide a bridge
between
classroom studies and the realities of public service.
Chapter Five
Ethics in Public Administration:
Chapter Five

17. 1
Conflicts of Responsibility
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.
2
Conflicts of Authority
Conflict between objective responsibilities imposed by two or
more sources of authority
The law
Superiors
Politicians
The public

18. 3
The Major, the Captain, and Corporal Montague
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
4
Role Conflicts: Inside vs. Outside
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

19. 5
Raising Salaries or Raising Hell?
Loyalty to staff vs. solidarity with management
Responsiveness to staff vs. authority of management
Union interests vs. department interests
Role Conflicts: Inside vs. Inside
6
Consequences of Role Conflicts
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

20. 7
“Moral Creativity”
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
8
That model again
9
Conflicts of Interest
Public role vs. self interest
Broader than just economic interest
Broader than what is or isn’t legal

21. “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
10
Types of Conflict of Interest
Bribery
Influence Peddling
Information Peddling
Financial Transactions
Gifts and Entertainment
Outside employment
Future employment
Dealings with relatives
11
Maintaining the Public Trust
National Academy of Public Administration (after Watergate):

22. 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVrGZSxpBEA
12
ETHICS IN PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
THE CONTEXT OF
ADMINISTRATION
postmodern world.
attributes

23. associated with western urban industrialized
society
discredited
POSTMODERNISM
lad bowl
HOW DEAL WITH
NORMLESSNESS?
and deliberation.
o create

24. order and meaning in our lives together.
COMINGLING OF WORK AND
PRIVATE LIFE
created separate ethical approaches.
common standards
RELATIVITY
d given up, no longer
lifelong or stable.
obligation and duty.

25. crucial than ever.
PLURALIZATION
ss of assumptions (science not
enough), multiplicity of roles and many “selves,”
work-life commingling, relativism.
employment)
action)
IMPLICATIONS FOR PA:
POLITICS INTRUDES
—conflict of roles, goals
require political activity
of power
-party

26. -agency
-government branch
Agency-interest group
IMPLICATIONS FOR PA:
SEPARATION OF CITIZEN/PA ROLES
As Citizen:
consider the opinions and wishes of others
d, be fair, be rational, be
reasonable.”
rather than force authoritatively.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PA:
MANAGERS OF DIVERSITY
ion costs and consumption costs must

27. be taken into account.
because of these costs.
required.
POLITICS, ETHICS, AND THE
ADMINISTRATOR
CHAPTER FOUR:

28. ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY
—legal, organizational,
societal roots
subordinates’ conduct and performance
them supercedes
obligation to organizational superiors)
least proximate and most fundamental)
RESPONSIBILITY TO ELECTED
OFFICIALS FOR UPHOLDING
THE LAW
he
decisions of others as you accept role.
conduct are seen as will of the people.
RESPONSIBILITY TO SUPERIORS

29. AND FOR SUBORDINATES
intent is concretized into
programs and services.
…presumably reflects will of citizenry.
goes up the chain.
information sharing keeps
it fluid.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
the lives of his political masters at least to
the extent of assuring that they did not
resolve complex issues of the basis of
disingenuously simple criteria.” Appleby as quoted by
Egger (1965)
choose if they saw clearly, thought
rationally, acted disinterestedly and
benevolently.” Walter Lippmann (1922)
RESPONSIBILITY TO THE

30. CITIZENRY
phrase.
“original position”—without consideration for
one’s own social class, natural assets or abilities,
or even the political and economic characteristics
of our society.
SUBJECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
conscience, identification
, values, beliefs are the source.
of our role, we guide our behavior more by
subjective responsibility.
professionalism, deviant behavior can occur.
onscious and deliberate development of an
internal code is critical.

31. ROKEACH (1970)
ATTITUDES, VALUES, AND
BELIEFS
motivate you to take action
are called “sources of subjective
responsibility,” and may be rooted in one or
more of our other roles, such as parent, ASPA
member, and such.
CODES
which he calls “codes.”
nnected to roles.
professional community it can produce deviant
behavior

32. uct matches our inner code, we are
responsible, when it doesn’t, we are irresponsible.
INTEGRITY
intuitive capability, as well as rational-analytic
powers.” Srivastva and Cooperrider, (1988)
ethical force to the administrative process.
subjective responsibility is essential for carrying
out objective responsibility.
CASE STUDY: MRS.
CARMICHAEL
responsibility?
about the situation?

33. beliefs
and values regarding this situation?
Ethics for Public Administration
Chapters One and Two
1
Public Administrators:
Are not neutral
Exercise discretion
Participate in the public policy process
Make policy recommendations
Engage in policy implementation
WHY STUDY ETHICS?

34. 2
Your Text
The Responsible Administrator: An approach to Ethics for the
Administrative Role
Conceptual Focus:
The role of the public administrator in an organizational setting
Integrating Ethical Concept:
Responsibility
Central Ethical Process:
Comprehensive design approach
3
Definitions
“The attempt to state and evaluate principles by which ethical
problems may be solved.”
“normative standards of conduct derived from the philosophical
and religious traditions of society.”
“concerned with what is right, fair, just, or good; about what we
ought to do.”

35. 4
Our Focus
Ethics
“is one step removed from action. It involves the examination
and analysis of the logic, values, beliefs, and principles that are
used to justify morality in its various forms.”
Terry L. Cooper, The Responsible Administrator. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012.
Ethical Decision Making
Ordering our values with respect to a particular decision.
Milton Rokeach, Beliefs, Attitudes and Values. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1970.
Text: study of moral conduct and moral status
Morality assumes accepted norms of behavior
Ethics involves the examination of the logic, values, beliefs,
and principles that are used to justify morality in its various
forms.
Law “must always stand under the judgment of ethics” Cooper

36. 6
Perspectives
Descriptive
Reveal underlying assumptions about conduct
Normative
Construct viable and defensible arguments for preferable
courses of conduct
Deontological
Means and duty
Teleological
Ends and consequences
Responsibility and Role
Responsibility:
Objective accountability for conduct
Subjective congruence with one’s professional values
Ethical Responsibility
Able to give reasons for one’s conduct
Able to understand in a self-conscious way why one acted

37. 8
A Design Approach
Addresses immediate situation but takes into account legal,
organizational, and social context for longer term impact.
A problem-solving approach
Uncertainties abound
Solution
s rely on facts, not just opinions
Reality of acting under pressure
Ethical problems are dynamic

38. 9
Understanding Ethical Decision Making
Character traits: built from decisions made as we define
boundaries/content of responsibility
This is often done without consistent, intentional, and
systematic reflection
Reflective ethics: design the best course of action
for specific problems we face
given constraints of time and information
10
Aiken’s 4 Levels of Ethical Reflection
Expressive Level

39. what feels like the right thing?
Moral Rules Level
what rule should I follow?
Ethical Analysis Level
what are the principles involved?
Postethical level
why should I be principled?
Ethical analysis: principles underlying choices Exercise re
tobacco, etc.
11
Which is best?
Expressive
Emotion is only one aspect

40. Moral Rules
Merely reflects socialization
ETHICAL –proceed with reasoned justification
Easier for others to understand
Postethical
Personal consensus could be difficult
12
Descriptive Models: what is
Early on, feeling of futility
Blasi (1980)—impossible to close gap between moral judgment
and moral behavior
Later research shows interaction of the two:
Cognitive process

41. Wittmer (2005) “awareness….judgment…behavior.”
Rest (1984, 1986) –interpretation of situation, judgment of the
situation, selection of options, action
Environmental press
Trevino (1986)—person-situation interaction
13
Cooper’s Model

42. 14
Prescriptive Models: what should be
Simply following someone else’s past history may not fit my
environment
Simply prescribing is not enough
Problem-solving is required
Description and prescription are combined
Template needed for designing best solution
Contingency is important
May need to alter course (dynamic)
15
The Descriptive Task
Sift through judgmental reports of issue
Balance the “hierarchy of credibility”(Becker 1973)

43. Avoid good-guys/bad-guys language
Facts include key actors, viewpoints, issues, event sequence,
risks, what we don’t know.
16
Cooper’s Model

44. 17
Define the Ethical Issues
Issue = competing or conflicting
Many administrators can identify issues, but not principles
underlying them.
18
Identifying Alternative Courses of Action
Be wary of either/or options.
Be willing to SCAMPER (McDonald’s)
S = Substitute (real estate for hamburgers)
C = Combine (meals with lodging for parents)
A = Adapt (Latte, yogurt)
M = Magnify (expand to other countries)
P = Put to Other Uses (raise $ for charity)

45. E = Eliminate (or Minify) (waiters)
R = Rearrange (or Reverse) (payment)
19
Finding a Fit
An alternative that balances principle with consequences
The test of publicity
Satisfaction with the alternative

46. 20
Cooper’s Model
21
Project Probable Consequences
Instead of usual black-and-white simple melodrama, imagine
epic alternatives with consequences.
The more alternatives (with consequences) the better, especially
with complex issues.
Consequences may be outweighed by principles.

47. 22
Anticipatory Self-Appraisal
Look into the future and anticipate how we will feel about
ourselves
Does it match or violate our principles?
What will we feel
Guilt, remorse, and self-reproach
Pride and approval from others
23
All steps every time?
Systematically develop intuitive models that create “smooth,
automatic performance of learned behavior sequences.”

48. (Cleveland, 1972)
Requires discipline and practice
Creates autonomy and choice
REWARDS: Self-awareness, self-control, and flexibility of
decision-making
24