Ethics in Public Administration
Working in the City Hall Supervisor Office, the code of ethics include accurately representing areas of competence, education, training, experience, and professional affiliations, including from boards and colleagues. Make employees aware of consumer rights to privacy and confidentiality. Obtain ongoing supervisory training. Make employees aware of ethical standards and legal responsibilities. Shall avoid conflict of interests. Shall not promote personal, religious, political, financial, or business interests. Personal issues shall be addressed with supervision only. Shall not supervise own relatives or 'significant relationships' (boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.). Shall be honest and uphold integrity. Supervision shall be professional and in a consistent manner without discrimination towards others. Will not delegate responsibilities outside the scope of individual capabilities. Shall not exploit employees for financial gain. And, shall not instruct employees in ways to violate the code of ethics.
Ethical standards are especially important in public administration to advance public interest by promoting public interests and putting service to the public above service to self (Code of Ethics (revised March 2013), 2013). To promote democratic participation by informing the public and encouraging active participation through openness, transparency, responsiveness, respect, and assistance in dealing with public organizations. Uphold the constitution and law. Strengthen social equity by treating all persons with fairness, justice and equality, and respect individual differences, rights, and freedoms. Promote affirmative action to reduce unfairness, injustice,...
Fully inform and advise providing accurate, hones, comprehensive, and timely information and advice. Promote ethical organization through the highest standards of ethics, stewardship, and public service to serve the public. Advance professional excellence through strengthening personal capabilities to act competently and ethically and promote professional development in others.
All actions should be subject to accountability (Mosher). Additional accountability mechanisms could include higher employee awareness of the constitution and law and the code of ethics. Ethical and effective conduct must provide a model and leadership (Mosher). Requiring briefing sessions on the code of ethics and signing a form that confirms understanding could be affective in raising employee awareness of ethical standards, constitution, and law. The sessions could cover ethical conduct, accountability, and the nature of checks and balances in the government. It should also include the importance of responsiveness to the public, relationships between career and non-career services, and include information on an impartial ombudsman available to consider complaints of ethical violations. It should also cover moral principles that include the rights and duties of employees to respect when they act in ways that seriously affect the well-being of others and conditions that collective practices should satisfy when they similarly affect the well-being of others (Thompson).
The promotion of fairness, justice, and equality, respecting individual differences, rights, and freedoms should be implemented with encouragement of practices of 'management by objective' (Mosher). Actions should…
