Accountability and corruption scandals in Tennessee public administration

ACCOUNTABILITY IN POLITICAL AND BUREAUCRATIC FUNCTIONARIES 6 Accountability in Political and Bureaucratic Functionaries According to Milakovich and Gordon (2013) bureaucratic accountability is defined as the principle of political accountability that is applied in an effort to control bureaucratic power. This accountability is enforced by using legislative and executive channels. Having a system of checks-and-balances ensures that there is accountability between agencies and political entities. The main idea behind accountability is that it allows an entity to exercise delegated authority and discretion when making decisions, but the same entity must adhere to the rules as stated. This implies that there should be accountability within the individual who is performing a particular task within public administration and they should ensure that they perform their roles and tasks in the best way possible. However, this is not always the case and some individuals will attempt to create shortcuts in order to receive some benefits in the performance of their duties. This is what has happened in Tennessee, which resulted in the two major scandals namely Operation Rocky Top and Operation Tennessee Waltz. These major corruption scandals brought to light the importance of having accountability within the public administration, especially in Tennessee. The failure by the administration to have proper legal systems in place that would have curbed against these scandals is what led to these massive corruption deals taking place. Legislators should also be aware of the ethical principles that govern their particular roles. The lack of ethical conduct by the legislators contributed towards these scandals. The lack of ethical values and principles results in the society spiraling downwards. The two scandals have clearly shown what took place within the public administration and it is vital that we look into how we can ensure that this does not take place again. Corruption in any form should be discouraged and eliminated within the public administration in order to guarantee that the policies being implemented are beneficial to the community and citizens. Ethics Enforcement There should be strict regulations and policies that are placed in order to deter public officials from making decisions that are unethical. Tennessee should ensure that all the state lawmakers understand the state will not tolerate any corrupt actions. Ethical policies should be structured in a manner that ensures that the monies lost are recouped and the state lawmakers are held accountable for the unethical actions (Yolles, 2016). It is no lie that most people find it challenging to adhere to a code of ethics. In order to reduce the challenges faced by individuals, the state could have ongoing conferences or training that teach about ethical policies and standards. In this manner, the lawmakers will have a clear understanding of what is required of them and how they should handle their daily responsibilities to the general public. With ethical policies in place, there will be improved accountability of the lawmakers. Accountability would also be improved between the administration and the public. Ethical enforcement would also ensure that the public does receive what it needs and in a timely manner, which would give the administration the required integrity that would foster the trust of the community. Having an atmosphere of trust is beneficial to the administration because the public will be confident that the administration is working with the best interests of the community in mind (Milakovich & Gordon, 2013). Increasing public trust also give the lawmakers an opportunity to formulate legislation that would be viewed positively by the public. Ethical enforcement also entails having a system that encourages for whistleblowing. Whistleblowers are essential in ensuring that lawmakers abide by the laid-out policies and corruption is curbed before it grows out of hand. Whistleblowers are a vital part in public administration because they bring forth information that might not be easy to uncover. Using this information, the public administration can uncover grand schemes that would have gone on unnoticed. Therefore, it is vital that Tennessee has a whistleblower scheme and protection policy. If there is no guarantee of protection most people would not be willing to disclose information. The state should have in place a proper mechanism that promotes for whistleblowers to come out and report. Also, when lawmakers are aware that the state has a proper whistleblower policy in place, they would be discouraged from taking part in unethical schemes. It has been noted by many advocates that the best way to assure there is accountability of public officials is having whistleblower protection (Potter, 2016). There are many negative effects that face whistleblowers and without the appropriate protection, most people would not be willing to disclose the information they have uncovered. Formation of Laws and Regulations The state should ensure it creates laws and regulations that require all lawmakers to adhere to the constitution of the state and the country. The laws should clearly denounce corruption and enforce accountability by having checks-and-balances in place. Any lawmaker who does not follow the laid-out law and regulations should be held accountable and charges brought against them. This way the lawmakers will be vigilant and wary of being involved in corrupt dealings. There should also be laws that govern how new bills are implemented and the necessary public participation required before a bill is passed. This will ensure that lawmakers do not use their perceived powers to create bills that they have vested interests in and that will benefit them in the long run. In the case of the Tennessee Waltz scandal, the lawmakers used the loopholes available to pass a bill that looks innocent for recycling computer equipment. The bill had merits, but there was nothing good about the bill itself and it was only passed because the lawmakers had received kickbacks and other benefits. If there was a law that required proper public participation before a bill is passed this would not have happened and the public would have asked numerous questions that the lawmakers would not have managed to answer. There should also be laws that prohibit lawmakers from pushing for bills that they have a vested interest. Lawmakers should not be the only ones charged with passing and formulating bills. With such powers, they are given enough opportunity to delve into the murky waters of corruption because they have to benefit in order for them to back certain bills in the house. With proper regulation, lawmakers would find it hard to be involved in corrupt dealings because they would not be able to deliver what they promise (Hassan, Wright, & Yukl, 2014). The Tennessee Waltz scandal was only conducted after it was suspected that there were corrupt lawmakers and it was necessary to nub them with evidence. There having been such suspicion is what necessitated for the operation to take place. This clearly shows that the current laws and regulation were not effective in deterring the lawmakers from taking part in such scandals. Therefore, there should be more punitive punishment for any lawmaker who is caught or accused or corruption. This will act as a preventive measure and dissuade them from being involved in corruption. Improved Transparency It is normally said that communication is vital in all aspects. This has never been more truthful that in public administration. There is need to ensure that there is clear communication been passed out to the citizens in order to guard against bills being passed without the knowledge of the society. Transparency will result in the state having open communication lines and people can comment and question what is taking place. Lawmakers would also be required to be more transparent in their dealings, which would expose them in case they attempt to make shoddy deals. Improving transparency will require that the state becomes accountable to the community. This would be in the form of reports and justifications for how money was spent. This is also part of ethical behavior and without ethics, the state would not be able to disclose this information (Eisenbeiss & Brodbeck, 2014). Making information readily available to people demonstrates the state is open and transparent in all that it is doing. However, the state of Tennessee should increase its transparency and have the required information available online. Conclusion There should be no corruption in public administration. Corruption indicates that only a few individuals will benefit from the state resources and people would begin to suffer if corruption is allowed to continue within the state. Scandals that have impacted the state of Tennessee have painted the state in a bad picture and have resulted in the community not trusting its leadership. In order to restore the trust of the community, there is need to have proper laws and regulation that will enforce harsh punishments for any state officer or lawmaker who is caught taking part in corruption. Ethical conduct has also been shown to be effective in ensuring that lawmakers do not participate in corrupt deals. Without ethical behavior, it is difficult for an individual to adhere to the laid out ethical guidelines and they would see them as a deterrence that could be avoided. Having punitive measures in place might also discourage lawmakers from participating it unlawful dealing or accepting kickbacks in order to support or push for specific bills. With regulations that require public scrutiny of all bills before they are passed, it would be difficult for lawmakers to push for their personal agendas or pass silent bills that would favor them in the long run.