This article provides an overview and analysis of the practical problems of developing and implementing a code of ethics for public administrators. The article addresses three key issues: (1) What are public ethics and where do they come from? (2) What are the central ethical issues facing public administrators? and (3) Are there practical tools and guidelines to assist public servants to be both ethical and effective public managers? The article concludes with a plea for consideration of ethical issues, and it presents five general ethical principles for public administrators.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
1. H. George Frederickson, ed., Ethics and Public Administration (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1993), p. 5.
2.
2. Ibid.
3.
3. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1952).
4.
John Stuart Mill , On Liberty (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1956).
5.
5. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New York: New American Library, 1956).
6.
6. Darrell Pugh, “Origins of Ethical Frameworks in Public Administration,” in Ethical Frontiers in Public Management, ed. James S. Bowman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991), pp. 9-32.
7.
7. In James L. Perry, “Public Service Motivation: Construct, Content and Reliability” (Paper delivered at the National Conference of the American Society for Public Administration, Washington, DC, 19 July 1993).
8.
8. Kathryn G. Denhardt, The Ethics of Public Service: Resolving Moral Dilemmas in Public Organizations (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988), p. 1.
9.
9. Ibid., pp. 18-19.
10.
10. Ibid., p. 19.
11.
11. Carol Lewis, The Ethics Challenge in Public Service (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990), p. 23.
12.
12. State of New York, Ethics Commission, Public Officers Law (Albany: New York State, 1989).
13.
13. In Frederickson, ed., Ethics and Public Administration, p. xii.
14.
14. In Bill Moyers, A World of Ideas (New York: Doubleday, 1989), pp. 14-27.
15.
15. These 14 points have been laid out in Stuart C. Gilman, “Presidential Ethics and the Ethics of the Presidency,” this issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
16.
16. American Society for Public Administration, National Council, “Code of Ethics and Implementation Guidelines,”P.A. Times, 1 May 1993, supplement.
17.
17. Pugh, “Origins of Ethical Frameworks,” pp. 9-32.
18.
18. Paul C. Light, “Federal Ethics Control: The Role of Inspectors General,” in Ethics and Public Administration, ed. Frederickson, p. 100.
19.
19. Al Gore, Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1993), pp. 31-32.
20.
20. Ibid., p. 32.
21.
21. Walter Lippmann, The Public Philosophy (New York: New American Library, 1955), p. 42.
22.
22. In Moyers, World of Ideas, pp. 14-27.
23.
23. James Q. Wilson, A Moral Sense (New York: Free Press, 1993).
24.
24. Russell Baker, “Ethicizationism,”New York Times, 27 Oct. 1990.
25.
25. Ibid.
26.
26. In Frederickson, ed., Ethics and Public Administration, p. xii.
27.
27. Bowman, ed., Ethical Frontiers in Public Management, p. 1.
28.
28. Michael Levin, “Ethics Courses: Useless,”New York Times, 25 Nov. 1989.
29.
29. Ibid.
30.
30. Ibid.
31.
31. Ibid.
32.
32. H. George Frederickson, “Ethics and Public Administration: Some Assertions,” in Ethics and Public Administration, ed. Frederickson, pp. 247-258.
33.
33. Ibid.
34.
34. The conclusion of this article draws heavily from Steven Cohen, The Effective Public Manager (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988).
35.
35. Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970).
