In seeking to maintain high standards of ethical behavior by public administrators, agencies rely on a wide variety of enforcement mechanisms. These fall into three main categories: (1) codes of ethics, including laws, professional rules, and whistleblower statutes; (2) what might be called ethics police, with specific responsibilities to oversee ethical standards; and (3) cultural strategies, efforts to forge organizational climates conducive to ethical behavior. Though all have proved useful in some respects, none can be considered fully satisfactory, at least not in the sense that it alone can be expected to ensure organizational morality. Codes of ethics need to work hand in hand with proactive managerial strategies, which in turn need to be bolstered by external checks on behavior.
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References
1.
1. John A. Rohr, “Foreword,” in Ethics and Public Administration, ed. H. George Frederickson (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1993).
2.
2. See Carol W. Lewis, “Ethics Codes and Ethics Agencies: Current Practices and Emerging Trends,” in Ethics and Public Administration, ed. Frederickson, pp. 136-157.
3.
3. Number Six of the “Principles for the American Society for Public Administration,” reprinted in Applying Professional Standards & Ethics in the Eighties: A Workbook and Study Guide for Public Administrators, ed. Herman Mertins, Jr. and Patrick J. Hennigan (Washington, DC: American Society for Public Administration, 1982).
4.
4. “ICMA Code of Ethics with Guidelines,” reprinted in Essentials of Government Ethics, ed. Peter Madsen and Jay M. Shafritz (New York: Meridian, 1992), p. 388.
5.
5. Lewis, “Ethics Codes,” p. 139.
6.
6. Ibid.
7.
7. See Frederick C. Mosheret al., Watergate: Implications for Responsible Government (Washington, DC: National Academy of Public Administration, 1974).
8.
8. Lewis, “Ethics Codes,” p. 141.
9.
9. Ibid.
10.
See also Steven W. Hays and Richard R. Gleissner, “Codes of Ethics in State Government,”Public Personnel Management, vol. 10 (1981).
11.
11. James S. Bowman, “Ethics in Government: A National Survey of Public Administrators,”Public Administration Review, 50(3):345-353 (May-June 1990).
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12. John Rohr, “The Problem of Professional Ethics,”Bureaucrat, p. 47 (Summer 1982).
13.
13. J. Patrick Dobel, “The Realpolitik of Ethics Codes: An Implementation Approach to Public Ethics,” in Ethics and Public Administration, ed. Frederickson, p. 160.
14.
14. Philip H. Jos, Mark E. Tompkins, and Steven W. Hays, “In Praise of Difficult People: A Portrait of the Committed Whistleblower,”Public Administration Review, 49(6):554 (Nov.-Dec. 1989).
15.
15. See Bowman, “Ethics in Government.”
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16. M. Cash Matthews, Strategic Intervention in Organizations (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1988), p. 135.
17.
17. Hays and Gleissner, “Codes of Ethics in State Government,” p. 52.
18.
18. For instance, the ethics legislation enacted by the city of Los Angeles, considered among the strongest and most comprehensive in the country, provides that the ethics commission can require the appointment of a special prosecutor in cases where it determines that the city attorney has a conflict of interest. See Lewis, “Ethics Codes,” p. 151.
19.
19. This section is based primarily on Paul C. Light, “Federal Ethics Controls: The Role of Inspectors General,” in Ethics and Public Administration, ed. Frederickson, pp. 100-120.
20.
20. For a complete list of all IGs and their agencies, see ibid., p. 104.
21.
21. History, alas, suggests that political executives seldom see the wisdom of relying on the independent advice of career executives until it is too late in their tenure to have full effect. See Mark W. Huddleston and William W. Boyer, Federal Career Executives: The Quest for a Higher Civil Service (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, forthcoming).
22.
22. Lewis, “Ethics Codes,” p. 138.
23.
23. Ibid., p. 139.
24.
24. Elder Witt, “Is Government Full of Crooks or Are We Just Better at Finding Them,”Governing, p. 33 (Sept. 1989).
25.
25. See Jonathan P. West, “The Role of the Ombudsman in Resolving Conflicts,” in Ethics, Government and Public Policy, ed. James S. Bowman and Frederick A. Elliston (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988), pp. 171-172.
26.
26. Larry B. Hill, “The Citizen Participation-Representation Roles of American Ombudsmen,”Administration and Society1(4):427 (Feb. 1982).
27.
27. Ibid., pp. 428-29.
28.
28. West, “Role of the Ombudsman,” p. 177.
29.
29. Ibid., pp. 179-80.
30.
30. Ibid., p. 193.
31.
31. Selwyn Raab, “Police Corruption Panel Goes Public This Week,”New York Times, 26 Sept. 1993.
32.
32. Alison Mitchell, “Police Hearings' Effects Defy the Usual Wisdom,”New York Times, 3 Oct. 1993.
33.
33. Selwyn Raab, “Similarities in Inquiries into Crimes by Officers,”New York Times, 3 Oct. 1993.
34.
34. Unidentified Mollen Commission staff member, quoted in Selwyn Raab, “Ex-Rogue Officer Tells Panel of Police Graft in New York,”New York Times, 28 Sept. 1993.
35.
35. Raab, “Ex-Rogue Officer.”
36.
36. Michael Dowd, quoted in Raab, “Ex-Rogue Officer.”
37.
37. Selwyn Raab, “Detailing Burglars in Blue: Violent Search for Booty,”New York Times, 30 Sept. 1993.
38.
38. Craig Wolff, “Fighting Corruption,”New York Times, 4 Oct. 1993.
39.
39. Ibid.
40.
40. Selwyn Raab, “Head of New York Police Offers Compromise on Outside Monitor,”New York Times, 7 Oct. 1993.
41.
41. Clifford Krauss, “2-Year Corruption Inquiry Finds a `Willful Blindness' in New York's Police Dept.,”New York Times, 7 July 1994.
42.
42. Mark H. Moore and David M. Kennedy, “N.Y.P.D. Clean,”New York Times, 25 Jan. 1994.
43.
43. James Dowd, quoted in Steven Lee Myers, “Officers Describe Police Watchdog as Ineffectual,”New York Times, 2 Oct. 1993.
44.
44. Mary E. Guy, “Using High Reliability Management to Promote Ethical Decision Making,” in Ethical Frontiers in Public Management, ed. James S. Bowman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991), p. 201.
45.
45. See Thomas R. Piper, Mary C. Gentle, and Sharon Daloz Parks, Can Ethics Be Taught? (Boston: Harvard Business School, 1993).
46.
46. Judith A. Truelson, “New Strategies for Institutional Controls,” in Ethical Frontiers, ed. Bowman, p. 233.
47.
47. Guy, “High Reliability Management,” pp. 185-204.
48.
48. Dennis F. Thompson, “The Possibility of Administrative Ethics,”Public Administration Review, 45(5):561 (Sept.-Oct. 1985).
49.
49. David H. Rosenbloom, “The Constitution as a Basis for Public Administrative Ethics,” in Essentials of Government Ethics, ed. Madsen and Shafritz, pp. 48-64.
50.
50. Gerald T. Gabris, “Beyond Conventional Management Practices: Shifting Organizational Values,” in Ethical Frontiers, ed. Bowman, pp. 205-224.
