Reinventing Public Personnel Management: Ethical Implications for Managers and Public Personnel Systems

Abstract

The need to ensure responsible administration in government is an imperative concern for the field of public management. The interest in administrative responsibility is crucial because public administrators are the people who place government into action. They manage and direct the operations of federal, state, and local organizations providing essential services and programs. They issue directives and regulations, which give meaning to public policy, and in the process, substantive policy choices are made. In addition, in these capacities, government administrators act on behalf of the people. Ultimately, they must be accountable to the public interest. As a consequence, public servants bear important moral and ethical obligations. Indeed, much of the history of public administration in the United States has focused on the question of how those obligations might best be met.