Empirical research on ethics in government is growing rapidly. One area that has been largely overlooked, however, is the ethical environment of the public manager. This paper examines the ethical environments of local government managers in two states-Florida and Texas-with an interest in assessing how hospitable those environments are to the adoption of a "trust and lead" strategy advocated by the Winter Commission to revitalize local and state public service. Three research questions are addressed: (a.) To what extent do local government managers perceive themselves to be working in an ethical organization and community? (b.) What might explain why they adopt a more or less ethical view of their workplace and communities? And (c.) how might a manager's own ethical self-esteem condition or influence how he/she assesses one's ethical environment? The findings, based on survey responses of more than 200 municipal managers, suggest that a "trust and lead" strategy can be effective in local public service.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barnard, C. I.
(1938). The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2.
Bellah, R. N.
, Madsen, R., Sullivan, W. M., Swidler, A., & Tipton, S. M.1991. The Good Society. New York: Vintage Books.
3.
Berman, E. M.
, & West, J. (1994). Values Management in Local Government: A Survey of Progress and Future Directions. Review of Public Personnel Management, 14 (Winter), 6-23.
4.
Berman, E. M.
, West, J., & Cava, A. (1994). Ethics Management in Municipal Governments and Large Firms. Administration & Society, 26 August), 185-203.
5.
Bowman, J. S.
(1990). Ethics in Government: A National Survey of Public Administrators. Public Administration Review, 50, 345-353.
6.
Burke, F.
& Black, A. (1990). Improving Organizational Productivity: Add Ethics. Public Productivity and Management Review, 14, 121-133.
7.
Carnevale, D. G.
, & Wechsler, B. (1992). Trust in the Public Sector: Individual and Organizational Determinants. Administration & Society, 23, 471-494.
8.
Denhardt, K. G.
(1988). The Ethics of Public Service: Resolving Moral Dilemmas in Public Organizations. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
9.
DeSantis, V.
, Glass, J. J., & Newell, C. (1992). City Managers, Job Satisfaction, and Community Problem Perceptions. Public Administration Review, 52 (September/October), 447-453.
10.
Dozier, J. B.
& Miceli, M. P. (1985). Potential Predictors of Whistle-Blowing: A Prosocial Behavior Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 10, 823-836.
11.
Elazar, D. J.
(1970). Cities of the Prairie. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
12.
Frederickson, H. G.
, & Frederickson, D. G. (1995) Public Perceptions of Ethics in Government: The Problems of Distance and Role Differentiation. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 53, 163-172.
13.
Ghere, R. K.
(1992). Personality Type and Perceived Ethical Norms in the Organization Workplace. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Public Administration, Chicago, IL, April 11-15.
14.
Johnston, M.
(1983). Corruption and Political Culture in America: An Empirical Perspective. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 13 (Winter), 19-39.
15.
Near, J. R.
, Baucus, M. S., & Miceli, M. R. (1993). The Relationship Between Values and Practice: Organizational Climates for Wrongdoing. Administration & Society25, 204-226.
16.
Newell, C.
, & Ammons, D. N. (1987). Role Emphasis of City Managers and Other Municipal Executives. Public Administration Review, 47, 246-253.
17.
Overman, E. S.
, & Foss, L. (1991). Professional Ethics: An Empirical Test of the `Separatist Thesis.'Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, l(April), 131-146.
18.
Peters, J. G.
, & Welch, S. (1978). Politics, Corruption, and Political Culture: A View from the State Legislature. American Politics Quarterly, 6, 345-356.
19.
Stewart, D. W.
, & Sprinthall, N. A. (1993). The Impact of Demographic, Professional and Organizational Variables and Domain on the Moral Reasoning of Public Administrators. In H. G. Frederickson (Ed.), Ethics and Public Administration. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.
20.
Stillman, R. J., III.
(1974). The Rise of the City Manager. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
21.
Streib, G.
(1992). Professional Skill and Support for Democratic Principles: The Case of Local Government Department Heads in Northern Illinois. Administration & Society24(May), 22-40.
22.
Trice, H. M.
, & Beyer, J. M. (1993). The Cultures of Work Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
23.
Vitell, S. J.
, & Davis, D. L. (1990). The Relationship Between Ethics and Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of Business Ethics9(June), 489-494.
24.
Waters, J. A.
, & Bird, F. (1987). The Moral Dimension of Organizational Culture. Journal of Business Ethics, 6, 15-22.
25.
Weick, K.
(1979). The Social Psychology of Organizing. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
26.
West, J. R.
, Berman, E., & Cava, A. (1993). Ethics in the Municipal Workplace Through the Year 2000. 1993 Municipal Year Book. Washington, D.C.: International City/County Management Association.
27.
Winter, W. F.
(1993). Hard Truths/rough Choices: An Agenda for State and Local Reform. The First Report of the National Commission on the State and Local Public Service. Albany, NY: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, State University of New York.
28.
Wittmer, D.
(1992). Ethical Sensitivity and Managerial Decisionmaking: An Experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2(October), 443-462.
