Public Service Ethics

James S. Bowman - Florida State University, USA
Jonathan P. West - University of Miami, USA

Other Titles in:
Public Policy & Public Administration

January 2014 | 368 pages | CQ Press

Ethics—in all its exemplary and exhausting forms—matters. It deals with the most gripping question in public life: “What is the right thing to do?” Bowman and West examine individual-centered and organization-focused ethics, applying ideas and ideals from both to contemporary dilemmas. The authors take on controversial issues—from whistle blowing incidents to corruption exposés—to explain how they arise and suggest what can be done about them. They start with the conceptual tools students need to evaluate an ethical dilemma, then analyze individual decision making strategies, and go on to assess institutional ethics programs. The emphasis is not only on the “how to,” but also on the “why.” The ultimate goal is to bolster students’ confidence and prepare them for the ethical problems they will face in the future, by equipping them with the conceptual frameworks and context to approach thorny questions and behave ethically.

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

I. Foundations of Public Service Ethics

1. Pertinence, Practicality, and Poppycock

Pertinence: Reasons to Study Ethics

Practicality: Commitment as a Privilege and Obligation

Poppycock: Myths About Ethics

Conclusion

Appendix 1.1 Personal Checklist

2. Perspectives on Ethics: Macro, Meso, Micro

Levels of Analysis

Contemporary Research on Levels of Ethics

Meso Level of Analysis: The Organization

Micro Level of Analysis: The Individual

Factors Influencing Meso-Micro Ethics

Conclusion

Case Study 2.1 The Pennsylvania State University Athletic Sex Abuse Scandal

3. Values, Ethics, and Dilemmas

Defining Values

Applying Values in Public Service

Defining Ethics

Domains of Human Action: Law vs. Free Choice

Case Study 3.1 Challenge the Leader

Social Forces Endangering Ethics

Case Study 3.2 Value Conflicts in World Affairs

Conclusion

II. Individual-Centered Approaches to Ethics

4. Moral Development Theory

Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory: A Rational Approach

Case Study 4.1 Applying Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Milgram’s Shock and Zimbardo’s Prison Experiments: Ethics Under Pressure

Haidt’s Social Intuitionalist Approach

Conclusion

5. Cognitive Ethics Methods: Result and Rule Problem-Solving Approaches

Approaches to Ethics

A Five-Stage Method for Analyzing Ethical Issues

Moral Courage

Case Study 5.1 Applying the Kew Gardens Principles

Applying the Five-stage Method: A Personal and Professional Conflict

Conclusion

Appendix 5.1 Sensitivity-Intensity Matrix Approach

Appendix 5.2 The Ethical Principles Approach

Case Study 5.2 Applying the Ethical Principles Approach: Playing Poker With a Vendor

Appendix 5.3 Line Drawing

Case Study 5.3 Applying the Line Drawing Method: A Questionable Gift

6. Virtue Theory

Comparing Cognitive and Virtue Ethics

The Vocabulary of Virtue

Habituation: The Formation of Character

Virtue Theory Strengths and Weaknesses

Case Study 6.1 Applying Rion’s Ethical Decision-Making Framework: Probing the Conscience

Utility of Virtue Ethics for Managers: Challenge and Response

Conclusion

7. Conscious Deliberation and Subconscious Action: The Dishonesty of Honest People

Results, Rule, Virtue: Decision Making With the Ethics Triad

Utilizing the Ethics Triad

Case Study 7.1 The Ethics Triad: Applying the Rational Approach to a Birthday Invitation

Behavioral Ethics: What People Do vs. What They Say They Do

Conclusion

Appendix 7.1 Critiquing Student Case Analyses

III. Institutional Approaches to Ethics

8. Organizational Ethics

Types of Organizational Strategies

Ethical Infrastructure: Building Blocks in Ethics Management

Case Study 8.1 Applying Philosophical and Behavioral Ethics Approaches: To Follow or Not to Follow Government Hiring Policy

Organizational Structure

Values Statements

Psychological Contracts

Oaths and Codes

Institutionalizing Ethics Cultural Competency

Conclusion

9. Corruption Control

Scope and Magnitude of Corruption Today

Defining Corruption

Causes of Corruption and Evolution of Anticorruption Strategies

Individual and Institutional Moral Failure

Scandals: Types and Impacts

Avenues for Reform

Case Study 9.1 Applying Philosophical and Behavioral Ethics Approaches: Public to Private Employment on Similar Work

Conclusion

10. Whistleblowing in Organizations

Significance of Whistleblowing

Case Study 10.1 Problem Solver or Trouble Maker?

Whistleblower Laws

Case Study 10.2 Applying Rational and Behavioral Ethics Approaches: Cooking the Books

Dissent in Organizations

Case Study 10.3 The Silent Whistle

Case Study 10.4 Successful Whistleblowing

Trends in Blowing the Whistle

Conclusion

IV. Issues in Public Service Ethics

11. Ethics and Elected Officials

Case Study 11.1 Congressional Conflict of Interest

Case Study 11.2 Congressional Insider Trading

Ethics and Legislative Decision Making

Case Study 11.3 Robert Torricelli and the CIA

The Influence of Character and Roles on Elected Officials

Polarization of Politics and Ethical Implications

Negative Campaigning

The Problem of Dirty Hands

Case Study 11.4 Applying Philosophical and Behavioral Ethics Approaches: Interrogation Methods

Presidents and Truthfulness

The Influence of Citizens and the Media on Politicians

Case Study 11.5 Applying Philosophical and Behavioral Ethics Approaches: A Transgender City Manager

Conclusion

Appendix 11.1 Ethics Committees

12. Organizational Gaming and Performance Measurement

Duplicity Pressures

Case Study 12.1 Organizational Cheating in Education

Types of Gaming

Cheating, Politicians, and Public Opinion

Ethically Evaluating and Minimizing Cheating

Case Study 12.2 Applying Philosophical and Behavioral Ethics Approaches: Electronic Surveillance in the Workplace

Conclusion

13. At-Will Employment

The Employment At-Will Doctrine

Applying the Ethics Triad to At-Will Employment

Summary and Conclusion

14. Open Government Case Study: Pay Disclosure

Trends and Tensions in Open Government

Background: Increasing Demand for Transparency

Applying the Ethics Triad to Pay Disclosure

Summary

Conclusion: Implementing Balance in Transparency Policy

V. Future History

15. Choices and Strategies for the Years Ahead

Moral Grandeur

Moral Decay

New Challenges

Guidelines for Ethical Conduct

Case Study 15.1 Applying Rational and Philosophical Ethics Approaches: Drones in Domestic Law Enforcement

Appendix 15.1 Sample Graduate Student Action Plan

Index

The text does a pretty good job of covering ethics theory without getting bogged down in state/local/federal minutiae of laws and statutes. Instructors contemplating using this text may want to consider some supplemental material to go along with the text, especially if used at a graduate level.

Joseph Martin

Political Science, East Tennessee State Univ

December 20, 2018

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