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  • Essay / A review of the literature on ethics in public administration

    Table of contentsLiterature reviewEthics in the old civil serviceEthics in the old civil serviceEthics in the old civil serviceEthics in the new civil serviceEthics in the new public serviceEthics in the new public serviceNeed for ethics in public administrationNeed for ethics in public administrationNeed for ethics in public administrationNeed for ethics in public administrationLiterature reviewIn my first section of this review of the literature, my goal is to provide an overview of the findings already made with regard to my topic of ethics in public administration. Specifically, how ethics has evolved in recent times in the areas of public administration. Familiarize my audience with the old civil service system of ethics and moral decision-making. The following section of this literature review aims to offer insights into the new era of public service ethics. Present internal changes and perspectives of these systematic changes. Finally, the last section will examine the need for such ethics and the importance of progress in these areas based on a new ethical vision of public administration. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayEthics in the Old Civil ServiceThe National Performance Review (NPR) is an agency that aims to reform the functionality of the federal government. This agency is motivated by the desire to create a government that works better and costs citizens less. According to Riccucci: “NPR ignores the crucial differences between government and the private sector and, in particular, ignores the constitutional principle that government is based on the rule of law and not on market-driven mechanisms. » (172) (Riccucci, 2001). This quote illustrates the old system of public administration, a practice focused more on market-driven mechanisms and self-interest than on public service and ethics. Although this ancient system of management and administration began in the late 1960s, criticism and doubts have followed it ever since. Much criticism comes from the NPR itself, defending the old style of these positions (Riccucci, 2001). NPR went so far as to claim that bureaucrats are good people trapped in a bad system. Ethics can be somewhat trapped in positions like these, even with the use of moral administrators, the system will still prevail. The implementation of the old form of public management and administration poses problems to the system. The approach adopted before the 1960s favored hasty decisions that did not take into account the populations served. In those years, personal gains tended to be the priority. Ethics was not a thing of the past, but rather a new futuristic movement. The importance of integrating diversity into research methods for administrators is essential. This article was not necessarily an experiment with variables, etc., but rather a comparison between the two forms of management (Riccucci, 2001). Ethics in the Old Civil Service Traditional public administration was more concerned with trusting governments than questioning them. At that time, before the 1960s, the public held government officials and corresponding decisions in high esteem. However, this ancient form of public administration viewed the public in three ways:;voters, customers and constituents. Little sympathy or empathy was given to their situation or circumstances. Little advice was given on the issues raised, rather than simple group help. Older forms of public administration were viewed with little ethics and offered more political solutions and respect for government (Bryson, Crosby, Bloomberg, 2014). Bryson, Crosby and Bloomberg listed several related topics and compared them to traditional public administration, to new public management. , and finally the (current) emerging approach. Some of these issues included role of politics, role of citizenship, key objectives and key values. Taking a look at each category, it is easy to conclude that traditional forms of public administration had goals of efficiency rather than effectiveness. Goals that are driven by politicians rather than the public. This illustrates that personal or political goals have taken precedence over the best interests of the public. This reveals to the public that little ethics took place in this traditional form, which can most likely be linked to the corrupt decision-making in several positions during this time period (Bryson, Crosby, Bloomberg, 2014). Public values ​​should certainly be the first concern. for those who occupy such positions. This requires the most basic form of ethics. These positions are created to implement policies for those in need, not to require the government to respond wholeheartedly to each separate issue. The traditional form of PA represents a system for the government and not for the public. Effectiveness is not always better than effectiveness, and suffering populations deserve humanity, not politics. This old system has hindered the necessary changes, which can be concluded in the research questions towards the end of this review. The public interest must always be greater than the governmental interest, because the majority must govern in public administration (Bryson, Crosby, Bloomberg, 2014). Ethics in the Old Civil Service Changes in government functions are what has driven new public administration reform. Peters and Pieere claimed that the public began to view states and governments as hollow. This distrust of earlier forms is what led to the development of the new system. A system for the people, not the government. This idea led to the terminology of governing without being governed, an ideal form of administration. Networking has strongly influenced several changes within these systems. Often, collaborations were used between civil servants and non-officials. This led to a reassessment of public needs in relation to government needs (Peters, Pierre, 1998). Earlier ideas of governance without government never emerged, mainly because they were unknown. Government entities were the governing base for all decision-making. Even those in public administration had little say or control over the claims made by these entities. Compared to traditional ethical structures, it is easy to say that those in such positions have greater latitude to implement the policies they wish. This imposes a more difficult decision-making process. In other words, since no one is telling you what decision to make, you must use your own agreement and judgment. Ethics is certainly more prioritized and integrated in areas of public administration these days. Not only did the systemevolved towards a more personalized system, built on the basis of public interest, but workers will incorporate either good ethics or bad ethics (some worse than previous government decisions) (Peters, Pierre, 1998). Public ServiceFrom the previous section we can conclude that traditional forms of public administration were not strongly influenced by ethics. This traditional order of things is often responsible for the current state of these positions and the stigma attached to government jobs in general. Denhardt and Denhardt posited that the government belongs to its citizens, not the other way around. These authors also concluded that traditional civil service positions were steering the ship rather than steering it. Gearing is different from rowing because it aims in a certain way, regardless of path or other circumstances. But rowing takes time and is well planned. Although rowing is good, an even better method should be used. Which is abandoning the government boat and focusing on the needs of the people, because that is what this work was intended to do, even with such a loss of focus (Denhardt Denhardt, 2000). Some major features of this new civil service system include: civil societies, organizational humanities, community, and the assistance of several postmodernist public administrations. These postmodern workers helped create a climate that makes sense in modern times. These efforts deserve to be rewarded for creating a more ethical practice for public administration. Serving rather than leading was a major ideology of this newly implemented system. Serving the people should be the guiding principle in positions like these. According to Denhardt and Denhardt: "In this process, the role of government shifts from a controlling role to an agenda-setting role, bringing the appropriate actors to the table and facilitating, negotiating, or negotiating solutions to problems." (often through coalitions of public, private, and nonprofit agencies)” (p.553). Traditional systems consisted solely of government influence and efficiency. The new form encourages ethical decision making and the coming together of government and agencies to find solutions (Denhardt, & Denhardt, 2000). Ethics in the New Civil Service According to Maesschalck: “here is a significant change in the ethical standards of the civil service and, subsequently, in (un)ethical behavior” (p.465). This article goes against other criticisms of this new form of administration. Apparently these new designs are causing a lot of scandals, even though that's what the new design was trying to solve. However, not all plans are scam-proof. This article talked about the traditional method and how it left it up to public administration to organize, etc., because the government overrode all ethical decision-making. This left little room for bias in one direction or the other, and there was consistency with a single person making all ethical decisions (Messchalck, 2004). A typology is already in place to help civil servants make ethical decisions. It describes many climates as well as actions and behaviors to adopt in many situations. However, the ethics of this book are even questionable. Ethics vary profoundly from person to person, which makes using a typology like this somewhat difficult. Not all situations have the same variables and choosing to always settle for what this novel claims would be ridiculous (Messchalck, 2004)..,1998).