TOPIC 6 (Chapter 4) ETHICS VS QUALITY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

DEFINITION OF ETHICS

Ethics is about doing the right thing within a moral framework. It is the practical application of morality. (Goetsch & Davis, 2006)

Ethics or moral philosophy, ask the basic question about the good life, about what is better and worse, about whether there are any objective right and wrong, and how we know it if there is. (McKinnon, 2004)

Morality or ethics deals basically with human relationships how humans treat other being so as to promote mutual welfare, growth, creativity and meaning, as they strive for good over bad and right over wrong. (Thiroux, 2001) Ethics refers to responsibility and consequences of behavior of a person or a profesion towards the society... (INTAN, 1991)

Human Factors that Contribute to Unethical Behavior1. Greed 2. Impatience 6. Misguided ambition 3. Ego 7. Need 4. Fear 5. Expedience

Organizational Factors that Contribute to Unethical Behavior(P. 74)

1. Failing to make ethics part of the organizations core values. 2. Failing to set a consistent positive example. 3. Putting personnel in ethical corners. 4. Failing to adopt, deploy, and enforce a corporate code of ethics. 5. Applying unrealistic pressure. 6. Failing to reward ethical behavior.

FACTORS DETERMINING ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Trust & Total Quality (P.75-77) Trust is a critical element of ethics, which, in turn, makes ethics critical in total quality. Elements of Total Quality that depend on trust and ethical behavior are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Communication Interpersonal relations Conflict management Problem solving Teamwork Employee involvement and empowerment Customer focus

Trust can be build by being loyal to those not present, keeping promises, and sincerely apologizing when necessary. Ethics plays a critical role in the successful application of total quality. Managers in a Total Quality setting must be able to build trust in the organization and among its employees. Motivating employees and continually developing their job skills are important responsibilities of managers in a total quality setting. However, for managers who are not trusted, he will having a problem in fulfilling these responsibilities.

Values & Total Quality Ethical behavior begins with values. Values are those core beliefs that guide our behavior. Values that lead to ethical behavior include fairness, dependability, integrity, honesty, and trustfulness. Individuals and organizations apply their knowledge and skills most willingly to efforts in which they believe. An organization will only produce a quality product or service when the organization values quality.

Individual employee and organization will apply their knowledge and skills to what they value, what they believe in, and what they feel is important. Managers should work to establish an environment in which values that lead to ethical behavior and also can lead to peak performance.

Integrity & Total Quality (78) Integrity is a combination of honesty and dependability. When an individual or an organization has integrity, ethical behavior automatically follows. People with integrity can be counted on to do the right thing, do things correctly, accomplish tasks and finish work on time, and keep promises.

Managers with integrity will keep the best interests of their organization and employees when making decisions and will think about the consequences of their actions before taking them. This principle also applies to employees and the organization as a whole.

Responsibility & Total Quality Accepting responsibility is part of ethical behavior. In a total quality setting, people are responsible for their actions and accountable for their performance. Accepting responsibility helps build trust, integrity, and all the other elements of ethics that are important in a total quality environment. People who pass blame are not behaving ethically. Ethical people always say we instead of they when speaking of their organization.

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

Managers Role in Ethics1. Responsible for setting an example of ethical behavior. 2. Responsible for helping employees make ethical choices. 3. Responsible for helping employees follow through and exhibit ethical behavior after the appropriate choice has been made.

Approaches that manager can use in carrying out their responsibilities relating to ethics (P. 80)1. Best-Ratio Approach 2. Black and White Approach 3. Full-Potential Approach

Organizations Role in Ethics(P.81) 1. Creating an internal environment that promotes, expects, and rewards ethical behavior. 2. Setting an example of ethical behavior in all external dealings. 3. Organizations must support managers who make ethically correct decisions not just when such decisions are profitable but in all cases.

Importance of Ethics in Public Sector1) Ethics is the center of success or failure of government. 2) Public Administrators are responsible to formulate and implement the policy using the public resources. 3) Public Administrators must adhere to the ultimate centrality of the democratic values in accomplishing their task. 4) Public Administrators decisions affect the peoples live.

Three types of ethical consideration that public servant always facing in performing their job: 1) They are pressured to carry out tasks that they consider to be wrong. 2) They are asked to overlook wrong actions by someone else. 3) They gain useful information to the government/organization but cannot get anyone to listen to them.

4 Aspects of Work Ethics in Organizational Management INTAN, 19911. Quality values - Crucial and must be held by all public servants. - Integrity, professionalism, intellectual honesty, neutrality, leadership, co-operative, creativity and innovative, customer oriented, self-management and self-achievement.21

2. Accountability - Responsibility and implementation of the given tasks by the public servants, via several rules and procedures, in order to attain the organizational goals and objectives. - Crucial in public finance management, planning and implementation of government activities and projects, disciplinary control on the public service and implementation of tasks and responsibilities.22

3. Effective time management - To ensure that the public servants are able to finish up their tasks quickly, accurately and in time. - To avoid executive stress and enhancing the productivity --- via systematic work planning, delegating, timely work management, avoid and lessen work disturbances, effective meeting management and implementing Follow-up and Follow Through principles.23

4. Effective decision making - Need skillful organizational members in decision thinking, and need to be differentiated from decisions made by the politicians. - Activities in decision thinking --- problem identification and information collection, finding alternatives, predicting probabilities and expecting the unexpected and making decision, determine the risks and probabilities, and identify the outcomes.24

Point to PonderEveryone has Beauty but not Everyone sees It !!

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HOMEWORK: What are the factors that determines ethical behaviors? Identify the models for making ethical decision. Describe and differentiate the following approaches to ethics: best-ratio; blackand-white; and full-potential approach.26