Ethical_Obligations_Confronting_Public_Administrators

Ethical Obligations Confronting Public Administrators Ethical Obligations Confronting Public Administrators There are many assets of Public administration that should be taken into consideration when considering ethical obligations of those said administrators. We shall look at the areas of Public Interest, Administrative Responsibility, recent Ethical Obligations and the Dilemma of Privatizing Government Functions. Public Interest: There are those that argue while many secretly follow the teachings and philosophy of Machiavelli in their hearts, the majority do not (Douglas). Paul Douglas, a former Senator from Illinois states that “Instead, most men want a life of integrity and goodwill in which public officials are stewards rather than masters and treat their jobs as a means of helping people rather than dominating them” (Wikipedia). He also states that since our government is now so huge, plus the fact that our lives are directly affected, we as a people, cannot be contented with the idea of our public officials merely behaving with moderately decent levels of behavior. It would seem that even small percentages of misbehavior on the behalf of public officials can induce great amounts of harm. While both Machiavelli and Douglas are distant players in the past, their ideas are still relevant today. When a person enters into the public realm, several aspects of their lives that would normally be private are made available for public record. These aspects are health, finances, sexual misconduct and any appearances of impropriety. Health- Public officials need to be, in the eye of the public, fit for the job. An example of this would be the assassination attempt on President Reagan. Afterword, he kept putting out reports on the good condition of his health, but due to the mandate of transference of powers, it became necessary for his overall medical condition to become public knowledge (Wikipedia). I feel that the most recent issue with this is the First Lady’s (Mrs. Obama) involvement with getting kids involved in exercise and eating right. She wants children to be as healthy as she and her family are. Finances-Even though many public officials are strong overseers of public funds, they may have their own personal issues when it comes to financial issues. The benefits of this are that ethically, the public and decide if the official is capable of properly managing public funds and their ability to withstand the pressure of succumbing to any form of politically charged financial pressure. The disadvantages of this would be that sometimes politicians are involved in situations in which they prefer to have their contacts remain nameless. Sexual Misconduct-When a public official’s sexual life becomes subject to examination, then it is the common assumption that this sexual misconduct could possibly lead to the manipulation of that said official’s duties. Examples of this would be President Clinton and the former tenth Sergeant Major of the Army, Gene C. McKinney. Appearance of Impropriety-Public officials should disclose any possible conflicts of interest to the public prior to their actions, to avoid adverse public scrutiny when making decisions which could be interpreted to show partiality in personal interests. Administrative Responsibility: Administrative responsibility and its relation to public officials mean that these said officials must bear shared responsibility. They, both individually and collectively, must find suitable ways to lead without having any in-distinction of responsibilities. Recent Ethical Obligations: It has been reported that Aristotle once stated, "To do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone nor is it easy; wherefore goodness is both rare and laudable and noble" (Wikipedia). This statement was true back in Aristotle’s time and even in today’s society. America’s leaders are not directly responsible for the governance of any country besides America, but they are constantly being drawn into the semi-governance of other countries (i.e. Iraq, Africa, Afghanistan and now, Libya). Do we, as Americans, bear less responsibility for those tragedies resulting from the abstinence of participation in foreign conflicts than we are for those tragedies that continue to be the consequence in our stabs at intervention' Dilemma of Privatizing Government Functions: It seems that privatization has turned into a worldwide sensation. In the past few years, government offices of all levels have turned to the private sector to provide services that would commonly be provided by government offices. This is being done to reduce costs and the spread of privatization movement competition in the private sector is the most efficient way to provide services and also allows for more efficient government agenda. Some say that privatization leads to the deregulation of society, but I do not believe this concept myself. With the government constantly seeking stabilization, the example that will be utilized is housing privatization. With military members and their families having to move between every three to five years, the military has gone to private organizations to build and maintain government housing (i.e. Lincoln Military, United Communities, etc…). This is done so that when a military member moves from one location to another, they know that upon arriving at their new duty station, that there will be regulated housing waiting for them. BIBLIOGRAPHY Beauchamp, Zack. (2011). Libya and Moral Responsibility. Pulled 26 March 2011 from http://blogpracticalethics.ox.ac.uk/2011/03/libya-and-moral-responsibility Public administration. (2011, March 22). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:06, March 26, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php'title=Public_administration&oldid=420114706 Public sector ethics. (2010, July 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:01, March 26, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php'title=Public_sector_ethics&oldid=372855074