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Ethics should be at the heart of every public administration organization. Without ethics there would be no need for accountability, and the bar for acceptable behavior would likely be very low. In public administration, we are serving the citizens and should hold ourselves to a high standard since most of what we do is visible to all around us (Kettl, 2021).
Let’s dive deeper into the awareness of ethics. Merriam-Webster defines awareness as the
knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists. I believe that most all people know ethics exists, unfortunately there are some that do not care. Their own self needs have consumed their conscience to overlook what most would call the right path when an ethical situation has presented itself. Instead, a person could forgo all ethical choices for a choice which leads to self-preservation, notoriety, prestige, wealth, or power. Ethics are at the root of our moral decisions or judgements. While we have a general idea of what is right and wrong to ourselves and the society around us, our own experiences can affect what we choose to adhere to in regard to ethical behavior. We might think that one thing is fair if it happens to someone else but in the instance that it happens to us, we may change our outlook on its fairness. This has been a struggle for me in my years in public administration. If a coworker come in late every day and takes a long lunch
and many breaks, I might think that they are being unethical and wasting taxpayer’s dollars by not working the full forty hours they are getting paid for. In their mind they might think that they
are due those niceties and are a reward for the service they provide to the public. At the base of the issue, it is each persons perception of what is fair. While I think it is unfair and you should be
good stewards of the taxpayer’s dollars, something makes them believe that it is fair for them to do so.
