ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE GOVT SERVICE

ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS OF A PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR

Competing Ethical Obligations For more than a millennium after the fall of Rome,
during a period in which government all but disappeared in the West, the relationship of
the two powers, the SACRED and the SECULAR for most purposes to be equate with
church and secular authority, was at the center of political philosophy and political
controversy; but the theoretical and logical supremacy of the HIGHER LAW was seldom
questioned. With the emergence of the modern state a new era opened. The authority of a
State, even a secular State, to determine right and wrong for its citizens was powerfully
asserted by political theorists. On the other hand, the long era of Higher Law thinking had
left an indelible imprint on thought and attitude. That there is something to which
provides guidance on right and wrong remains a strong feeling even among those who
regard themselves as completely secular. The discussion on higher law has indicated that
the initial duality of PUBLIC MORALITY and the PRIVATE MORALITY was
simplistic.

1st. OBLIGATION TO THE CONSTITUTION. This is a legal obligation of course, but

it is also a source of ethical obligations, which may be symbolized and solemnized by an
oath to uphold and defend the constitution.

2nd. OBLIGATION TO LAW. Law made under the constitution are a source not just of
legal obligation but also of ethical obligations, as public service codes of ethics normally
underscore.

3rd. OBLIGATION TO NATION OR COUNTRY. By most interpretations, a nation or

country or people is separable from regime and plainly sense of identity with a nation,
country or people creates ethical obligations.

4th. OBLIGATION TO DEMOCRACY. It came to be accepted as an ideology or ethics

and as a set of practices that somewhat overlie and somewhat intertwine with the
constitution. The emotional and intellectual acceptance of democracy creates obligations
that are acknowledge and usually felt by the public administrator.

5th. OBLIGATION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BUREAUCRATIC NORMS. These

may be logically divided between those that are generic and those that are specific. The
generic obligations are deeply rooted, perhaps in human nature, certainly in history and
culture. They are associated with such terms as loyalty, duty and order, as well as
productivity, economy and efficiency. Specific obligations will depend upon
circumstance the function, the clientele, the technology.
6th. OBLIGATION TO THE PROFESSION AND PROFESSIONALISM. A profession,
a well-developed occupation, has an ethos that concerns actions pertaining to fellow
professionals, clients, patients, employers and humanity in general.

7th. OBLIGATION TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Obligation to family is bedrock in

most if not all morality.

ETHICS

Ethics really has to do with all these levels-acting ethically as individuals, creating ethical
organizations and governments, and making our society as a whole ethical in the way it
treats everyone. What, then, is ethics? Ethics is two things. First, Ethics refers to
well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do,
usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific
virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable
obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical
standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And,
ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to
freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of
ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons. Secondly,
Ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned
above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is
necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and
well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own
moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the
institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-
based.

3. The Government of the Philippine Republic The Seven-Step Path to

Better Decisions Stop and Think Clarify Goals Determine Facts Develop Options
Consider Consequences Choose Monitor and Modify Values are what we, as a
profession, judge to be right. They are more than words-they are the moral, ethical, and
professional attributes of character.

4. The Government of the Philippine Republic 4 Organizational values---loyalty,

duty, selfless service, integrity 4 Individual values- commitment, competence, candor,
and courage The organization's core values - in this case, integrity, professionalism,
caring, teamwork, and stewardship- were deemed important enough to be included with
the statement of the organization's vision.. Making Ethical Decisions Everything we do,
or dont do, is a choice that can affect our lives and the lives of others. Ethical choices are
based on principled decisions, not on self-interest or easy-returns. Such principles are
based on universal values that have been held across time, culture, politics, religion and
ethnicity. Any decision can be evaluated in terms of these universal values or core ethical
principles trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
1. 5. The Government of the Philippine Republic The Process of Making
Ethical Decisions .Ethical decision making refers to the process of evaluating and
choosing among alternatives in a manner consistent with ethical principles. In
making ethical decisions it is necessary to: Notice and eliminate unethical options -
right vs wrong. Ethical thinking requires a sensitivity to perceive the ethical implications
of decisions. Evaluate complex, ambiguous and incomplete facts. It is often difficult to
obtain all necessary information. Select the best ethical alternative. Resolve any ethical
dilemmas - right vs right. Not all ethical responses to a situation are equal. Have ethical
commitment, ethical consciousness, and ethical competency. Ethical thinking and
decision making takes practice. Making Decisions Making good ethical decisions
requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the
ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our
choice of a course of action. Having a method for ethical decision making is absolutely
essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work
through it automatically without consulting the specific steps.
2. 6. The Government of the Philippine Republic EMPOWERMENT The way ahead will
involve empowering public servants at all levels to find new, more cost effective ways to
deliver better services to PEOPLE and provide higher quality advice to the Government.
All public servants have a role to play in this effort. Our future our vocation as public
servants is in our hands. Ethics are not a set of rules or values waiting to be
discovered, that provides all the answers. In the complex world of public administration,
3. 7. The Government of the Philippine Republic ETHICAL VALUES norms
and values rarely provide clear-cut answers to difficult problems. Ethics should be
thought of as helping to frame relevant questions about what government ought to be
doing and how public administration ought to go about achieving those purposes.
"Norms are standards of behaviour within the organisation which serve as a guide to all
its members. For example, one of the earliest norms in public administration was that of
neutrality, meaning that public officials should be apolitical policy implementation
functionaries rather than policy-makers. Within the context of public administration, the
emphasis on norms is associated with the recommendation of certain values that are
viewed as desirable by their promoters. The common denominator of nearly all people
problems is to be found in the area of values. It is widely recognized that values often
differ widely from person to person and from culture to culture. The influence of values
on people's thinking, acting and behavior is underestimated.
4. 8. The Government of the Philippine Republic Influence of values (i) They
principally determine what he/she regards as right, good, worthy, beautiful and ethical.
(ii)They provide the standards and norms by which he/she guides his/her day-today
behavior. (iii) They chiefly determine his/her attitudes toward the causes and issues such
as political, economic, social and industrial with which he/she comes into contact daily.
(iv) They determine which ideas, principles and concepts he can accept, assimilate,
remember and transmit without distortion. In addition to the above, it is accepted that
individuals may temporarily or permanently discard their value systems in favor of
specific goal attainment.
5. 9. The Government of the Philippine Republic An Ethical Decision-
Making Process: Recognizing and Resolving Value Conflicts Step 1 Recognize the value
conflict and decide whether to resolve or refer it. If resolving it Analyze the Value
 Conflict Step 2 Identify all relevant decision-makers and facilitate their input (it is
important to identify all decision makers so as not to bias the process). Depending on
circumstances and your leadership role, you may be the only relevant decision maker.
Consult the Operating Principles, Governance Matrix and Leadership and Decision
Making Styles to determine relevant decision makers. Step 3 Decision makers should
agree on the conflict to be resolved. Gather enough information to define the value
conflict clearly. Consider the following Facts: What, who, when, how, why? Factors:
Medical, social, economic/financial, political, legal, religious, etc. Step 4 List the
alternative choices that address the conflict, and for each Identify the relevant
stakeholders (stakeholders are persons, organizations, or institutions affected by the
choice). Predict effects on stakeholders (this step may require extensive information
gathering; if confidentiality permits, discuss alternatives with affected stakeholders).
6. 10. The Government of the Philippine Republic Evaluate the Alternatives Step
5 Make the right or best decision by evaluating the effects of each alternative on the
relevant stakeholders Effects will be positive, negative, or neutral in light of PHS Mission
and Core Values, the PHS Operating Principles, and the wider Catholic moral tradition
(e.g., official church teaching documents; Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic
Health Care Services). Also consider other standards for evaluating effects (e.g.,
professional, personal, social, legal, financial, or political standards; also self-interest and
feasibility). Loop back to previous steps, if necessary. Implementation and Follow-up
Step 6 Communicate decision as required.
7. The Government of the Philippine Republic ETHICAL VALUES AND
ETHICAL POINT OF VIEW
8. Values are what we, as a profession, judge to be right. They are more than words they are
the moral, ethical, and professional attributes of character .Ethics deals with such
questions at all levels. Its subject consists of the fundamental issues of practical decision
making, and its major concerns include the nature of ultimate value and the standards by
which human actions can be judged right or wrong. Ethics is not a matter of factual
knowledge in the way that the sciences and other branches of inquiry are. Rather, it has to
do with determining the nature of normative theories and applying these sets of principles
to practical moral problems. Ethic value denotes something's degree of importance, with
the aim of determining what action or life is best to do or live (Deontology), or at least
attempt to describe the value of different actions (Axiology). It may be described as
treating actions themselves as abstract objects, putting value to them. It deals with right
conduct and good life, in the sense that a highly, or at least relatively highly, valuable
action may be regarded as ethically "good" (adjective sense), and an action of low, or at
least relatively low, value may be regarded as "bad". What makes an action valuable may
in turn depend on the ethic values of the objects it increases, decreases or alters. An
object with "ethic value" may be termed an "ethic or philosophic good" (noun sense)
9. The Government of the Philippine Republic Ethical value denotes something's
degree importance, with the aim of determining what action or life is best to do, or at
least attempt to describe the value of different actions. It may be described as treating
actions themselves as abstract objects, putting value to them. It deals with right conduct
and good life, in the sense that a highly, or at least relatively highly, valuable action or
may be regarded as good, and an action of low, or at least relatively low, value may be
regarded as bad. ETHICAL POINT OF VIEW What people in government do, and how
 they do it, is of exceptional importance. Ethical leadership in the public service is not
only for the formal cadre of leaders to apply. All of you, regardless of position, make
choices in your work that impact the public. You have the opportunity to demonstrate
ethical leadership on a regular basis. Ethical reasoning needs to be nurtured, developed,
and expanded over time. Your decision to attend a talk on ethics in the public service is
one step in an on-going commitment to ethical practice.
10. 13. The Government of the Philippine Republic RULES, PRINCIPLES
AND DECISIONS The Golden Rule The golden rule - sometimes called the global ethic
or the ethic of reciprocity - is present, in different forms, in many cultures and most
religions. The wording and emphasis varies but the central idea is this: Treat others as
you would like to be treated. Formal rules exist outside the decision maker and are
typically imposed upon that person. The model suggests three sets of formal rules: law,
regulation and policy. Law can be characterized as society's voice. Government
promulgates laws to define what is or is not acceptable as a means of building
commitment to a specific standard of conduct. Regulation resembles law and differs
primarily in its source. Regulations typically originate within an administrative body
versus legislative body, in the US federal system for example but still external to the
organization. Policy, still external to the decision maker, is a bit closer as it typically
refers to rules imposed by one's employer. Often, policy details the specific procedures
for implementing law and regulation. It describes the specific manner in which the
organization wants certain persons (most often employees - but can include others such
as vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors) to perform specific, prescribed tasks.
Collectively the formal rules are considerations the ethical decision maker ought include
in the ethical reasoning process, as failing that, the decision may violate the rules and fail
to meet the standard of compliance. In most cases legal, regulatory and policy
compliance are considered minimums for ethical decision making. The exception
(unethical rules) must be mentioned but it should be noted that this is a rare exception
reserved for issues such as legalized segregation or slavery that may be 'legal' at a given
point in time but lack moral authority.
11. 14. The Government of the Philippine Republic The 3 classic ethical principles of
justice, sufficiency and solidarity. Justice and sustainability The classic formal principle
of justice is that equals should be treated equally unless there is a sufficient reason to treat
anyone (or anything) unequally. It is clearly relevant in the field of ethics called
environmental justice Sufficiency and compassion The principle of sufficiency mandates
that all forms of life are entitled to enough goods to live on and flourish. The principle
also means no one should waste or hoard resources intended for the sufficiency of all.
Upholding the norm of sufficiency makes demands upon individuals - to share, to live
more simply, to think creatively - and on human communities: to ensure that everyone
has access to the goods that they need to live a life of dignity Solidarity and participation
The principle of solidarity invites us to consider how we relate to each other in
community. It assumes that we recognize that we are a part of at least one family our
biological family, our local community, or our national community - but then challenges
us to consider the full range of relationships with others. There are three qualities
individuals must possess to make ethical decisions. The first is the ability to recognize
ethical issues and to reason through the ethical consequences of decisions. The ability to
see second and third order effects, one of the elements of strategic thinking, is very
 important. The second is the ability to look at alternative points of view, deciding what is
right in a particular set of circumstances. This is similar to the ability to reframe. And the
third is the ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty; making a decision on the best
information available. Ethical Decision Making Model God's morals = Our values = Our
decisions = Our outcomes
12. The Government of the Philippine Republic THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
ETHICS AND PUBLIC ORIENTATION An ethical posture toward work in public
organizations requires not only knowing the right answers, but also being willing and
able to do what is right. As public manager, you will often face difficult ethical choices.
These choices may present themselves in several ways. Understanding the moral
implications of your actions and resolving the dilemmas they pose is one of the most
difficult problems you will face working in the public sector. Consequently, your ability
to understand the context in which public problems arise and to work them out in a
careful, reasoned and ethical fashion will be essential to your success and your own sense
of personal well-being. Leading thinkers in Public Administration long ago recognized
that the critical issues of government ultimately involved MORAL CHOICES. The
definitive policy decisions by public officials often have at their base conflicting ethical
issues such as whether to give precedence to the public interest or to the narrower
demands of profession, department, bureau or clientele.