Examining Normative Ethics in Public Administration Practices

This essay delves into the crucial role of the Code of Ethics in maintaining high ethical standards within public administration. It evaluates Cooper's (1987) research on normative ethics and its application in public service, highlighting the importance of moral identity and ethical practices for public servants. The analysis identifies strengths in the research design, such as the delineation of normative ethics and the use of the NASA case study, while also pointing out areas for improvement, like incorporating meta-ethical theories and primary data collection. The essay assesses the qualitative approach used, particularly the case study method, and concludes that the project effectively demonstrates the significance of ethical theories in decision-making within public administration, emphasizing the need for public administrators to adhere to normative concepts for maintaining high standards.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Strengths in this research design and code of ethics concept......................................................2
3. Areas that could be improved in the research..............................................................................3
4. Description of the qualitative approach used and the manner in which they are beneficial to the
program design................................................................................................................................4
5. Overall assessment of the approaches used in the project...........................................................4
6. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

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1. Introduction
The Code of Ethics acted as a media of maintaining the commitment of higher ethical
standards. The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) promoted the Code of
Ethics aiming to maintain the standards of the public services through adherence to the
Constitution and law (Aspanet.org., 2019). The Code of Ethics referred to the principles that
should be followed by public servants in order to maintain the efficiency of the commitments as
per the needs of the public. In this relation, the research will evaluate the article “Hierarchy,
Virtue, and the Practice of Public Administration: A Perspective for Normative Ethics.” by
Cooper (1987) for the better understanding of the concept of ethics in the context of public
services.
2. Strengths in this research design and code of ethics concept
The research by Cooper (1987) emphasized on the delineation of the normative ethics
and the application of the same on the practices that are undertaken by the public servants. The
major focus of the research was to develop a moral identity for the public service as per the Code
of Ethics that was amended by the ASPA. The research developed an insight on the
characteristics of an ideal practice and thereby related the same to the practices that are
undertaken by the Public Administrators. The research enumerated a qualitative study on the
internal and external goods of a practice. It helped in understanding the different values that
might be incorporated within the public servants in order to maintain their efficacy while serving
the people in general.

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The major strengths of the study is dependent on the identification of the Code of Ethics
and the qualities that might be ingrained in the public servants for supporting the needs of the
people. The delineation of the normative ethics in the research has helped in understanding the
morality in the activities. The strength of the research is dependent on the NASA case study
analysis, which has helped in understanding the obligations that might be encountered in the
process of the practices. The development of the normative ethical concepts and linking the
same with the Code of Ethics by ASPA has helped in maintaining the efficiency of the research
study in understanding the role of virtues and hierarchy system in Public Administration.
3. Areas that could be improved in the research
The delineation of the meta- ethical theories would have helped in enhancing the
understanding of the morality. The identification of the moral ideas and the explanations for the
practices would have helped in inducing a better understanding of the nature of the ethical
theories and the manner in which they might be applied in different public administrative
settings. On the other hand, the research could have utilized primary data collection through
sampling certain public service personnel in order to identify the different codes of ethics
followed by the same. It would have helped the researcher in enriching the study through a better
understating of the applicability of practices and implications on the public administrations.
Cooper (1987) stated in the research that the role of the ethics in the public service
administrations is dependent on the development of activities based on morality.
The delineation of the moral aspects and description of the same helps in understanding
the impact of the activities. The study by Cooper (1987) delineated the manner in which the
normative ethical theories helped in the construction of the code for the activities. However, the

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research failed to identify the explanation for the ethical activities. Therefore, the application of
the meta- ethical theory in the research would have helped the same in identifying the areas,
which required attention.
4. Description of the qualitative approach used and the manner in which they are beneficial
to the program design
The qualitative approach that is being undertaken by the researcher is the case study
method. Cooper (1987) undertook the case study method in order to identify the different aspects
of the normative ethical theory and thereby aligning the same with the practices. The research
delineated the ethical theory and thereby aligned the same with the code of ethics followed in the
case study organization, NASA. It has helped the researcher in identifying the applicability of the
practices through the delineation of the obligations and the virtues of the practices. However, the
utilization of the normative ethical theories has restricted the scope of describing and justifying
the morality of the activities. The case study method emphasized on the study of the
organizational operations while focusing on the ethical perspectives through the utilization of the
Normative concepts on morality.
5. Overall assessment of the approaches used in the project
The project primarily aimed at the identification of the ethical concepts relating to
practices and virtues in the Public Administrators. The different aspects of internal and external
goods of practice have helped in differentiating between the delicate ethical decisions in public
administrations. On the other hand, the research enumerated a list of obligations and virtues and
aligned the same with the Code of Ethics of ASPA for facilitating the suitable understanding of
the dilemmas that might be encountered by the public administrators. The research clearly

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demonstrated the role of the ethical theories and the elements that might be considered by the
public administrators for maintaining their standards as per the normative concepts. The Code of
Ethics helped the Public administrators in strengthening their decision making capabilities as per
the situations. The research enumerated the example of the NASA case study, which reflected
the importance an applicability of the ethical theories in the decision making capabilities.
6. Conclusion
Therefore, from the above research it might be stated that the Code of Ethics helps in
justifying the morality of the activities that are undertaken by the Public Administrators. The
research clearly delineated the application of the normative ethical concepts and the manner in
which it helped the Public Administrators in differentiating between the good practice and bad
practice. However, the research did not take initiative of justifying the activities through meta-
analysis, which might restrict the understanding of the ethical operations that might be
undertaken by the Public Administrators.

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References
Aspanet.org. (2019). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/About-
ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics.aspx?hkey=fefba3e2-a9dc-
4fc8-a686-3446513a4533
Cooper, T. (1987). Hierarchy, Virtue, and the Practice of Public Administration: A Perspective
for Normative Ethics. Public Administration Review, 47(4), 320-328.
doi:10.2307/975312