Public Administration Ethics: Importance, Issues, and Solutions

This report examines the critical role of ethics in public administration, highlighting its significance in ensuring accountability, fostering public trust, and promoting effective governance. It delves into the importance of ethical standards in daily operations, decision-making processes, and the proper use of public resources. The report identifies key challenges to ethical conduct within civil services and proposes actionable solutions, including the development of administrative processes that encourage ethical integrity, the implementation of pro-ethics laws, and the cultivation of an ethical culture through training and clear codes of conduct. Recommendations emphasize the need for effective management styles, regular ethics audits, HRM strategies that reward ethical behavior, and accessible complaint procedures. The report concludes that adherence to moral principles and ethical standards is essential for maintaining public trust and ensuring the efficient and effective management of public resources.

Abstract
This paper will look at issues relating to issues of ethical in civil
services or public administration. This paper will also be essential in
that it will help the decision makers in finding ways of getting out of
the crisis that is associated with ethics. The success of any reform
of the Civil services mostly relied on the public functionaries as well
as their readiness to make important changes in their operation.
There is also a discussion of the significance of ethics in public
sectors. It also provides possible solutions that may help solve the
issues of ethics in the public sectors. There are also suitable
strategies and recommendation that will help administrators
develop ethical standards.

Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of solving
the problems of ethics in public sectors. Accountability in any public
administration is a crucial facet to civil service in all the country.
Ethics is well-based principles of wrong and right and prescribes what
individuals should do. Ethics ensure that institution and individuals
perform according to the standards or morals that are needed of
them (Catlaw & Jordan, 2009). There are two types of ethics that
include descriptive and normative ethics. Normative ethics deals with
the standard for the wrongness and rightness of actions, whereas
descriptive ethics help in investigating moral concerns of the people.
Researchers defined public administration as maintaining as well as
organizing fiscal and human resources with the aim of achieving the
goals of the organization (Radhika, 2012).

Background
In 1999, some researchers studied the general state of public service ethics
in the United State. Their review demanded the generation of ideas as well
as study approaches among different fields for example education,
psychology, engineering, and business. The review of the researchers also
suggested that research on public administration ethics should be based
on methodological rigor and it should contain contextually case studies
(Grant & Booth, 2009). In 2005, most researchers conducted another
assessment and review that recognized the development of ethics research
particularly in public administration; they even argued that in the same
year, more scholars participated in the ethics research as compared to any
other era (Rajwani & Liedong, 2015) The review also suggested that
substantial improvement toward creating a significant body of knowledge
about integrity and ethics in governance had taken place.

Importance of ethics in public administration
Ethics offer accountability between the public as well as administration. Observing
a code of ethics enables the general public to obtain what it wants in a free and fair
manner (Frederickson & Rohr, 2015). It also provides the administration with
proper guidelines in integrity for their daily operations. Also, integrity helps in
fostering the trust of the entire community. A code of ethics establishes standards
of professionalism that workers in organizations may encounter in their workplace..
Strong codes of ethics enable leaders to develop guidelines that will help them
perform their duties and inspire their workers. Ethics also enable leaders to enforce
laws in a quotable and professional manner. Another significance of ethics
particularly in public sectors is informative as well as timely communication with
the public (Cothern, 2019). This type of transparency creates trust as well as
minimizes or prevents the potential problems that may arise when information is
disclosed from outside sources. Ethics will also ensure that information come
directly from the administration and leaders. Communication also retains all groups
involved to ensure that they all work together for a specific goal.

Importance of ethics in public administration CONTINUED….
Ethics is so essential in business since it gives an organization greater
credibility. Strong codes of ethics are crucial. Ethics influences public
administrators in different ways. Throughout the day, organizations,
administrators, and businesses operate their daily activities that require
morals of ethical behavior (Neamțu & Bejinaru, 2019). The public
administration has four key levels of ethics. The first one is known as
personal morality which refers to the basic of what is wrong and what is
right. There are many factors that can lead to personal morality such as
cultural factors, friends and family, social factors, and religious beliefs. In
public administration, professional ethics state that an individual should
act professionally at work and in business. Workers should possess strong
work ethics in the organization to enable them to work more complete
and be more honest in the workplace (Svara & Baizhanov, 2019).

Importance of ethics in public administration continued……!
Ethics also ensure that there is efficiency as well as effectiveness in public
administration (Gueras, & Garofalo, 2010). Effectiveness and efficiency are
essential factors in public administration. For example, they ensure that there is a
proper use of tax collected from the citizens. Monies from the taxpayers must be
used efficiently and effectively; therefore, the use of funds must be productive,
constructive and careful in order to perform the overall good to the public. Proper
implementation of services and programs requires the government of the day to
adopt low cost effective and efficient processes which will not interfere with the
public interest. Public administration can only be efficient and effective if the
processes used by public administrators are fast, efficient as well as according to
requirements of the public and government (Denhardt, Denhardt & Blanc, 2013).
E-government processes bring effectiveness and efficiency in the public
organization by reducing the time scales on inter-department processes and
communication. Eliminating corrupt vices in the public sectors can only be
achieved by creating a culture that maintains the rule of law.

Importance of ethics in public administration continued……!
Ethical practices are also essential because it ensures that there is quality
decision making the process more so among public administrators (Abdullah
& Valentine, 2009). This will enable the administrators to gain public trust as
they offer services to society. Ethical practices also ensure that an institution
to conform to the legal issues that may arise in the business. Unethical
practices are prone to vices which may cause the poor reputation of the
organization (Weske et al. 2019). Ethical practices notify administrators of
actions that they should take to enable the organization to conform to the
required standard.

Possible solutions
• Attention should be given to general threats that might undermine
observance of basic organizational values, ethics, as well as a commitment to
proper governance, as well as to preparing essential political as well as
management responses.
• The public sectors should also develop administrative processes and practices
which encourage ethical integrity and values: new as well as planned pro-
ethics laws need effective implementation thru, for instance, suitable
techniques for measuring performance in the organization. The techniques
should support the ethical values that are being used by the Civil services.
• The public sector has to develop new techniques to help in the ethical
decision-making process. The techniques will offer advice to the government
and ensure that there is the development of an ethical culture which will
support professional self-discipline, responsibility, as well as conform to the
legal processes in the organization.

Recommendation for the solution
• The most important strategy is for the management to select one management
style and then refine and develop it. This recommendation may be used by any
organization. The organization should also select the hierarchical style.
• The public sectors should also conduct audits on ethics to detect risks to the
integrity of various processes (such as promotion, tendering, financial
management, as well as recruitments, dismissal, and discipline).
• There should also be new HRM strategies (which connect, for instance,
performance of ethical to entry as well as improvement, as well as ethical under-
performance to disciplinary processes), recruitment and promotion based on
merits, anti-discrimination protections.
• Ethical standards should be made available to public employers and employees.
Professionals should also contribute to the establishment of essential judgment
and skills that will help the civil service to apply ethical standards in the
organization. Also, training facilities are essential because it will help in the creation
of awareness to the public sectors.

Recommendation for the solution continued…!
• Education should be conducted in public policy to teach public
officials to integrate values as well as to be principled in the
management of community and public resources. One of the most
suitable ways of ensuring that employees adhere to ethical
standards is by drafting a code of ethics. Management should also
ensure that all people follow the codes of ethics and those who do
not follow the ethical standards set by the organization should be
made accountable through punishment.
• There should be proper training as well as development in the
rationale and content of Ethics Codes, the proper application of
official power, and the use of ethical standards.
• The management should also consider the effective internal and
internal complaint as well as redress procedures

Conclusion
The paper discussed issues related to ethics. The paper also discussed
the significance of ethics in public sectors. Moral principles are
essential in the management of the organization’s resources or any
other public resources. The management and administrators should
ensure that there is accountability in the organization in order for
them to gain public trust. The leadership should also provide ethical
standards. Other importance of ethics discussed in the paper include
it offers accountability between the administration and the public and
it also ensure that there is credibility in the management. Ethical
principles can also prevent any conflict of interest that may erupt in
the organization (Beeri et al. 2013). This is because it will ensure that
there is good communication between employees and management.

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