Public service ethics in Kenya

What was there in Public service ethics?

What is new in public service ethics/Reforms?
What can be done?
The value and principles of public service ethics apply to public service in all state organs in both
levels of government and all state corporations. Through public service ethics, efficient, effective
and economic use of resources is attained. Also there is involvement of the people in the process
of policy making and accountability for administrative acts. Further there is transparency and
provision to the public of timely and accurate information. Under the old constitution in Kenya,
the public service was totally subservient to the president, who had power to constitute and
abolish offices in the public service, to make appointments to any such office, and terminate any
such appointment. Thus the terms of office of those who held such jobs were at the pleasure of
the President.The President could therefore terminate their services at will. On top of that,
public officers could do what they were told by the president or ministers even when the
instructions were illegal. In most cases they were accomplices in human rights violations and
economic crimes. The courts even sanctioned the transfer of public officers from one position to
another without due process.
In an attempt to protect public officers from intimidation and to give them job security, Article
236 of the new Constitution provides that public officers will not be victimized or discriminated
against for carrying out their duties in accordance with the law, or dismissed, removed from
office, demoted in rank or otherwise subjected to disciplinary action without due process of the
law.Therefore, public officers no longer work at the pleasure of the President. The new
Constitution enables public officers to resist the illegal instructions of their seniors, ministers, or
the President. Further, the new Constitution provides that the decisions of the cabinet and the
president must be in writing (Article 135 and 153).These provisions empower public officers to
require the production of written instructions before taking any action. Another significant
innovation of the new constitution is the introduction of principles on leadership and integrity
which bind all holders of public office (Article 73).
In addition, the new Constitution establishes the principle that the authority assigned to a state
officer is a public trust that must be exercised in a manner that is consistent with the purpose
and objects of the Constitution and promotes public confidence in the integrity of the office.
Thus public officers are holders of a public trust and are accountable for the exercise of the
powers delegated to them. Article 75 imposes a duty on state officers to behave, whether in
public and official life, in private life, or in association with other persons in a manner that
avoids any conflicts between personal interests and public or official duties.These provisions
prevent state officers from abusing their power in the process of trying to acquire private

property or pursuing other private interests. It also enables public officers to carry out their duties
and ensure that the services that they provide are provided efficiently and honestly.
Furthermore, the public service ethics in the new constitution requires public officers to carry out
their duties in a way that maintains public confidence in the integrity of their office. This is
achieved through treating the public and fellow public officers with courtesy and respect to the
extent appropriate to their office. Public officers are also required to observe official working
hours and not be absent without proper authorization or reasonable cause. Further they are
required to maintain an appropriate standard of dress and personal hygiene; and discharge any
professional responsibilities in a professional manner.
On leadership and integrity, a public officer should not use his office to enrich himself or others.
Thus he should not accept or request gifts or favours in performing his duties. In the event a
public officer interests conflicts with his official duties, the public officer shall be required to
declare the personal interests to his superior or other appropriate body and comply with any
directions to avoid the conflict; and refrain from participating in any deliberations with respect to
the matter. Further, a public officer is not supposed to use his office or place of work as a
venue for soliciting or collecting harambees or being a promoter of a public collection, obtain
money or other property from a person by using his official position in any way to exert pressure.
Finally political neutrality should be observed in the provision of public services.

What can be done?

In Kenya, the public service for a long time has been characterized by the corruption, low
productivity inefficiency, lack of transparency and accountability. The prevalence of graft
appears to have been fostered by an opportunistic approach to appropriating public service gains,
pressures from the extended family for material support, an uncaring attitude to the utilization of
state resources and weak governance structures in which politicians and senior public servants
have historically flouted the law with impunity. In order to break out from this culture of
impunity, high accountability should be fostered in public service and Kenyans should take a
considered look at the national stock of human resources and take necessary steps to utilize its
full potential.
It is also evident that ethnicity has impinged heavily on the workplace. Ethnicity has manifested
through favoritism in recruitment, career advancement and provision of training opportunities.
Such practices should be discouraged and stringent measures taken against those found
practicing this vice.

Trace the History of Human Resource Management (Development)

Introduction
Human Resource Management can be described as the comprehensive set of managerial
activities and tasks concerned with developing and maintaining a qualified workforce-in ways
that contribute to organizational effectiveness. In todays world, employees are the most
important resource in a company. Recruitment of effective, efficient and suitable employees can
add to the profitability of the organization and is also a source of competitive advantage. Human
resource management was utilized ever since human beings started following an organized way
of life. This was seen particularly where the best individuals related to a particular job were
given preference.
Pre-Historic Times
A number of principles of Human Resource Management were used during the prehistoric times.
For instance, there were mechanisms in place selecting community leaders. Knowledge was
recorded and passed on to the next generation about hunting and gathering food, health and
safety. There was notable development of more advanced HR functions in 2000 BC to 1000 BC.
The Chinese are known to be the first to use employee screening techniques way back in 1115
BC whereas the Greeks started using the apprentice system in 2000 BC. These practices showed
the importance of selecting and training the right individuals for related jobs.

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution started in England during the late 1700s AD. The product of the
industrial revolution was transformation in the practices of production. The momentum for the
industrial revolution grew through the 17th century. Agricultural methods were continually
improving, creating surpluses that were used for trade. In addition, technical advances were also
occurring, for example the Spinning Jenny and the Steam Engine. These advances created a need
for improved work methods, productivity and quality that led to the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution.

In 1776, Adam Smith wrote about the economic advantages of division of labour in his work The
Wealth of Nations. He proposed that efficiency in work was possible through specialization and
he suggested that work should be broken down into simple tasks. Smith suggested this simply
because there were a variety of advantages accrued from specialization, for instance the
development of skills, possibility of using specialized tools and time saving. Thus Smiths
suggestions led to many changes in the manufacturing process.
Hand-made goods were replaced by machine-made goods, cottage industries were replaced by
large factories and small-scale production gave way to large-scale production. Under the impact
of the Industrial revolution, the United States economy also converted itself from agriculturally
based to industry based. The new system required an extremely well-organized structure thus
leading to recruitment of a large number of people. Moreover, the industrial revolution also
brought in a huge number of immigrants. In an attempt to create employment for all the
immigrants, recruitment and management of individuals gained vitality. The period saw the rise
of a special class of managers who were considered higher than the less privileged employees.
This newly developed system created a gap between the labor force and management. With time,
the gap grew wider and the conditions of the lower class deteriorated thus there was need for
human resource management. The early human resource management followed a social welfare
approach aimed at helping immigrants in the process of adjusting to their jobs and to an
American way of life. The main aim behind these programs was to assist the immigrants in
learning English and acquiring housing and medical care. Also, techniques were used to promote
supervisory training that ensured an increase in productivity.

Trade Unions
The plight of workers brought trade unions into the scene. During the late 1700's and early
1800's governments began to feel pressure from the working class masses who started to
question and defy the power of the aristocracy. The working class began to form workplace
combinations and trade organizations to provide a collective voice for their rights. Governments
tried to fight this using legislation such as the Combination Acts of 1799/1800 in the UK,
which banned everything from meetings to combinations.

"There were also attempts to form general unions of all workers irrespective of trade. William
Benbow (a Lancashire shoemaker), Robert Owen and many others looked upon trade unionism
not just as a means for protecting and improving workers' living standards, but also as a
vehicle for changing the entire political and economic order of society. With the advent of these
unions in the 1790s, power in the hands of employees multiplied considerably and increased at a
rapid pace in the 1800s and 1900s.This led to the HR department having to become more capable
in politics and diplomacy. The HR department was deemed the most important since it made the
management and the labor unions to come on common grounds. It also worked on getting the
management to see things from the labor perspective and grant them medical and educational
benefits. Trade Unions were and are still an influential force, working for continued economic
and social development of workers and societies in many countries around the world.
Age of Reforms
With the advent of Wagner Act of 1935 also known as the National Labor Relations act
personnel managers started to see light at the end of the tunnel. The year 1935 also witnessed the
Social security Act which insured old age people after retirement. In 1938,the Fair Labor
Standards Act accounted for minimum wages for laborers. These enacted laws provided security
and also helped in increasing the standard of the employees. Since then, there has been no
stopping in promoting the welfare of workers, and new and efficient laws have been framed time
and again. Thus human relations became a prominent feature of organizational behavior.

The New Era

Between the 1960s and 1970s,HRM gained momentum after the passing of several acts like the
Equal Pay Act of 1963,the Civil Rights Act of 1964,the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.The framed laws
ensured the safety and protected the rights of employees. It was seen that no discrimination in
any form was committed against the workers or laborers. Laws related to disabled people were
enacted to prevent discrimination of disabled workers under the Americans with Disabilities Act
in 1990.

All the acts placed a lot of importance on human resource management to avoid plausible law
suits. By the end of the 1970s, HRM had taken over the world. Almost all big and medium-scale
industries had a department to manage their recruitment, employee relations, record-keeping,
salaries and also wages. Towards the 1980s,the importance of HR continued to intumesce due to
reasons like increase in skilled labor, training, regulation, compliance and dismissal. Human
resource managers were tasked with the challenge of hiring and the firing of employees.

CONCLUSION
The history of Human Resource Management has progressed through the ages from times when
people were abused in slave like working conditions to the modern environment where people
are viewed as assets to business and are treated accordingly.
The Human Resource function will have to adapt with the times as staff become more dynamic
and less limited in their roles and bound by a job description. In fact today the productivity itself
is seen as a byproduct of a good human resources management. Thus we find that Human
Resources Management will become increasing dynamic in future and this process of evolution
will continue. In future we may see employees being measured on the value they contribute to a
business and not their cost to the business.