5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

A. Read text 1 and decide if the following statements are true or false:

1. Public administration is becoming more complex, offering more and more diversified
services.
2. Public servants find it difficult to administer ever-growing budgets.
3. Business and social requirements in the public sector are driven by the same interests.
4. Ethics in the public sector is a sensitive issue.
5. Considerations of ethics, equal treatment of the public or basic justice and fairness
among its members may generate a self-destructive process of the administration
system.

Text 1
When considering the public sector, several ethical aspects should be taken into account.
Public administration is facing ethical dilemmas that mirror cultural aspects, norms, and most
importantly the individual behaviour of public servants. For example, questions of ethical
standards, integrity, fair and equal treatment of clients, or appropriate criteria for incentives to
public servants are increasingly being raised. Nowadays, public services in Europe are more
complex than ever before. Consequently, ever-growing budgets have to be administered by
public servants. This exposes many of them to strong ethical dilemmas as to how to properly
manage and distribute economic wealth.
At the same time, the discrepancy between business and social requirements in the public
environment is likely to generate other ethical worries. For instance, when the cost of a
certain medicine is too high for citizens to purchase, should the state take responsibility to
help them? Or, when state prisons are crammed with convicted prisoners, should the state
release some of them to create more room for others? Finding an answer to such moral
dilemmas is difficult. However, considerations of ethics, equal treatment of the public or
basic justice and fairness among its members cannot be overlooked, as it would trigger a self-
destructive process which may eventually damage the functioning of the public
administration system.
Adapted from “Rethinking the Identity of Public Administration”, Eran Vigoda

B. Discuss
In small groups, try to answer the questions raised in the second part of the
text. What should the state do in such situations?

C. 1. Scan text 2 and find out what the following numbers and abbreviations
refer to:
1993, CPI, NC, TI
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration
Text 2

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.

Transparency International is one of the most important non-governmental international
organizations, which has a branch in Romania as well, devoted to fighting corruption and
bringing civil society, business, and governments together in a worldwide coalition.
The organization was founded in 1993 and consists of two bodies: the National Chapters
(NCs) and the Secretariat. The NCs deal with bribery and other abuses of power, adapting
their strategies to the specific conditions of their country of location. The national
chapters are designing national anti-corruption strategies. The Secretariat supports the
National Chapters in their efforts and facilitates exchanges of information within the
network, disseminating best practice and new anti-corruption approaches.
TI works at both the national and international level to cut both the supply and demand of
corruption, and raises awareness about the destructive effects of corruption. At the
national level, NCs work to increase levels of accountability and transparency,
monitoring and assessing the performance of key institutions. TI does not expose
individual cases; it focuses on prevention and reforming systems. A principal tool in the
fight against corruption is access to information.
TI develops coalitions involving all sectors of society. It also aims at influencing the
dominant popular mentality and at building public pressure in order to stimulate demand
for reform. They promote new inter-governmental agreements to fight corruption in an
internationally coordinated manner.
TI's annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is often cited as the leading index in the
field. The CPI classifies countries by perceived levels of corruption among public
officials.

C.2. In groups, design a set of criteria/questions, on the basis of which

integrity in the public sector should be assessed.
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

D. Which of the following ‘rules of bureaucratic survival’ are most commonly put
into practice? Give arguments.

Nine rules of bureaucratic survival

1. Spread responsibility. Make sure that any wrong decision is taken by more than one person,
preferably by a large committee so that it cannot be blamed on you.
2. Consult widely. Most opposition comes from colleagues, departments or outside bodies who
hate to be excluded, so include them all.
3. Keep it a secret. If people don't know what you are doing, they don't know what you are
doing wrong.
4. Cover all activities for which you are responsible with rigid rules and procedures. As long as
you can show you followed the rules and kept to established practice, you are covered.
5. Avoid risk. The rewards for success are infinitely smaller than the penalties for failure.
6. Avoid changes, innovation and hurry. Not just because of the extra work, but because of the
opportunities for error.
7. Avoid measurable standards. If there are objective criteria for your success, people can
prove you have failed. Do your best to impose them on others, but demonstrate how none of
them is applicable to you.
8. Keep expanding. Bring proposals that require more staff, larger premises and bigger
budgets. At the best, this will make you more important in your organization. Whatever
happens, never underspend your budget, or it will be reduced next year.
9. Delegate all duties and responsibilities to others: your colleagues, other departments, outside
bodies, the general public.

E. Discuss
Work in small groups to answer the following questions. Try to reach agreement
within your group. Then present your conclusion to the rest of the class:
 Are there continuing efforts to make bureaucracy more efficient, more open, and
more user friendly towards the public?
 Should civil servants be obliged to give reasons for their decisions?
 Is information made available regularly in the public sector?
 Should there be a regular rotation of employees in vulnerable positions so as to
periodically change their assignments?
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

F. Write a 150-word paragraph to answer the following question.

 Should managers be held accountable for the corruption or inadequate performance
of their subordinates? Why?

What is "administrative law"? Administrative law is the law governing the

administration of government business. It is essential in administering both central and
local government and public organizations when performing public duties.

G. Giving opinion, agreeing and disagreeing

strong neutral tentative

Giving I‟m sure/certain that I think/believe that It seems to me that
opinion I‟m convinced that As I see it I tend to think
It‟s clear to me that To my way of thinking I‟m inclined to think that
It is my firm belief that To my mind
Agreeing I totally/completely I agree (with you) Maybe you‟re right
agree I think you‟re right I tend to agree
I quite agree That‟s true/right I suppose so
I couldn‟t agree more
Yes, definitely
Absolutely! Exactly!
Disagreeing I disagree completely I don‟t agree I‟m not sure
I totally disagree That‟s not how I see it I tend to disagree
That‟s ridiculous! I‟m afraid I can‟t agree Do you really think so?
Of course not! with you

H. Work in groups of four. Choose the most important three principles from
the box below. Then reach agreement with the other groups resorting to any
persuasion devices and arguments you think are necessary. Look at the table
above for language support.
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

The principles of good public administration

The law expects public officials to exercise their administrative functions justly and
fairly. An administrative authority, when exercising power, should:

 achieve only those objectives for which the power has been conferred;
 act and take decisions objectively and impartially, taking into account
only those factors which are relevant to a particular case;
 observe the principle of equality before the law and avoid unjust
discrimination;
 strike a right balance between any harmful effects of its decisions and
the rights, liberties or interests of people, which is the purpose it
pursues;
 make decisions regarding the issues at stake within a reasonably short
time;
 apply administrative guidelines consistently without overlooking the
particular circumstances of each case.

I. Adverbs or Adjectives?

Normally, we add the suffix –ly to adjectives in order to derive adverbs. However, not all
the words that end in –ly are adverbs, and not all adverbs end in –ly:

adjectives: adverbs:
e.g.: (a) beautiful girl e.g.: She sings beautifully.
(a) silly girl He has just left./He was justly punished.

I.1. Which of the following words are adjectives and which of them are
adverbs?
however, quietly, typically, tired, friendly, lonely, daily, weekly, free,
high, monthly, yearly, soon, early likely, deadly, cowardly, typical, hard,
silly, ugly, completely, complete, lovely, surprising, just, wonderfully,
always, hardly, lately

Adjectives: Adverbs:
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

I.2. What is the difference between the following pairs of adverbs?

 free-freely ………………………………………………
 hard-hardly ……………………………………………..
 high-highly ……………………………………………..
 just-justly ……………………………………………….
 late-lately ……………………………………………….
 most-mostly …………………………………………….

What is a conflict of interest?

A conflict of interest arises when a person, as a public sector employee or official, is
influenced by personal considerations when doing his or her job, and thus, makes decisions
for the wrong reasons. Conflicts of interests can be damaging to the reputation of an
organization and eat into public trust. In some countries, public organizations are under the
legal obligation to have Codes of Ethics, which regulate such matters. Most countries even
have a conflict of interest law.

J. The ethical dilemma of a public servant

Situation
Everyone has personal interests and people to whom they are close. It is unavoidable that
these interests will come into conflict with their work decisions or actions from time to
time.
Mathew Jones is a public servant. He has been working in the public sector for 7 years
now and is currently bothered by the following questions:
 What would I think if the positions were reversed: If I was one of those applying for
the promotion and one of the decision-makers was in the position I am in? Would I
think the decision was fair?
 Could I be suspected of having gained financially from this? Would this cast any
doubt on my objectivity?
 Am I to lose my reputation as a result of this decision?
 Would a fair and reasonable person suspect that I was guided by personal interest in
performing my public duty?
 Am I acting impartially for the organization‟s benefit?
In small groups, recreate a plausible situation that gave rise to this dilemma.
Then share your stories with the other groups.
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

 Language Focus
K. Modal Verbs

Physical ability:
 can – physical ability in the present
e.g.: I can hear you!
 could – physical ability in the past
e.g.: When I was younger, I couldn’t swim.
 be able to vs. could - In the past, be able to expresses an exceptional ability.
e.g.: When he was a kid, he could swim fast. // When the boat sank, he was able to swim 1
mile to the shore.
Permission:
 may – formal permission/ might – past permission
e.g.: „May I ask you a question, sir?‟
 be allowed to - can be used for all other tenses
e.g.: You will never be allowed to leave the office earlier than the rest of your colleagues!
 can – informal permission
e.g.: „Mom, can I have some water now?‟
Obligation:
 must – internal obligation
e.g.: I must drink some cold water!
 have to – external obligation
e.g.: Of course you have to write the report by tomorrow!
 should – advice
e.g.: You should study more, my dear!

Negative sentences:
 mustn’t – extremely strong interdiction
e.g.: You mustn’t touch that gun!
 can’t/aren’t allowed to – prohibition
e.g.: No, you can’t leave earlier today, we have work to do!
 shouldn’t – advice
e.g.: You shouldn’t upset the HR manager…
 don’t have to/ don’t need to/ needn’t – lack of obligation
e.g.: You don’t have to help me, I can handle this myself!
Volition:
 will – synonym: want to/ would – the same use in the past (or indirect speech)
e.g.: „Will you help me with these calculations?‟
„No, I won’t!‟ („I don‟t want to!‟)
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

K. 1. Choose the most appropriate translation into English of the following

sentences. Then explain the differences in meaning between them.

1. Jane nu a putut să vină la birou aseară.

a) Jane can‟t have come to the office last night.
b) Jane may not have come to the office last night.
c) Jane couldn‟t come to the office last night.
2. Nu e nevoie să iei medicamentul acela atât de des!
a) You shouldn‟t take that medicine so often!
b) You mustn‟t take that medicine so often!
c) You needn‟t take that medicine so often!
3. Ne-a spus că a trebuit să lucreze până la 2 noaptea.
a) He told us that he had to work till 2 a.m.
b) He told us that he must have worked till 2 a.m.
c) He told us that he had had to work till 2 a.m.
4. Kate ar fi trebuit să fie întrebată cum se rezolvă o asemenea problemă câteva
săptămâni în urmă.
a) Kate should have asked how to solve such a problem weeks ago.
b) Kate should have been asked how to solve such a problem weeks ago.
c) Kate ought to be asked how to solve such a problem weeks ago.
5. Nu era nevoie să iroseşti atâta timp. De ce ai făcut asta?
a) You didn‟t have to waste so much time. Why did you do it?
b) You shouldn‟t have wasted so much time. Why did you do it?
c) You needn‟t have wasted so much time. Why did you do it?

K. 2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate modal auxiliary in the right tense:

1. The employment office urged that more women ……… be interviewed for the
Production Department.
2. To be proposed for the position of manager, you ……… show outstanding leader
qualities.
3. To enter certain pubs in Canada, a woman ……… be accompanied by a man.
4. If she tried to get in, the owner ……… immediately ask her to leave.
5. When we were young, we ……… joke about our retirement age.
6. I ……… have bought the Spanish-English dictionary. Ken had already bought it for
me.
7. He ……… play the guitar when he was in high school, and everybody said he was
really talented.
8. She ……… be late tonight, since she is going on that football match.
5 Moral Issues in Public Administration

L. Translate the following texts into Romanian:

1. Ethical guidance should be available to public servants
Professional socialization should contribute to the development of the necessary judgment
and skills allowing public servants to employ ethical standards in concrete circumstances.
Training facilitates ethics awareness and can also build essential skills for ethical analysis and
moral reasoning. Impartial advice can help create an environment in which public servants
are more willing to tackle and solve ethical tensions and tribulations. Guidance and internal
consultation mechanisms should be made available to help public servants apply basic ethical
principles in the workplace.

2. Managers should demonstrate and promote ethical conduct.

An organizational environment where high standards of behaviour are encouraged and
promoted by providing appropriate incentives for ethical conduct, such as adequate working
conditions and effective performance assessment, has a major and direct influence on the
daily practice of public service values and ethical principles. Managers have a vital role in
this regard by providing consistent leadership and acting as role models in terms of ethics and
conduct in their professional relationship with political leaders, other public servants and
citizens.

Translate into English:

3. Proceduri şi sancţiuni pentru lupta împotriva comportamentului inadecvat în

domeniul public

Mecanisme de detectare şi investigare independentă a fărădelegilor şi corupţiei

reprezintă o parte necesară a infrastructurii. Sunt necesare resurse şi proceduri imparţiale de
monitorizare, raportare şi investigare a hibelor din sistemul de reguli din domeniul serviciilor
publice, ca şi sancţiuni disciplinare sau administrative corespunzătoare, pentru a descuraja
comportamentele inadecvate.
Aceste mecanisme trebuie să fie corecte şi imparţiale, capabile să îi protejeze pe cei
nevinovaţi dar şi să îi depisteze şi să îi pedepsească pe vinovaţi. Pedepsele, acolo unde este
cazul, trebuie să fie proporţionale cu delictele săvârşite şi aplicate cu consecvenţă. Un sistem
de sancţiuni care se aplică cu lejeritate şi inconsecvenţă poate submina eforturile de a
constitui şi apăra standardele de etică.