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UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA

BACHELORS IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT
DPM 4106

WEEK 11
Major Issues in Strategic Public
Policy Making- Conflict, Ethics and
Corruption.

Ms Rhonexie Anderson, MBA; B Soc Sc; Dip

JAN, 2021
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2. SETTLING INTERPERSONAL DISPUTES

Settling interpersonal disputes requires the removal of the
reasons for the confrontation. The manager has several
alternative responses which he/she could utilize to resolve
the conflicts. These include a forcing response, an
accommodating response, a compromising response,
an avoiding response or a collaborating response.
 1. Forcing Response
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 This attempts to satisfy one's own needs at the expense

of other individuals by using formal authority, physical
threats, manipulation, ploys, or ignoring the other
party's claim.

2. The Accommodating response

 This satisfies the other parties' concerns while
neglecting one's concern and can result in others taking
advantage of another. In other words, you are used by
others to satisfy one's end.
 3.The Avoiding Response
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 This neglects both parties' interest by sidestepping the

conflict or postponing a solution to this approach's
repeated use causes considerable frustration for others
because issues never seem to get resolved.
 4. Compromise Response
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 This is an attempt to obtain partial satisfaction for

both parties to accommodate this; both parties must
make sacrifices to obtain a standard game. While this
response may seem more attractive, its indiscriminate
use is counterproductive. It could encourage game
playing, such as asking for twice as much as you need.
 5. The Collaborating Response
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 This is an attempt to address the concerns of both

parties fully. It is often referred to as the problem-
solving mode. In this mode, the intent is to find
solutions for the cause of the conflict that is satisfactory
to both parties rather than to find fault or assign blame.
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 Although the collaborative approach is not appropriate, it

has the most beneficial effects on the involved parties.
 It encourages norms of a collaboration of trust while
acknowledging the value of assertiveness (focusing on the
other party's need).
 It encourages individuals to focus their disputes on
problems and misuse rather than personalities.
 Finally, it cultivates the skills necessary for self-governance,
so the effective problem solver feels empowered.
 Conclusion
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 The collaborating response is the only win-win conflict

resolution—the forcing, accommodating and
compromising response represent a win-lose approach.
The avoiding response is a loose-loose.
 While the collaborative response produces the fewest of
the adverse/negative side effects, each approach has its
place. The appropriateness of each depends on its
congruence of both the manager's personal style and
situational demands.
 ETHICS AND CORRUPTION
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 While on the positive side, the public sector offers much

the negative side, the news media, public interest
organizations, and public members have been complaining
of high levels of unethical and corrupt behaviour in the
public services.
 Rue and Byars (1992) defined ethics as those principles
of conduct used to govern the decision making and
behaviour of an individual or group of individuals.
 In his definition, Draft (2005) posits that the concept refers to the
code of moral principles and values that governs a person's
behaviours or group concerning what is right or wrong.
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A public manager faced with tuff ethical choices can benefit from
the use of a normative strategy to guide his or her decision
making four such normative strategies are:

 Utilitarian Perspective
 Individualism Perspective
 Moral Right Perspective
 Justice Perspective
 1. The Utilitarian Perspective
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This stipulates that ethical behaviour delivers or produces

the greatest good to the greatest number of people.
Under this approach, a decision-maker will consider the
effects of each decision alternative of parties and select
the one that optimises the satisfaction of the
greatest number of people.
 2. The Individualism Perspective
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This concept of ethical choice explains that ethical behaviour is

that which best serves long term self-interest. In this
instance, the individual self-direction is paranoid and external
forces that affect self-direction should be severely limited.
Therefore, the action intended to produce a more excellent ratio
of good to bad for the individual than other alternatives is the
right one to perform. For example, lying and cheating for a
short term game should not be tolerated because if one does
it, everybody will do it.
The individualism view is supported to promote honesty and
integrity. It leads to behaviours towards others that fits
standards of behaviour people want towards themselves.
 3. The Moral Rights Perspective
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This perspective of values for guiding ethical decisions asserts

that human beings have fundamental rights and
liberties that cannot be taken away from an individual
decision. Therefore an ethically sound decision is one that
best maintains the rights of those people affected by it
Ra0 (2010).
In organisation’s today, the concept extends to ensuring the
rights has free consent, privacy, freedom of conscience,
free speech, due process and life and safety are always
protected.
 4. The Justice Perspective
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This approach advocates that ethical behaviour is

impartial, fair and equitable in threatening people.
Therefore this approach to moral behaviour is based on
the belief that ethical decision treats people according to
the guiding rules and standards.
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One Justice issue in an organisation is procedural justice,

which is the degree to which policies and rules are
administrated fairly.
Another issue is distributive justice that is the degree to
which people are treated the same regardless of individual
characteristics based on ethnicity, race, gender, age or
other particularistic criteria.
Managers who act ethically can positively impact other
people, whether at the workplace or on the broader
society.
 CORRUPTION
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 Studies of politics and administration, especially in developing

nation almost invariable comment on unethical conduct of
politicians. Standards of public morality are deplorably low. The
practice whereby public money is initially diverted to private gain is
present to some degree in all societies. Corruption, which is
considered unethical behaviour spans politicians at the top to
municipal councillors and CEOs to the gateman.
Corruption includes the improper and selfish exercise of power
and influence attached to a public office or a superior position
one occupies.
 NATURE OF CORRUPTION
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Corruption is not limited to any country. Whether developed,

undeveloped or developing. It is widespread, it does not just
go for one religion.
Corruption is not seen the same depending on the culture in
that particular place. What is seen as a corrupt act in one
culture is not seen unethical in another. In some countries,
corruption is seen as a way of life.
Examples include bribery, patronage, embezzlement,
extortion, impersonation, kickbacks.
 Sources of Corruption
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 These exist a relationship between the opportunities present

and the public officials capacity to exploit those capacities for
personal advancement and self ratification through corrupt
acts.
Opportunities provide themselves best under certain conditions
which may include:
 1. Government role in the development process. It is

believed that where the government takes on direct

intervention in the rest of the economy, opportunities allow
corrupt behaviour to occur. The rapid expansion of all spheres
of life establishes more organisation operating along
bureaucratic lines.
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 This mode of operation makes the process of operation

cumbersome. The expansion also places the public
organisation in a monopolistic position, thus providing
public officials opportunities to use administrative
discretion. Situations such as these provide
opportunities for public servants to use offices to protect
and further their interest through corrupt acts.
 2. Nature of the political system
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 The nature of its political system and its leadership include

its stability and degree of responsiveness to competing
demands and provide a source of corruption.
Instability in the political system contributes to
insecurity of tenure. Because of such insecurity of one’s
employment, public servants are influenced to enrich
themselves at every opportunity while time last.
 3. Organisational factors
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 Organisational factors can also contribute to corruption. First is the

rigidity of the over-centralised system of decision making and
decision is made at the top. In some instances the red tape which
such systems create causes delays, time-wasting. Those producers
and consumers who would like to have services, expedited resorts to
bribes and payoffs. Among other organisation factors is the
remuneration and salary differentiations between the top, public and
low-level staff members.
 Generally, the perceived inequality motivates public servants to
supplement their paychecks by extracting payments and
kickbacks from clients. Apart from these forms of corrupt
employees can be involved misappropriation of state funds.
 HARMFUL EFFECTS/COST OF
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CORRUPTION
 While theoretically, corruption is perceived to have
beneficial outcomes, they are also immense negative
consequences. Such adverse effects are harmful and are,
therefore, a cost to society. Such cost includes:

Political Cost

Economic Cost

Bureaucratic Cost
 POLITICAL COST
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It undermines the legitimacy of political institutions, and thus the

government is less able to rely on the corporation and support of the
public.
Once corruption in government is perceived by citizens' respect for
public officials, the government is lowered. It undercuts popular
faith in government to deal evenhandedly. As a result, the
government is compelled to resort to force and coercive tactics to
maintain order.
Corruption deepens cooperation and support and results in violence
and political instability which hinders economic development.
 ECONOMIC COST
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Corruption leads to inefficiency and waste. When officials

takes kickbacks, the total amount spent on the division of
services and goods is diminished.
This form of corruption represents a diversion form public
purposes to private purposes, for example, the public
service seeks and receives approval from a certain sum to
be spent on a contract to provide goods or services.
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 In the end, the contractor returns to the public service

% as kickbacks, which reduces the sum left to provide a
good or service. The result is the good or service
provided could be substandard and therefore have fewer
values than that which would have been provided by the
contracted sum.
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 The action may have also prevented the best and most
experienced contractor from obtaining the contract.
Also, scholars' feeling that gains obtained through corruption
is unlikely to be transferred to invest locally in many
instances. On many occasions, the process is either spent
lavishly on exotic lifestyles or are laundered through
foreign banks.
 BUREAUCRATIC COST
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Corruption represents a rise in the price of administration.

The multiple or extra cost depends on what the clients can
bear.
For example, a taxpayer already paying taxes to the
government is forced to submit to bribery and is priced
several times over for the service required.
Corruption also creates an atmosphere of distrust
throughout the bureaucracy.
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As a result, senior officials may not train their juniors to

undertake responsibilities, even though the senior's workload
has increased or his/ her ability to supervise has increased.

Another negative impact is that nepotism can result in several

inept and many incompetent persons being employed, thereby
lowering public organisations' productivity.

Moreover, corruption feeds upon itself and erodes the

courage needed to adhere to high standards of priority.