Document Title: Importance of Ethics in public sector and applying ethical theories

Paper code: 13011

Importance of Ethics in public sector and applying ethical theories

Ethics can be considered as a form of self-accountability or an inner check of the conduct of public administrators. Ethics are statements, written or oral, that prescribes or proscribes certain behaviors under specified conditions (Rosenbloom, 2015).

Ethics is the basis on which most of the public related principles, such as fairness, integrity, and transparency, are based. Professional standards of ethical conduct, no matter what the organization, contain typical characteristics, including commitments to Behave honorably in all aspects of work and professional activity; Conduct oneself in such a manner as to maintain trust and confidence in the integrity of the acquisition process; Avoid clever practices intended to take undue advantage of others or the system; Uphold the organization's standards and policies and all relevant legislation, and avoid conflicts of interest.

Ethics in public administration can therefore be considered as a form of self-accountability or an inner check of the conduct of public administration professionals. Ethics are statements, written or oral, that prescribes or proscribes certain behaviors under specified conditions (Rosenbloom, 2015). Ethical concepts and principles that relate to the public administration are loyalty and respect for rules and regulations, integrity, impartiality and fairness, transparency, confidentiality, avoidance of the appearance of impropriety, and due diligence.

Ethics play a major role in the public sector and are considered more important as technology and consumer behavior change. Being ethical means being by the rules or standards for right conduct or practice, especially the standards of a profession. Ethical concepts and principles that relate to public administration and management are loyalty and respect for rules and regulations, integrity, impartiality and fairness, transparency, confidentiality, avoidance of the appearance of impropriety, and due diligence. These are very important in forming an effective public leader.

Public administration professionals are charged with the highest standards of loyalty and discretion.  Therefore, public administrators refrain from any action which might reflect on their position as international officials responsible only to the organization. In summary, the ethics in public administration help the responsible personnel to stand by decisions that are in the organization's interest even if they are unpopular, understand the rules and regulations about his or her profession and organization, know why the rules and regulations are necessary, know what caused the rules and regulations to be enacted, respect the need for the formality of rules and regulations,  interpret and apply rules by their intent and be able to perform public responsibilities effectively and efficiently and still abide by the pertinent rules.