ETHICS IN PUBLIC WORKS
by John Lisenko
• A brief introduction to the topic of ethics
• A look at what constitutes ethical behavior
in public works
• Resources and ethical guideposts
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Distinguish ethical issues from other
problems in decision making (legal,
technical, etc)
• Recognize and confront ethical “dilemmas”
head on
• Develop some guidelines for navigating
through ethical murky waters
INTRODUCTION
• Ethical behavior – some people might say
that put simply, it means doing unto others
as you would have others do unto you.
• Real life presents dilemmas that don’t
always lend themselves to this simple
interpretation.
SO WHAT IS ETHICAL
BEHAVIOR?
• Obeying the law is what we have to do.
• Behaving ethically is what we ought to do,
but don’t necessarily have to.
• Ethical behavior develops on three levels:
personal, social and universal.
WHY SHOULD YOU BEHAVE
ETHICALLY IN PERFORMING
YOUR JOB?
• The consequences of your actions impact
people who depend on you for their well
being
• On the average, you’re well compensated
for doing the job right.
• Other than moving to another city, people
are stuck with whatever level of service you
deliver.
THE ETHICAL PUBLIC WORKS
PRACTITIONER
• Exhibits behavior which reflects values
including:
–
–
–
–
Honesty
Responsibility
Loyalty
Compassion
-Fairness
-Respect
-Integrity
-Trustworthiness
LOYALTY – VIRTUE OR NOT?
• Most would argue that loyalty is a virtue
and one of the criteria for ethical and moral
behavior.
• The question in a Public Works setting that
may be asked is: Loyalty to whom or to
what?
DEFINING ETHICAL BEHAVIOR
• Another way of expressing ethical values,
particularly in the public sector, is to
describe desired behavior for public
officials. APWA recently published
standards of professional conduct to guide
its members toward ethical behavior.
APWA Ethical Standard
(cont’d)
• While ethical standards are a nice thing,
they are only guideposts for those whose
sense of the right thing to do may be
somewhat flawed.
• Ethical behavior stems from a reasoned,
honest and objective attempt at insight.
THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND PW
PROJECTS
• Public works professionals have always
seen themselves as the “good guys.”
• Seems like it should be a no brainer; if it’s a
public works project, it’s in the public
interest by definition.
• While in the past “progress” was
synonymous with goodness, the current
trend is to be skeptical of “progress.”
DEFINING PUBLIC INTEREST
• In terms of the “public good” –
determination is made not by you, but by
the city council/board. That’s what policy
making is all about.
SITUATIONS WHERE YOU MAY
BE SKATING ON THIN ETHICAL
ICE
• When time is of the essence
• When you feel pressured to the point you
think your job may be on the line
• When someone has angered you
• When you feel insecure in any way
HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE
MURKY ETHICAL WATERS?
• You follow a “code of ethics.” Not all
agencies have one, but you can get copies of
codes from those that do.
• Many professional organizations like
APWA, ASCE, NSPE have adopted ethics
codes for their members.
STATE LAW RELATED TO
ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
PUBLIC SECTOR
•
•
•
•
•
Political Reform Act
Public Records Act
Ralph M. Brown Act
Public Contract Code
Labor Code
YOUR AGENCEY’S RULES AND
REGULATIONS
• Rules and regulations, particularly
personnel and other related workplace rules
were developed to “assist” employees in
navigating murky ethical waters.
REFERENCES
• www.ca-ilg.org/ethicscodes – information about cities
with adopted codes and about the process of adopting a
code of ethics.
• www.asce.org/inside/codeofethics.cfm - code of ethics
adopted by ASCE
• http://onlineethics.org/cases/nspe/ec88-6.html - examples
of engineering ethical situations and their analysis
• http://rf-web.tamu.edu/security/secguide/Ethics/Intro.htm US Government Ethics Standards
• http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/homepage.ht
ml - Santa Clara University web site for its curriculum on
“Applied Ethics.”
SUMMARY, Q&A
• Ethical behavior is the invisible glue that
holds a society together. The wholesale
absence of ethical behavior in a society
usually signifies its pending dissolution.
• Government officials should set examples
of ethical behavior.