Ethical concerns are among the most common problems public administrators face, yet the issues are often complex, and the correct choices are not always clear. Living up to the public trust is much more than just an act of compliance. It also involves perceiving, preventing, avoiding, and resolving accusations of illegal or unethical behavior, including appearances of inappropriate behavior. Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies examines how to identify, assess, and resolve the ethical issues and dilemmas that often confront those who govern the cities, counties, states, and federal agencies throughout America. Real Situations, Real Advice Providing a one-stop resource for all those who must contend with thorny ethical issues, this volume presents case studies that vary in complexity and context and are based on real situations. Each case scenario is followed by discussion questions and case assessments by expert practitioners who describe how they would handle the situation. Using a "total immersion" technique, the book encourages readers to be reflexive and analytical in addressing the problems presented and arriving at appropriate solutions. A supplemental CD is included which contains PowerPoint® slide presentations, articles, workshop programs, tests, and links to organizations. For many of the scenarios presented in this volume, there are no easy answers. Practical guidance on reasoning through difficult decision-making situations enables public administrators to acquire the ethical knowledge, skills, abilities, and instincts that will ultimately help them gain the trust of their citizens and advance in their careers.

This practical book is dedicated to building ethical organizations. It has been written for college students preparing for careers in public service as well as for elected and appointed officials, administrators, and career public servants in the United States and elsewhere. Concise and comprehensive, Ethics Management for Public and Nonprofit Managers takes a managerial ethics approach to building and leading ethical public organizations. It includes: a discussion of the U.S. constitutional and administrative environment in which officials carry out their duties; descriptions and assessments of the tools available to elected and appointed officials who are committed to building ethical organizations; an overview of legislative and administrative measures taken by Congress, presidents, the judiciary, and the fifty states to foster ethical governance; unique coverage of ethics management around the world, with a focus on the US, Europe, and Asia; and hands-on skill-building exercises with active learning opportunities that conclude each chapter. This third edition includes a new chapter on ‘achieving ethical competence,’ exploring a wide range of ethical issues that confront public and nonprofit managers in their efforts to lead and build organizations of integrity. Examples and cases from both the public and the nonprofit sectors are incorporated throughout the third edition so that the book acts as a kind of ‘field guide’ for ethical behavior, with descriptions and assessments of the tools available to elected and appointed officials at every level. Accompanying the third edition text is a series of exercises that build ethical competence skills, asking the reader to judge the ethical competence of key actors in cases drawn from recent headlines.

This first serious empirical work to study administrative ethics refutes the arguments that administrative ethics cannot be studied in an empirical manner and that empirical analysis can deal only with the trivial issues in administrative ethics. Within a theoretical perspective, the authors carefully qualify their findings and take great care not to overgeneralize results. Specific areas addressed include understanding public corruption, ethics as control, and ethics as administration and policy.

Sheldon S. Steinberg and David T. Austern focus on the ethical and unethical behavior of elected and appointed government officials. The authors discuss the various types of ethical dilemmas that confront public sector managers, offer ways to analyze them, and describe management strategies designed to prevent unethical behavior. A series of ethical dilemmas which force the reader to examine his or her own ethical standards is followed by answers to the dilemmas which emphasize the importance of ethical choices. The authors also suggest ways to identify the susceptibility to corruption of a jurisdiction and present model policies, procedures, and legislation which could be effective in reducing the opportunity for unethical behavior. Steinberg and Austern begin by looking at the ethical dilemmas commonly faced by public officials and exploring the motivations for unethical practices. They then examine the costs of unethical behavior and profile three types of government practitioners: the corrupter, the functionary, and the ethicist. The remaining chapters address the use of investigation and management control to encourage ethical practices in public sector management. The authors discuss methods to ensure financial integrity, monitor ethical practices, and comply with ethical rules; emphasize the importance of investigation by management outside of law enforcement activities; and demonstrate the management controls necessary to ensure the ethical practice of government. Essential reading for public sector managers at all levels of government, this book is also an ideal supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in public administration.

The Standards of Conduct Office of the Department of Defense General Counsel's Office has assembled an "encyclopedia" of cases of ethical failure for use as a training tool. These are real examples of Federal employees who have intentionally or unwittingly violated standards of conduct. Some cases are humorous, some sad, and all are real. Some will anger you as a Federal employee and some will anger you as an American taxpayer. Note the multiple jail and probation sentences, fines, employment terminations and other sanctions that were taken as a result of these ethical failures. Violations of many ethical standards involve criminal statutes. This updated (end of 2009) edition is organized by type of violations, including conflicts of interest, misuse of Government equipment, violations of post-employment restrictions, and travel.

In a down-to-earth review of the often-contentious subject of ethics, Public Sector Ethics: Theory and Applications presents personal accounts of individuals who faced moral dilemmas and how they resolved them. It moves the study of ethics away from a box checking exercise of what to do/not to do to a discussion that creates understanding of existe

Make the Right Choice - Enhance Your Ethical Decision Making Skills Today! Ethical issues arise in all walks of life, but none have implications as far-reaching and serious as those related to public management. Most people working in the public sector want to do the "right" thing, but the issues can be highly complex or just not lend themselves to easy answers. Practical Ethics in Public Administration, Third Edition, provides the tools, techniques, and methods needed to help meet these challenges. This completely updated third edition provides public sector professionals the information they need to face the ethical issues that arise in the course of a day's work, address those issues with greater self-assurance, perform their duties in an ethically justifiable manner, and explain their actions reasonably. This new edition: • Covers emerging ethical issues surrounding public-private partnerships • Examines the shift from compliance-based to integrity-based ethics programs • Explores the context of moral competency