Key idea 1: Kaptein, Huberts, Avelino, and Lasthuizen, Using surveys to demonstrate ethical leadership, page 69 -79
The need for demonstrating ethical leadership in an organization is vital. Therefore, being able to gain information with regard to ethical and unethical behaviour in the workplace is critical. According to Kaptein et al, there is a need for managers to have information with relation to ethics in any organization. This information will be helpful in ensuring that leaders demonstrate ethical behaviour in the work place. The article proposes the use of periodic surveys that can be used to gain information on ethics (70). The information provided in the article show a successful research design and study conducted on public service in the United States. The article has been effective in showing the efficiency of using surveys in collecting information on ethics in the workplace (76). In addition, it is possible to show the extent of unethical behaviour in public offices. For example, one of the interviews with a director at a Dutch public organization reveals that he was not aware of a scandal going on in the organization (69). The director assumed that he was in control; however, this was not the case since unethical behaviour had become a part of the organization culture. This led to the organization crumbling due to unethical behaviour. However, this could have been mitigated through the use of surveys.
Key idea 2: Berman, public cynicism, pages 167 - 174
Public cynicism towards government institutions and public offices has been a common problem around the world (167 - 173). This is mainly because cynicism is propagated by the public belief that the culture in government offices is unethical. This is mainly because many public offices remain tainted by corruption and scandals, which affect the view of the public towards such public institutions. In addition, public officials have been largely been involved in scandals that have been exposed over the cause of history. This has led to the loss of public confidence when it comes to government offices. Therefore, the article discusses the need to respond to this cynicism. According to the article, there is a need to improve the ethical structure in public offices in order to restore the public’s confidence. According to Berman (173) cities that use information participation strategies receive less public cynicism. This can be interpreted to mean that public offices need to involve the public and be transparent in order to restore public confidence.
Key idea 3: Kellar, current ethics issues pages 175 -185
Organizations need to remain current when it comes to ethics. This is mainly because as organizational needs and goals keep shifting it is critical to have ethical codes that are flexible and can be able to accommodate such changes. Kellar writes about the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). This is an association that is composed of different professions in the public sector. The association was formed in the early 20th century. According to Kellar (175) during its inception, the association had a set of ethical codes that defined ethical behaviour for its members. However, due to changes in time the association has been forced to revise its code of ethics in order to be able to meet new definitions of ethics. For example, with the advent of the internet and computers many organizations had to modify their ethical codes to take into account this new technology. This is the same case with ICMA. The association has been forced to adopt new ethical codes due to changes in time. For example, due to the changes in responsibilities of public governance professions the association has changed its code of ethics to take into account these new responsibilities.
References:
West, Jonathan P., and Evan M. Berman, eds. The Ethics Edge, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ICMA Press, 2006.
