Public Administration Ethics provides rules and regulations that guide public administrators as they perform their work. They determine the decisions and actions that are operated by the government officials and non -profit institutions. Public administrators are obliged to respect citizens, encourage civic morals and being accountable to them. There are several ethical problems that could arise during the process of public administration. This has necessitated the development of approaches to solving those issues. The design approach to public administration ethics elaborates that public administrators should develop their perspectives regarding their roles and ethics (Cooper, 2012).
Public administrators develop the design approach to their ethics by applying elements such as experience, a research study, and inquiry from other colleagues. Employees are also required to develop their personal work virtues that are significant in solving ethical dilemmas. This is complicated to workers because their moral obligations are complex and hence they are not understood. They are required, therefore, to apply external controls such as codes, principles, and values in dealing with various conflicts. In order to solve organizational problems, the author relates public administration to engineering.
Cooper points out that engineering provide several solutions to various difficulties. This entails the application of processes that include the tire swing and crossing the river. These activities involve making decisions that will result in a less risky, efficient, and cheap process. The author thus suggests that this aspect could also be applied in the public administration of ethics by the administrators to the people. Coopers analogies and concepts have been compared to those of other scholars. The chapter provides a contrast of his models and policies with those of economists such as Patton and Sawicki (Cooper 2012).
Cooper’s ethical design model is differentiated from Patton and Sawicki’s steps applied in policy analysis. The later model involves processes that include the verification, definition, and expounding of the problem. The second step is to determine the evaluation criteria, which is followed by identification and evaluation of alternative policies. The individual is then required to differentiate the objectives and then examine the implemented strategy. Cooper’s on the other hand starts by identifying the ethical issue and explaining the situation (Cooper 2012). This is followed by the determination of alternatives and projecting on the expected outcomes. The final procedure entails selection of an alternative that is efficient and effective in solving ethical challenges.
The application of the design approach to public administration ethics proves, therefore, to be efficient because of its significant steps in public administration ethics. The model acknowledges indistinctness and assumes the existence of uncertainty in different situations. It also expounds on the need to give an explicit definition of a problem in order to resolve moral misconducts. It provides that problems must be unraveled by applying several solutions on one occasion because of the existing time limit.
Ethical problems are expected to occur in government and non-profit institutions and which have impacts on the moral standards of employees. Difficulties arise when the ethical values are impeded leading to complications and misconduct. The design approach to public administration ethics is a significant technique in the management of these organizations. This is because it ensures that trust and confidence is attained and maintained during different operations. It is also significant since it eliminates the occurrence of unethical behavior in work environment. This approach is beneficial since it enhances the development of moral virtues that are beneficial in solving ethical misunderstandings.
References
Cooper, T. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the
administrative role. Sydney, Australia: Waltson & Sons Publishers.
