ETHICAL ISSUES AND DECISION MAKING IN PUBLIC SERVICE

ETHICAL ISSUES AND DECISION MAKING IN: PUBLIC SERVICE “If you don’t want to work for a living – this is as good a job as any” John F. Kennedy 1946 – New Congressman With Funding from: Department of Justice, COPS Office http: //cop. spcollege. edu

CLASS RESOURCES MEET YOUR TEAMMATES “ 90% of success is just showing up” Woody Allen http: //cop. spcollege. edu

“Ethics” – What is it & WHY? • Ethics – Study of what is “Right & Wrong – Good or Bad” • Morality – Rules & Social Standards • Ethical Issues – Debatable questions of Moral Right & Wrong “Congress would exempt itself from the Laws of Gravity if it could” Congressman Henry Hyde, 1988 http: //cop. spcollege. edu

“BRAIN STORM” THREE MINUTE EXERCISE: What are some “ETHICAL ISSUES” Relevant to PUBLIC SERVICE “Just put in some of that VISION thing” George Bush to speech writer - 1988 http: //cop. spcollege. edu

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES “SHOULD” • Treat others as they want to be treated • Be honest • Respect rights of others • Greatest Good – Greatest Number “Character is much easier kept than recovered” Thomas Payne http: //cop. spcollege. edu

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS • APPLICATION of Universal Ethical Principles to situations that arise in Business of Professional Life “So far – about morality. I know only that what is moral is what you fell good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after” Ernest Hemingway http: //cop. spcollege. edu

“VIRTUES” IN ETHICS THREE MINUTE EXERCISE Virtues and a “GOOD PUBLIC SERVANT” http: //cop. spcollege. edu

Character & Integrity • Character = Total of all ethical Strengths and Weaknesses – (Continuum) • Integrity = Living by Commendable Ethical Principles “The world has achieved brilliance without conscience – Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants” Omar Bradley http: //cop. spcollege. edu

4 Components of Rest’s Consistent Ethical Behavior • • Moral Sensitivity Moral Judgment Moral Motivation Moral Character “Only a life lived for others is a life worth living” Einstein http: //cop. spcollege. edu

THREE (3) Minute “Brainstorming” “STANDARD” of Behavior for PUBLIC SERVANTS “Everything secret denigrates: nothing is safe that does not bear discussion and publicity” Lord Action http: //cop. spcollege. edu

UNIT 2: MORAL DEVELOPMENT PERSONAL ETHICS POP QUIZ “Inability to tell good from evil is the greatest worry of man’s life” Cicero http: //cop. spcollege. edu

LEVELS OF MORAL REASONING – Level One : Basic, Immature, Self serving, No punishment – Level Two: Conforming, Social Approval, “Right” – Level Three: Rational, “Universal” “The ethical person should do more than he is required to do and less than he is allowed to do” Michael Josephson http: //cop. spcollege. edu

ILLUSTRATION OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT Kohlberg Video of Milgram’s 1950’s Experiments “All virtue is summed up in dealing justly” Aristotle http: //cop. spcollege. edu

APPLICATION SCENERIO “GOOD” PUBLIC SERVANT Dilemmas http: //cop. spcollege. edu

UNIT 3 – Conflicts of Interest to Public Servants “Trust like the soul – never returns once it is lost” Syrus http: //cop. spcollege. edu

HUMAN “SCAVENGER HUNT” Back to “Teammate” Resources “Ethics requires us to abandon the notion that an act is ethical – simply because it is legal” Michael Josephson http: //cop. spcollege. edu

CONFLICTS of INTEREST Competing Priorities – Personal & Professional Commitments “Too many people are ready to carry the stool when the piano needs to be moved” Unknown http: //cop. spcollege. edu

Errors in Judgment = Trust & Reliability Problems Three Levels of Conflicts of Interest: • Actual • Potential • Apparent “There is a big difference between what we have a right to do – and what is right to do” Justice Potter Stuart http: //cop. spcollege. edu

COPING WITH CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WE MIGHT: • Do Nothing – Ignore it • Avoid “The reward of a • Escape thing well done – is to have done it” • Disclose Emerson • Manage http: //cop. spcollege. edu

APPLICATION SCENARIO “Max & Minnie” • Type of Conflict of Interest? • Possible Actions – Coping Strategies “It is easier to fight for principles – than to live up to them” Alfred Adler http: //cop. spcollege. edu

UNIT 4 FLORIDA CODE OF ETHICS for: Public Officers & Employees Set of Rules and Principles intended to provide Guidelines and Behavioral Standards to those under its authority. http: //cop. spcollege. edu

3 Types of Ethical Codes • Corporate Codes • Professional Codes • Government / Public Service Codes “ We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” Winston Churchill http: //cop. spcollege. edu

LEVELS of Ethical PRINCIPLES, STANDARDS & RULES • THEORETICAL LEVEL • PRACTICAL LEVEL • CURRENTLY ATTAINABLE LEVEL • BASIC LEVEL “Life consists, not in holding good cards, but in playing well those you hold” Josh Billings http: //cop. spcollege. edu

OVERVIEW of Florida Code Ethics • Prohibited Actions • Prohibited Employment & Relationships • Restrictions Regarding Relatives • Revolving Door Restrictions • Voting Conflicts of Interest • Disclosure Forms • Additional Content http: //cop. spcollege. edu

APPLICATION EXERCISES Florida Code of Ethics • “If we were In Charge” • “Lenny’s Dilemma” “We cannot live happily as human beings in the belief that our own actions don’t matter” Alvin Toffler http: //cop. spcollege. edu

WRAP UP & EVALUATION THANK YOU “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place – but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment” Benjamin Franklin http: //cop. spcollege. edu