Public Service Value vs Public Service Ethics

The term “values” is often used interchangeably with “ethics,” particularly when addressing issues of corruption or maladministration. However, this interchangeable use is problematic. For instance, in Canada, a distinction was drawn between the two when establishing the Office for Public Service Values and Ethics, and a similar distinction is necessary in India.

Values, in themselves, do not have agency and cannot lead to action. Instead, it is the application of ethical codes to values that leads to particular behavior. For example, civil servants may possess the value of integrity, but it is the code of ethics that transforms this value into action and behavior.

Ethics are, therefore, the rules that translate values into everyday life. Values inform all aspects of ethical decision-making, ethical judgment, ethical choice, and ethical behavior.

Moreover, distinctions between “positive” and “negative” values are misplaced since values cannot be negative or positive. Rather, it is the application of values that can be viewed from negative or positive viewpoints. For instance, confidentiality as a value may be interpreted positively as crucial for national security or negatively as inhibiting transparency.

Public Service Values

Prescribing values for public services can be challenging due to various historical, social, and cultural factors that differ across the world. However, public administrations were established to provide politically neutral and loyal service to governments. To ensure this, rules were formalised to ensure impartiality, incorruptibility, allegiance to the constitution, and obedience to the law. Public servants were offered security of tenure, a meritocratic career path, and post-service remuneration to create an environment conducive to adhering to these rules.

The UN’s adoption of the ‘International Code of Conduct for Public Officials’ in 1996 represents an attempt to identify the shared values of public administrations through ethical principles, given the growing concern with corruption in government internationally. As public servants perform complex tasks, they employ a range of values to guide their behavior and navigate multiple requirements. Public service’s complexity ensures that its value system is unique and specific to its work.

Values play a critical role in public service, and poor clarity or uncertainty can lead to ethical and decision-making dilemmas, diminishing team spirit, creating organizational confusion and weak external communication. Civil servants’ competing interpretations of “core” values reflect an ongoing debate over their role in democracy. Upholding values such as political neutrality and loyalty is critical for civil servants as agents of policy implementation, while the emphasis on fairness, transparency, and impartiality is greater for those viewed as holders of the “public interest.”

Identifying appropriate value sets and knowing when to prioritize specific values over others is a challenge faced by civil servants. For example, prioritizing equity over efficiency in job allocation due to the mandate of affirmative action. In Indian democracy, promoting equity and fairness is the defining value of public service. However, situational demands and necessity may lead to the prioritization of other values. For example, a department dealing directly with the public might emphasize equity and transparency, while other departments prioritize efficiency and effectiveness.

Various countries’ public sector codes and guidelines share a common set of values, according to Sherman’s review, including honesty and integrity, impartiality, respect for the law and persons, diligence, economy and effectiveness, and responsiveness.

Public Service Ethics

Administrative ethics pertains to the moral principles and standards that guide the conduct of civil servants in their profession. The code of ethics developed for civil servants is comprised of traditions, precedents, and standards that govern their behavior and actions. It is essential for civil servants to maintain high moral standards not just for themselves but for the community as a whole, particularly given the increasing importance of administration and its impact on society.

Public service ethics are fundamental to building public trust and are a cornerstone of good governance. Citizens expect civil servants to serve the public interest with fairness and to manage public resources properly. Democratic values, such as equality, law, and justice, have moral implications and require a strong commitment from civil servants to uphold them.

P.R. Dubhashi underscores the significance of administrative ethics, stating that it is crucial for public administration to be ethical in addition to being efficient. The loss of ethics in public administration can have far-reaching consequences.

According to various scholars, ethical behavior among public officials is driven by a belief or feeling of what is right or wrong, regardless of self-interest or immediate consequences. The power and influence that public officials wield creates challenges to their ethical conduct and their commitment to serving the public in a loyal and disinterested manner.

Paul H. Appleby emphasizes that morality and administration are inseparable, stating that morality in administration alone can ensure better government. He identifies several attributes of a moral administrator, including a sense of responsibility, communication and personnel administration skills, the ability to cultivate and use institutional resources, a willingness to engage in problem-solving and team-work, personal confidence to initiate new ideas, and a preference for being influenced by public needs and sensitivities rather than resorting to the use of bureaucratic power.

Finally, the “Ten Commandments for an Administrator” provide practical guidelines for administrators to follow in their work. These include having a strong conviction in human relationships, anticipating the behavior of people, being functionally active, communicating clearly, avoiding sharp departures from accepted policy, touring extensively to be close to people and workers, enlisting public cooperation without propaganda, preserving the unity of command in a department, seeing oneself as a trustee of public interest rather than a ruler, and aligning practice with precept.

Guiding Principles in Public Service Ethics

Professional administrators have a crucial role in rebuilding and enhancing the public’s trust, and there are several principles that can guide them in achieving this goal, including:

• Providing education and training in administrative ethics that covers both personal and administrative ethics. Public servants should internalize civic virtues, respect for others, protection of individual rights, and other ethical values. 
• Upholding professional and personal integrity, where professional values take precedence over questionable orders from superiors. This requires knowledge, self-control, personal autonomy, and subordination of private interests to the public interest and public trust. However, professional interests must not conflict with broader public interests.
• Exercising prudence, which involves making self-controlled, discretionary decisions based on knowledge, expertise, and ethical judgment in a particular situation.
• Prioritizing public spirit, where private interests are secondary to public and community interests. When making decisions or acting as an administrator, one must consider the public trust and citizens’ interests.
• Exhibiting exemplary behavior, which includes reporting wrongdoings to the appropriate sources for correction while consulting and exercising caution as you also have obligations to yourself and your family.
• Following and enforcing the professional code of ethics, which serves as a statement of ideals, a standard of action consistent with those ideals, and a binding means of enforcing behavior for public servants.