Activities and Assessment

1. Comment and criticized on the meaning of Ethics? Develop your concept of Ethics

Ethics are as important for many Filipino as blood for the body.
Ethics is the basic principle of human conduct. Ethics deals with the character and conduct and
morals of human beings. It deals with good and bad, right and wrong behavior, it evaluates
against some absolute criteria and puts negative or positive values on it (Hanekom, 1984:58).

Ethics refers to a set of rules that describes acceptable conduct in society. Ethics serve as a
guide to moral daily living and helps us judge whether our behavior can be justified.

Ethics refers to society’s sense of the right way of living our daily lives. It does this by
establishing rules, principles, and values on which we can base our conduct. The concepts most
directly associated with ethics are truth, honesty, fairness, and equity.

While ethics is a societal concern, it is of critical importance to the professions that serve
society. Because professionals such as physicians, attorneys, engineers, and property and
facility managers provide services that affect our welfare, they develop professional codes of
ethics that establish professional standards for behavior.

2. Identify at least three principle in managing ethics that you think is more important in the
Philippines. Explain why?
2. Ethical guidance should be available to public servants.

Professional socialization should contribute to the development of the necessary judgment

and skills enabling public servants to apply ethical principles in concrete circumstances.
Training facilities ethics awareness and can develop essential skills for ethical analysis and
moral reasoning. Impartial advice can help create an environment in which public servants are
more willing to confront and resolve ethical tensions and problems. Guidance and internal
consultation mechanism should be made available to help public servants apply basic ethical
standards in the workplace.

1. Public servants should know their rights and obligations when exposing
wrongdoing.

Public servants need to know their rights and obligations are in terms of exposing actual or
suspected wrongdoing within the government. These should include clear cut rules and
procedures for officials to follow, and a formal chain or accountability and responsibility. Public
servants also need to know what protection will be available to them in cases of exposing
wrongdoing.

1. Political commitment to ethics should reinforce the ethical conduct of public servants.
2. Political leaders are responsible for maintaining a high standard of propriety in the
discharge of their day to day official function in the government. Their commitment is
demonstrated by example and by taking action that is only available at the political level,
 for instance by creating legislative and institutional arrangements that reinforce ethical
behavior and create sanctions against wrongdoing, by providing adequate support and
resources for ethics-related activities throughout government and by avoiding the
explosion of ethics rules and laws for political purposes.

2. Management policies, procedures and practices should promote Ethical conduct.

Management policies and practices should demonstrate an organization’s commitment

to ethical standards. It is not sufficient for governments to have only rule-based or compliance-
based structures. Compliance system alone can inadvertently encourage some public servants
simply to function on the edge of misconduct, arguing that if they are not violating the law they
are acting ethically. Government policy should not only delineate the minimal standards below
which a government official’s actions will not be tolerated, but also clearly articulate a set of
public service values that employees should aspire to.