ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC
Normative ethics- that branch of moral value system, therefore, predetermines the ethical
SERVICE
What is Ethics?
Ethics derived from the word Ethikos
meaning "relating to one's character", and Ethos
meaning character, moral nature. Ethics is the
branch of philosophy that examines right and wrong
moral behavior, moral concepts (such as justice,
virtue, duty) and moral language.
Rushworth Kidder
Ethics is a science of the ideal human character or
'the science of moral duty’.
Richard William Paul and Linda
Elder define ethics as "a set of concepts and
principles that guide us in determining what behavior
helps or harms sentient creatures"
Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
It is commonly used interchangeably with morality.
Santa Clara
Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right
and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do,
usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to
society, fairness, or specific virtues.
Three Fundamental Principle of Ethics
1. Beneficence- the obligation of physician to
act for the benefit of the patient and supports
a number of moral rules to protect and
defend the right of others.
2. Nonmalifecens- is the obligation of a
physician not to harm the patient.
3. Autonomy- is that all persons have intrinsic
and unconditional worth, and therefore,
should have the power to make rational
decisions and moral choices.
Three Types of Ethics
1.
philosophy, or ethics, concerned with criteria
of what is morally right and wrong.
2. Meta ethics- is the study of moral thought
and moral language.
3. Applied Ethics- refers to the practical
aspect of moral considerations.
ETHICS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
 Legal- All the actions of a public servant
should be in accordance with the law of
conduct
 Just and Fair- The decision of civil servants
must be fair and just
 Responsibility- A civil servant is
responsible for personal actions.
 Accountability- A Public Servants derives
the power from the law of the land and work
as a public servant.
 Commitment- A Public Servant must be
fully committed to his work.
 Responsive- A civil servant must be
responsive to the public.
 Transparency- The decisions of a civil
servant must be transparent.
 Integrity- The administration must maintain
utmost honesty and integrity.
 Moral Conduct- Officers must maintain the
highest level of moral conduct in personal
and professional life.
 National Interest- A Public Servant should
always work in the national interest.
CAN ETHICS BE LEARNED?
It is an inherent quality learnt as a part of a
development process of a personality. The imbibing of
behavior of an individual. Ethics is a study of one
perception of what is right or wrong. It is an attitude of
how one reacts or relates to an incident, happening or
a stand one takes in the house or at the place of
work. Teaching of ethics may be an attempt to
justify our actions or inaction in the name of science
or medicine or humanities.
Ethics examines the rational justification for
our moral judgements; it studies what is morally right
or wrong, just or unjust.
HOW ARE ETHICS TAUGHT OR LEARNED?
Ethical belief system systems are
established and learned early in life through
environment of home, school, religion and social
gatherings which mold and shape those ethical
beliefs.
PUBLIC SERVICE ETHICS
For public officials to act in the public
interest, they need a set of guiding ethics. Public
sector ethics are concerned with the fundamental
premises of public administration and the conduct of
public officials.
WHY ETHICS IS IMPORTANT IN PUBLIC
SERVICE?
Ethics provide accountability between the
public and the administration. Adhering to a code od
ethics ensures that the public receives what it needs
in a fair manner.
PRINCIPLE OF PUBLIC SERVICE ETHICS
Public officials and employees shall at all
times be accountable to the people and shall
discharge their duties with utmost responsibility,
integrity, competence, and loyalty, act with patriotism
and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CUSTOMS AND HABITS, 3. Customs is 3. Habit is not
interest over personal. VALUES, NORMS, MORALS, ETHICS, AND normative. normative.
PUBLIC SERVICE GOVERNANCE ETHOS. 4. Customs has got 4. Habit is more of
Public service Governance is a combination Customs Habit great social personal importance.
of processes that a board implements to manage and A custom is something A habit is something significance. 5. Habit facilitates
monitor the organizational activities. Basically, public that people doing in a that a person does 5. Customs maintains individual activity.
service governance means by which goals are society, culture or often or regularly it social order. 6. Habits are learnt.
determined and accomplished. Public Governance in religion at certain time could be positive, 6. Customs are learnt. 7. Habit has no external
a public sector provides the means to help an of the year, or in a negative, neutral 7. Customs has an sanction.
organization achieve its goals and objectives. particular situation. external sanction.
Ensuring that all citizen enjoy a full range of civil and A habit is more informal
human rights. Customs are also usual and is usually limited to  According to Borgadus, “Customs and

ways of behaving, but one person. traditions are group-accepted techniques of

PUBLIC SERVICE ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE
Public sector organizations have a central
and value status in society given the unique and wide
range of services they provide. Whilst they are
expected to deliver such services in a responsive and
effective manner, public service organizations are
also supposed to demonstrate they uphold, at all
times, the values of integrity, honesty and fairness
that are essential parts of the public sector ethos. In
order to ensure their continued earning of public trust,
these organizations need indeed to maintain good
governance practices and embed such culture of
integrity into their operations. It is accepted that
culture shapes long-term thinking and behaviour in
organizations and encourages behaviours that
support the achievement of objectives. The challenge
faced by public sector organizations is how to nurture
a culture that promotes a behaviour consistent with
organizational objectives and the overall public sector
ethos.
they are not as old as control that have become well established,
traditions, and they are that are taken for granted and that are
practiced by fewer passed along from generation to generation.
people.  As Maclvr puts it, “Customs is a group
procedure that has gradually emerged,
without express enactment, without any
 Habit, it may be noted, is acquired and
constituted authority to declare it, to apply it,
learnt. We learn to do act in particular way,
to safeguard it.”
the way of course being socially acceptable.
 According to Davis, the term ‘customs’ is
We repeat that act whenever faced with
“closer to folkways than to mores, but it
similar situation.
lends to conveys the traditional, automatic
 However, habits may also be bad in which
and mass character of both of them.”
case they have to be broken, for example,
habits of drinking, smoking or some other
“WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO”
habits leading to superstitions and inactivity.
-Aristotle
Customs Habits
1. Customs is social 1. Habit is an individual
phenomenon. phenomenon.
2. Customs is socially 2. Habit is not socially
recognized. recognized.