Introduction
This paper is a literature review that critiques two articles which are based on the concept of public administration and the core values that are found in public administration. The paper explains the layout of the articles and the basic points which have been noted in the review.
Maesschalck, J. The impact of new public management Reforms on public servants’ ethics, Towards a theory
There has been increasing concern on the impact that is laid by the “new public management reforms”. There has been a lot of literature on this theory which at a time has acted to confuse most readers. Maesschalck (2004), in his article, proposes a theory that best explains the reasoning behind this statement. In his article, he articulates that with the translation of the effective literature into some conceptual framework, then it is possible to come up with a proposition set that is integrated thus forming a theory. This theory happens to be so because of the complementary nature of the positions which are taken by different authors on the same topic.
This article starts with an introduction to the concept and the effects of the vice. In this phase, the paper looks at the ethical defects that are evident in many organizations ranging from corruption among others. The ethical issues that result from the reforms in public administration and management crop up.
The main issue that Maesschalck (2004) aims at is the relationship that exists between the reforms on new public management and the ethics that are displayed by the public servants. According to the author, he has tried to inform the reader on the possibility to convert the arguments as put across by various people to a framework that can be theorized.
In his research, the previously perceived rivals in ethical positions turned out to be complementary thus supporting his work. Despite the seeming bias in the perception that is put across, there is a concentration on ethical benefits in terms of decision making. The interrelation of the reforms with the ethical patterns has also been looked at by the author.
At the beginning of the paper, there is a proposition that most administrators are confused by the claims in the literature. In the course of the paper, there was an offer to introduce some answers to the dilemma. To begin with, it would look into ways in which there can be a theory that can be used as a guide to predicting the standards used to make some certain decisions and the common traits that are followed in association with the pattern of interaction.
The author proposed the use of a survey to research the hypothesis. The theory would then be expanded qualitatively. Case comparisons were also employed by the author to understand the relationships that existed. The article also provided advice based on hard evidence on the relation between the occurrence of unethical behaviors and the dominance in which the factors could interact.
Using the preset criteria and basing on the propositions that he needed to answer to, (Maesschalck, 2004) was able to come up with a theory that would explain how the different interaction patterns in the realm of public management would be used to predict unethical behaviors amongst the administrators and the effects that the behaviors aimed to.
Cooper, T. Big Questions in Administrative Ethics. A Need for Focused, Collaborative Effort
Cooper (2004) is worried about the matters that are seemingly affecting public administration about ethical concerns. Of major concern to this author is the lack of a criterion which can be used to address this issue in a clear cut manner. According to Cooper (2004), this work is requisite, and lack of it may cause ethics in administration being left out as a hard to tackle the issue. The author has organized his paper as a set of questions that seek to address this matter in a comprehensible way. These questions focus on how activities can be laid out in a focused manner and also well collaborated to solve the quandary.
This paper was reached through a survey that was conducted on a group of ten individuals. The interviewees were fed with a form of a questionnaire through which they could be able to nominate the questions that they thought were best placed to tackle the ethical dilemma. The respondents were able to give their ideas and the main questions chosen by the author.
In trying to address the concept of ethics in administration, it was found out that some questions which addressed some specific topic areas needed to be addressed. In the first place there needed to be an insight into the normative foundations that were to be laid for ethical public administrations. This question addresses the main ethics that should be taken into account whilst making ethical government decisions. This question noted out some key aspects which have seemed to affect the ethical pattern for decision making, which are values of the regime and the constitution, theory of citizenship, social equity, and virtue-based ethics, and matters of public interest.
Pertinent too in this field was the question of how the American ethical administrative norms fitted in the global contest. In answering this question, Cooper (2004) tried to show the relationship of the norms to the experiences of a common American. Cooper (2004) also tried to answer a question on how organizations would be designed in such a way that they would support the ethical conducts. Last in this list of questions was an insight into the matters and circumstances that would lead people to treat others equally and fairly and circumstances that would deem otherwise.
According to Cooper (2004), the questions that were posed in this study were not the only questions that would have an impact on the ethical behaviors of different individuals in their administrative fields who are concerned with matters of ethics. In trying to solve these questions, he proposed that groups should be set that should allow for the questions to be discussed in a variety of forums. Such groups should raise questions in seminars and other meeting points to make the propositions clear to all. In this article, Cooper (2004) has tried to show the importance of ethics as a value in public administration and the various aspects that are accompanied by ethics that need to be focused on in detail by any particular organization. This can be one way of heading towards administrative success in the public offices in the land.
References
Cooper, T. (2004). Big Questions in Administrative Ethics. A Need for Focused, Collaborative Effort. Public Administration Review, 64(4), 394 -407.
Maesschalck, J. (2004). The impact of new public management Reforms on public servants’ ethics, Towards a theory. Public Administration ,Vol. 82(2), 465– 489.