Ethical Competencies for Local Government managers

1. Ethical Competencies for Local Government managers Presentation at the 2011 NASPAA Conference Kansas City, MO October 20-22, 2011 Raymond W. Cox III University of Akron

2. Ethical Competencies • Ethics has been a major issue of academic debate for some twenty years. • Most particularly in the debate over a code of ethics for ASPA, the disagreements and academic distinctions belie the simple mandate to “be ethical.” • If there is not even the common denominator of a shared definition or learning outcomes then ethics education is problematic. • These conflicts are mirrored in how MPA programs handle the requirement that competency in “ethics” be incorporated into the core curriculum. In looking at MPA across the country it was found that less than one in four MPA has chosen to offer a required course in ethics as part of the core curriculum. The number vary only slightly when separating accredited and none accredited programs.

3. Ethical Competencies • General Data • 213 schools researched • 162 schools with no core ethics requirement • 49 schools with core ethics requirement • 2 schools with no published curriculum data • NASPAA Accredited Program Data • 142 schools accredited • 34 require an ethics course 24% of MPA programs require a course on ethics

4. Ethical Competencies • Distinguishing between general public sector ethics and local government ethics • As John Rohr (1978) noted, • “If the public administration curriculum is to maintain its professional focus, certain valuable intellectual investigations must be sacrificed….But I do not think we can prudently demand extensive philosophical investigations from the public administration students after they have started their professional studies.” • Appleby (1952) raises a somewhat different issue when he asks: • Is administration a singular concept that varies primarily by the size of the organization? • Or are there elements of administration that are intrinsic to the type of organization?

5. Ethical Competencies • The first step is to define the components and themes of ethics education. • Second will be to explore the competencies and learning outcomes of a “local government management” version of ethics. • Lastly to propose competencies and learning outcomes

6. Ethical Competencies • Central perspective • Unlike managers in the federal government or the middle-manager in large hierarchical organizations, the local manager is primarily responsible for ensuring the provision of direct services.They are most likely to face the public as part of the decision process. His/her decisions have a direct and potentially immediate influence on the public. If only because of the immediacy of those decisions, the consequences of the ethical choices of local managers is critical. Therefore, one could argue that ethical capacity is most critical for local decision-makers.

7. Ethical Competencies • COMPONENTS OF ETHICS EDUCATION • There are four components of public sector ethics: • A public “values” perspective; emptomized by Rohr’s regime values argument. • A compliance or legal aspect to ethics rules; as epitomized by the work of various ethics commissions and the development of ethics codes. • An ethics management component, which empahsizes decision-making and problem-solving using ethical rubrics. • A philosophical component; epitomized by exploration of the teleological, deontological and other appraoches to ethics.

8. Ethical Competencies • Public values • Rohr’s (1978)regime values • Stillman’s (1999) nature of the state • York Willbern (1984) • 1. Basic honesty and conformity to law • 2. Conflicts of interest • 3. Service orientation and procedural fairness • 4. The ethic of democratic responsibility • 5. The ethic of public policy determination • 6. The ethic of compromise and social integration (pp. 102–103)

9. Ethical Competencies • Compliance • As Maesschalck (2004-5) pointed out in his dicussion on ethics training the emphasis is on rule compliance. • This is a legalistic approach which uses law, enforced by a designated government agency to enforce the ethics rules and code. • Role of Ethics Commissions • Often broadest in state and local government

10. Ethical Competencies • Ethics Management • The components of ethical decision-making are: • Desire to be ethical (willingness to act) • Capacity to make decision (authority under the law) • Capability (understanding of role, situation and their relationship to ethics) • Consciousness of consequences (for others, not for self) • Ethical framework or principles • Time • Tolerance of ambiguity (acknowledgement of imperfections) • Justification

11. Ethical Competencies • The elements of an ethical framework: • Complexity: The circumstances are confused and difficult • Self awareness: Honest toward self and toward what we want as an outcome. A desire to be consciously and methodically ethical in reaching a decision • Responsible: A concern for others and an acceptance of the consequences to others of the action taken • Justifiable: Decisions can be justified, but never excused • Public: Willingness to explain to others how a decision is made • Factual: Accepting of the world as it is, not as we wish

12. Ethical Competencies • Ethics and Philosophy • There is no easy way to summarize ethics from this perspective. • My perspective borrows from Aristotle, Kant, Weber and Arendt • Aristotle argues that the problem of “Ethical” behavior is that learning comes from the teachings of experts yet we cannot know someone is ethical. Therefore, a theory of ethics is not sufficient. Experience is vital, in understanding both to act and to “judge”. Teaching ethics is unlike knowledge of mathematics or grammar. It is not imparting a “skill”, rather a way of thinking that controls a way of acting.

13. Ethical Competencies • Discretionary judgment • It is important that the discretionary decision-making by bureaucrats is done ‘rightly”. The difficult or hard choice that a public servant makes is not whether to help someone but to define the limits of that help, or to determine ethically when to end assistance. This is precisely the situation for which neither bureaucratic routines, nor policies, nor court rulings can provide professional guidance. It is the individual and organizational tacit knowledge that leads to good, consistent decision-making. Those who should exercise discretion are those with tacit knowledge. Discretionary judgment emerges from the practices and activities of tacitly defined informal networks. The application of tacit knowledge in the process of discretionary decision-making stresses the fact that those who belong in the realm where discretion is exercised should possess the demonstrable capacity for judgment that is variously labeled maturity, instinct or skill (Cox, Hill and Pyakuryal, 2007).

14. Ethical Competencies • The Local Context • The city management profession at this junction is distinguished by the following: • An inverting of the old policy–administration relationship • The recognition that “leadership” skills are broader and more critical than “administrative or managerial” skills • Positions are more precarious and more subject to influences beyond the control of the manager (now more than ever elections threaten longevity) • The need to emphasize core values, standards of practice and ethical behavior. • This changing environment has left the local government manager (whether a city manager, or department or agency head) needing more than ever the capacity and capability for ethical decision-making.

15. Ethical Competencies • COMPETENCIES • Using an ethical framework as a model for and the logic of decision-making. • Decisiveness in making hard choices; to acknowledge that no alternative is going to “solve” the problem. It represents an approach to decisions that emphasizes the consequences of actions. • While a compliance model is certainly an integral component of ethics systems, it nevertheless is only a partial model. The capacity for applying ethical concepts beyond mere rule compliance is needed. • Defining conceptual foundations for how practical ethical guidelines should be setup. What is required is a dialogue on what the code means in easy to define terms, so that it can serve as a guideline for correct actions and becomes the basis for acultural transformation. • Ethics as a way of exercising discretion and making “good decisions, in a timely manner”. • Acting in a public environment implies the acknowledgement of the critical role of the public in shaping the definition of the problem and creating solutions.

16. Ethical Competencies • LEARNING OUTCOMES • Capability and capacity to apply the ethics framework (p.15) • Publicness is a value in shaping the decision-process • Consciousness of the role of politics in policy decisions. Understanding and being able to act despite the complexity of decision-making, by acknowledging that there is never a single reason or cause for an action. • Understanding that public decisions have consequences beyond person and “political” interests. • Understanding that not all actions produce only “benefits”. • Accepting that an examination of consequences is an articulation of “what is next.” • Hiding from consequences does not make them go away, but rather it means we will be caught unaware when they inevitably occur. Ignoring consequences, or to deny their existence, is to prevent hard choices from being made.

17. Ethical Competencies • LEARNING OUTCOMES (cont’d) • Only by confronting the consequence of an act can we decide whether or not we accept that consequence. There are no rosy scenarios in this examination. In all likelihood, every action has “negative” consequences (this fact is the real “dirty hands” of politics). It requires both a commitment of purpose and the strength to endure failure. • Ethical decision-making is anything but naïve, or unworldly. It takes considerable courage and strength of will to do what one thinks is right, regardless of the views of others or of the personal consequences. That is the essence of ethical decision-making, because the concerns are directed to theconsequences for others, not for oneself.