ethics and professionalism-unit three.ppt

8/14/2019 ethics and professionalism-unit three.ppt

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UNIT THREE

UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR

IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR


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Unethical Problems in Ethiopia:

Corruption

Concerning ethics, any public

service focuses on what is the right

and proper behavior of all publicofficials.

From any rational bureaucracy, thesociety expects the public officials to

be fair and just while discharging

their discretionary powers.


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However, the essential ethical

values have been eroded inpublic services all over the world.

The deterioration and decay of

public service ethics is mainlyreflected in the form of corruption.

But what is corruption? What are its symptoms?


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Corruption is defined as theabuse of

publ ic power for p r ivate gain or Profit

(Merwe (1997)

McCormack (1997) defined Cbehavior

which deviates from the normal du t iesof a publ ic role because of private

interest -regarding (family, close private

clique), pecuniary/Financial or statusgains, or violating rules to exercise

certain types ofprivate influence.


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Thus, the phenomenon of corruption

occurs when publ ic of f ic ialsm isuse the publ ic power for

gaining private benef i t at the

expense of publ ic interest.It is exp lo i tat ion of publ ic of f ices by

officials for personal benef i ts to

extract inducementfrom varioussources and through var ious means .


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Conceptual frame work

Manifestation

Combating mechanisms

consequences

Cause

CorruptionAdministrative

Economic

Political

Kick backs

Greasing

Bribes

Economic

Administrative

Political

Code of ethics

Civic education


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Forms and types of corruption

Corruption manifests itself in many

fo rms.

some of themare:

Acceptance of br ibesor gi f ts

Kickbacks: Part of a person's

payment for doing a job that he gives

for getting him the job. This can be in a

fo rm of money or by way of

rec iprocat ion.


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Forms and types of corruption

Moonl ight ing: To be employed by two employerssimul taneously.

Misrepresentat ion: It is untrue statement of fact that

induces a person to enter a contract. Example Bank

property evaluation by civil engineers

Greasing: this is a form of bribery given to

hasten/hu rry some wo rk.

Stashing: Storing public money usually in a secret

place for futu re use.

This is mostly known when government officials put

government money in local or foreign banks. Example

Swiss Bank


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Unlaw ful usage of public assets for private

ends.

Over- invoicingand under- invoic ingofstores.

Preparat ion of fake vouchers in

accountsbusiness peopleGhost: Payment of wages to non-existent

or workers. But they only exist on the

payroll.Acts of extor t ion to process normal

functions such as l icenses, permits, letter,

etc.


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Subvert ing the law to imprison or free

individuals, reduce prison terms or fines.Earn ing comm iss ions in exchange for

obtaining work, orders or sales for

others.

Misplacementor hid ingof files,

records, titles for purposes of extortion.

The leakage of vi tal info rmat ion tocompeting or unau tho rized part ies.


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Converts of publ ic faci l i t ies fo r

personal use.

Other wrong doings such as:

Excise tax fraud,

Import and export tax frauds,

Embezzlement,

nepotism,

absenteeism,

partisanship,

election and electoral fraud, etc.


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Causes of Corruption

The causes of corruption are many and

varied, but the review of various studiesshows that the causes emanate from four

broad categories such as: pol i t ical,

economic , socio-cul tural, and inst i tut ional

or administrat iveweaknesses.

The breakdown of these major factors leads to

the following specific factors:

Lack of effective political leadership; weak

political commitment to control corruption


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Causes of Corruption

The prevalence of weak national interest; Variation of rules and directives, and

disobedience by public servants;

Poor law enforcement by the police, judges,

etc. Excessive pol i t ic izat ion of pub l ic serv ices

in which the personal ism and patronageforpolitical ends are dominating.

Pressuresand interferencein the exerciseof discretionary powers can aggravate thetemptations of corruption.


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The concentration (monopoly) of power in

the hands of one party or group;High incidence of unemployment;

High incidence of poverty that has attracted

many public officials to seek bribes;Low salary scales and poor compensation of

the public servants;

Large donations by domestic and multi-national companies to political parties or to

individual politicians;


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Sense of tenure insecurity;

Lack of code of ethics or conduct for

public officials;

Lax enforcement of auditing systems;

Lack of policy for regular monitoring of

assets and liabilities of a high-rank

government officials;

Minimal chances of detection of

corruption by political or administrative

apparatus, as well as weak punishments

for criminals


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Ineffective mechanisms for

administrative control and monitoring

of daily performance and behavior ofpublic officials;

Improper administrative procedures

including red tape;

Lack of training in ethical behavior

and practice;External influences and interference

in public service management; etc.


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Corruption Perception Index across

countries

The Corruption Perceptions Index rankscountries/territories based on how corrupt their

public sector is perceived to be.

A country/territorys score indicates the

perceived level of public sector corruption on a

scale of 0 - 10, where 0 means that a country is

perceived as highly corrupt and 10 means that a

country is perceived as very clean.A country's rank indicates its position relative to

the other countries/territories included in the

index.


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The 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index

shows that public frustration is well

founded.No region or country in the world is

immune to the damages of corruption, the

vast majority of the 183 countries andterritories assessed score below five on a

scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very

clean). New Zealand, Denmark and

Finland top the list, while North Korea and

Somalia are at the bottom. Ethiopia

ranked number 120.


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The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks

countries and territories according to their

perceived levels of public sector corruption.

It is an aggregate indicator that combines

different sources of information about

corruption, making it possible to compare

countries. The 2011 index draws on

assessments and opinion surveys carried out

by independent and reputable institutions.


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These surveys and assessments

include questions related to the bribery

of public officials, kickbacks in publicprocurement, embezzlement of public

funds, and the effectiveness of public

sector anti-corruption efforts.Perceptions are used because

corruption is to a great extent a hidden

activity that is difficult to measure.Over time, perceptions have proved to

be a reliable estimate of corruption.


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What kind of environment does corruption need to

thrive/flourish in?

Corruption flourishes where temptation/strong feeling

to corrupt/ coexists with permissiveness.

Where institutional checks on power are missing,

where decision making remains obscure/unclear,

where civil society is thin on the ground, where greatinequalities in the distribution of wealth condemn

people to live in poverty, which is where corrupt

practices flourish.

It cannot be stressed enough that corruption is aliveand well even where political, economic, legal and

social institutions are well entrenched.


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Impact of corruption

Corruption has very serious adverse

effects for a country.

The impact of corruption in

developing countries like Ethiopia isenormous.

It has a devastating effect on the

pol i t ical, economicand

administrat ive dimensions of a

government.


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Political consequences

Corruption poses a danger to the fragile democraticinstitutions and undermines public confidence ingovernment and political institutions;

Obstructs free and fair elections;

Paralyzes the controlling role of the legislativeinstitutions on the executive power;

Constrains the independent judiciary activities;

Leads a government to use force so as to gainlegitimacy for its activities. In other words, leadersapply force in order to sustain themselves in powerat all costs.


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Economic effects The economic costs of corruption have devastating long-term

effects on developing nations.

States are deprived of undertaking economic changes that leadto development and progress.

Corruption leads a country to unshakable poverty and to be

threatened with bankruptcy;

It widens the gap between the haves and have nots It stifles/suppress private initiatives and free-market economy;

It cripples/prevents the countrys access to grant and aid

opportunities;

It leads to other socioeconomic predicaments/messes such aspoo r medica l serv ices, poor schoo ls, delay in completion of

pro jects, ru in in g of nat ional assets, reduc t ion of government

revenue, reduc t ion of produ ct ion capaci ty in industry,

agr icu l ture, etc.


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Administrative Consequences

Corruption could also bring about a shocking effect on the

quality of public service administration system.

Corruption leads to administrative inefficiency as

organizational resources are usually misallocated or

misappropriated by corrupt officials.

Corruption breeds poor personnel management systems.

In such cases, selection and recruitment mechanisms are aimed at

benefiting family members, friends, and relatives.

Appointments and promotions are also made on criteria that

completely ignore principles of merit and quality of services provided

and outputs produced.

It also causes frequent boycotting by quality personnel and

increment in the number of unqualified personnel in public

organizations.


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Mechanisms of Combating Corruption

Unless constructive preventive measures are taken

against corruption, it is like a cancer that continues to

destroy the moral, social, political and economic fabric ofsociety.

In this respect, a number of researchers have forwarded

the following recommendations:

The legislative and institutional framework must bereformed to establish or sustain legal systems that outlaw

illicit/illegal gains;

Senior officials should be required to declare their property

before taking up office, and should be prosecuted for anyinstances of bribery or graft;

Sanction must be applied to the full, and the enforcement system

must operate openly;

Provide joint control (donor and beneficiary country) over the use of

external resources;


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Officials should encourage investigative journalism as a

way of exposing unacceptable behavior;

There should be an open door policy whereby themembers of the public should be given every opportunity

to come and put across their complaints.

Creating or establishing independent bodies like the

Ombudsman and Commission of Inquiry to investigate

and arbitrate disputes in relation to corruption cases.

Decentralization and appropriate delegation of

discretionary and regulatory powers at various levels;

A complete overhaul/replacement and simplification of

purchase procedures on the basis of modern

management practices, follow up or inspection;


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Articulating/communicate code of conduct for public officials;

Strengthening the police and courts machinery;

International communities, especially developed societies must

condemn and resist the robbing of money and stashing it in foreignsecret banks by corrupt leaders of the developing nations.

Ensuring the salaries and compensations of civil servants as well as

political leaders to adequately reflect the responsibilities of their posts

and to help them lead their lives properly;

Incorporating ethics in secondary school and tertiary level curricula; Identifying corruption prone organizations and introducing strict

control and monitoring machinate;

Empowering people (the general public) to disclose and condemn any

abuse of power by public officials.


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National Integrity System (NIS)

This analysis is undertaken via a consultative

approach, involving the key anti-corruptionagents in government, civil society, the

business community and other relevant sectors

with a view to building momentum, political willand civic pressure for relevant reform

initiatives.

The NIS consists of the principle institutions

and factors that contribute to integrity,

transparency and accountability in a society.


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A well-functioning NIS provides effective safeguards

against corruption as part of the larger struggle

against abuse of power, malfeasance/unlaw action,

and misappropriation in all its forms.

However, when these institutions are characterized by

a lack of appropriate regulations and by

unaccountable behavior, corruption is likely tothrive/prosper with negative ripple/wave effects for the

societal goals of equitable growth, sustainable

development and social cohesion.

Strengthening the NIS promotes better governanceacross all aspects of society, and, ultimately,

contributes to a more just society overall.


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End of the theory

ethics and professionalism-unit three.ppt

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