how state organisationsaccountfor thepublicinterest how stateorganisationsrelate totheir stakeholders,and defi administration. Indeed, theyoughttoadoptarich place ofpublicsectorethics intheschemeofpublic to review their collective approach andreassess the Governmental organisationsinNew Zealand ought public managementthanisevidentinNew Zealand. education andtrainingonintegratingethicsinto there hasbeenconsiderablymore emphasis onethics developed countrieswithsimilarforms ofgovernment attitude ofcitizens towards publicinstitutions.In other and acoincidental‘confi the lightofagrowing publicsectorethicsliterature, inform andenrichpublicmanagementispuzzlingin to An apparent absenceofethicalandmoraltheory is allbutignored. is madeinoffi normative orprescriptive ethics,orprofessional ethics, to beusedthanthetermethics.Almostnoreference to integrity andvalues, orresponsibility, are more likely sector managementandadministration,words like NewIn thecontextofcontemporary Zealand state commended, butdotheygofarenough? The initiatives oftheSSCinrecent timesare tobe to befair, responsible impartial, andtrustworthy. about ‘standards ofintegrity andconduct’ –essentially, employees.to applymoststateservice The codeis (SSC) publishedarevised codeofconduct(SSC,2007a) development goals,theState Commission Services In June oftheachievement ofits 2007,aspart nition ofpublicsector ethicstotakeaccountof Bowman, 1996 it protrudes. conscience, themore itisdemeaned,themore an indictmentofthem,notethics;like If somedonottakeethicsseriously, itis cial publications. The languageofethics A Case forPublic Sector Ethics dence gap’ withrespect tothe Colin Hicks ethical just andunjust,butbetween right and not justbetween rightandwrong, orgoodbad, action requires adegree of reasoning tomakechoices forth. To discernwhatconstitutesanethicaldecisionor andso politicians, citizens, usersofpublicservices, up totheexpectationsofothers–colleagues,employers, means how role, tobehave andhow inaparticular tolive behave, ordoingtherightthing.For publicoffi In layman’s terms,ethicsisabouthow we oughtto government administration. processes are alsoinformedby agoodknowledge and values applyingtoallagencies of thestate. The reasoning and theinternalisationoffundamental publicsector acquired through thepracticeofpublicmanagement instincts are informedby experienceandknowledge the schemeofthings. The reasoning processes and asthoseminimum standardsas important maybein a codeofconductoraccompanyingguidancematerial, these matterscannotbedeterminedjustby reference to andconfi public trust merely ameanstotheendofpromoting andenhancing ethical ingovernment isnotanend initself– service are inthatprocess. Being important (of ethicaltheory) critical decisionmaking.Knowledge andunderstanding make reasoned, informedandsystematicjudgments provides thattheory uswithaframeworkto the view their practicalactivity, andadministrative tasks.Itake I fi orinterpretation of publicsectorethics.Rather,theory My intenthere moral isnottopromote aparticular persuasion wasmore evidentthannow. ofwhatever different, orthatethicalandmoraltheory in thepastgovernment here whenitwasany service In makingthisplea I amnotimplyingthere wasatime well encompasshow organisationsare managed,too. in theirobjectsandmissions.Arichdefi rmly believe that ethical theory canhelpoffi rmlybelieve thatethicaltheory

and most ethical dence, andeffi . The exercise ofdiscretion in cient andeffective most nition might nition cials that right, or cialsin 11 Volume 3, Number 3 2007 12 Volume 3, Number 3 2007 what mile’, anddoingwhat good values inalltheydo. That means‘going theextra itisfortheseorganisationstoexpressimportant public given toelectricitysupplyauthoritiesillustrateshow organisations inthestatesectorbehave. Recent publicity to individualbehaviourneedalsoapplytheway others) (Denhardt, 1990). Those samevalues applying disposition todogoodandpromote thewelfare of (the other-regarding –a essenceofpublicservice ofindividuals)andbenevolence the dignityandworth and regard fortherightsofothers,especiallyrespect for responsibility, integrityandprinciple),justice(fairness have beendistilledashonour(thehigheststandards of professional ethicsinthatcontext. values The pertinent fundamental values orcommonbeliefsthatmaydefi obligationandthose of thenature ofpublicservice These standards needtobeunderstoodinthelight standards thatgobeyond theexpectedminima. andexplicitethicalmaintenance ofwell-articulated substantial publicgoodisbestachieved through the ofunderstandingpublicsectorethics.A to theheart An onustodemonstrateasubstantialpublicgoodgoes of integrity(harmsavoided) (Uhr, 2005,p.39). than towards amodestbutmore manageablestandard highstandarda very ofjustice(goodspromoted) rather direction ofactively promoting publicbenefi gain orbenefi more thanavoiding theuseofpublicoffi of government shouldnotleave anydoubtthatitmeans any institution,butadefi in Establishing boundariesofgoodconductisimportant of government. applies topublicoffi andpracticeasitunderstanding ofethicaltheory It seemspreferable toaccentuatethe positive, affi pointtounderstandpublicsectorethics. best starting boundaries shouldbedrawn. In thisisnotthe myview conduct, andtherefore focusesonwhere theseminimum of conventions orproscriptive codes, oreven illegal of ethicsisdiscusseditin thecontextofbreaches agency isfullyethicalornot. Too often,whenthetopic conduct isnotasuffi or, indeed,acodeofconduct.Anabsenceunethical ethical isnotachieved onlyby following oflaw, therule Not doingharmisnotthesameas good.Being standards. can be done,consistentwithethicalvalues and t. The meaningshouldleanmore inthe cient testofwhetherastatesector ce andtheadministrative sphere ought nition ofethicsinthecontext to bedoneratherthan ce forpersonal t –towards rm ne developing ‘a systemofworld classprofessional state a fi of sixbroad ‘aspirations’ orgoalstobeachieved over In 2005theState Commissionpublisheda set Services sector standards intheinterim,said, produced avariety ofreports onthe broad issueofstate statement ofvalues. Two years latertheSSSB,having expectations ofthestatesectorinaclearandconcise and toprovide thebasisforgovernment tosetoutits statesector to beassured ofanethical,public-serving established theState Sector Standards Board (SSSB) (and political)disquiet,theministerofstateservices In November 2000, inresponse toagrowing public of theSSC’s website.) inthearchive section paperssurvive and values. (These to areference resource ofpublicsectorethicsstandards or herwork (SSC,1995).In thepapersamounted short, values toguidetheresponsible offi accessible form,reference toappropriate standards and series waspublishedtoprovide, inaconsolidatedand years1991, p1).Afew lateracomprehensive guidance the ‘administrative behaviour’ (Martin, ofpublicservants go beyond thecodeandtoprovide guidanceinrespect of Hunn thatthere statedpubliclyhisview wasaneedto behaviour ofpublicoffi reiterate whathebelieved tobetheconstantsgoverning stewardship. He recognised theneedtocodifyand State Commissionin1989,underDon Services Hunn’s The fi minimum standards. well aboveraise theirethicalperformance theexpected can and stimulatediscussionofhow publicservants whose interests oughttobepromoted andenhanced, ve-year periodtocontribute toanoverall goalof commitment by leadership’. (SSSB,2002) of behaviouralstandards, effective systems,and report thatthere is‘a needtobevigilant,interms in lastyear’slight andunderlineourobservation inappropriate behaviourcontinue tocome public organisations.Regrettably, instancesof Commissioner,Services ‘cast ashadow’ over of thisBoard and,inthewords oftheState in theState Sector preceded theestablishment ethical andmanagerialstandards oforganisations since theBoard’s lastreport. Concernsaboutthe developments intheethosofState Sector There donotappeartohave beenanysignifi rst writtencodeofconductwasissuedby the cials inareformed statesector. cial in all aspects of his cial in allaspectsofhis cant cant of New Zealanders’ thegovernment serving ofthedayandneeds services the goalswasmonitored mostrecently inMay 2007 the spiritofservice’. Progress towards achievement of to ‘strengthen andreinforce inthestateservices trust internally, leavingthose onthe‘outside’ noreal basison ifthestandardssetting, particularly are setandassessed be counter-productive. The samemaybesaidofrule- affect professional prideandintegrity, andmayeven An obsessionwithaccountability willmostcertainly attention from thepracticeofstatecraft. a preoccupation withtoeingtheline,which diverts with tighteraccountabilitymechanisms,andperhaps standards). Inevitably, theresult ismore compliance (ofwhatnottodo),andmorerules codes(ofminimal offi These phenomenareinforce apropensity forpublic reputation andimageasanysubstantiatedtransgression. the past.Appearance ofwrongdoing isasdamagingto exposed more readily andforlongerperiodsthanin things gowrong thefactsandfallaciestendtobe unethical conductinpubliclifethiscentury. When experienced aheightenedperception ofdubiousor It isnotpeculiartoNew Zealand thatwe have nature andpurposeofpublicservice. nature ofgovernment andthe‘good society’, andthe Or, itcouldmean adebateisstilltobehadaboutthe statecraft (Martin, 1988)isnotexplicitlyrecognised. this omissionsuggeststhatthesedaysaprofession of bio-ethics). This maynotbesignifi the work ofethicscommittees(suchasresearch, and ethics (legal,accounting,etc.),andwithreference to with respect topossibleconfl icts withprofessional onlytworeferencesthis effort toethicshave beenmade: and guidancematerialpublished(SSC,2007b).In all hasbeen issued (SSC,2007a), most ofthestateservices benchmarks set.Arevised codeofconducttoapply have beenidentifi in,stateservices and trust and buildingtrust. The keydrivers ofsatisfactionwith, at: improving meetingcitizen’s services; expectations; The SSCinitiatives inrecent timeshave allbeenaimed signifi CommissionwillhaveServices todomuchmore for itappearsthattheStatethe accuracyofsuchsurveys, Brunton, 2007,p.3). Putting asideanyscepticismabout (ColmarZealanders express inpublicservices trust key fi cials to beextremely riskaverse –tocreate more nding isthatonlyasmallmajorityofadultNew cant improvement thanplannedtodate.

(SSC, 2005).One ofthegoalsis cant ofitself, but ed, and ed, . A than mere reporting. Accountability inthecontext For example,Ibelieve accountability meansmore interest, orwords likeaccountability, andresponsibility. not commondefi reasonable expectationsofcitizens; or thatthere are the standards are nothighenoughordorefl sector andself-regulated inthemain.It ispossiblethat they are, when thestandards are set withinthestate organisations sayabouttheirintegrity, orhow accountable whatpublicsector why citizens shouldtakeontrust Uhr (2005)suggeststhere isprobably nogoodreason citizens are governments. naturallyhesitanttotrust It canbeexpected(itmayeven beahealthy sign)that out aninvestigation intotheaffair.) writing, theState Commission isabouttocarry Services to hisinvolvement inthecontroversy. At thetimeof inhispublicexplanationswithrespectwholly truthful resignation whenitbecameevidentthathehadnotbeen appointee, theprimeministeracceptedherminister’s an apparent orreal confl the appointment.Althoughcasemayhave involved for theenvironment hadexpressed someconcernsover confl withdrawn becausetheappointeehadanunmanageable commissionerthattheofferofemployment was services of theleaderopposition.It wassaidby thestate personal relationship withanemployee intheoffi job afterthechiefexecutive learnedoftheappointee’s the Environment, butwassoonrequired toleave the for to aseniorcommunicationspositionintheMinistry and responsibility. (In thiscase,apersonwasappointed judge theactionsofthoseinpositionspublictrust need tobeexpressed tothefull,sothatothersmay transparency are andtruth tohave real meaningthey ethical andmore accountable.If termslikeopenness, have beenmore indeedmore publiclyforthcoming, political advantage. In thiscase,publicoffi media andpoliticalappetitesforagoodstory, ortogain provide only somuchinformationtoassuagenews considerations. That is,theyseemeddeterminedto conduct wassomehow moderatedby publicrelations at painstoactonthebasisofappearance,ortheir executive commissioner –seemed andthestateservices principal actorsintheaffair–minister, thechief fortheEnvironmentMinistry maybeoneinpoint. The case. of aparticular involving the The on-goingstory which tojudgeforthemselves themeritsorotherwise ict ofinterest. Later, itwasrevealed thattheminister nitions ofsuchphrases asconfl ict ofinterest ofthe onthepart cials should ect the the ect icts of of icts ce 13 Volume 3, Number 3 2007 14 Volume 3, Number 3 2007 of thebusinesses ofgovernment. The ownership interest focus even more attentionontheownership dimension In thelightoffallingpublicconfi entity.integrity inaparticular integrity isnotthesumof individual orprofessional conduct ofindividualemployees. Organisational chance, orpiecemealattention,even thepersonal management. Areputation isnotusuallyaproduct of not sustainedintheabsenceofgoodgovernance and itdoes.Suchideals ineverything astatus,however, is toitsstatedvalueson itspromises and andbeingtrue is arefl integrity. We mayassumethatorganisationalintegrity integrity, andwe degrees recognise ofprofessional varying Most ofusunderstandwhatconstitutespersonal values ofpublicservice. effi conduct inthesamemannerashighproductivity or systems shouldrecognise andreward highethical and itsemployee relations. Performance management organisation operatesits‘customer service’ standards instance, there shouldbeaconsistencyintheway thatisdoneinthenameofentity.everything For values, andtheseshouldideallypermeatedirect have developed high-level statementsofpurposeand image oftheorganisation.Many statesectoragencies undoubtedly affecttheconductofemployees andthe to theirvalues, andtotheirnature andpurpose,will too. How organisationsbehave andgive expression in consideringethicalstandards fororganisations, in thecontextofindividualbehaviour, there isvalue thatmostofusthinkaboutethicsWhile itistrue right thing. thoseinpositionsofresponsibilitycan trust todothe the appointee’s offerofemployment, andwhetherwe all lefttowonderwhatmotivated thewithdrawalof impartiality, responsibilityWe andtrustworthiness. are sector codeofconductpromoting thevalues offairness, followed hard ontheheelsofpromulgation ofastate Itpublic service. isironic thatthecasereferred toabove needs toreflect thefundamentalethicalvalues of (or inactionsandindecisions,too).Such justifi providing answers for, officialactionsordecisions ethical senseitalsomeansexplaining,andifnecessary inapositionofresponsibility.of performance In an continued offi of government istheobligationtodemonstrate ciency. The drivers should bethefundamentalethical ection ofanagency’s reputation fordelivering cial trustworthiness through justifi cial trustworthiness dence itistimeto cation cation problems, andpromise in anageofreform’, keynote Bowman, J.S.(1996)‘Public ethics:prospects, service Federation Press public enterpriseandethics Bishop, P. andN.Preston (eds)(2000) References objective attentionthanitappears toreceive atpresent. more honestand deserves butitcertainly sector services, not beapanaceafortheapparent ‘confi administration, andappliedsystematically. Ethics may needs tobeintegralgoodpublicmanagementand intheschemeofthings place ofethicsandethicaltheory confi approach looksmore likeaclip-on,contemporary practice (Bishop andPreston, 2000).In the myview recognised whenconsideringwhatconstitutesethical from theprivate sector, andthedistinctionneedstobe government businessisaqualitatively different exercise needs tobeappreciated. The practiceofgovernment and governance, afullerandricherunderstandingofethics For andconfi thesakeofpublictrust even more so. In government the – elementofperformance crucial muchconcernedwitha done (ornot),theotherisvery failure’. Whereas onefailure hastodowith the possibilityofwhatmightbetermed‘systemic ethical and managementoforganisationalintegritytoavoid Creek mightapplyequallywell toourunderstanding publicly-owned institutions.Lessonslearnedfrom Cave have, andhow inappropriate cultures candevelop in tragic effectssqueezingoutapparent ineffi current. We now understandalotmore aboutwhat It isnot solongagothattheterm‘systemic failure’ was focus needstobewidened. than thegovernance level ofresponsibility. Ibelieve the than institutionalconduct,andmore ontheoperations ismore onindividual organisations thefocusofinquiry or processes. When integrityisquestionedinstatesector understanding andmanagingpeopleinorganisations, and promoting organisationalintegrityasitisfor formaintainingframework isjustasimportant (Hicks andScanlon,1998).In thisregard anethics the specialcharacteristicsofstatesectororganisations and public-regarding behaviourandgives substanceto forms thebridgebetween goodmanagementpractices ned largelytoacodeofminimalconduct. The how is as important asthe is asimportant , Leichhardt, NSW: The how dence gap’ instate Local Government: dence, andgood thingsare done. ciencies can ciencies what what is , Australian government Uhr, J.(2005) Commission Services the Code:guidanceforstate servants State Commission (2007b) Services Conduct State Commission(2007a) Services Commission Goals fortheState Services State Commission(2005) Services State Commission Services Principles,Service Conventions andPractice State Commission(1995) Services State Sector State Sector Standards Board (2002) The Federation Press Public Sector: educationandtraining Zealand experience’, inN.Preston (ed.), Martin, J.(1994)‘EthicstheNew inpublicservice: commissioner) services State Commission(preface Services by D.K.Hunn, state administrative practice inatimeofchange Martin, J.(1991) unintended in M.Clark (ed.), Martin, J.(1988)‘Is there aprofession of statecraft?’, Leichhardt, NSW: The Federation Press Public Sector Ethics: fi in C.Sampford &N.Preston withC.-A.Bois(eds), Hicks, C.andG.Scanlon(1998)‘Integrating ethics’, Australian Journal ofPublic Administration integrity:acaseforresponsible accountability’,service Gregory, R.andC.Hicks (1999)‘Promoting public Management justice’, inJ.S.Bowman (ed.), of publicadministration:honour, benevolence, and Denhardt, K.G.(1990)‘Unearthing themoralfoundations Commission, Wellington: ColmarBrunton State Services Colmar Brunton (2007) international conference, Brisbane, 5–9August past andfuture’ Ethics inthePublic 5th Service address presented atthe‘Public Sector Ethics –between , Wellington: State Commission Services , Wellington:SSRFC , Wellington: State Commission Services , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass , report prepared fortheState Services Terms of Trust: argumentsover ethicsin Constitutional Changes:intendedand Public andthePublic Service Service: , Sydney: University ofNSWPress nding andimplementingvalues Satisfaction and Trust inthe , Wellington: State Services Ethical Frontiers inPublic New Zealand Public , Leichhardt, NSW: , Wellington:State The Ethos ofthe Understanding Integrity and Development , Wellington: , Wellington: Ethics forthe , 58(4) , [email protected] His emailaddress is: the SchoolofGovernment, VUW. of Public Management programme at in publicsectorethicsfortheMaster recently hewasacourseco-ordinator the State Commission.Until Services former ofJustice, Department andin positions ofresponsibility inthe oflongstanding,who held servant Colin Hicks isaformer public 15 Volume 3, Number 3 2007