Transcript ethics in public administration - prof. Enrico Calossi

The Role of Ethics in European
Public Administration
By Enrico Calossi, PhD
Pisa University
Definition of Ethics
• 1. (functioning as singular) the philosophical study
of the moral value of human conduct and of the
rules and principles that ought to govern it; moral
philosophy
• 2. (functioning as plural) a social, religious, or civil
code of behaviour considered correct, esp that of a
particular group, profession, or individual
• 3. (functioning as plural) the moral fitness of a
decision, course of action, etc.
Some aspects (1)
• Amoralism: the state or quality of being without morality or of being
indifferent to moral standards.
• Axiology: the branch of philosophy dealing with values, as those of ethics,
aesthetics, or religion.
• Casuistry: a. the branch of ethics or theology that studies the relation of
general ethical principles to particular cases of conduct or conscience.
b. a dishonest or application of such principles.
• Deontology: the branch of philosophy concerned with ethics, especially
that branch dealing with duty, moral obligation, and right action.
• eudemonism, eudaemonism, eudemonics: the ethical doctrine that the
basis of morality lies in the tendency of right actions to produce
happiness, especially in a life governed by reason rather than pleasure.
Some aspects (2)
• Metaethics: a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations
of ethics and especially with the definition of ethical terms and the
nature of moral discourse.
• Moralism: the practice of morality, as distinct from religion
• Sensualism: the doctrine that the good is to be judged only by or
through the gratification of the senses. Also called sensationalism.
• Synteresis: the belief or doctrine that the conscience is the
repository of the laws of right and wrong.
• Utilitarianism: the ethical doctrine that virtue is based upon utility
and that behavior should have as its goal the procurement of the
greatest happiness for the greatest number of persons.
• Let’s try to summarize:
Ethics: a system of norms and values that
characterize a good behaviour
Difference between “what is legal” and “what
is right”
Ten commandaments
• I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before
me, you shall not make for yourself an idol
• You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God
• Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
• Honor your father and mother
• You shall not murder
• You shall not commit adultery
• You shall not steal
• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
• You shall not covet your neighbor's wife
• You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor
Three kinds of power legitimacy
1. Tradition
2. Charisma
3. ?????
3. State Rational - Legal
Source of ethic values in modern societies?
 Role of Constitutions
1. Fraud
• Definition: In the broadest sense, a fraud is an
intentional deception made for personal gain or to
damage another individual.
• Elements of fraud:
a representation of an existing fact;
its falsity;
the speaker's knowledge of its falsity;
the speaker's intent that it shall be acted upon by the plaintiff;
plaintiff's ignorance of its falsity;
plaintiff's reliance on the truth of the representation;
consequent damages suffered by plaintiff.
1. Fraud (kinds of)
• benefit fraud, committing fraud to get government
benefits
• counterfeiting of documents
• charlatanism
• embezzlement, taking money which one has been entrusted with
on behalf of another party
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false advertising
forgery of documents or signatures,
fraud upon the court
health fraud, for example selling of products known not
to be effective, such as quack medicines,
• identity theft and selling
2. Abuse of Power
• Improper use of authority by someone who
has that authority because he or she holds a
public office.
• Exs:
too many controls, request of documents
without any reason, inpoliteness, etc…
3. Conflict of Interests
definition: it occurs when an individual or
organization is involved in multiple interests,
one of which could possibly corrupt the
motivation for an act in the other.
3. Conflict of Interests (kinds of)
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Self-dealing, in which an official who controls an organization causes it to enter
into a transaction with the official, or with another organization that benefits the
official. The official is on both sides of the "deal.“ Outside employment, in which
the interests of one job contradict another,
Family interests, in which some close relative are employed (or applies for
employment) or where goods or services are purchased from these relatives or a
firm controlled by a relative. For this reason, many employment applications ask if
one is related to a current employee. If this is the case, the relative could then
recuse from any hiring decisions.  Nepotism.
Gifts from friends who also do business with the person receiving the gifts. (Such
gifts may include non-tangible things of value such as transportation and lodging.)
Pump and dump, in which a stock broker which owns a security artificially inflates
the price by "upgrading" it or spreading rumors, sells the security and adds short
position, then "downgrade" the security or spread negative rumors to push the
price down.
4. Sexual harrassment
Definition: it is intimidation, bullying or coercion
of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or
inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange
for sexual favors
4. Sexual harrassment (elements of) (2)
• The harasser can be anyone, such as a client, a co-worker,
a teacher or professor, a student, a friend, or a stranger.
• The victim does not have to be the person directly
harassed but can be anyone who finds the behavior
offensive and is affected by it.
• While adverse effects on the victim are common, this
does not have to be the case for the behavior to be
unlawful.
• The victim can be any gender. The harasser can be any
gender.
• The harasser does not have to be of the opposite sex.
4. Sexual harrassment (elements of) (3)
• The harasser may be completely unaware that his or her
behavior is offensive or constitutes sexual harassment or may
be completely unaware that his or her actions could be
unlawful.
• Misunderstanding between Female-Male Communication: It
can result from a situation where one thinks he/she is making
themselves clear, but is not understood the way they
intended. The misunderstanding can either be reasonable or
unreasonable. An example of unreasonable is when a man
holds a certain stereotypical view of a woman such that he did
not understand the woman’s explicit message to stop.
5. Corruption
Definition: it is the use of legislated powers by
government officials for illegitimate private gain
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Kinds of:
Bribery
Extortion
Trading in influence
Patronage
Nepotism and cronyism
Electoral fraud
Embezzlement
Unholy alliance
Involvement in organized crime
Ethical vices in public administration
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Fraud
Abuse of power
Conflict of Interests
Sexual harrassment
Corruption