Jack Dustin

1
Best Organizational Ethics Resources
Jack Dustin Director, Center for Urban Public
Affairs Wright State University
Wright State University Third Business Integrity
Breakfast Dayton, Ohio June 15, 2005
2
Public Sector PerspectiveDayton Ethical Climate

• Forces changing the public sector
• Values guiding public sector decisions
• Ethical roles in-balance or out-of-balance?
• Ethical standards in-balance or out-of-balance?

3
Forces Changing the Public Sector

• Globalization
• economic restructuring
• redesigning the urban platform
• can cities or regions be competitive?
• Spatial dispersion
• duplicating services but cant keep up
• what is the community?
• Fiscal Stress
• higher costs of services
• more responsibilities/less resources
• is consolidation the answer?

4
Values Guiding Public Sector Decisions

• Individualism
• entrepreneurial government
• local competition for wealth
• Efficiency
• performance based management
• results over process
• Technology will save us
• Reinvent government
• E-government

5
Ethical Roles (Carol Lewis)

• Personal
• Oneself, family, city or religious group
• Member of the State (Jurisdiction)
• abide by the law
• Member of an organizational (Agency)
• abide by organizational policy
• Member of a profession
• city manager, planner, engineer
• Member of humanity

6
Ethical Standards

• Standards and values conflict
• What is more important efficiency or democracy?
• What is more important treat everyone the same
  (uniformity/equality) or act with compassion
  (flexibility/equity)?
• How should we decide environment or private
  property cost-benefit or majority rule public
  good or individual liberty?
• What ethical role should we stand on law, public
  service, policy or personal interest?