MPA 524 Ethics
in Public Administration
Fall 2011
Dr. Rick Ghere
Zehler 304 937.229.4220
richard.ghere@notes.udayton.edu
FINAL EXAMINATION click here
REQUIRED TEXT: Lewis and Gilman, The Ethics Challenge in Public Service 2005
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Sept. 6 Vulgar
Ethics; Ethical Competencies in Public Management
(framework of course)
issues
--Mainzer, "Vulgar
Ethics for Public Administration."
Admin&Society
1991
--Bowman, West & Beck, "The
Ethical Professional..." in Achieving Competencies in
Public Service 2010 on
e-reserve
VALUES MANAGEMENT
Sept. 13
Traditional Public Service Values
issues
--Lewis & Gilman, Introduction; Chapters 1 and 3
--Riccucci, "The
Ethical
Responsibilities of Street-Level Bureaucrats."
Public Integrity 2007
Discuss
Course Paper
-- Peruse Howe article (See Oct. 18
below)
Sept. 20 Traditional Public Service Values in a
Transforming Public Sector
issues
--Frederickson "Searching for
Virtue in Public Life." Public Integrity
2010
--[author unknown] "Ethical Competency
in Business Leadership" in
Achieving Ethical
Competency for
Public Service Leadership
forthcoming 2012
--Ghere, "Network Legitimacy and
Accountability..." Public Integrity 2011
ORGANIZATION ETHICS
Sept. 27 A
Model of Public Integrity; Codes of Ethics
issues
--Dobel, "Integrity in Office"
Public Integrity
1999 on e-reserve
--Lewis & Gilman Chapter 8
Oct. 4
Temptations, Dissonance, and Improving Organizations
issues
--Dobel, "The Temptations of
Power" Public Integrity
on e-reserve
--Lewis & Gilman Chapter 10
--
proposed revisions: Code of Ethics, American Society for
Public Administration
INDIVIDUAL MORALITY
Oct. 11
Individual Responsibility and Professional Virtue
issues
--Lewis & Gilman Chapter 4
--Bailey, "The
Relationship between Ethics and the Public Service" 1965; on ereserve
Oct. 18
The Relevance of "Self"
issues
--Howe, "Enchantment, Weak Ontologies, and Administrative Ethics."
Admin&Society
2006
[At minimum, read pp. 422-431 and 440-443; relate back
to Bailey essay;
Do you have a weak or strong ontology?]
--Tavris & Aronson, "Pride and Prejudice...and Other
Blind Spots" and "Wounds, Rifts, and Wars" in
Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) 2007 on
e-reserve [see
book review]
Oct. 25 MIDTERM EXAM (click here)
MORAL REASONING
Nov. 1
Traditional Reasoning Standards and Moral Cognitive
Development
(Part 1)
issues
--Lewis & Gilman Chapter 5
--Stewart et al., "Moral Reasoning
in the Context of Reform..." Pub. Admin. Rev. 2002
Nov. 8
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas and Moral Cognitive Development
(Part 2)
issues
--Lewis & Gilman Chapter 6
--White, "Are
Women
More Ethical?..." J-PART 1999
--Gilligan & Goldberg, "An
Interview
with Carol Gilligan..." Phi Delta Kappan 2000
PUBLIC MORALITY
Nov. 15
Contemporary Issues: Ethics in Public Management
Course Paper Due
issues
Nov 29
Private Life issues
--Eimicke and Shacknai, "Eliot
Spitzer" Public
Integrity 2008d
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is developed around five
particular ethical competencies identified by James Bowman,
Jonathan West, and Marcia Beck in their recent book
Achieving Competencies
in Public Service: The Professional Edge. As such, the
course is strongly practitioner-focused and organized to
address some “new” or emerging topics in public management.
Nonetheless, course readings and discussions will broach
some psychological and philosophical issues as background
for grasping the significance of moral and ethical problems
as they arise in public service. Students
should expect that
their preconceived ideas about these topics at various
points will be challenged (and not necessarily re-enforced).
Class dialog is essential in the study of ethics, and the
expression of all
ideas is welcomed so
long as it reflects a professionally mature disposition.
Each student is expected to contribute substantially
to the course dialog. The instructor has
authored articles on public service ethics in various
journals, co-edited a book Ethics in Public Management
(2005 and is currently
co-editing a second edition), and serves on the
executive board of the American Society for Public
Administration Ethics section.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
(1) gain a heightened sensitivity and awareness of the value/moral dimensions of public sector decision making and management;
(2) formulate meaningful distinctions between the substance of public service ethics and one's own value system;
(3) understand and articulate a reasonable breadth of issues treated in the public service literature, and demonstrate proficiency interpreting these professional journal readings, and
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Midterm Examination
60 pts.
Course Paper (presentation)
80 pts.
Contribution
(see course description)
and Attendance
60 pts.
Final Examination
60 pts.