Table Of ContentPublic Service Ethics
Ethics—in all its exemplary and exhausting forms—matters. It deals with the most grip-
ping question in public life: “What is the right thing to do?” Now in a thoroughly revised
second edition, Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities introduces
readers to this personally relevant and professionally challenging field of study. No matter
the topic—the necessity of ethics, intriguing human behavior experiments, the role of
ethics codes, whistleblowing incidents, corruption exposés, and the grandeur and decay of
morality— there is no shortage of controversy. The book enables readers to:
• appreciate why ethics is essential to leadership,
• understand and apply moral development theory at the individual and organizational
levels of analysis,
• differentiate between ethical problems and ethical dilemmas, and design creative ways
to deal with them,
• develop abilities to use moral imagination and ethical reasoning—to appraise, argue,
and defend an ethical position, and
• cultivate individual and institutional initiatives to improve ethical climate and
infrastructure.
Authors James Bowman and Jonathan West capture reader interest by featuring learning
objectives, skill- building material, discussion questions, and exercises in each chapter. The
authors’ narrative is user- friendly and accessible, highlighting dilemmas and challenging
readers to “own” the book by annotating the pages with one’s own ideas and insights, then
interacting with others in a live or virtual classroom to stretch one’s thinking about the
management of ethics and ethics of management. The ultimate goal is to bolster students’
confidence and prepare them for the ethical problems they will face in the future, equipping
them with the conceptual frameworks and context to approach thorny questions and behave
ethically.
James S. Bowman is Professor and Director of the Masters of Public Administration Program
at the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Florida State University, USA.
Jonathan P. West is Professor and Chair of Political Science and Director of the Graduate
Public Administration Program at the University of Miami, USA.
“The second edition continues with the same comprehensive format and chapters, with lots
of updated information and more developed insights on key theoretical topics. The authors
offer many useful analytic tools and methods for engaging in ethical analysis, with numerous
real-world examples and cases. Students will continue to find the book very useful.”
– Richard Green, University of Utah, USA
Public Service Ethics
Individual and
Institutional Responsibilities
Second Edition
James S. Bowman and Jonathan P. West
RO Routledge
U
T
LE Taylor & Francis Group
D
GENEW YORK LONDON
Second edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of James S. Bowman and Jonathan P. West to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by
them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
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or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
[First edition published by CQ Press 2014]
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bowman, James S., 1945- author. | West, Jonathan P. (Jonathan Page), 1941- author.
Title: Public service ethics : individual and institutional responsibilities / James S. Bowman and Jonathan P. West.
Description: Second Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2018. | Previous edition: 2015. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017059733| ISBN 9781138578180 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138578197 (paperback :
alk. paper) | ISBN 9781351265126 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Civil service ethics. | Public administration--Moral and ethical aspects. | Political ethics. | Civil
service ethics--United States. | Public administration--Moral and ethical aspects--United States. | Political
ethics--United States.
Classification: LCC JF1525.E8 B69 2018 | DDC 172/.2--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059733
ISBN: 978- 1-138- 57818- 0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1-138- 57819- 7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1-351- 26512- 6 (ebk)
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Contents
List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits xv
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxi
About the Authors xxiii
PART I FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC SERVICE ETHICS 1
1. Pertinence, Practicality, and Poppycock 2
Pertinence: Reasons to Study Ethics 2
Personal 3
Pervasiveness 4
Professional 5
Power 5
Price of Ethical Pitfalls 9
Practicality: Commitment as a Privilege and Obligation 10
Poppycock: Myths About Ethics 10
Ethics as Impossible 10
Ethics as Unnecessary 12
Ethics as Simple 13
Conclusion 14
For Discussion 15
Exercises 16
References 19
Appendix 1.1 Personal Checklist 21
Appendix 1.2. Book Chapters and NASPAA Professional Competencies in
Public Administration 23
2. Perspectives on Ethics: Macro, Meso, Micro 25
Levels of Analysis 25
Macro Level of Analysis: Historical Dimensions 27
The Study of Knowledge 27
Political History 29
Contemporary Research on Levels of Ethics 29
Meso Level of Analysis: The Organization 32
Micro Level of Analysis: The Individual 33
Factors Influencing Meso–Micro Ethics 35
Leadership 35
Strategic Policies 36
Organizational Culture 36
Individual Characteristics 38
viii Contents
Case Study 2.1 The Pennsylvania State University Athletic Sex Abuse
Scandal 38
Case Study 2.2 Ethical Dilemmas During the Grenfell Tower Fire 40
Conclusion 43
For Discussion 44
Exercises 45
References 45
3. Values, Ethics, and Dilemmas 49
Defining Values 49
Applying Values in Public Service 50
Exemplar Profile: Scooter Libby Compromising Values 51
Exemplar Profile: James Loy Embodying Values of Honor, Respect, Duty 52
Defining Ethics 54
Case Study 3.1 Challenge the Leader 55
Case Study 3.2 Hypocrisy or Humanity? 56
Domains of Human Action: Law vs. Free Choice 57
Social Forces Endangering Ethics 58
Conclusion 60
Case Study 3.3 Value Conflicts in World Affairs 60
Notes 62
For Discussion 62
Exercises 63
References 65
PART II INDIVIDUAL-CENTERED APPROACHES TO ETHICS 69
4. Moral Development Theory 70
Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory: A Rational Approach 70
Case Study 4.1 Applying Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development 73
Milgram’s Shock and Zimbardo’s Prison Experiments: Ethics Under Pressure 75
Milgram: Situation Ethics 75
Zimbardo: The Stanford Prison Experiment 76
Analysis 77
Haidt’s Social Intuitionalist Approach 78
Social Intuitionalism 79
Moral Foundations Theory 80
Conclusion 82
Notes 83
For Discussion 83
Exercises 84
References 87
5. Cognitive Ethics Methods: Result and Rule Problem-Solving Approaches 89
Approaches to Ethics 89
A Five-Stage Method for Analyzing Ethical Issues 90
Attention and Perception 90
Processing 90
Contents ix
Action 91
Evaluation 94
Moral Courage 95
Case Study 5.1 Applying the Kew Gardens Principles 97
Applying the Five-Stage Method: A Personal and Professional Conflict 98
Conclusion 99
Notes 100
For Discussion 100
Exercises 101
References 105
Appendix 5.1 Sensitivity-Intensity Matrix Approach 107
Appendix 5.2 The Ethical Principles Approach 111
Case Study 5.2 Applying the Ethical Principles Approach: Playing Poker With
a Vendor 111
Appendix 5.3 Line Drawing 114
Case Study 5.3 Applying the Line Drawing Method: A Questionable Gift 114
6. Virtue Theory 116
Comparing Cognitive and Virtue Ethics 116
The Vocabulary of Virtue 117
Exemplar Profile: Donna Shalala 120
Exemplar Profile: Cory Booker 122
Habituation: The Formation of Character 123
Virtue Theory Strengths and Weaknesses 125
Case Study 6.1 Applying Rion’s Ethical Decision-Making Framework: Probing
the Conscience 126
Utility of Virtue Ethics for Managers: Challenge and Response 127
Conclusion 129
Notes 130
For Discussion 131
Exercises 132
References 133
7. Conscious Deliberation and Subconscious Action: The Dishonesty of
Honest People 135
Results, Rule, Virtue: Decision Making With the Ethics Triad 136
Utilizing the Ethics Triad 137
Case Study 7.1 The Ethics Triad: Applying the Rational Approach to a
Birthday Invitation 139
Behavioral Ethics: What People Do vs. What They Say They Do 141
Principles 143
Bounded Rationality/Bounded Ethicality 143
System 1/System 2 Thinking 143
Motivated Reasoning 144
Framing Effects 145
Bias and Decision-Making Errors 145
Monitoring and Sanctions 148
Organizational Context and Ethical Infrastructure 149
Countering Biases 149
