JOURNAL: WEEK THREE

For the Good of All
Any personal model of professional ethics for me would be incomplete without some concept of the public good. Generally, people enter public service in pursuit of certain motives, whether they be to help others or even to just help themselves. In fact, researchers like Rainey, Crewson, Perry and others have shown a whole range of rationales for public service to explain why qualified candidates seek government and nonprofit positions. These motives range from compassion and self-sacrifice to expanding responsibilities and challenges to personal development of integrity. Not surprisingly, the financial rewards of public service are low on the list. Intrinsic rewards seem to dominate it. Taken as a whole, these motives provide evidence of a particular service ethic, an orientation to serving the public good that attracts various types of people.

The developmental aspect of public service emphasizes that people seek ethical actualization through service. Employees often feel a duty to serve, protect and defend the democratic ideals of society. This may be thought of as a form of patriotism. At the same time, they also feel responsible for the welfare of other human beings, and thus cultivate a sense of benevolence. Eventually, by serving people and society they also tend to develop a sense of personal integrity. This reaffirms their values and provides them with a sense of stability over time. Duty, responsibility and integrity are ethical terms besides being motives cited for service. By choosing to do one's duty, be responsible and maintain integrity in the face of budget cuts and political pressures, employees come to have, in a word, character. Character is how personal values are expressed in the employee. A strong, ethical character contributes directly to organizational mission.

When, on the other hand, character is weak, due to external forces or to the employee's own internal failings (or both), the developmental function of public service can and become dysfunctional or break down, weakening the organization.

Idee fixe