I'd like to be ethical,but they won't let me

To be ethical, the member of a modern organization must know what. the work requires of him (or her), what the organization requires of him, and what others require of him. But modern organizations put doing one's job before doing one's work and before one's duty to one's fellow man. Because they do so structurally, the individual usually cannot know what the effect of doing one's duty is on doing a good piece of work or on other human beings. This article attempts to make a beginning to show how far removed the structure of knowledge in modern organization is from constituting the basis for ethical behavior. The means chosen is a phenomeno-logical reconstruction of the ethical field that links the individual to objects, others, and self.     

Free to choose,free to win,free to lose: the phenomenology of ethical space

This paper argues that, contrary to some points of view, most public administrators have sufficient discretion to act ethically; they have ‘ethical space’ within field constraints. This conclusion is arrived at by way of a theoretical perspective called phenomenology. Along the way we describe this orientation and try to show its relevance to practitioners.     

The ethical foundations of american public administration

From the founding of the Republic to the age of Jackson, Federalist administrators dominated the federal public service, infusing it not only with a high level of ethics, but also with an active religious covenant that gave the new Republic a fundamental political purpose. That convenant was eventually lost, but has been restored a few times in our history. By comparison, the modern respect for the privateness of political power is poorly suited to support an ethical and committed public service.     

Pakistan's industrial families: The extent,causes, and effects of their economic power

There has been much interest lately in the phenomenon of industrial growth in Pakistan and in the leading industrial families who were in the centre of that growth. [G. F. Papanek, 1967; G. F. Papanek, 1971; H. Papanek, 1972]. There have been few efforts, however to measure directly the importance of these families and the causes and effects of their economic power. This article will attempt to provide some of these measures.

Section I estimates the overall concentration in the manufacturing sector in Pakistan and provides a few international comparisons. Section II will provide estimates of the more traditional concentration by industry, along with estimates of the leading families’ roles in those industries. Section III discusses the origins of both kinds of concentration. And Section IV will analyze the consequences ‐economic and non‐economic ‐ of this concentration. The data in this article relate mostly to 1968.¹     

Conflicting loyalties: ethical pluralism in administrative life

Modem civil servants experience and often profess multiple loyalties, both internally and externally. Some of these loyalties can be detrimental to organisational objectives, and many of them will cause conflicts between employees and managers. This paper is about the forms of administrative disobedience that can result from these conflicts of loyalties. Central to it is the classic, Weberian question: To whom should an official be loyal in the case of an order which appears wrong to him? The orthodox notion of strict, hierarchical loyalty and its limits are first discussed. Next, four alternatives for redefining administraive loyalty are presented and evaluated; personal responsibility, social responsibility, professional responsibility and public responsibility. In the conclusion, I examine how we can use these alternative redefinitions to retain the objectives behind the orthodox notion even though the orthodox notion itself is no longer acceptable or applicable.     

Sustainable development,sustainable livelihoods and land reform in South Africa: a conceptual and ethical inquiry

In this article various necessary conceptual linkages as well as contingent discontinuities between the concepts of land reform, sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development are studied. Exploring the complex relationship between land reform and sustainable development through a critical analysis of the concept of sustainable livelihoods, we argue that a strong ethical case for land reform as a component of sustainable development can be constructed by appealing to principles such as justice, equity and the obligations that we have towards fellow humans, as well as the environment, but fail to discharge if land reform is neglected. The case against land reform and its importance for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development is also considered. We argue that this case is either inconclusive, or at best shows limits to the value of land reform in certain contexts only. It also suggests pitfalls to be avoided when land reform is being introduced, and can thus be regarded as enhancing the case for land reform that avoids such pitfalls. We furthermore argue that the complex set of relations that emerges proves to justify increased emphasis on implementation of land reform as a contribution towards sustainable development.     

The newly promulgated ethical codes of China's civil service

Since China's post-Mao leadership introduced material incentives to promote productivity in its bid to catch up with industrialized countries, the nation's fledgling civil service has been infected by widespread unethical behavior among bureaucrats. One of the measures taken to combat corruption has been the enactment of ethical codes for government officials. This article discusses the problems and prospects of ethical codes, which may refashion China's public administration in the years to come.     

现代王室趣闻拾零

2005年8月1日清晨,在沙特首都利雅得医院的一间高级病房里,一个老人的眼睛闭上了,再没能睁开.房间外,数以百计的忠实随从和臣子行神色黯然,而他的几个妻子更是悲痛欲绝,哀悼老人的离去.     

Lone parent families within New Labour welfare reform

The reform of the British system of welfare undertaken by the Labour government places a great emphasis on paid work, which is seen as the main route to escape poverty and the natural way to fulfil citizen obligations. Lone parents are a target group for welfare to work policies and, if they are on benefits, they are strongly encouraged to get a job. This article explores the main policies designed to promote employment among them—the New Deal for Lone Parents being the most significant—and the issues they raise. It is argued that the success of the welfare to work strategy for lone parents could be severely compromised without the consideration of at least two sensitive issues: the potential dangers of a compulsory scheme and the recognition of the relevance of caring activities and their integration into a more comprehensive concept of citizenship.     

Exploring agency as a basis for ethical theory in American public administration

This articale argues that agency, the normative theory associated with the “acting for” relationship in society, has had a profound, but often unrecognized affect on ethics in public administration. Accordingly, it seeks to provide a brief review of agency theory as it applies to contemporary American public adminis- tration. The review provides an overview of agency theory, gives an example of how deeply it influences American public administration, shows how it facilitates ethical action in administration and reviews some of the major obstacles to employing agency theory in the modern American administrative state.     

Moral and ethical dilemmas: seven years into the debate about human ambiguity

Developments in modern medical technology force many questions upon the health professions and the public. To what extent should technology be used to extend life when doing so seems futile, perhaps brutal? Who should decide such questions? What options should be available? Conditions in which such questions arise are often chaotic because of the nature of illness and treatment and because many extremely important issues in life have been poorly deliberated by the health professions and the public. This essay is an attempt to clarify some of the issues.