Ethical Dilemmas in Public Administration.

• Author: Lewis, Carol W.

Reviewed by Carol W. Lewis, professor at the University of Connecticut and formerly consultant to the GFOA on the development of its Code of Ethics.

Here is a book that delivers what it promises. This collection of case studies - written by collaborating academics and practitioners in response to numerous, serious wrongdoings in Rhode Island earlier in this decade - provides provocative simulated experience in ethical decision making. According to the introduction, the purpose is to center administrative ethics squarely on the public interest in order to counter what a gubernatorial task force described as "[a]n atmosphere of greed and an environment of indulgence among the corrupt and connected that accepts, excuses and participates in unethical behavior...."

The main themes include public disclosure, professional responsibility and the limits of confidentiality (when privacy and confidentiality clash with public interest), reform of organizational culture to support ethical conduct and policy, gender issues and institutional norms, and loyalty and the public good. Judging from GFOA's professional standards, these are central to finance officers' professional responsibilities. The agency and functional context, however, is not specific to finance officers, and the intended audience includes all public administrators.

Nonetheless, financial and budgetary issues are central to several cases. For example, the first case explores the use and misuse of financial information wrongfully obtained and the more or less suitable ethical standards associated with participating in market transactions. Surely the latter increases in importance in this era of outsourcing, licensing, regulation, privatization, partnerships, leveraging, and other indirect approaches to efficiently managing public resources and providing services to the public. The budget process and resource constraint are central to two cases: Chapter 9 tells the tale from the perspective of an agency head and former legislator and Chapter 11 follows the trail of budget cuts in a line agency. These chapters hint at but unfortunately never address the ethical implications and ramifications of chronic underfunding of the statutorily mandated mission. Other cases explore undoubtedly related issues such as demoralization, inattentive regulatory...