Johnson (2017) analyses that ethical behavior seeks to understand how people behave when confronted with ethical dilemmas. Ethics refers to societal moral principles that guide behavior. They are the generally accepted norms of society. Intervening in an ethical situation implies that one must undergo several steps, whereby failure to complete all the steps means failing to behave ethically. For a community to attain ethical behaviors among its members, leaders play a significant role. The ethics aid a vital role in nurturing the communities' behavior while also helping to achieve public trust. This paper comprehensively contextualizes a comparison of similar trends and unique perspectives concerning ethical expectations presented by city leaders of California.
First, the prevailing perspective captured in most of the managers is that which acts in a manner beneficial to the community and not-self. The view applies to Connie Jackson, the manager of San Brune, who argues that the manager’s behavior should be in line with the community's desires and not even the workmates. Tracy Robinson, Admin Service Director of Lafayette, reveals that people entrust their voice and expect their leaders to speak and act in the manner they perceive to be rational. Similarly, Rod Gould, the City Manager of Santa Monica, agrees with the other two managers as he views ethics as; how a manager behaves and the kind of picture required to paint before others by prioritizing the need to consider others at the expense of self. The last manager to speak, Jeff, advocates for integrity, transparency, and the ability to relate to the community.
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Furthermore, other managers dwelled on upholding the people's trust as key in ethical behavior. The Coleta City Manager, Dn Singer, and Carole Jacob of Eastgate insist that the action should never break the leaders' public trust.
However, other managers had a different and unique opinion regarding the ethical expectations of the public. John, Manager of Sacramento, claims that leaders need to improve a favorable opinion of people about the government since the majority miss in the current era. He suggests that managers should do the right thing every day and show ethics in their jobs. Manager Pat of Daly City encourages leaders always to do the right thing, whether being watched or not. On the other hand, Kathly of Santa Rosa believes that leaders' performance should be the one to inspire ethical behavior to the public.
Most of the managers in the video have shown significant conformity with ethical theories and concepts. According to Downe et al. (2016), the ethical theory of deontology explains that people should adhere to their duties and obligations when confronted with a decision-making dilemma. The leader of Santa Rosa is in agreement since she states that managers’ inspirations of ethics need to be driven from their performance.
Furthermore, as illustrated by Philip et al. (2016), utilitarianism ethical theory relies on the concept that a leader's choice should be the one that yields the most significant benefit to most people. As illustrated above, most managers, including Jane, Cannie, and Jeff, advocated for the leaders to prioritize the community's needs in their behavior and action.
To sum up, ethics are essential and cut across the spectrum of all the professions and beyond. Leaders should play a critical role in shaping their juniors' ethical behavior and the community in which they originate. The leaders' practices and actions should be majorly guided by the city's expectations and performance rather than their desires. A good leader should also incorporate the concepts and ideas in the ethical theories when executing their mandate.
References
Downe, J., Cowell, R., & Morgan, K. (2016). What determines ethical behavior in public organizations: Is it rules or leadership? Public Administration Review , 76 (6), 898-909.
Filip, I., Saheba, N., Wick, B., & Amir Radfar, M. D. (2016). Morality and ethical theories in the context of human behavior. Ethics & Medicine , 32 (2), 83.
Johnson, B. J. (2017). Codes of ethics, public values, and what public servants offer the bureaucratic company. International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior .
