Public service ethics: A global dialogue

Do divergent values embedded in distinctive cultures satisfactorily explain current directions in public service ethics around the world? The authors draw upon expert observation by government and corporate officials who administer ethics programs, leaders known for their moral courage, survey research, and the scholarly literature to identify these directions and begin addressing the question. The central argument is that observable practice increasingly invalidates an approach that relies exclusively upon cultural particularities. Identified commonalties susceptible to objective research include shared values and norms such as impartiality and effectiveness in public service, structural elements in part fostered by shared goals and multinational anti-corruption initiatives, and the self-conscious injection of normative components into ethics programs. Emerging from a cross-cultural empirical perspective that allows for mutualities as well as differences, the authors' rich research agenda included investigation of the alleged links between public attitudes and ethics programs and between coder and actual administrative behavior, and development of appropriate measures of ethics programs' effectiveness. They concluded that professional public administration must remain intellectually open to global dialogue on shared values, norms, and structures.