Public Sector Ethics Concerns the Moral Requirements of Public Servants in the Services That They Are Paid for and Expected to Offer the People. It Concerns the Personal Morality of Officials and Adhering to Codes of
INTRODUCTION
Government and society cannot promote and enforce ethical behavior solely throughthe utilization of ethical codes of conduct or through the enforcement oflegislation. Communities tend to equate moral values and moral norms with values andnorms, which apply only to personal dealings. Public sector ethics concerns the moral requirements of public servants in that they are paid for and expected to offer the people. In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996, all government departments are required to be efficient whichincludes observing particular ethical codes of conduct (Raga and Taylor, 2008). In this regard, this essay will be discussing the ethical standards and values expected of public officials in managing public finance by defining what ethics is, recognizing the need for morality and high ethical standards in the public service, identifying the need for ethics in finance and show how ethical standards contribute towards improved service delivery.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
The question of ethics is one that is linked with the history of mankind. Ethics deals withthe character and conduct and morals of human beings. It deals with good or bad, right or wrong behaviour, it evaluates conduct against some absolute criteria and putsnegative or positive values on it (Hanekom, 1984:58).Guy (1990:06), agrees with Hanekom because he views ethics as the study of moral judgements and right and wrong conduct. Furthermore, he views ethics as different from law because it involves no formal sanctions. It is different from etiquette because it goesbeyond mere social convention. It is different from religion because it makes notheological assumptions. It is different from prudence because it goes beyond self-interests of others. Ethics is both a process of inquiry and code of conduct. As acode of conduct, it is like an inner eye that enables people to see the rightness orwrongness of their actions (Guy, 1990:06).
The ethical
Government and society cannot promote and enforce ethical behavior solely throughthe utilization of ethical codes of conduct or through the enforcement oflegislation. Communities tend to equate moral values and moral norms with values andnorms, which apply only to personal dealings. Public sector ethics concerns the moral requirements of public servants in that they are paid for and expected to offer the people. In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996, all government departments are required to be efficient whichincludes observing particular ethical codes of conduct (Raga and Taylor, 2008). In this regard, this essay will be discussing the ethical standards and values expected of public officials in managing public finance by defining what ethics is, recognizing the need for morality and high ethical standards in the public service, identifying the need for ethics in finance and show how ethical standards contribute towards improved service delivery.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
The question of ethics is one that is linked with the history of mankind. Ethics deals withthe character and conduct and morals of human beings. It deals with good or bad, right or wrong behaviour, it evaluates conduct against some absolute criteria and putsnegative or positive values on it (Hanekom, 1984:58).Guy (1990:06), agrees with Hanekom because he views ethics as the study of moral judgements and right and wrong conduct. Furthermore, he views ethics as different from law because it involves no formal sanctions. It is different from etiquette because it goesbeyond mere social convention. It is different from religion because it makes notheological assumptions. It is different from prudence because it goes beyond self-interests of others. Ethics is both a process of inquiry and code of conduct. As acode of conduct, it is like an inner eye that enables people to see the rightness orwrongness of their actions (Guy, 1990:06).
The ethical