ABSTRACT
The public service is the vital force of any government. Public servants are responsible for delivering services of the government to the public. Staying within the ambit of the rules and regulations, public servants are required to fulfill the needs of the public. The values and moral principles of public administrators influence the decisions they make while discharging their duties and responsibilities. Public administrators have their own point of view on any action they take under specific circumstances. The significant aspect of public officials is that their decisions have a far-reaching effect on the people. Ethics plays a pivotal role in effectively carrying out the duties and responsibilities of public servants. Ethics may be considered a form of self-accountability, or an “inner check” on public administrators’ conduct (Rosenbloom 1989: 463). Prior to the abandonment of the politics–administration dichotomy and the principles of administration, the public administrator needed morality no more than a hotel clerk carrying out his or her daily duties (Henry 2004: 426). But as the duties of public servants began to involve more complicated issues, maintaining ethical standards became a prime concern. With the introduction of various reforms, especially New Public Management (NPM), the role of public servants has transformed and, in reaction to that, ethics management in the public sector has taken a new turn (De Leon and Denhardt 2000; Hood 1991).
