ABSTRACT
The federal government’s ethics management approach can be described as a patchwork of laws, rules, regulations, and agencies that, in a Byzantine manner, define the government’s effort to discourage unethical behavior and encourage ethical behavior. All too often, the discourage-and-deter side is emphasized, with far less attention given to the encourage-and-inspire side. The result is a spate of laws and statutes with accompanying rules and regulations that prescribe and proscribe acceptable behaviors and what might happen to those who dare, wittingly or unwittingly, to cross over the “do not do” line. The federal effort puts the accent on “gotcha” ethics.
