ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses why ethics has become a major component of public management, administration, and policy curricula across the nation. It illustrates why digital ethics is a contemporary discussion of ethics and equity that requires special attention given today's information technology environment. In both the private and public sectors, intentional leadership cultivates an organization's cultural values. Ideally, ethical behavior in government is motivated by a desire to serve the public, loyalty to the rule of law, and an obligation to complete fairness. Regardless of the inconvenience, government leaders must be careful to be role models, holding themselves to a high ethical standard. Ethics are subject to personal opinions and differing deeply held beliefs and can shift dramatically. The path to furthering ethics in society and the public sector can be found in a deeper human introspection about self-awareness.
