ABSTRACT
255It is entirely appropriate to view ethics in public administration in terms of its continuity. However, there are commonly expressed views that counter this perspective—the perspective that ethics was ignored in traditional public administration, which stressed a narrow, bureaucratic perspective that omitted shared and individual responsibilities (Dvorin and Simmons 1972). As Henry (1975, 33) summarized this view, until recently “public administrators needed morality no more than a hotel clerk carrying out his daily duties.” On the contrary, the expectation that administrators will uphold values and norms has always accompanied the consideration of how organized administrative activity contributes to, and impacts, society. Ethics for administrators has been grounded in personal integrity but has also stressed social and political responsibilities.
