From Codes Of Conduct To Codes Of Ethics

Peering into the 21st century, it is clear that ethics will continue to be one of the principle public policy issues of contemporary times—and not without reason. Yet if the scandals of the post-Watergate era exposed weaknesses in ethical behavior, they also revealed strength. People may have lost confidence in the way the political system is operated, but surveys show that they have not lost faith in the system itself (Zajac, 1997). Nonetheless, the putative failure to meet the special ethical demands of the public sector has fed antigovernment sentiment, led to downsizing, and fueled the drive toward reform.