ABSTRACT
Effective government management is too significant an enterprise to warrant less than a full, sustained commitment to ethical governance. Laws, rules, codes of ethics, professional associations, and one's organization can certainly guide behavior, but the manager whose ethics are entirely determined by them has reduced his moral self to a wafer-thin ethical life. Ethical awareness and sensitivity are essential qualities that are sometimes obscured by self-delusion. Exemplary leadership is critical to encouraging ethical behavior in government organizations. This chapter provides on description of the journey to become an ethically competent manager. Everyone has an ethical worldview and while there can be significant differences within and across cultures, there are fundamental ethical principles that we learn early in life. Government managers are on the frontline of democracy. Openness and transparency are critical safeguards that keep our democracy alive and well. The administrative side of governance is especially difficult to observe and access for ordinary citizens.
