ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the what, why, and how of ethical competence. We do so by exploring a wide range of ethical and unethical issues that confront well-intentioned public and nonprofit managers. The issues are large and small and sometimes simple but often complex-almost always difficult to resolve. Outcomes are rarely certain or predictable or knowable. Best “guesstimates” typically dominate the choices at hand. The exploration of ethical competence and an effort to help you become so is approached with a self-assessment of actors in the cases and situations presented. Before we start, however, let’s examine what ethical competence is and how it might be pursued.
