The Quest for Public Service Ethics: Individual Conscience and Organizational Constraints

Contemporary public organizations are facing numerous challenges. Most critical is the use of bureaucratic discretion and ethics. A changing public service demands individual public officials to act responsibly in accordance with democratic principles and the public interest. What kind of ethical posture should public servants have? What should shape and guide their performance? What is the role of individual conscience? How do organizational culture, structure and processes affect individual ethical performance? The authors attempt to answer these questions by explaining the relationship between individual conscience and ethics on one hand and the relationship between the organizational culture, structure and processes and ethics on the other.