Public Service Ethics

Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities, Third Edition explores a wide range of ethical issues, explains how they arise, and suggests what can be done about them.

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The study and practice of ethics, in all its exemplary and execrable forms, matter now more than ever. It deals with one of the most gripping questions in life: "What is the right thing to do?"

Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities, Third Edition, introduces readers to this personally relevant and professionally challenging field of study. No matter the topic—the necessity of ethics, intriguing human behavior experiments, provocative approaches to decision-making, new theories to understand ethical actions, the role of ethics codes, whistleblowing incidents, corruption exposés, and the grandeur as well as decay of morality—there is no shortage of controversy. This book discusses these issues, explains how they arise, and suggests what can be done about them. The authors make the narrative user-friendly and accessible by highlighting dilemmas, challenging readers to resolve them, and enticing them to go beyond the text to discover and confront new issues. New to this Third Edition:






Exploration of fascinating and important new topics such as the Green New Deal, Black Lives Matter, oaths of office, classroom dishonesty, state corruption, the Biden administration, and the ethical challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and response.



In-depth profiles of newsworthy figures, including Michael Flynn, Alexander Vindman, Anthony Fauci, and John Lewis.



All new case studies drawing on actual and hypothetical events to give students an opportunity to apply concepts and analytical frameworks.



All new end-of-chapter discussion questions and exercises to encourage students to think more deeply about ethical issues.

The authors' conversational writing style invites readers to annotate pages with their own ideas, experiences, comparisons, and insights, bolstering students' confidence and ultimately preparing them for the ethical problems they will face in their own careers. This lively and thorough new edition is required reading for all public administration and public policy students.