Codes and Oaths

4.10 Codes and Oaths

Cases: 3.6, 310, 4.7, 5.5, 5.8, 6.8, 6.10

Elected and appointed public officials typically express a very positive attitude toward codes of ethics. The conventional wisdom is that codes have a positive influ- ence in governance, especially in deterring unethical acts by ethically motivated public servants. That is, unethical officials are likely to be unethical regardless of whether a code exists, but those who want to be ethical find a code helpful. Of

120 ◾ Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies

course, the motivation for adopting a code is often the result of unethical behavior or scandal in the organization.

Oaths are also employed in some jurisdictions to encourage ethical behavior. Here is an example of an oath that one local government requires its employees to sign.

I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of ________, and faithfully discharge the duties of ___________________ , and to abide by and adhere to the provisions of the Code of Ethics of the Government of __________________. So help me God.

Hard evidence that codes or oaths either encourage ethical behavior or dis- courage unethical behavior is sparse. Nonetheless, many administrators believe that codes and oaths contribute significantly to an ethical workplace. Some man- agers even require their subordinates to sign their professional code and hang it on their office wall.

A few years ago, the American Society for Public Administration debated the wisdom of requiring new members to sign the membership application indicating that “I support the ASPA Code of Ethics and will abide by its principles.” National Council rejected this pledge and opted for an optional check off on the application

form stating that “I have read and agree with ASPA’s Code of Ethics.”

Discussion Questions

1. Do you agree with a policy that does not require a member of a professional association to sign the membership application that he will support the asso- ciation’s code of ethics?

2. Should renewing members pledge to uphold the code?

3. As a top manager, would you require lower level managers to sign and put on

public display their professional code of ethics or oath? Why or why not?

Commentary

Cities and counties can require employees to take an oath or sign a pledge that they will obey the code of ethics. These actions are legal and make it easier for an employer to hold an employee accountable should an ethics violation occur. A professional association is not one’s employer nor is it governmental. Membership is voluntary. Still, some associations require members to sign a pledge that they will uphold the association’s code of ethics while others do not. In fact, it can even be viewed as “illegal” in some states (e.g., California, Washington) to sign an associa- tional code of ethics that endorses affirmative action—if state law has abolished affirmative action. Thus, one can be put in the position of “breaking the law” by signing an associational pledge.

Karl Thoennes III, Judicial Circuit Administrator, Unified Judicial System, State of South Dakota:

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Th e National Association for Court Management (NACM) just adopted

a new ethics code after a long, painstaking process. We did include a nondiscrimination or “fairness” provision but purposely did not refer to affirmative action, in part because of the issue that members could be viewed as violating the law and also because some colleagues saw affir- mative action as more a HR/personnel/hiring-practices topic than a broader ethical principle. I suppose that NACM’s Canon 1.4 Respect of Others could pretty easily be used to argue against affirmative action.