Costs of Ethics

Synonyms

Consequences of Immorality; Results of Unethical Behavior

Introduction

Ethical considerations play an important role in the area of public administration and policy. (This chapter uses the terms “ethical” and “moral” interchangeably.) One of the consequences that ethical considerations have in public administration and policy is the creation of additional costs. This chapter explores both monetary and nonmonetary costs that ethical considerations impose in the area of public administration and policy.

To best conceptualize the various ways that ethical considerations impose these costs, this chapter identifies dominant Western ethical views such as utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, feminist ethics, animal ethics, and environmental ethics.

Next it explores ways in which ethical issues arise in public administration and policy. There are a number of methods utilized by organizations to mandate or encourage ethical behavior such as ethical codes, ethical constitutions,...