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the public sector as a means of curtailing workplace misconduct and malpractices.
The article attracted wide attention from readers and Zimbabweans of all walks of life are agreeable that there is an urgent need to effectively manage the business ethics environment in the public sector.
Defining business ethics in simpler terms, it is about choosing between right and wrong, good and bad in the workplace, and choosing to do the right and good thing when dealing with services, the public and all stakeholders.
Today’s article explores the costs of inappropriate workplace behaviours in the public sector, and lists some of the measures the sector can take in order to improve the business ethics and governance environment.
Inappropriate workplace behaviours have a toxic effect on the administrative efficiency and economic development of a country. In most corrupted societies, corrupt politicians tend to choose investment projects not on the basis of their intrinsic economic worth, but on the opportunity for bribes and kickbacks these projects present.
Corrupt public officials use their bureaucratic powers to assist rent seekers, not the general public.
Bureaucrats are sometimes not held accountable for their performance and actually have incentives to delay services in order to extract bribes.
Unethical business conduct generates an atmosphere of resentment, frustration and distrust amongst employees that permeates all levels of administration in the public sector. It contributes to frustration in competent and honest civil servants and subverts their trust and loyalty.
Similarly, it inhibits innovation and encourages widespread violation of rules and regulations by employees. Public sector malpractices politicise the bureaucracy, and intimidate and terrorise honest civil servants into silence.
Misdemeanours affect the efficiency of the bureaucracy as it displaces the highly qualified people who are required for effective policy implementation, giving recognition to those with covert connections.
If qualified people are demoralised or replaced with political turncoats, national development suffers as a result.
Brain drain has become associated with countries where qualified and competent people, who cannot “capture and sustain” the necessary “contacts” for their personal growth, or who simply find the way public affairs are conducted unacceptable on grounds of principle, have often chosen to emigrate and settle elsewhere. In like manner, rampant systemic corruption in the public sector scares away potential investors, both foreign and domestic, and makes investment a risky undertaking.
The world over, capital has in recent times become very sensitive to environmental factors, and existence of corruption and bad governance, results in capital flight and capital flow reversals. Rent seeking defines the business terrain of corrupt societies, and firms that indulge in rent-seeking normally do not compete on market signals, and their products and services in most cases are mediocre.
In recent years in the country, we have seen firms rely on personal relationships with Government officials to propel their success as these firms secure Government contracts and unfair competitive advantage not warranted by the quality of their products. This in some instances has deceptively been peddled as “empowerment” of the previously marginalised blacks in some circles. Apparently rent seeking and corruption disempowers the majority and results in the accumulation of wealth by the “properly connected” few.
A business environment tilted by rent seeking dampens the spirit of fair competition and discourages those who want to do business ethically. Efforts to build a new ethics framework in the public sector should focus on the following:
l Inculcation of ethical behaviour modelled by senior public managers, and which cascades down to all staff levels becoming the cornerstone of good public governance.
l Senior public managers should form leadership teams that should design appropriate structures and approaches to governance and business ethics management, and drive the change process.
l Public managers should create a new ethics vision for the staff, emphasising on the development of ownership among the staff for the goals and the cultural change required. Audits and other interventions should give the assurance that public service outputs and activities are being delivered effectively, efficiently, lawfully and in a fair and reasonable way.
l Human resources, finance and auditing processes, information technology, and communication channels, should be reviewed regularly.
The generic benefits accruing as a result of the propagation of effective ethics management programmes and good public governance are as follows:
l Maximisation of the utilisation of resources and capacities to create public value as well as to encourage a more open participatory culture in public sector institutions.
l Improved image and services of the public sector hence restoration of legitimacy. Boosting the pride of civil servants and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement. Enhanced reputation and public trust. Ensuring the public sector experiences reduced risks and costs by protecting it from unethical employees. Ensuring enhanced performance and productivity in the sector. Increased international respect that results in expanded access to capital, credit and foreign investment. Ensuring employee loyalty, and attraction and retention of highly skilled personnel.
l Bradwell Mhonderwa is the Managing Consultant of Business Ethics Centre, a corporate governance and business ethics management firm. Phone 04-293 2948, 0712 420 090, 0772 913 875, or email [email protected]