Code of Ethics DLA

Madison Laughlin posted Apr 18, 2022 11:24 AM

Select a code of ethics. For example, “The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) exists to advance the science, processes, and art of public administration. The Society affirms its responsibility to develop the spirit of professionalism within its membership, and to increase public awareness of ethical principles in public service by its example.” You can read their specific code of ethics on this website.(https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics.aspx)

Additionally, the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics has information about public sector and government ethics generally, including examples. It also offers training for public employees.

Why are codes of ethics important? Include examples of ethical issues or concerns from your local area.

I work for the Defense Logistics Agency. The code of ethics for DLA is the following:

DLA is committed to upholding the highest principles and standards of ethical conduct in all that we do. Trust and confidence in DLA is born from ethical behavior, reliability and transparency. DLA strives to provide the highest standard of support to the warfighter and whole of government, while remaining auditable and accountable to the American taxpayer. Compliance with these ethical principles and standards is part of DLA’s core values of dedication to duty, integrity, and ethics.

Code of ethics are important because they allow for individuals to trust each other and be trusted. For public service, the individuals are charged with spending money from the people to provide goods and services. The purpose of public service, or it should be if it isn’t, is to serve people. If the hired individual does not take that duty seriously and is in it solely for themselves, they are not worthy of the trust put into their hands. By having a code of ethics, this allows the individual to make decisions based on what their overall purpose is and to do it right (Holzer & Schwester 2019). Some ethical issues that have occurred at DLA are an unfair advantage. DLA awards contracts to private company to provide materiel to the government in a bidding system. In the past, people have had family members submit bid proposals and give them the inside scoop on how to undercut prices of other bidders. Another ethical issue that vendors conduct is shipping invoices. In the past, vendors figured out they could charge whatever price for shipping and human eyes did not look at the charges. Vendors were winning $100 contracts and charging $9000.

Reference

Holzer, M., & Schwester, R. W. (2019). Public Administration(3rd Edition). Taylor & Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780429018626

**** In response to your classmates, engage in a respectful debate about the importance of codes of ethics. 

For your initial post, do the following: 

 Write a post of 1 to 2 paragraphs.  

Demonstrate more depth and thought than saying things like “I agree” or “You are wrong.” Guidance is provided for you in the discussion prompt.  

Consider content from other parts of the course where appropriate. Use proper citation methods for your discipline when referencing scholarly or popular sources. ******