As mentioned in previous weeks, Cooper’s ethical decision-making model and Waldo’s Map of Ethical Obligations assist responsible public administrators in assessing and addressing the ethical dilemmas that they will confront during their careers. Public administrators must consider all underlying factors of a dilemma and the potential solutions in order to ensure the most proper outcome. Sometimes the chosen outcome may involve actions that serve to work against the wishes of superiors in the organization.
For this Assignment, review the case study in the text, “Guerrilla Government in EPA’s Seattle Regional Office.” Identify an ethical issue within this case study. Consider the competing obligations and responsibilities that these individuals faced and how they determined whether their actions were right. Also, think about the impact of guerrilla government on the political appointees, organization, and public policy.
The Assignment (3 pages in APA format): Your paper should include the following:
- A description of the ethical issue you identified in the “Guerrilla Government in EPA’s Seattle Regional Office” case study
- A description of the issues the political appointees faced in this case and an explanation of federal ethics law violations
- An explanation of why you think the career employees were motivated to use guerrilla tactics as a solution despite the risks to their careers (e.g., competing obligations) and whether their choice of guerrilla action was ethical
- An explanation of how these actions affected the organization and public policy
- A description of the actions leaders within the EPA might have taken to manage guerrilla government and an explanation of how those actions might have changed the outcome of the situation
- An evaluation of the potential lessons for public administrators and the importance of these lessons
Note: If you are more familiar with life in a nation outside of the United States, explain the potential lessons for public administrators in that nation.
