The Truth About Honesty

Dominic D Wells,Anthony D Molina

doi:10.20899/jpna.3.3.292-308

Dominic D Wells, Anthony D Molina

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.20899/jpna.3.3.292-308

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Abstract

This article examines the ethics of honesty and deception in public administration. Building on previous research showing that public administrators rank honesty as an essential public service value but also sometimes use deception while carrying out their duties, semi-structured interviews with public employees were conducted to explore this apparent tension. Specifically, this study asks: Why is honesty important for public administrators? What is honesty and dishonesty? Under what circumstances is the use of deception by public administrators legitimate? The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Code of Ethics is used as an analytical framework to assess the cases and examples provided by participants. The article concludes with a discussion of some important implications that this research has for public administration practice, teaching, and research.

Highlights

This article examines the ethics of honesty and deception in public administration
As a way of increasing our understanding of how public administrators balance these considerations, this study aims to answer the following research questions: 1) Why is honesty important for public administrators? 2) What is honesty and dishonesty? 3) Under what circumstances is the use of deception by public administrators legitimate?
The first aim of this study was to explore the reasons public administrators give for why honesty is important in their work

Summary

Introduction

This article examines the ethics of honesty and deception in public administration. Building on previous research showing that public administrators rank honesty as an essential public service value and sometimes use deception while carrying out their duties, semi-structured interviews with public employees were conducted to explore this apparent tension. Public administrators must hold themselves to a high standard of honesty In this vein, Bok (1999) argues for a “principle of veracity” that respects human dignity and autonomy by emphasizing the centrality of honesty and truthfulness as the foundation of human relations. She points out that our choices, if they are to be free and rational, depend on our judgments about what is true and what is false. If the member of our in-group happens to be an authority figure – a parent, boss, teacher, or someone else we respect – chances are even higher that we will be dragged along (p. 207)

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