Dobel, J. Patrick

Integrity in the public service

This article argues that public officials need a complex array of moral resources to exercise discretion in office. Three different realms are vital to defensible and successful discretion. These are commitments to regime accountability, personal responsibilty, and prudence. No one realm of judgement provides all the resources needed to judge well in public service, and each alone has severe limits. The article uses the ideal of personal integrity as a presumption of a moral responsibility to explain how individuals can and should hold all three types of commitments in public officials. Individuals of integrity should then iterate among the three realms in their judgements while using each to balance and


Public Administration
Civil Service
Administration
Employee Morale