01478pab a2200133 454500008004000000100002200040245006200062260000900124300001400133362001100147520113300158650001801291773003501309180718b2004 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d aLangford, John W. aActing on values: an ethical dead end for public servants c2004 ap.429-50. aWinter aThis article provides a critical analysis of the values approach to public sector ethics, particularly as it has been developed in Ottawa. The central tenet of this approach is that a framework of core values can be used directly by public servants to solve ethical dilemmas or to justify more specific rules of behaviour. The author argues that this approach is conceptually flawed on a number of levels. Its advocates seem confused about what a value is and how to identify core values. They also seem tolerant of the existence of a large number of core values that are not clearly defined. This inevitably creates a situation in which there is a substantial value conflict and no way to resolve such clashes. Finally, the values approach, at least as structured in Ottawa, subdivides values into groups, making a puzzling distinction between ethical and non-ethical values. After examining these flaws, the article explores the need to pay more attention to consequentialist approaches for enhancing ethical behaviour that resonate with the ways in which public servants intuitively approach ethical judgements. - Reproduced. aCivil service aCanadian Public Administration