Ethical and Social Responsibility

Ethical and Social Responsibility

Overview

Public service officials have a significant responsibility to dispense their duties ethically to satisfy all their stakeholders. Engaging in activities that solve social problems is one of the legal and ethical ways in which public servants can dispense their duties. Additionally, public service officers can fulfill the requirements of their roles by obeying the ethical considerations in their code of ethics. Public officials need to incorporate legal and ethical deliberations when making decisions that will impact the lives of their stakeholders. Public officers should be aware that if they do not make ethical decisions, they affect their stakeholders negatively, and their actions can be perceived as irresponsible by society. The extensive analysis of the ethical responsibilities of a police chief shows how their observation and lack of can ruin the public servant’s career or sustain it in the long term.

The Interaction Between Social Responsibility and Public Interest

The public always anticipates that when a police chief is elected, they will perform their roles excellently. One of the tasks that the public often has concerning elected police chiefs is that they will be involved more in solving social problems, thus illustrating their social responsibility (Williamson et al., 2011). As a public figure that represents the government, the involvement of a police officer in alleviating social issues, such as poverty and unemployment, is often perceived as the federal government indirectly proving that it cares for its people (Knudsen & Moon, 2021). Thus, the public always anticipates that police chiefs will be at the forefront of solving their social problems to believe in their national government. For instance, if there is a catastrophic flood in an area, the public often expects that the police chief will lead and be a part of the team rescuing affected persons. Consistently, it is apparent that social responsibility and public interests interact.

Ethical Responsibilities of Police Chiefs to Stakeholders

Police chiefs have an ethical responsibility to protect the public and not to discriminate against anyone when dispensing their duties. When police chiefs receive requests for help from civilians, it is their duty to respond urgently so as to avert any negative outcomes that may arise from their delay. Moreover, it is the ethical duty of police chiefs not to refute assistance to citizens based on their ethnic backgrounds, disability status, gender, or neighborhood (Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, n.d.). For instance, it would be illegal and unethical for a police chief to respond quickly to distressed calls from persons living in a wealthy, White, male-dominated neighborhood and ignore similar requests from civilians residing in Black, poverty-stricken environments. Overall, the code of ethics that guides law enforcement officers directs the decisions made by police chiefs. For instance, racial discrimination is prohibited in the code of ethics described above; the police chief ensures to adhere to this ethical code while serving the public.

Making Ethical Decisions for Execution

As a public officer, it is the role of the police chief to make ethical decisions when serving stakeholders. For instance, the code of ethics statement that guides the actions of law enforcement officers requires police chiefs to remain calm in the face of danger or else they will be deemed incompetent by civilians. Therefore, when deciding how to respond to a crisis, it is the role of the police chief to remember that their ethical code of conduct bans public shows of fear and use this guideline to inform their next actions (Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, n.d.). Further, law enforcement officers’ ethical code of conduct requires them to keep any information they collect while on the field secret unless they have proof that it should be publicized. Therefore, police chiefs need to follow the guidelines provided by the code of ethics that guide their task execution when making decisions.

Potential Additions to A Code of Ethics

The current code of ethics that police chiefs use as guidelines when making decisions does not give repercussions of actions they can engage in that disobey their rules. For instance, the code of ethics does not state what should happen to a police chief who openly denies a stakeholder service for being a member of the ethnic minority community. Consequently, the code of ethics must provide consequences that police officers should face when they violate guidelines for legal and ethical decision-making (Ethics policies, n.d.). This addition will reinforce the police chiefs’ observation of ethical rules when deciding how to respond during their task execution.

Significance Of Legal and Ethical Conduct

Police chiefs need to conduct themselves in a legal and ethical manner to dispense their duties excellently. The police chief should also be aware that the manner in which they act towards stakeholders may enhance or hurt their well-being. Therefore, it is wise that the mentioned public servant officials ensure they act in a legal way every time they interact with stakeholders or risk being responsible for the deterioration of their well-being. For instance, an African American person would feel demoralized if they sought help from a police chief, and this was denied for the sole reason that they are members of an ethnic minority (Harassment, discrimination, and unprofessional conduct, n.d.). Police chiefs should be aware that when they fail to act legally and ethically, they negatively affect their stakeholders’ overall well-being.

References

Ethics policies. (n.d.). International Association of Chiefs of Police. https://www.theiacp.org/resources/ethics-policies

Harassment, discrimination, and unprofessional conduct (n.d.). International Association of Chiefs of Police. https://www.theiacp.org/resources/policy-center-resource/harassment-discrimination-and-unprofessional-conduct

Knudsen, J. S., & Moon, J. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and government: The role of discretion for engagement with public policy. Business Ethics Quarterly, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2021.17

Law enforcement code of ethics. (n.d.). International Association of Chiefs of Police. https://www.theiacp.org/resources/law-enforcement-code-of-ethics

Williamson, A. L., Burke, B. F., & Beinecke, R. H. (2011). Public service and social responsibility: A role for public affairs in undergraduate business education. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 17(3), 367-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2011.12001650

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You will assume the role of a public administrator to complete this assignment. Choose an administrator role; some examples are below:
• Police Chief
• Finance Officer
• Urban Planner
• City Manager
• FBI Director
As the public administrator, in the role you choose, in 750-1,000 words, do the following:
• Describe how social responsibility and public interest intersect.
• Analyze your responsibility to stakeholders from an ethical standpoint. Describe how a code of ethics or oath of office for the position you choose informs your ethical responsibilities
• Describe how you will make the decisions necessary to ethically execute your position as a public administrator in the role you choose.
• Create a suggested code of ethics or add to an existing code of ethics for the administrative role chosen.
• Explain why it is essential for you, in this role, to conduct yourself in a legal and ethical manner. How would your failure to conduct yourself in an ethical manner affect the various stakeholders for which you are responsible?