Abstract:
Canadians appear to hold the activities of those in
government and in big business in low esteem. Media reports
of several high-profile political and corporate instances of
unethical conduct have reinforced the public's concern for
the status of ethical conduct and honesty in government and
in big business.
The response by public and private sector managers to
unethical conduct by employees is largely in the form of
'ethical rules' which both sectors agree provide a measure
of certainty as to the ethical conduct expected from employees.
Since research on ethics in the public and private
sectors is limited and since ethics is a topic of increasing
concern to both sectors, this thesis provides data that could
assist managers in dealing with the issue of ethical conduct
within their respective organizations.
The purpose of this thesis is to compare the state of
ethical conduct within public and private sector
organizations in Canada. This is accomplished through a
description and analysis of the approaches taken by the
public and private sectors as well as the four professions of
law, engineering, accountancy and medicine. Ethical conduct
within the public sector focuses on the ethical behaviour of
public servants rather than elected officials.
The underlying intent of this thesis is to discover if
contemporary ethical problems are similar in the public and
iv
private sectors with respect to the four ethical
areas of conflict of interest, political activity,
problem
public
comment and confidentiality. The comparative data on both
public and private sector ethics are assessed and similarities
and differences are identified.
One major finding emerges from this study. Codes of
ethics in both the public and private sectors are perceived by
management to play an important role in the prevention of
unethical conduct.
A procedure for developing a code of ethics is presented
along with recommendations as to the administration of a code
of ethics. Finally, recommendations are made as to the role
of education in ethics.
