Exercise 4: Ethics and Public Policy

Essay Instructions:

Ethics and Public Policy Exercise 4 PUAD 425 Fall 2024 City Treasurer George Leatherman was examining the financial statements of Mathias, Pennsylvania, one last time while preparing for his monthly presentation to the city council. After adding up the money numerous times, Mr. Leatherman needed help to account for the $10,000 that should have been in the general fund. He assumed that the funds had been mistakenly transferred by a newly hired accountant, Betty Nazelrod. He assumed the funds would appear in one of the city’s other operating accounts of the city’s public works division. As he prepared his opening remarks for city council members, Mr. Leatherman decided to fabricate the truth. He would report the $10,000 as accounted for and then worry about finding it the next day when he had more time and less stress. Once he got to the office the following morning, George looked for the money in other accounts but to no avail. The missing $10,000 could not be accounted for. Questions to be Addressed? What justification, if any, can be used to defend Mr. Leatherman’s decision once he falsely decided to report the $10,000 had been accounted for? What would you have done in this situation, and why? If we assume that the money has just been inadvertently transferred (and there was no chance that it has been misappropriated (illegally borrowed), does that change your answer? Why or why not? From your perspective, what are Mr. Leatherman’s responsibilities to the organization, his supervisors, the city council, and the public? What are the most important principles that should guide the decision-making principles of public service professionals? Why? Instructions: Your response to the questions raised in Exercise 4 should be written in essay format and submitted to me via Canvas as a Word document. To submit your materials, please go to Canvas. Find Exercise 4 in the Assignments and submit your paper. All papers must be each student’s work product. Consultation between students or with any third parties regarding this exercise is prohibited. The rules relating to plagiarism apply fully to this paper, as they do to all other student work products. The paper must be run through Turnitin. Please submit your paper as a Word document (doc, docx). Use an appropriate citation style (APA preferred). If needed, please put the bibliography at the end of the paper. Papers are to be typed, double-spaced, and utilize an easy-to-read font-size (Times Roman 12 preferred). Papers should be approximately four (4) to five (5) pages long. Under no circumstances should the paper be longer than six (6) pages. Each paper must be submitted via Canvas and run through TURNITIN. Papers are due December 2024 by 11:59 p.m. Do not e-mail papers to me. They will not be graded. Late papers will be penalized according to the Late Paper Policy, which is located in the course syllabus.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Ethics and Public Policy Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Ethics and Public Policy Public service professionals hold fiduciary responsibility that should guide most of the decisions that they make in aspects such as reporting financial statements. Within the context of fiduciary responsibility, public service professionals develop an ethical or legal relationship with the public and act in the best interest of the public as the beneficiaries. Such a relationship is characterized by the duty of disclosure, duty of good faith, duty of loyalty, the duty of care, as well as trust and confidence. The case of city treasurer George Leatherman offers insight into the nature of public trust as anchored on ethical decision-making and accountability among public servants. The analysis is vital in understanding the scope of ethics and public service policy in terms of the nature of decisions to be considered, alternative approaches, as well as the essential principles that should guide servants who are faced with similar ethical dilemmas. Justification for Leatherman’s Decision Mr. Leatherman made a personal decision that lacked any ethical justification. His decision to fabricate the financial report by claiming that $10,000 was accounted for was false and lacks any ethical bearing. Some may argue that his actions were motivated by the need to prevent embarrassment and panic during the city council meeting, such a justification should not warrant an ethical violation. In public service, accountability and transparency should guide every decision that a professional makes. A contravention of such principles does not bear any protections within the limits of the guiding ethical principles (Lever & Poama, 2019). Further, it is notable that even if made temporarily, misrepresentation of facts to the public undermines the trust that the public invests in such public service professionals. In the parlance of public service, professionals should be guided by frameworks such as deontology that demand adherence to moral principles and standards regardless of the outcomes that such a decision can attract (Lawton et al., 2016). To that effect, Leatherman was duty-bound to present accurate information despite the pressure, stress, or time constraints that such a decision attracted. Alternative Action or Personal Decision From a personal perspective, it would have been more appropriate to present the financial report with full transparency. That implies acknowledging the fact that the report bore a discrepancy and $10,000 was not accounted for in the report. Besides such a full disclosure, I would also assure the council and the public of my commitment to investigate the issue further and report back at a later date. Understandably, the decision to be transparent may be unpopula...

Updated on March 6, 2025

Get the Whole Paper!

Not exactly what you need?

Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:

Order