Civil Service Ethics

• Civil Service Ethics
  31.03.2000  |  pdf, 1,1 Mt

Summary

Issues relating to civil service ethics are emphasised in a new way. Since the mid-1980s the focal point of the reform of administration in Finland has been the rationalisation of operations and the development of profitability. In connection with the reform of systems, we have seen clear signs that ethics and values are taking a more important role also in the public sector. In the questionnaire on the state of State personnel administration (1997), 85% of the agency management felt that values and ethical issues were important from the point of view of the operations of the agency. Internationally the emphasis of civil service ethics is apparent in i.a. the study and development work of the OECD Public Management Committee on the subject and in the work of Transparency International (NGO) carrying out comparisons in corruption. The task of the Ethics Project has been to prepare and implement a questionnaire survey on the grounds and present state of civil service ethics directed at the different Ministries as well as agencies and institutions. The results of this survey formed the basis for the conclusions and development proposals of the Working Group in the issue.

The questionnaire was sent to c.170 agencies and institutions of central State administration. The survey studied changes in the values of administration, civil-servant ethical principles, unethical procedures and factors affecting civil service ethics. The questionnaire supported the assumption that the value basis of civil service ethics has changed in the last decade.

The report looks for ways to promote high-quality civil service ethics through the concept of ethics infrastructure. The aim of the report is to present an overall picture of the entity on which our civil service ethics is based. The report contains the basic central norms providing the minimum requirements for the actions of the authorities and civil servants. In addition, it examines the values creating the foundation of civil service ethics. It also presents the results of the questionnaire survey directed at the agencies in 1999. The Working Group has evaluated the present state of civil service ethics mainly from the point of view of the sufficiency of the ethical system and based its suggestions for certain further measures on this. The starting point is the actions of the civil servants of central State administration and the related ethical questions.

The suggestions of the Working Group for further measures to promote high-quality civil service ethics in State administration relate to values and their follow-up, training, information, the integration of values and practice, seminars, participation in international activities, the clarification of need for post-employment restrictions in the State administration and cooperation between the labour market parties.

Language versions

• Virkamiesetiikka
  31.12.2000
• Förvaltningsetik
  31.03.2000

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