Martinez, J. M. (2009). Public administration ethics for the 21st century. Praeger.This chapter provides insights into the public administrator’s role as a moral agent. The notion of public organizations being ‘ethically neutral’ gives rise to those who run them being ‘ethically neutral.’ Pressures exerted by events, other people, and organizational needs are usually the rationale for making poor or terrible choices. As described in the previous unit and explained in this unit, the premises of ethical behavior are not precise, and mitigating circumstances need further consideration. In short, administrative ethics is an imprecise endeavor.

Articles, Websites, and Videos:

This resource is an excerpt from the book Ethical Leadership in Challenging Times by Merrett R. Stierheim.

This article discusses character, founded on virtue ethics, as an essential perspective that can help to address the gap in organizational wrongdoing.

This article considers whether virtue ethics are reliable indicators of character and behavior in law enforcement. 

This article discusses the tipping point between the military officer’s customary obligation to obey and his moral obligation to dissent. 

This article explains the various types of influential power used in the workplace. The report also provides some essential leadership qualities one can examine and offers easy-to-understand explanations for all. In public administration, how a moral agent exercises power further defines the organization.  

This article discusses the goal of military leaders who wish to take humans out of the loop and the ability of machines to make them truly independent and autonomous.

This is a short video on the development of ethical leaders and the concepts of ethical leadership on topics such as moral courage, decis