Objective responsibility - Essay Example

Objective responsibility, Cooper, pages 72 - 74: According to Cooper, a public administrator is not only a person who holds a position of responsibility in a community but is also a professional citizen who holds and maintains the responsibility of other people, while overseeing their actions and discourse. The defining element of a successful public administrator is the ability to balance and take charge of one’s objective responsibilities. While this balance is changeable, becoming an effective public administrator requires one to be knowledgeable and show the ability to affect the differences between these responsibilities to cases where they conflict.

Moreover, a public administrator should be in a position to make decisions based upon their ethical reflection and analysis of a case. When making such decisions, public administrators need to consider whether to pass their objective responsibility or not. According to Cooper (2010, 72), the objective responsibilities of public administrators are defined by both accountability and imposed obligation, which are "responsibility to someone else for something. Basically these responsibilities externally create a palpable source of obligation, creating some of responsibility.

Sources of objective responsibility are characterized by factors such as superiors and subordinates, elected officials, and citizens. The multi-faceted principal responsibility of public administration in a big way complicates a public administrators role as an agent (Cooper 2010, 72). It is however important to note that the balance of objective responsibility is the element role of public administrators. How effectively these administrators apply the balance of objective responsibility to their decision-making processes defines their fundamental preparedness to make ethical decisions.

Conflict of interest, Cooper, pages 112 - 121: cooper points out that a conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization becomes engaged in multiple interests. One of these interests has the probably of corrupting the motivation of an act in another interest. Since the content of a conflict of interest is different from the fulfilment of impropriety, a conflict of interest can be found and voluntarily defused before the happening of a problem. Cooper (2010, 113) notes that, "Conflicts of interest involve collisions between these various kinds of influences and the interests of the public we serve".

He states further that the fiduciary role is endangered when people lose trust in professional judgment of public administrators, which is the root of all ethical problems in the society. Disagreements created by modern complex organizations are yet another problem for public administrators. While this problem increasingly affects their credibility, conflict of responsibility which is focused on economic interests and legal remedies follows suit. Passing moral judgment under the law challenges the legality of any matter held by public administrators.

It is however important to understand that while locating where the problem lies; the course of action is either forgotten or devalued. Therefore, it is important to study conflicts of Interest which can help us create new knowledge, critique the existing knowledge, and to disseminate knowledge. In conclusion, the only way in which truth could scientifically be pursued is through trust.