Educating and training professional administrators in public service ethics is complex. Just one of the many questions is whether ethics can be taught in the classroom at all, particularly to graduate students at a late period in their lives. Essential life patterns of our MPS and MBA students have already been established during their formative years, and their jobs and other adult experiences influence their thinking, feeling and acting. What is “practical” administrative behavior vs. high sounding ethical prescriptions and codes? Recognizing such caveats, the following account documents the author’s classroom teaching experience.
The unique student body involved combined MPA and MBA students, who were all part or full time practitioners and mature individuals. This setting provided an opportunity for government-business cross study and dialogue on administrative ethics.