Transcript of Cabrera-Capstone-Seminar Final Paper 4-20-2015
- 1. Francisco Cabreras Master in Public Administration Portfolio
by Francisco Cabrera April 20, 2015 Graduation: May 1, 2015
954-554-3441 Mobile Cisco.Cabrera@hotmail.com 1
- 2. CONTENT I - Introduction. 3 II - Curriculum Vitae... 4 III -
Statement of Philosophy of Public Service.. 6 IV - Competence:
Ability to Participate in and Contribute to the Policy
Process....... 7 V - Administrative Ethics - Ethics Portfolio.... 8
VI - Regulations - Where America Stands on Immigration and
Deportation Policies.... 42 VII - Sem. in Pub. Personnel Admin. -
Four Essential Training Areas for Public Employees... 63 VIII -
Organizational Change and Public Management.. 71 Organizational
Change throughout Strategic Planning, TQM, & Human Capital
Development - Prezi Presentation pdf format. 86 IX - Competence:
Ability to Analyze, Synthesize, Think Critically, Solve Prob. &
M. Dec.... 120 X - Applied Methods 1- Education Dropout Prevention
Report..... 121 XI - Applied Methods II - Statistical Analysis
Report of Florida's Domestic Violence..... 129 XII - Seminar Pub
Budgeting Techniques - Town of Davies Financial Analysis...... 165
Prezi Presentation pdf format. 175 XIII - Competence: Ability to
Articulate and Apply a Public Service Perspective. 215 XIV -
Government Internship - FAU, Office of the Provost Internship
report... 216 XV - Intro. to Pub. Admi. - Local Govt Proc: Eff.
Implem., E-proct, & Impact in Local Eco 227 XVI - Local Govt
Admin. Municipal Level and County Govt Practices Review and
Analysis.. 254 XIX - MPA Competencies Strengths and Weaknesses....
290 XVII - Table 1- MPA Competencies.... 295 XVIII - Table 2 - MPA
Skills... 296 XX - Conclusion... 297 Appendix A - Civil Service
Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978... 298 Appendix B - False Claim Act of
1986..... 472 Appendix C - Whistblower Protection Act of 1989......
490 Appendix D - Whistblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012...
503 Appendix E - State of Florida "Whistle-Blower's Act"....
516
- 3. Master in Public Administration Portfolio I. Introduction
This portfolio reflects Francisco Cabreras two years of academic
education and the several competencies and accomplishments acquired
while completing the Master in Public Administration in the College
for Social Design and Social Inquiry at Florida Atlantic University
between the fall of 2013 and the spring of 2015. In the next
section, I introduce my Curriculum Vitae. Thereafter, there is a
reflection section about my motivations for pursuing a career in
public service, followed by a list of guiding principles and
values. While the main body of this portfolio contains a collection
of ten essays the appendix section contains complimentary documents
relevant to the nature of this work. These variety of papers
summarizes a small portion of the countless hours spent in
learning, performing research, reading hundreds, if not thousands,
of scholarly articles and innumerable books in the quest for
completing assignments, course projects, in class presentations.
Nevertheless, they do not reflect the resiliency gained from
overcoming the curve balls life throws at you, or the many humility
lessons life teaches you, or the amount of determination required
to control your mind to accomplish your goals when everybody else
around tells you it cannot be done, or to continue your academic
journey without making or accepting excuses. Since most of my
extensive working experience was in the private sector I completed
my internship at FAUs Office of the Provost. The internship was a
personal lesson of humility, however, once again shows my
determination to do what it takes to get things done, and I did it!
Please have in mind that while my Curriculum Vitae demonstrate my
broad working experience in the private sector this portfolio
describes the public administration professional competencies
acquired during the MPA program, consequently, I hope this
selection of essays showcase my writing skills and critical
thinking abilities. 3
- 4. II. Curriculum Vitae FRANCISCO CABRERA 4510 SW 27th Ave,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 954.554.3441 Mobile
Cisco.Cabrera@hotmail.com Creative and dynamic research and analyst
with outstanding sales, customer service and interpersonal human
relations skills. AREAS OF EXPERTISE Research & Analysis
Environmental Policy Management Regulatory Compliance Contract
Negotiations Recruitment E-Procurement Problem Solver Team Builder
Policy & Social Issues Customer Service Motivator Research and
Analysis Analyzed international and domestics political and
economic developments. Interpreted economic and human development
indexes. Presented finding and recommendations of statistical
analysis. Researched local and global policies, political events,
social and environmental issues. Operations Assisted marketing
department developing advertising campaigns. Bilingual
English-Spanish, translation/interpretation. Conducted contract
negotiations and provided customer service from sales to closing.
Combined interpersonal skills with the latest technology to meet
company's needs. Experienced prospecting home buyers and realtors
via phone, e-mail or mail. Explained in details plat maps,
elevations and common areas. Organized individual and group
community presentation of up to 25 realtors. Prepared weekly sales
reports, sales forecast, and demographic analysis. Performed
property tours stressing community features and benefits Worked
closely with management, buyers, and lenders to achieve sales
goals. Management Attended management weekly meetings or as
required by company management. Demonstrated critical thinking and
problem solving abilities. Focused on weekly goals accomplishments
and customer satisfaction. Managed sales team and sales gallery
daily operations. Mentored, motivated, and recruited sales and
administrative staff. Responded to inquiries from all parties in
timely manner. Set monthly and weekly goals and company
expectations at sales meetings. 4
- 5. ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS Florida Atlantic University, B.A.
Political Science with a History Minor, GPA 3.6 2011 - 2013 FAU,
Master in Public Administration, current GPA 3.7 2013 - 2015 MPA
Courses: Research Methods I & II, Regulations, Public Personnel
Administration, Introduction to Public Administration, Nonprofit
Organization Management and so on. BA Courses: Research Methods in
Political Science & History, Global Environmental Politics
& Policy, US Economy, International Political Economy, Global
Development and so on. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Intern, Office of
the Provost, Florida Atlantic University Spring 2015 Volunteer,
Town of Davie Fired Department Summer 2014 Admission Counselor, ITT
Technical Institute, FL 2008 - 2009 Sales Manager, Cornerstone
Group, FL 2004 - 2008 Sales Representative, Centex Homes, FL 2002 -
2004 Sales Associate, Jean Cook Realty, Inc., FL 2000 - 2002
Concierge, Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort, FL 1997 2000
CERTIFICATIONS Community Emergency Response Team, FLFD, Volunteer
2006 - 2009 Licensed Real Estate Broker by the State of Florida
Aug. 2005 COMPUTER LITERATE Windows Seven Vista XP Microsoft Office
Word Excel Power Point IBM SPSS 21 Calyx 5.2 MLXchange Act IRIS
Lotus Notes WP 6.0 Outlook Express LANGUAGES & TRAVELING Fluent
in English and Spanish. Intermediate German and beginning
Portuguese. Extensive travel experience through Europe, North
America, Caribbean and South America. OTHER INTERESTS International
relations, globalization, and comparative politics. Politics,
economics and international events and history. U.S. history,
especially the Civil War period from 1861-1865. Latin American
history, economy and political issues. Sports and outside
activities including intermediate yoga and beginner golf. 5
- 6. III. Statement of Philosophy of Public Service Social
responsibility was in essence my motivation. It was my motivation
to get into the MPA program and it is my motivation to serve others
in conjunction with my belief that I can make a positive
contribution within the public sector into the lives of others in
my community. My graduate degree and my undergraduate degree in
Political Science, both have provided me with a rounded knowledge
of the American political system for I support the pluralistic
model of democracy where interest groups compete in free and equal
conditions influencing policy. During the last two years, we have
discussed politics, economics, and socials issues. We have studied
leadership theories, the classical management and role theory,
transactional leadership theory, horizontal or collaborative
leadership theory, Ethical and critical leadership, and
transformational leadership theory I lean towards the last. Leaders
under this category are visionaries and a visionary that can
communicate effectively they become by themselves an instrument of
change. We reviewed Americas democratic principles and we have
learned public organizations to strive in a competitive globalized
world must rely on professional public servants with the highest
sense of duty, integrity, and ethics. Finally, a leader should not
only promote ethical values but a positive collaborative
environment. I have no doubt FAU provided MPA graduates with a
phenomenal first class education that included those values and the
competencies to become active participator and contributor into the
public policy process; the ability to utilize analytical tools to
analyze and interpret data, to present and make public policy
recommendations; to use policy instruments and management tools to
address social problems and more. Now we have the responsibility to
honor this MPA program go out there and let our leadership skills
shine. 6
- 7. IV. Competence: Ability to Participate in and Contribute to
the Policy Process The next three essays reflect the ability to
participate in and contribute to the policy process. The first
paper is my Ethics Portfolio completed during the Administrative
Ethic Class, which is a core course of the Master in Public
Administration. Students assessed the administrative processes,
expanded their ethical competences to support democracy and the
republican form of government. Student left this class armed with
the necessary ethical decision making abilities to support and
preserve Americas democratic values. The next essay was written for
the Regulation class. Regulation is another core course in the
Master of Public Administration. The paper was title Where America
Stand on Immigration and Deportation policies. While the purpose of
the paper was to demonstrate the social, political, economic
effects and implications of immigration policies the class
emphasized the understanding of how regulations and administrative
rules were drafted, adopted, implemented and the legal context of
public affairs. Students benefited from a rich discussion several
political, social, and economic issues and regulations. We were
provided the competencies to support Americas legal and
constitutional principles of democracy. The last paper was titled
Four Essential Training Areas for Public Employees and it was
written for the Seminar in Public Personnel Administration. The
Seminar in Public Personnel Administration is another core course
of the Master in Public Administration. The purpose of this paper
was to focus in four relevant areas of human resource management:
employee's rights and responsibilities, ethical competence, labor
relations, bureaucracy and democracy. Students were prepared to
become active participants of the democratic process. Encouraged
them to make positive contribution into the local, state, and
federal government policy process and learned to become problem
solvers, personnel administration and the ability to relate on an
interpersonal level with other employees. 7
- 8. V. Administrative Ethics PAD 6436 Dr. Leslie A. Leip
November 20, 2014 Artifact I Ethics Portfolio Administrative Ethics
is a core course of the Master in Public Administration. This
course exposed students ethics in public administration. Besides
the completion of several assignments on ethics students developed
their personal ethic statement. Most of the work resulted out of
exploring local, state and federal governmental institutions
ethical infrastructure. Students conducted an exhausted analysis of
The Ethics Primer written by Svara (2005), then summarized the most
important aspects of ethics in public organization. The course
aimed on developing both personal and professional values such as
ethical decision making, critical thinking competencies among
others. Furthermore, they developed a well thought plan to tell the
truth or whistleblower and putted it in writing to be prepared to
confront corruption in the workplace. The course emphasized the
need of public servants with high sense of ethics thus becoming
active participants in the democratic process. What is more they
were encourage to make a positive contribution into the local,
state, and federal government policy process. Students assessed the
administrative processes and expanded their ethical competences in
order to better support higher ethical standards of public
administration in a republican form of government. Student left the
class armed with decision making and critical thinking abilities
and the necessary competencies to preserve our democratic values
and to support the Constitution of the United States of America.
8
- 9. CONTENTS I Introduction 11 II Ethics Statement..............
12 III Legal and Code Framework...... 13 Overview of Federal
Government Ethics................. 14 Overview of State Government
Ethics.. 14 Overview of Local Government Ethics.... 15 Ethics in
Public Administration...... 16 The Ethics Primer's Appendix 2, Code
of Ethics for Governance Service 16 The Ethics Primer's Appendix 3,
America Society for Public Administration.. 17 The Ethics Primer's
Appendix 4, ICMA....... 17 American Society for Public
Administration..................... 18 National Firefighter Code of
Ethics........... 19 Organization's Ethical Climate Enhancement and
Improvement........... 20 How to Deal with Rule-bending in the
Workplace............ 20 Town of Davie FRD and TOD Employees Rules
on Ethics.... 22 IV Professional and Personal Principles and
Valus........ 23 Figure 1 - Personal Principles and Values..... 24
Figure 2 - Professional Principles and Values......... 25 V
Approaches to Ethical Thinking............ 26 Virtual and
Utilitarian Approaches.. 27 Figure 3 - Personal Ethical Triangle 28
VI Ethical Decision-making Framework.... 29 9
- 10. Personal Ethical Decision Making Framework.. 30 Figure 4 -
Decision Making Chart 31 VII Plan to Tell the Truth..............
32 Summary of Federal Whistleblower Laws (See Appendix A, B, C,
& D).... 34 Summary of State Whistleblower Law (See Appendix
E)............. 34 Broward County/City of Dania Beach
Whistleblowers Law.......... 35 VIII Case Analysis - Ethical Solve
Problem 35 Case 1 - Confronting Corruption in the
Workplace............ 35 Case 2 - Going the Extra Mile Case... 37
IX Conclusion.. 38 Apendix A - Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of
1978.. 303 Appendix B - False Claim Act of 1986. 477 Appendix C -
Whistblower Protection Act of 1989...... 495 Appendix D -
Whistblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012... 508 Appendix E -
State of Florida "Whistle-Blower's Act"........ 521
References..................................................................................................................39/...
526 10
- 11. Francisco Cabreras Ethic Portfolio I. Introduction My
personal ethics portfolio resulted out of completing a variety of
assignments on ethics under the supervision of Dr. Leip at the
Administrative Ethic class of the MPA program during the fall
semester of 2014. Since I started the MPA program, I have taken at
least one class with Dr. Leslie Leip every semester during my
entire academic instruction thus I would like to express my
gratitude to Dr. Leip for her guidance and valuable advice. After
this introduction, I wrote my personal ethic statement. We explored
in detail the ethical infrastructure of the three level of
government. First, at the federal level, I visited the Office of
Government Ethics, the Office of Congressional Ethics, and the U.S.
House of Representatives Committee on Ethics, the U.S. Senate
Select Committee on Ethics, and finally the Open Government
Initiative websites. Second, at the state level, I browsed the
State of Florida Commission on Ethics, the Statutes, Constitution
and Laws of Florida, the Administrative Procedures Committee
website, the Sunshine Law, and the National and Conference of State
Legislatures. Third, at the local level, the National Association
of Counties, the Broward County Ethics Commission, Broward County
Open Government websites, the Palm Beach County Ethics Commission,
and the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission websites. Out of each
assignment, we carefully selected ethics rules and regulations that
would it would support our ethic demeanor during our entire public
administration career. With the same purpose, we reviewed the book
written by Svara (2005), titled The Ethics Primer. In addition,
those working in public administration wrote a summary of the most
important aspects of public organization. Since, I am not working
in public administration yet, I wrote a summary about the most
important aspects of my future public 11
- 12. organization. We described our personal and professional
values and we have developed a step- by-step plan to tell the truth
to confront corruption in the workplace. We have printed Federal,
States and Local government Whistleblower laws that I placed in
Appendixes A and B. Finally, we analyzed to case scenarios about
Confronting Corruption in the Workplace and Going the Extra Mile,
followed by my concluding statements. II. Ethics Statement I would
start my ethic statement by citing the following phrase, the
highest duty of public administrators is to embrace a broad set of
obligations and responsibilities that promote the public interest,
demonstrate character, advance justice, and seek the greatest good
(Svara, 2015, p.195). With that in mind, as a future public
administrator I assume the compromise to firmly serve with
integrity and professional demeanor thus treat managers, coworkers
and citizens with dignity and respect exercising care and my best
disposition. During the scope of my profession I will: Be honest
and dependable. Maintain a positive attitude. Be sensitive to what
is important to others. Promote ethical practices and good
behavior. Be fair and take action not to discriminate. Encourage
cultural diversity and pluralistic values. Be compassionate with
the less privileged of society. Solemnly observe the Constitution
of the United States. Display due diligence in every responsibility
entrusted on me. Support and promote the public agency mission,
goals and vision. 12
- 13. Observe the highest standards of work ethics and ethical
competency. Be aware at all times that with my decisions I might
directly or indirectly affect others. Adaptability implementing
change always relaying in problem solving and positive resolution.
In conclusion, the highest duty of public administrators is to
embrace a broad set of obligations and responsibilities that
promote the public interest, demonstrate character, advance
justice, and seek the greatest good. Therefore, as public servants
I will act ethically at all times to the best of our abilities at
work and in our private lives, always exercising integrity, honesty
and due diligence. III. Legal and Code Framework These section
provides an overview of the legal and code framework of the
federal, state, and Local Governments. The following pages,
reflects my detailed exploration of the ethical infrastructure of
the three level of government. First, at the federal level, I
visited the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of
Congressional Ethics, and the U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Ethics, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics,
and finally the Open Government Initiative websites. Second, at the
state level, I browsed the State of Florida Commission on Ethics,
the Statutes, Constitution and Laws of Florida, the Administrative
Procedures Committee website, the Sunshine Law, and the National
and Conference of State Legislatures. Followed by my research on a
diverse code of ethics. Among the reviewed material, I went
throughout James Svara book titled The Ethics Primer appendices 1
through 6, ASPA code of Ethics, the National Firefighter Code of
Ethics. Reading, Svara (2015), was very helpful. I adopted some of
these material in the framework of my professional code of ethics.
13
- 14. Overview of Federal Government Ethics Out of exploring the
federal-level ethics infrastructure of the Office of Government
Ethics, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Ethics, the U.S. Senate Select
Committee on Ethics, and the Open Government Initiative website, I
found few solid ethics rules that I would definitely have in mind
during my career as public administrator. 1. The Office of
Government Ethics, under the Employee Standard of Conduct Subpart
G. Misuse of Position prohibited employees from using public office
for personal gain, their friends, relatives or any person whom they
are affiliated in a non-Government capacity and so on (United State
Office of Government Ethics, 2014). 2. The Office of Congressional
Ethics, under the United States House of Representatives Code of
Official Conduct rule number 3. It stated that an employee may not
use his or her employee status to receive compensation from any
source (Office of Congressional Ethics, 2014). In conclusion, the
highest duty of public administrators is to embrace a broad set of
obligations and responsibilities that promote the public interest,
demonstrate character, advance justice, and seek the greatest good.
After we visited several federal websites we found solid rules to
include in our personal ethic plan such as the Office of Government
Ethics Subpart G. Misuse of Position and the Office of
Congressional Ethics rule number 3. Overview of State Government
Ethics The Open Government Initiative of the State of Florida
established the sunshine law. The sunshine law mandates counties
and local government should facilitate to the public 14
- 15. information related to board meetings, commissions
meetings, and meetings of all branches of government. According to
the attorney general website state courts have a long history of
supporting public's right of access to governmental meetings and
records information (Office of the Attorney General of Florida,
2014). Chapter 286 stated that board, commissions and all branches
of government should report, fill, maintain, retrieve and provide
copies of information about meetings. However, provision 286.0113
was among the most important regulations of Chapter 286. This
provision established sunshine law exclusions such as part of
meeting pertaining to security system, negotiation with vendors,
and negotiation strategies could be kept from public knowledge
(Sunshine Law Chapter 286, 2014). In conclusion, the "Sunshine" law
was the equivalent of the federal open government initiative. The
law provided that all citizens of the state should have access to
all branches of the state and local government meetings
information. However, chapter 286.0113 stated few exception to the
"sunshine" law. Since the federal open government initiative
promoted accountability and transparence, the "Sunshine" law
reaffirmed the states of Florida compromise with our society
democratic values. Overview of Local Government Ethics
Unfortunately, at the local level the ethics codes is inexistent.
Neither Broward County nor the City of Dania Beach have ethics code
posted on their websites. However, I posted two cases of corruption
at the local level below at the end of this section. The first case
was from my city of residency, Dania Beach and the second case was
in the city of Waldo, Florida. To conclude, this section was a
detailed exploration of the legal and ethical code framework of the
federal, state, and Local Governments. While at the federal level,
the legal and 15
- 16. code of ethics information is vast at the state level
decreased and it was inexistent at the county and local level of
government. Ethics in Public Administration The following pages
summarizes my research on a diverse code of ethics, some of which,
I adopted in the framework of my professional code of ethics. Among
the reviewed material, I went throughout James Svara book titled
The Ethics Primer appendices 1 through 6, ASPA code of Ethics, the
National Firefighter Code of Ethics. Reading, Svara (2015), was
very helpful. The Ethics Primers Appendix 2, Code of Ethics for
Governance Service On appendix 2, of the Code of Ethics for
Governance Service I adopted for my professional code of ethics
points 1, 5, and 6. "Put loyalty to the highest moral principles
and to this country above all" (Svara, 2015, p.203). This point
reminded me that more than a decade ago, I declared the Oath of
Allegiance to the United States of America thus as I did then, I
intend to keep my loyalty to this country not only throughout my
private life but during my entire public service career. "Never
discriminate unfairly or provide special favors or privileges to
anyone" (Svara, 2015, p.203). In regard to the second point, being
an immigrant in this country it has not always been easy. At the
beginning, I was discriminated for not knowing the language,
thereafter, for speaking this language with an accent or simply for
having a different skin color. Personal integrity" (Svara, 2015,
p.203). 16
- 17. In regards to the final point, at an early age my parents
taught me honesty, high work ethics and moral principles.
Basically, they taught me to do the right thing because is right
thing to do thus by applying this concept I have become a person of
integrity. The Ethics Primers Appendix 3, American Society for
Public Administrations Code of Ethics with Practices Advance the
public interest. Promote the interests of the public and put
service to the public above service to oneself (Svara, 2015,
p.205). Being a public servant means your vocational interest is to
serve others, therefore, is important to set aside any personal
interest to promote fairness to the best of my abilities.
Therefore, a public servant should withdraw from any other reasons
than are not associated with serving others and the common good.
The Ethics Primers Appendix 4, International City/County Management
Association (ICMA) Professional Respect. Members seeking a
management position should show professional respect for persons
formerly holding the position or for others who might be applying
for the same position (Svara, 2015, p.212). Reporting Ethics
Violation. When becoming aware of a possible violation of the ICMA
Code of Ethics, m embers are encouraged to report the matter to
ICMA (Svara, 2015, p.212). As a public servant I will respect
coworkers and public in general. During the MPAs Ethic class It has
been stressed we should develop a whistle blowing plan for telling
the truth. However, is my personal thought that whatever constitute
unethical misconduct is wrong thus 17
- 18. unacceptable and it should be appropriately addressed. The
person who should have known of an unethical conduct becomes
indirectly accountable. In conclusion, on appendix 2, Code of
Ethics for Governance Service I will adopt points 1, 5, and 6. From
appendix 4, ICMA, I will take both professional respect and
reporting ethics violations. Appendix 5 and appendix 6 pretty much
covered the same topics as the previous ones. Since, I consider the
ASPA codes of ethics to be very important to develop my personal
code of ethic portfolio I wrote on ASPA ethics code below. American
Society for Public Administration It was worth noticing that ASPA
revised its ethic code on March, 2013. ASPA objectives was the
advancement of the the science, art, and practice of public
administration" (ASPA, 2014). They are committed in developing
"responsible professionalism"and "commitment to ethical
professionalism" of public service workers (ASPA, 2014). All
members of ASPA, including myself, we are committed to put in
practice all ASPA principles. The eight principles all ASPA members
must abide by are: Always place first the public interest Support
our Constitution and observe the Law, Encourage democratic
participation, Support social equity, Promote transparency and
inform people, Display personal integrity, Maintain an ethical
public organization, and Promote personal excellence (ASPA, 2014).
18
- 19. In conclusion, ASPA code of ethics was composed of eight
main points. Some of those important points were: always put the
interest of the public first, support the Constitution and the Law,
display personal integrity and promote ethical public organization.
National Firefighter Code of Ethics I contacted Chief Andy Popick
from the Town of Davie Fire Rescue Department and he kindly
suggested I should visit the National Firefighters Professional
Association. Most of us have a great respect and admiration for the
work fire fighters perform, therefore, I did not doubt to take a
look at NAPF Code of Ethics. Among the codes of the National
Firefighter Code of Ethics were: "Always conduct myself, on and off
duty, in a manner that reflects positively on me, my department and
the fire service in general (National Firefighter Professional
Association, 2012). "Accept responsibility for my actions and for
the consequences of my actions" (NAPF, 2014). "Avoid situations
that would adversely affect the credibility or public perception of
the fire service profession" (NAPF, 2014). Except that I would
replace the "fire service" profession for public service
profession. In conclusion, Chief Andy Popick of the Town of Davie
Fire Rescue Department suggested I should visit the National
Firefighters Professional Association code of ethics. The NAPF code
of ethics were simple but very precise. Public administrator should
always conduct themselves with integrity in and outside our jobs. I
am responsible for my actions, therefore, what I have done right or
wrong has always been my responsibility. However, it takes courage
to admit what you have done wrong and move on. 19
- 20. Organizations Ethical Climate Enhancement and Improvement
of Employee Views As a leader, I would enhance the ethical climate
of my future organization by conducting myself with integrity. A
second necessary quality to promote a positive ethical climate is
to never do, or request others to do, something unethical or
illegal that would compromise myself, others employees or the
organization. Another way to enhance the ethical climate of my
organization it would be to delegate work. Last communicate
effectively, accept responsibilities for underperformance and share
credit for department success. A good manner to improve the views
of the people in the organization it would be to treat coworkers
and the public with respect. One more way to improve the people's
views in the organization it would be to have a positive
reinforcing attitude. A third way to improve the views in the
organization it would be to be proactive and resourceful solving
issues. Moreover, showing good disposition and always being ready
to meet new challenges it would improve the people's views in the
organization. In conclusion, integrity was an important quality to
enhance a positive ethical climate within an organization. In
addition, never personally do neither requested other to do
something unethical I would have enhanced the ethical climate of an
organization. Other identified qualities to enhance the ethical
climate of an organization it would be to delegate work,
communicate effectively, accept responsibilities for
underperformance and share credit for department success. In
synthesis there were many good ways to improve the views of the
people in the organization, but treating the public with respect
was among the top of the list. How to Deal with Rule-bending in the
Workplace Rule-bending at the work-place is a sensitive issue. As a
person of integrity, I would like to think that I would not bend
rules. That was an important part of the education I have received
20
- 21. at home. It takes time until one person learns the real
meaning of integrity, however, in between it would make few
mistakes. However, a person who keep making the same mistakes not
only would never learn it would never gain experience. A person who
does not learn from his or her mistakes it would get in trouble in
his or her job or with society. If we accept the fact that without
a code of conduct there would be social chaos then rules,
administrative codes, and laws are necessary to govern a civil
society. Laws are necessary in society as much as administrative
codes and rules are necessary in private, public and non- profit
organizations. I would like to think that once you became an adult
you learn the difference between what is right and wrong;
therefore, you would not bend rules thus you would and always you
would attempt to do what is right. Perhaps is true that "learning
the specific rules and their associated sanctions does not prevent
rule-bending" but at the end if you bend a rule you jeopardized
your integrity. Let me help you picture rule-bending with a little
personal anecdote. Once, a former supervisor requested me to lie to
fire a co-worker fired. I refused, but I got on his wrong side and
I got me fired. Definitely, he was not a gentleman neither a person
of integrity. Should I have lied, I would have kept my job, but I
did not because I knew that was wrong. In addition, my coworker was
married and a father of 3 kids. In despite of being fired, I did
the right thing. I did not sell my integrity to save myself or have
the other person fired. There is a positive side to this anecdote;
because I got fire, I went back to college and today I can share
with you this experience. By the way, I just explained what I would
do to address rule bending at the work place. In conclusion,
rule-bending at work is a very sensitive issue. However, we always
need to maintain personal integrity above all at work and outside
of work. At the end, is not about your 21
- 22. job or what other people would do or not if they were in
your shoes, but is about doing what is right. Once a person learned
the difference between what is right and what is wrong developing
the habit of doing what is right becomes easier. Town of Davie Fire
Rescue Department and Town of Davie Rules on Employees Ethics
Currently, I am not working in public administration but I
volunteer on a weekly basis with the Town of Davie Fire Rescue
Department. Neither the Town of Davie nor the TDFRD have a code of
ethics posted on the town's website. However, the fire department
mission reflected their higher standard of professionalism and
commitment with the citizens of the Town of Davie. "The Davie Fire
Rescue Department is dedicated to the preservation of life,
property and homeland security as well as the prevention of fire
and other hazards to the community. We accomplished this thorough
our highly-trained professionals and state-of-the-art equipment
with our citizen's safety being our number one priority" (Town of
Davie, 2014). What I found at the Town of Davie website was the
employee's rules. Among the 16 rules and sub-rules, the closest to
an ethical section was Rule XIII. Conduct of Employees on section 5
under the title prohibitions. "No employee shall willfully or
corruptly make any false statement, certificate, or report
regarding position or other employees. No employee shall permit or
be a party to fraud preventing the impartial execution of the
personnel rules. No employee considered for merit salary increase
or promotion in the town service shall either directly or
indirectly give, render, or pay any money, service, or other
valuable thing to any person for or in connection with his/her
merit salary increase or proposed promotion. No officer or employee
in the classified service shall continue in such position after
being qualified as a candidate for nomination or election to any
town public office. (Town of Davie, 2014). 22
- 23. The Town of Davie does not have a code of ethics. However
they do have personnel rules. The closest to an ethical section of
the personnel rule it was Rule XIII. Conduct of Employees on
section 5 prohibitions. In conclusion, in this section I provided
an overview of the legal and code framework of the federal, state,
and Local Governments. Followed by my research on a diverse code of
ethics. Among the reviewed material, I went throughout James Svara
book titled The Ethics Primer appendices, ASPA code of Ethics, the
National Firefighter Code of Ethics and I concluded with Town of
Davie Fire Rescue Department and Town of Davie Rules on Employees
Ethics. Reading Svara (2015), was very helpful. Finally, I did not
doubt to include the researched material in my professional code of
ethics. IV. Professional and Personal Principles and Values
Personal Principles and Values A public servant should bring to the
table the right set of value including personal integrity and good
attitude. However, integrity is one of the values I first learned
at home. Once a person learns the meaning of integrity then he/she
can develop other values. My father used said that he could walk
out of his house with a clean conscience because there was nobody
out there who could question his integrity. That in a very small
town has a lot of meaning. Several times, I confused his integrity
with lack of ambition but time probed me wrong. Fig. 1 reflects my
personal values while Fig. 2 my professional values. Please notice
that I have included integrity on both my personal and professional
values. The reason being is that at a very young age, my father
emphasized the importance of becoming a person of integrity thus
this value it has been part of my social education very early in my
life as it was also part of my father's life. 23
- 24. Fig. 1 Personal Values VALUES List your values here
Definition of Personal Values List here your definition of these
values here Examples of Value-driven Behaviors 1. Integrity Is
having a life personal code of conduct that you would honor and
abide by anywhere including work. Basically, is knowing the
difference between what is right and wrong. A drive driven behavior
it will be to always do what is right in your private and public
life even when no one is watching. 2. Honesty A person would either
do what is right or wrong. Hopefully we do the right thing but
sometimes unintentionally we do something wrong. Thus honesty is
being able to accept you are responsible for your right or wrong
actions. A drive driven behavior is to be mentally prepare to
recognize your mistakes, take responsibility and accept the
consequences for your actions. 3. sincerity I have never been
friend of hypocrisy. I like to tell the things as I perceive them.
A drive driven behavior is stop spreading gossip; stop talking
behind others people's back. 4. Caring Is the ability of being
concern with others, needs, and feelings. A drive driven behavior
is give money to a person who needs it or buy food to street
beggar. Do not be indifferent. 5. Compassion If you have more than
others, show your compassion by giving. If you cannot give listen.
If you cannot listen be kind. If you cannot be kind at least do not
hurt anybody. A drive driven behavior for developing a
compassionate heart is to help someone that you do not know without
expecting anything in return. Public servants should have the
spirit to serve others no to take advantage of their positions for
personal gain. Svara (2015), mentioned laws prohibit certain
activities or impose controls on others (Svara, 2015, p.188). Among
those prohibited activities he mentioned the 24
- 25. use of public position for private gain, representing
persons or organizations before your agency, nepotism, and
disclosing confidential information or using it for private gain.
Honest graft based on insider information (Svara, 2015, p.
188:189). It is important to have in mind Fig. 2 Professional
Principle and Values VALUES List your values here Definition of
Professional Values List here your definition of these values here
Examples of Value-driven Behaviors 1. Integrity Is having a life
personal code of conduct that you would honor and abide by anywhere
including work. Basically, is knowing the difference between what
is right and wrong. A drive driven behavior it will be to always do
what is right in your private and public life even when no one is
watching. 2. Work Ethics Is the ability to put you work first
during the time you are at work and leave your personal life at
home, day in and day out. A drive driven behavior always act upon
your responsibilities of being an agent of support of your agency
missions and organizational values. 3. Dependability Is doing what
you promised to do by the time and day you said you will do it. A
drive driven behavior it would be as simple as to being in time at
work or for an appointment. 4. Adaptability Being flexible with
situation and people thus with time and days. Show willingness to
try new things. A drive driven behavior it would be to have an open
mind and being able to embrace changes. 5. Positive Attitude Having
a positive attitude is contagious but also having the wrong
attitude has the same effect. Thus the person who want to become
positive have to work hard to develop the positive attitude habit.
A driven behavior it will be to develop the mentality that all you
can do is possible and believe it will become a reality with your
mind, body and spirit. In conclusion, a public servant should bring
to the table the right set of value including 25
- 26. personal integrity and good attitude. Among my personal
values are integrity and honesty. In addition, public servants
should have the spirit to serve others no to take advantage of
their positions for personal gain. Among my professional values are
integrity, a higher standard of works ethics and positive attitude.
V. Approaches to Ethical Thinking On this section, I discussed my
stand point on ethical thinking and why I believe is necessary to
make ethical choices in a framework of respect. In addition, I also
pointed out the two approaches that it would assisting making my
ethical choices during my public administration career. Throughout
our entire lives, as permanent members of society, we make ethical
choices. However, ethics I learned, it has a different degree of
meaning to people according to their nationality, cultural values,
religion and social position. Simply, what is right for one person
it may be wrong for another. What is right in one culture it may be
wrong in another, therefore, once I moved into another country I
never judge my adoptive culture. I have lived in Argentina,
Germany, Spain, and in the US. When I first move from Argentina to
Germany I received my first cultural and ethical shock. It was the
same, more-or-less when I moved to the next country. For that
reason I would like to stay within the scope of ethics in relation
to public administration. Svara (2015), argued the society as a
whole expect public officials to observe eight responsibilities.
Among those principles, I rescue putting the public interest first
or being fair, committed to serve, uphold the law and support the
democratic process are all important (Svara, 2015, p.34). I believe
in supporting the democratic process and the institutions that are
the pillars of our democracy because our founder fathers not only
wrote some of the most brilliant documents known to modern
democracy and modern organizations but they embedded 26
- 27. meaningful human kind rights such as "Life, Liberty, and
the Pursuit of Happiness" empowering anybody to seek the American
dream. As a public servant we carry over our shoulders the
responsibility to preserve those values throughout ethics,
transparency and accountability. Reading Svara's book on ethics it
was very inspirational because he presented eight cases with
different degrees of behavioral conflicts in clear disagreement
with the principle of upholding the common good. Case 1 for
instance, presented a clear case of conflict of interests. If I was
the city manager, I should have known the city contributed with
certain amount of money to the event thus it would have been wise
to either have the city pay for my participation, as noted in the
book. Or 1-I should have abstained from participating in the
conference, or 2-I should have pay out of my packet (Savara, 2015,
p.35). 2-On the second case, there was a conflict of interest
between deciding what was best for the library employees or for the
public. If I was the library manager, I would not doubt to consider
how the new hours would better served people. If during this time
someone retired then I would have seek the help of two volunteers
or I would have replaced that employee with part time employees.
According to Svara (2015), the library manager should have put the
public interest over personal or organizational interest and that
it would have been my response. Virtual and Utilitarian Approaches
The two approaches that I would be using during my public
administration career are the Virtual and Utilitarian approaches.
On the one hand, I will use the Virtue Approach because it would
help me see the potential within and it would guide me into the
person I could become. It was easy for me to identify that I have
been using this approach subconsciously in a daily basis. I can
identify myself with each of the virtues of this approach:
Integrity first and foremost is something that I really value but
also courage, honesty, compassion, fidelity, fairness and so on.
27
- 28. On the other hand, I will use the Utilitarian Approach
because I have been influenced by moral reasoning. Furthermore
moral reasoning have played a part calculating consequences on my
ethics decisions thus I also identify myself with this approach. In
more than one occasion, I found myself with the dilemma of how my
actions can result in the less possible harm. In order to resolve
problems causing the less possible harm I tried to see the whole
picture and placed myself in the many shoes of the people my
decision would affect. Figure 3 below represent my personal ethical
triangle. Fig 3. Personal Ethical Triangle Out of the approaches to
ethics, I identified myself with following two approaches: The
Virtue Approach The Utilitarian Approach Our entire lives we faced
ethical choices. However, ethics had different degree of meaning to
people according to their nationality, cultural values, religions
believes and social Principle Social Justice Duty Public Interest
Common Good Openness and honesty CONSEQUENCES VIRTUE/INTUITION
Serving People 28
- 29. position. On the eight cases, in one way or another,
behavioral conflicts was in disagreement with the principle of
upholding the common good. When we preached doing what is right
because was the right thing to do, doing the right thing became a
healthy habit. In conclusion, on this section I discussed my views
on ethical thinking and why was necessary to make ethical choices
in a framework of respect. Furthermore, I pointed out the two
approaches that it would assisting making my ethical choices during
my public administration career. Virtue, principle, and
consequences have positives and negatives inadequacies, especially
when they are used alone. However, I placed integrity above all
other values and I have mentioned its importance. The virtue
approach was best aligned with my thoughts and my way of living my
life. The utilitarian approach is the second approach to ethics I
would adopt because I always evaluate what causes the less harm to
a greater number of people. VI. Ethical Decision-making Framework
The reasoning behind developing a decision-making framework varies,
however, the final purpose is to successfully approach an incoming
ethical challenges. On the one hand, Svara (2015), argued that the
motives for developing a problem solving model is to use moral
development to reason through a dilemma encounter (Svara, 2015,
p.131). On the other hand, the Makkulla Center for Applied Ethics
encouraged "the development of a methods for exploring the ethical
aspects of a decision weighing the considerations that should
impact our choice of a course of action" (Makkulla Center, 2014).
Both considered essential to have a decision making plan. A methods
we are supposed to learn thorough repetition until become familiar
and easy to use. The methods recommended by Svara (2015), in page
135 is very similar to the model promoted by the Makkulla Center
for Applied Ethics Model. However, we 29
- 30. prefer the second of the two mostly because it is very
simply and straight to the point. Personal Ethical Decision Making
Framework Identify/clarify the problem Who would be affected by my
decisions? Are there more than one alternative to solve this
problems? Gather facts What are the real facts of the case? Where I
can obtain more information about it? Are there more than one
interested party in this issue? What are the marginal costs?
Evaluate alternative actions throughout the utilitarian and virtue
approach The Utilitarian Approach Which option will produce the
most good and do the least harm? The Virtue Approach Which option
leads me to act as the sort of person I want to be? Make a decision
a decision and test it Have my option addressed the situation?
Which one produced the best result? If I told my father which
option I have chosen, what he would say? Act upon my decisions In
implementing my decisions, have I been fair to all parties involved
in this situation? Was my decision rightful or otherwise? Did, I
learned anything from it? 30
- 31. (Makkulla Center, 2014). In addition, I took the following
Chart from Montana University School of Business. It was presented
as the last step for critical thinking, however, I will use it at
the fourth step of my personal decision making framework evaluating
alternative solutions to an ethical problem. Fig. 4 Chart for
Ethical Decision Making The Problem [state the ethical problem
clearly and succinctly]: Possible Solutions Pros Cons Solution 1:
Solution 2: Solution 3: Solution 4: (Montana State University,
2014) In conclusion, the reasoning behind developing a
decision-making framework purpose was to successfully approach
ethical challenges. Both Svara (2015), and the Makkulla Center for
Applied Ethics considered essential to have an ethical decision
making plan. The ethical decision making plan was best learned
thorough repetition. In addition, I included a chart for decision
making I will use it at the fourth step of my personal decision
making framework while 31
- 32. evaluating alternative solutions to an ethical problem.
VII. Plan to Tell the Truth As a future public servant, I will
bring to the table personal and professional values that includes
integrity, honesty, sincerity, caring, and compassion. Among my
professional values, of course my number one is integrity, then
works ethics, dependability, adaptability, and positive attitude.
All those values are deep-rooted in religious, socials, and moral
principles throughout which I have learned the difference between
what is right and wrong. Both of my parents exposed me at a very
early age to the concept that integrity, hard work and dedication
would lead me anywhere. I was taught never to look the other way to
injustice, suffering, inequities, and wrong doing simply because
there is not honor in doing so. Having a high standard values and
ethics are important attributes to become a public servant. Svara
(2015), argued that ethics refers to well-based standards of right
and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms
of duties, principles, specific virtues or benefits to society
(Svara, 2015, p. 12). As a public servants, I will bring honorable
values that it would help me serve others and do what is right
because is the right thing to do. The process of telling the truth
with the federal government start by filing a written complaint
with the Office of Special Counsel in Washington, DC. The OSC is an
independent agency authorized to investigate and prosecute wrong
doing of federal employees. The whistleblower must include the
following information: the public agency department he or she works
and include personal information such as name, address and best
time to be contacted. Confidentiality is provided by law however if
the OSC determined there would be an imminent danger to public
health then all the information it would be made public. In
addition, the OSC 32
- 33. offers a toll-free number; the whistle-blower hotline,
800-572-2249. Even if the OSC finds no violation of laws the
whistleblower can still pursue his or her claim if the agency he or
she works for retaliates against him or her (Office of Special
Counsel, 2014). The process of telling the truth in Florida start
by initiating a complaint with Office of the Chief Inspector
General either by calling at (850) 717-9264 or by submitting a
written complaint to Office of the Chief Inspector General in
Tallahassee, Fl. In addition, they offer the opportunity to
complaint by email at cig@eog.myflorida.com (Florida Government,
2014). Furthermore, they offer a free whistle-blower hotline
number, which is 800-543-5353. The complaint can also be send by
fax at 850-921-0817. Should the whistleblower be retaliated against
he or she can call 800-342-8170 or contact the Florida Commission
on Human Relations in Tallahassee, Florida (Florida Executive
Office, 2005, p. 1). Finally, the local government process to tell
the truth start by visiting the Broward County Website, under the
Ethics link, there is a section named Misconduct of Local
Government Officials and Contractors with the number of the Office
of the Inspector General (OIG) 954-357-TIPS. At the very bottom, in
blue letters, there is a link with the name File a Complaint where
a form to that effect can be downloaded and send to the OIG email
address: InspectorGeneral@broward.org. The OIG, promise to
investigate complaints of elected officials and appointed County
officials and also employees on charges of fraud and corruption in
the county municipalities. (Broward County, 2014). The following
are some of the federal and the State of Florida laws enacted to
protect civil servants who chose to tell the truth or as
whistleblowers. The legal framework was based on federal, State of
Florida and local laws enacted to protect civil servants who chose
to step forward to denounce public administration wrongdoing.
33
- 34. Federal Whistleblower Laws Enacted to Protect Civil
Servants I will use these laws at my discretion to protect myself
while denouncing federal, state or local government corruption.
Appendix A - See page 33 1. Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978
- It was the first time Congress enacted a law to protect Federal
employees from being punished for denouncing wrongdoing. (Peffer et
al., 2013, p.4). Appendix B - See page 34 2. False Claims Act of
1986 - Added a special legal protections and remedies for
whistleblowers who are harassed, threatened, discharged or
otherwise discriminated against in their employment because of
their whistleblowing (Peffer et al., 2013, p.5). Appendix C - See
page 35 3. Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. It was a federal
law enacted to protect federal employees who reported agency
misconduct. (United State Congress, 1989). Appendix D - See page 36
4. Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012. It
strengthened the whistleblower protections for federal employees
(United State Congress, 2012). State of Florida Whistleblower Laws
Enacted to Protect State Civil Servants Appendix E - See page 521
5. SHORT TITLE.Sections 112.3187-112.31895 State of Florida
Whistle-blowers Act. (The 2014 Florida Statutes, 2014). 34
- 35. Broward County/Dania Beach Whistleblower Laws enacted to
Protect Civil Servants There are no specific whistleblower act
enacted neither by Broward County government, or the City of Dania
Beach, therefore, we assumed county and local government public
servants are protected by states and federal laws. In conclusion,
as a future public servant, I will bring to the table a set
personal and professional values and principles. Among those
personal and professional values and principles were integrity,
caring, and compassion, works ethics, dependability, adaptability,
and positive attitude. There are several procedures used by
federal, state, and local government public servants to combat
corruption and fraud. Since 1863, the federal government has
enacted several laws against corruption and fraud, however, more
recent laws were also designed to public servants who denounce
corruption and fraud. VIII. Case Analysis Ethical Problem Solving
Using a Case Study Lifes is a good tested of character and
integrity. Throughout our lives we made mistakes, however, if we
acknowledge that each mistake bring an added value then we have
learned a lesson and we have gained experience. Life have placed me
on my knees more than once but after every single time I was put
down I did get up because one of the biggest lesson life could
teach is to never give up. In addition, I have learned that there
are more value and more personal gratification in doing what is
right thus by learning from his or her mistakes and by doing what
is right a person become a better human being. Confronting
Corruption in the Workplace I started my introduction to my ethics
portfolio with the following words, as future public administrator
I assume the compromise to solemnly observe the Constitution of the
35
- 36. United States, to serve its people with integrity and
professional demeanor and I intend to honor this country by
adopting me as one of its citizens with the same rights and
obligations as the rest of the American people. One of the things,
I have learned in life is to do the right thing because is the
right thing to do, therefore, it does not matter if I just
completed my master degree or I have been 20 years in public
service, when confronted with corruption I still going to denounce
it. In this case, I would have begun by making a whistleblower call
the 800 number provided by my agency thus I will have follow the
procedures learned in this Ethic class. Doing something else it
will make me an accomplice. Thanks to this country, I was able to
obtain a BA in Political Science but also I am 4 classes away from
a BA in History. Therefore, from a historical perspective, we can
argue that while the world looked the other way millions of
Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman Empire, today Turkey.
During WWII, because too many people looked the other way in
Germany millions of innocent human beings died in concentration
camps in Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. Thus today Christians are
assassinated in Iraq in the hands of ISIS. However, looking the
other way does not means these events never took place and
definitely does not make them less criminal. Yes, my comparison was
extremes but when one member of society start looking the other way
on little things, one day we can start looking the other way to
another genocide. In conclusion, by no denouncing my department
grant mismanaging and allocation, or the miss use of public
resources or one exam cheating, I would become part of the problem
no part of the solution. In comparison with genocide all of these
things are relatively smaller things but if I do that, in the
future it would be easier to turn my head the other way to a larger
problem. 36
- 37. Therefore, I will make the whistleblower call into the 800
number offered by my employment even if I lose my job and I cannot
pay for my student loans. Going the Extra Mile Case The Analyst Job
at the County Executive Office case it could be approached from
different points of views: from the people point of view, from the
management point of view, and from the employee points of view.
Since the case does not mention the reason why people was let go, I
will assume there were let go to save taxpayers money. First, from
the people point of view. The truth is that people pay taxes for
public administrators do their jobs. Even though, public servants
do a variety of jobs the most important job of all is to serve
people in the community. Second, from the management point of view.
They give orders and they expect employees to follow them. However,
what is wrong is wrong and in this case management sucks. They are
doing a lousy job and there is no a valid excuse for it. Someone at
the office should have solved this problem way before it happened.
Besides by management lack of performing their work everyone under
them has to suffer including the people they are supposed to serve.
Third, from the employee point of view, if I would have been that
employee, I would have brought this problem to the attention of my
managers before I reached my work load limits. Besides, every
single time I was delegated a new task I would have evaluated with
my manager my priorities. Spending more weekends at the office than
with my family constitute a problem for me, I would have long said
Houston, we have a problem, lets fix it. Definitely, I would have
been proactive seeking a solution with my manager, my managers
managers, or human resources. I would have argued that by not being
effective we are unfair with the people we serve. Even though, as
an employee I could not make organizational changes, I am in
control of my own life thus I would have refused to be part of a
public 37
- 38. organization that it does not care for is residents and if
I was not able to change things then I would have left. However,
from the ethical stand point, the managers and the employees of the
County Executive Office all failed to serve the people in their
community. Once, I would have gone the extra mile for the residents
but not for my managers. Furthermore, what person in his or her
right mind wants to work for manager who lack of strategic planning
skills? To conclude, this case could have been approached in a more
effective way. People would not care how the job is done but only
that the job is taking care off. Management was doing a lousy job
and they should have solved this problem way before it happened. I
would have been that employee I would have secured help way before
something like this has happened. I would have gone the extra mile
for the residents, however, spending more weekends at the office
than with my family was as wrong as not properly serving the people
in my community. Even though, an employee I could not made changes,
he or she still in control of his or her life. What is more, I
would have refused being part of an organization that neglected its
residents. However, from the ethical stand point, the managers and
the employees of the County Executive Office all failed to properly
serve the people in their community. IX. Conclusion In conclusion,
this ethics portfolio resulted out of completing a variety of
assignments on ethics. I expressed my gratitude to Dr. Leip for
enhancing my student life and by her advices and guidance. This
ethic portfolio was composed from a brief introduction, my personal
ethic statement, and several other parts were completed out of
exploring the ethical infrastructure of the federal, state, and
local level of government. Out of each tasks, we carefully selected
ethics rules and regulations that would help expand our ethic
personal values that it support our ethical behavior during public
administration career. We reviewed the book written by Svara
(2005), 38
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41
- 42. VI. Regulations PAD 6612 Christopher Atkinson, Ph.D.
December 10, 2013 Artifact II Where America Stands on Immigration
and Deportation Policies Regulation is a core course in the Master
of Public Administration. While the purpose of this paper was to
demonstrate the social, political and economic effects and
implications of immigration policies the overall purpose of this
class was to examine how and why bureaucracies develop regulations
and contributed to the understanding of the role they play within
the policy process influenced by economic, political,
administrative, and social factors that in turn affected the lives
of Americans. As most relevant issues in America, deportation
policies crossed party affiliation lines uncovering divisions among
those who supporting and opposing them. Furthermore, we could not
analyze deportation policies without touching the immigration
question. In class, we analyzed public policy formulation and
implementation together with public participation and how that
participation could affect the rulemaking process. Awareness about
the importance of public participation and contribution in Americas
policy process was stressed. Students became familiar with the
regulatory environments and get familiar with legislative and
executive bodies where regulations takes place either at the local,
state or federal levels. What is more, especial consideration was
given to what constituted the public interests and we focused in
learned the legitimacy in government from a regulatory standpoint.
Emphasis was placed in understanding how regulations and
administrative rules were drafted, adopted, and implemented and the
legal context of public affairs. Students benefited from a rich
discussion on regulation of several political, social, and economic
issues. 42
- 43. Abstract As the American economy is less prosperous than in
previous years, issues that were considered less important are
brought back to the daily Americans discussion table. Among those
issues associated with illegal immigration are deportation
policies. As most relevant issues in America do, deportation
policies crossed party affiliation lines uncovering the divisions
between those who supported them or opposed them. Furthermore, we
cannot refer to deportation policies without speaking about the
immigration question. While those who blamed immigrants as being
part of the problem favored stricter deportation policies and
regulations, others who believe this is a country of immigrants
welcomed the arrival of new immigrants seeking their American dream
thus supported less strict deportation regulations. Throughout the
analysis of several scholarly articles, the intention of this
research is to test where political parties, the American society,
and Hispanics stand along deportation issues. 43
- 44. Where America Stands On Immigration and Deportation
Policies As the American economy is less prosperous than previous
years, issues that were considered less important are brought back
into the daily discussion table. Among those issues are immigration
and deportation policies. Closely intermingled, one cannot speak of
deportation without referring to immigration and vice versa.
Recently, President Obama urged legislators to focus on immigration
reform, thus at the present moment it has a higher degree of
salience. The two major political parties would debate in Congress
the destiny of millions of persons living illegally in the U.S. and
if they could earn the right to pursue the American Dream. Since
Republicans commonly favor tougher immigration laws, it was logical
to assume they would be against providing immigrants a path for
citizenship, and be for tougher deportation policies. On the other
hand, Democrats usually are friendly supporters of a new
immigration reform, thus it was common sense to assume they will
support an immigrant's path to citizenship by being against
deportation policies. However, like most relevant issues in
America, the immigration and deportation issue is complex, crossing
in its path party affiliation lines and minority groups. As the
amount of Latinos increases by birth rate or by immigration, it is
most likely more Hispanics would access citizenship. In recent
presidential elections, Latinos have been a deciding factor between
the two parties. Curiously, feelings towards immigration of
Hispanics and deportation are also divided among loyalties to the
Republican and Democrat parties. However, as deportation continues
to rise during Obama's administration more Latinos are opposing his
administration deportation policies. "In recent years, the debate
over illegal immigration has often been posed as a choice between
two competing prioritiesincreasing border security and enforcement
or providing a path to citizenship to immigrants who are in the
country illegally" (Lopez et al., 2011, p.8). This 44
- 45. review of the literature explores where America stands on
immigration laws and deportation policies and supports the premises
that these issues are intermingled thus controversial along party
lines, within the American society, and in-between immigrant
groups, especially Hispanics. The first article reviewed to
understand where the political parties stand on immigration and
deportation policies was titled "U.S. Deportation Policy, Family
Separation, and Circular Migration" by Hagan, Easchback, &
Rodriguez (2008). This article reviewed immigration laws
established primarily during the administration of Presidents
William J. Clinton (D) and George W. Bush (R). The laws enacted by
both administrations facilitated the massive deportation of illegal
immigrants. Hagan, Easchback, & Rodriguez (2008) analyzed the
findings of 300 surveyed immigrants of Salvadorian deportees. In
short, Clinton signed two laws in 1996, the Illegal Immigration
Reform and Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and the Anti-Terrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). In 2001, following the
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, President Bush signed
the Patriot Act. Clinton's IIRIRA had two provisions that easier
illegal immigrant deportation. Under IIRIRA, immigrants who arrived
in one of U.S. ports of entry without a visa or proper
documentation could be deported without due process. While IIRIRA
increased the number of offenses for deportation of illegal
immigrants, AEDPA strengthened the authority of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service --now under the Department of Homeland
Security-- Border Patrol, Coast Guard, and U.S. Custom. Under AEDPA
these federal agencies were authorized to deport illegal immigrants
caught entering the U.S. without judicial process. (Hagan,
Easchback, & Rodriguez, 2008. p. 1, 2). These new immigration
laws set in place deportation policies that increased the numbers
of deported immigrants. While in 1990, the average of deportation
was 40,000 immigrants yearly and by 2005 that number had increased
to 45
- 46. roughly 210,000. Only 43% of those deported individuals
were deported based on criminal background. The majority of them
(57%) did not have previous criminal records, but they were in
violation of U.S. immigration laws. Hagan, Easchback, &
Rodriguez (2008) detailed that most of these immigrants without
criminal records belonged to one of the poorest countries in Latin
America. Most of those who were deported were nationals of Mexico
(69%) and Central American countries (16%) without a criminal
record. Almost one million immigrants accepted leaving the U.S.
voluntarily (Hagan, Easchback, & Rodriguez, 2008. p. 2, 3).
Salvadorian deportees were interviewed face-to-face by local
interviewers trained by members of the U.S. research team who
participated in the Welcome Home Program (Bienvenido a Casa-BAC)
established by the Salvadorian government. Immigrants receiving
resources such as hospitals and schools without contributing taxes
is often presented as an argument against illegal immigration. The
survey revealed that most of the Salvadorian deportees never
attended schools in the U.S.; therefore they never affected school
economic resources. Of the immigrants, 7% were deported to El
Salvador upon arrival. Before deportation, 78% of them had steady
work, thus we can assume their purpose to migrate into the U.S. was
seeking better economic conditions. After being deported from the
U.S., 38% of them said they would attempt to come back. Hagan,
Easchback, & Rodriguez (2008) estimated that out of 210,000
deportees in 2005, 80,000 of them may plan risking their lives to
get illegally back into the U.S. throughout the Mexican border. Two
reasons Mexican immigrants may want to come back into the U.S. were
first, the extensive common border which makes it easier for them
to venture back into the U.S. and second, family pressure due to
the loss of remittances. Hagan, Easchback, & Rodriguez (2008)
reviewed immigration laws established primarily during the
administration of Presidents William J. Clinton (D) and George W.
Bush (R). The 46
- 47. laws enacted by both administrations facilitated the
massive deportation of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. In
1996, Clinton signed two laws, the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act. In 2001, followed the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center, President Bush signed the Patriot Act.
Therefore, my stand on this issue was that the U.S. Government
should discourage illegal immigrants from crossing into the U.S. by
increasing the Border Patrol economic resources. Since 78% were
illegally working in the U.S. with fake documents, Congress should
enact laws authorizing the INS to create tougher domestic policies
against those who falsified U.S. IDs and Social Security numbers
and those who distributed fake documentation. The second article
reviewed to understand where the political parties stand on
immigration and deportation policies was titled "Illegal
Immigration: Gap Between and Within Parties" from the PEW Research
Center for the People and the Press (2011). Under the direction of
Princeton Survey Research Associates International, interviewers at
the Princeton Data Source, called 2,001 adults, over 18 years of
age living within all 50 States and the District of Columbia. Since
the interviews were conducted by telephone the sample may contain
errors. In addition, it may have been possible that the sample of
the population interviewed did not represent the entire population,
and there was not a feasible way to corroborate if the interviewers
influenced the respondents. Respondents' party identification
assumed the preconceived idea that conservatives leaned towards the
Republican Party; those who were liberal leaned towards the
Democrat party, and those who were Independent usually inclined the
opinion's balance toward one side or the other. However, this
survey revealed that the immigration issue provoked hesitation and
sympathy amongst Republican, Democrats and Independents alike.
47
- 48. "The public continues to support tough measures to crack
down on illegal immigration, but also a path to citizenship for
those in the country illegally" (PEW Research Center for the People
& the Press, 2011, p. 1). According to respondents' ages, there
was a disconnection in immigration policies within the Republican
Party. The opinion of 65 and older Republicans and Grand Old Party
Tea Party sympathizers was the government should prioritize border
security and stricter immigration law enforcement. Of those
younger-than-30-years-old Republicans, 42% favored stricter border
security and path to citizenship inclusion and 30% stated their
preferences on border security and stricter immigration law
enforcement. As of November 2011, "More than twice as many
Republicans as Democrats said the priority for dealing with illegal
immigration should only be better border security and stricter law
enforcement" (PEW Research Center for the People & the Press,
2011, p.2). To understand where the major political parties stand
on immigration and deportation policies, we analyzed a survey from
the PEW Research Center. The study revealed a clear division
between Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Republicans who
sympathize with the Tea Party were most likely to support border
security and stronger immigration laws than those who do not
sympathize with the Tea Party. Democrats who approved the
government immigration policies most likely would disapprove
deportation of illegal immigrants. Republican, Democratic, and
Independents were equally likely to approve or disapprove the ways
Barack Obama was handling the nation's immigration policies; thus
deportation policies. Overall, people's attitudes towards
immigration and deportation policies were overwhelming high and
evenly across every section of the studied population. "What
Triggers Public Opposition to Immigration? Anxiety, Group Cues, and
Immigration Threat" by Brader, Valentino, and Suhay (2008),
revealed how the American elite 48
- 49. classes influenced people's opinion in immigration
policies. The reaction of the American people on immigration costs
depended on who are the immigrants. "We confirm this suspicion in a
nationally representative experiment: news about costs of
immigration boosts white opposition far more when Latino
immigrants, rather than European immigrants, are featured" (Brader,
Valentino, & Suhay, 2008, p. 1). The findings were confirmed by
their second study. Since 2004, there has been a renewed public
debate on immigration issues. That debate was manipulated by the
elites with the intention to "suggest the interests, values, or
lifestyles of citizens are in harm's way..." thus "elite discourse
tends to emphasize adverse consequences for jobs, taxes, crime,
schools, cultural norms, or social harmony" (Brader, Valentino,
& Suhay, 2008, p. 1). Opponents to immigration were greater
than those who supported it. Perhaps the explanation was that a
great number of Americans usually were badly informed on
immigration issues. In addition, they argued that mass media and
reporters contributed spreading a negative image of Hispanic by
spreading rumors like Latinos do not assimilate the American
culture; they use public resources or boost crimes and take
American jobs. "News coverage from 1995 to 2005 was twice as likely
to stress the cost of immigration as the
benefits"..."anti-immigration rhetoric also often...makes a
distinction between stigmatized ethnic or racial groups, such as
Hispanics, and "good immigrants, such as those from Canada, Ireland
or Poland" (Brader, Valentino, & Suhay, 2008, p. 4). Finally,
Brader, Valentino, & Suhay (2008) provided conclusive evidence
that American people's opinion on immigration could be manipulated
to believe that Caucasian Eastern European immigration was better
than Hispanic immigration. American Caucasians were less favorable
to support spending in education and social benefits when
immigrants were from Hispanic descend and were more favorable
spending taxpayer dollars when immigrants were 49
- 50. Caucasians of diverse Eastern European states. Elite groups
influenced public opinion and political agenda by manipulating
people's emotions. A second experiment confirmed the manipulation
consistency not only by the elites but also from the media.
Therefore, we could hypothesize that the American people who were
influenced to support education spending cost for Caucasian Eastern
European immigrants but not for Latinos most likely could be
manipulated to support tougher immigration laws and deportation
policies for Hispanics immigrants than for Caucasian Eastern
European immigrants. However, a deeper study was needed to
demonstrate this hypothesis. "Cultural Logics of Belonging and
Movement: Transnationalism, Naturalization and the U.S. Immigration
Politics" by Susan Bibler Coutin (2003) described that during the
Clinton administration, immigrant citizenship was favored but
enacted stricter immigration policies with new immigration laws.
This paper was important to this study because then as today there
is a national immigration debate. When immigration policies were
tightened, Bibler Coutin wrote, the demographics of the U.S.
changed, but some immigrants struggle to regularize their legal
situation. As mentioned above, in 1996, President Clinton passed
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act (IIRIRA).
"Other restrictive immigration measures, such as denying
citizenship to the U.S. born children of undocumented immigrants,
were also considered" (Bibler Coutin, 2003, p.2). During the
Clinton administration the U.S. government encouraged immigrants to
become citizens, but at the same time tightened immigration
policies by passing IIRIRA Reform. IIRIRA established stricter
border enforcement laws and made harder for illegal immigrants to
become legal residents. However, in the 2004 presidential election,
George W. Bush took a different approach resolving the immigration
issue by doing exactly the opposite Clinton did. Bush loosened
immigration policy thus he received overwhelming support from the
50
- 51. Hispanic community. Two years later, his administration
attempted to expand the categories of illegal immigrant deportation
crimes. Furthermore, he promoted punishing employers hiring illegal
immigrants. Both of these proposed measures generated Hispanic
public mobilized protests. In addition, GOP conservatives became
irritated with a reform treated in Congress intended to provide a
balance between border controls and gave a path to immigrant
legalization (Brader, Valentino, & Suhay, 2008, p.2).
Espenshade et al. tested several hypotheses about factors that
influenced respondents' attitudes. Bibler Coutin (2003) said that
during the Clinton administration, the U.S. government encouraged
immigrants to become citizens, but at the same time tightened
immigration policies passing new immigration laws. While
immigration policies were tightened the demographics of the U.S.
changed, but some immigrants struggle to regularize their legal
situation. However, in the 2004 presidential election, George W.
Bush took a different approach resolving the immigration issue by
doing exactly the opposite Clinton did. Bush loosened immigration
policy thus he received an overwhelming support from the Hispanic
community. In my opinion, when immigration laws and deportation
policies were part of a national political debate little matter
whether the president is a Republican or a Democrat. Since Congress
only approved a consensual stricter or a lesser immigration and
deportation policies, in my opinion, it little matters whether the
president was a Republican or Democrat. "Contemporary American
Attitudes Towards U.S. Immigration." by Thomas J. Espenshade and
Katherine Hempsted (1996) tested several hypotheses about factors
that influenced respondents' attitudes. "California's Proposition
187 registered more than seven on the Richter scale of public
opinion toward illegal immigration and radiated tremors that were
felt throughout the rest of the United States and as far south as
Mexico City." (Espenshade & 51
- 52. Hempstead, 1996, p. 2). In 1994, Proposition 187 denied
public K-12, post-secondary education, and non-emergency health
services to undocumented immigrants illegally residing in
California. At the beginning of 1990s, Governor Pete Wilson rode to
reelection in California championing Proposition 187, which denied
government services to immigrants. This "victory," however, may
have damaged Republican Party prospects in the nation's most
populous state by alienating Hispanic citizens" (Brader, Valentino,
& Suhay, 2008, p.4). With Proposition 187, California started
an anti-immigration trend that spread through Arizona, New Mexico,
Texas and other states with a large pr