Ethics of a civil servant: model code, professional responsibility

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The ethics of behavior of a civil servant in the Russian Federation involves a set of rules and acceptable options, norms and principles that reflect public expectations regarding the work of such a person. Ethics affects the essence of the worker. The peculiarities of ethical requirements are due to the fact that initially civil servants were understood as servants of the public. The principles governing the work of such a person are oaths and codes, rules of conduct, sets of restrictions that regulate the honor of an employee. Any person hired for such work must abide by their rules and regulations.

General information

The ethics of a civil servant in the Russian Federation is formed by norms that are developed to specify the principles. Ethical norms are options for reflecting the moral requirements imposed by the public on those hired to serve the state. The behavior of such a person is controlled by ethical external regulators. These include values that are relevant to the whole societyin principle, as well as morality, subjugating humanity. Ethical standards are taken into account. At the same time, internal regulators are important - the motivation of a person, his awareness of himself in the service of the state.

Model Code of Ethics for civil servants is necessary to control the actions, manners, communication of people taken to public office. The task of special collections of rules is to establish the norms of moral social relations, to stipulate what behavior is permissible, what is beyond the scope of the possible. Codes form the values of organizational culture, team spirit, morality in relation to a particular institution and its workers.

The task of responsible persons is to form a code and think over the mechanisms to implement its provisions. It is necessary to create an atmosphere of creativity in the team, thanks to which each employed person could show their interests. No less important are the measures due to which each employee is interested in the development of their own ethical, moral qualities and parameters. Thanks to this approach, every person improves.

Current issue

According to many researchers in this field, the ethics of official behavior of civil servants is necessary for effective personnel management. The creation of such teams that would work comprehensively, supporting each other, is the responsibility of the leader. Any person holding such a position is obliged to deal with personnel problems.

Scientists who have considered these issues have established: inAt the moment, there are no widely used mechanisms by which it would be possible to give preference only to high-quality personnel at the stage of selection of candidates. No less significant is the complexity of the rational placement, carried out in the preliminary analysis of the social essence of the hired. According to analysts, mechanisms are needed to take into account ethical attitudes, moral principles, and the morality of people.

About terminology

To understand the phenomenon of ethics of state and municipal employees, you should first turn to the interpretation of terminology. Ethics is a word that came to us from Ancient Greece. In the language of this country, the root of the term was the word "ethos". It can be translated into modern Russian as "nest". Over time, the meaning has expanded. The term began to denote the persistent nature of a certain phenomenon, including a person - his character, moral principles. Morality and ethics, as well as morality, are rather similar concepts. Both the history of the emergence of these words and the etymological content have a lot in common. Many consider these words interchangeable. However, the shades of meaning for each of them vary somewhat, largely depending on what the speaker wanted to convey.

Speaking about the ethics of behavior of a public civil servant, other people holding important positions, we have to admit: it must obey the requirements, parameters that regulate the views of persons. The signs of ethics are the specific personal characteristics of people that determine their attitude to the legal value and meaning of law. To a large extent it issuch personal qualities of individual citizens involved in the civil service determine social consciousness, the spiritual level of social progress, and the strict observance of morality. According to many, civil servants are a good reflection of the situation in society as a whole.

Ethical signs: from the beginning

The ethics of public civil servants implies decent human behavior. A person must act in strict accordance with behavioral standards, rules defined by the public. An important quality is the honesty of a person. A civil servant who follows ethical rules does not commit low deeds and is simply not capable of them. Antisocial behavior or actions contrary to morality are impossible for him.

An equally significant aspect of the ethics of behavior of a state and municipal employee is adherence to the agreed political, social standards that regulate public life. Often such rules in society are set behind the scenes, which does not detract from the importance of following them. Ethical behavior implies strict compliance with all requirements and standards. The choice in favor of a particular act often becomes a decision in favor of one of two options, both of which do not comply with the rules and norms. If the need to decide in favor of “one of the evils” is uncontrollable and cannot be excluded, there can be no doubt about the ethics of a person who finds himself in such a situation.

Ethical signs: continuing the theme

Office ethicsa state and municipal employee obliges a person not to become dependent on financial gain. A civil servant, whatever his personal material interests, is obliged to ensure his independence from them. It does not matter with which legal entities, individuals have to interact during the work process. Material interests and their control by external persons should not correct the performance of duties assigned to a representative of a certain profession.

Another important rule is impeccable objectivity. This rule of ethics of a civil servant is due to the following fact: the very work of a person is possible only for the reason that it is useful to the public and provides care for civil interests. The task of a civil servant is to take care of the society, while it does not matter what the peculiarity of his appointment is. Politicians, public figures should follow social interests and serve for their benefit to the same extent as people hired to relatively low positions in individual instances.

Ethical norms apply to those who enter into contracts, offer colleagues as suitable persons for some jobs. Ethical principles must be observed by those who are responsible for submitting nominations for awards. Any official is obliged to choose among candidates, analyzing his merits, qualities that are important for the workplace.

Important aspects

Responsibility is one of the ethical principles of a civil servant. She isimplies the need to take responsibility for every action taken, the decision made. The official is responsible to the public. His task is to follow the rules stipulated for his profession, to obey the requirements. It is equally important to follow generally accepted moral principles. This does not only apply to directly working hours. An official in private life is also obliged to answer for every decision or deed. Before you accept or do something, you need to analyze what is planned for compliance with moral principles.

Professional ethics of a civil servant requires open behavior. Any decision that such a person makes is open to society. It is equally necessary to notify of any action. If the interests of society require an explanation of what happened, the official is obliged to provide such. If necessary, give as much detail as possible about each decision made by a person taken to public office.

Fidelity to duty and quality work

Professional ethics of a civil servant includes selfless performance of duty. Every person employed in such work is obliged to make his decisions in the public interest. He cannot do anything in the workplace for the benefit of himself or his family, friends and any other persons. Financial, material benefit from activities outside the salary stipulated by the position is not allowed. Selflessness involves giving up a benefit to some organization, since that also does notis a society in all its diversity, but only acts as a separate cell, a small block.

All the above norms of ethics of behavior of a civil servant are fixed in turn in any model code with a decoding similar to that given above. Usually in the full list there is also professionalism. This aspect of ethical normative service to society obliges everyone who is appointed to public office to master his profession to perfection, not making mistakes in his work.

Recognition of professionalism is objective when other persons, society note the abilities of a person. At the same time, they analyze how successfully a person achieves goals defined for him, whether he chooses the right paths for this. Be sure to pay attention to the ways in which the desired is achieved. An alternative understanding of professionalism is subjective. This is said when a person is firmly convinced that she has excellent abilities and qualities of a professional in her chosen field.

Think before you act

The ethics of behavior of a civil servant obliges a person hired for such work to be guided primarily by common sense in all actions. Each action must be clearly balanced, have rational justifications. Before committing a certain act, it is necessary to objectively calculate its consequences. Any action is carried out if there is an agreed goal, to which a person accepted for public office should strive. Goal setting should be logical. When determining directions, aspirations, one must act deliberately, be guided by prudence, and behave in accordance with these rules.

Ethics of official behavior of civil servants is aimed at maintaining the reputation of an individual, and through him - all those accepted for similar positions, as well as anyone and everyone who serves the society. Therefore, one of the points of any model code is respect for personal reputation. If a person has taken public office, her task is to be a reliable partner, a trustworthy person who does honest deeds.

Social assessment and opinion about personal properties, positive and negative qualities - all this forms the reputation of a person. It must be remembered that the value of those who speak directly, behave sincerely, perform actions in accordance with the requirements of conscience. Only such a person is worthy of trust and has the right to be called impeccable. It is such a person who should hold public office and serve society. As a partner, every employee must prove himself reliable and stable. They will want to cooperate only with those who are worthy of trust, prove it with their appearance and behavior, and are loyal to their colleagues and partners.

Opinion: external and internal evaluation

Requirements and rules in the codes of ethics of official conduct of civil servants oblige persons accepted for such work to behave in accordance with the image formed by the public. People are valued whose ability to work in a team is manifestedespecially good. The personal qualities of a person, professionalism play an important role for anyone who has been taken to the service of society, and any code of ethics focuses on this fact.

The official ethics of a civil servant requires to remember the dignity of a person. This concept includes all the moral features of a person and the ability of a person to respect them in himself and those around him. It is important for a person to adequately subjectively evaluate his own qualities of morality, respect himself and realize his ability to take active actions, taking into account the interest of others. Dignity is the quality of a person, thanks to which a person hired to serve the society can, in a difficult situation, find a compromise solution that maximally satisfies all participants in communication. This is possible only when a person is guided by common sense.

Quality: important and significant

Any code of conduct for public servants obliges people employed in such positions to make decisions and act in good conscience. This is an ethical category that describes a person's ability to morally control himself. A person who has a conscience forms duties for himself, due to moral standards. He may demand from himself the fulfillment of the indicated. It is in the power of a person who has a strong conscience to independently evaluate the actions that he has committed.

It is equally important to be fair. In the collections of rules governingethics of a civil servant, justice is seen as the ability to act honestly, guided by the norms of the law. A person accepted for public office has no right to show preference for some person or organization, community. Its task is to remember the rights of the parties stipulated by law. It is necessary to take into account the legitimate interests and pay attention to the obligations imposed on all participants in the working question by the norms governing public life and law and order within the state.

About beliefs

In the framework of the ethics of a civil servant, attention is paid to patriotism. This phenomenon is considered as a moral, social, political principle. It reflects a person's ability to love their native lands and take care of their prosperity, to act in the interests of their country. Patriotism includes pride in state achievements. Manifestations of patriotism - respect for the past, heritage, history of the state. The task of a civil servant is to take care of all the traditions, peculiarities of culture, people's memory.

Another significant belief, which is always mentioned in codes of ethics for civil servants, is the belief in the importance of the impeccable implementation of legal norms. They must be observed unquestioningly, and this is especially important for a civil servant hired in the public interest. The value attitude to such norms, the application of rights in practice, allows us to show each member of the society what constitutes law-abiding behavior. This is how stereotypes are formedsocial habits. A civil servant who leads a lawful way of existence, carefully observing all the norms, does not just set an example to those around him with his appearance. Gradually, just the practice of such behavior is transformed into the need to behave in this way.

You can, you must and you cannot

In the framework of the ethics of a civil servant, the principle of exactingness deserves special attention. We are talking about the ability of a person to evaluate their moral capabilities. A person accepted into the service of the public is obliged to make high demands on himself (to morality). At the same time, it is important to recognize oneself as responsible for the fulfillment of the agreed, certain.

For a civil servant, the prohibition of violence is important. Any person in modern society has free will. A democratic power is a country ruled by a form of government that strictly prohibits violence. This extends to any kind of aggressive behavior. The moral prohibition is basic for a democratic system. Equally, violence is forbidden not only on the physical level, but also expressed through speech or emotional. The rules apply to any relationship between people, including those formed with civil servants.

Culture and understanding

Another ethical aspect fixed in the code is tolerance. The term is used to denote the ability of a person to be tolerant of those who think in a different way. In addition to dissent, tolerance includes a responsive attitude to the interests inherent in partners, employees,colleagues. The task of a civil servant is to adequately perceive minorities and build a line of behavior taking into account tolerance. For such a person, confrontation is unacceptable, radical attitudes and extremism are prohibited. A civil servant is obliged to strive for a compromise, building a dialogue. His task is to start effective negotiations, to provoke the opponent to mutual work aimed at progressing the situation. The task of all participants in the workflow is to achieve a balance of interests.

Another ethical aspect is the culture associated with moral aspects and professionalism. It is supposed to take into account the norms of morality, categories, principles, subjective for behavioral analysis. At the same time, the ethics of the work of a civil servant presupposes practical morality as an aspect of relationships in society. A civil servant must remember the standards governing the activities of people. Professional features explain some specific prohibitions and oblige to establish requirements that are absent in other areas of human activity. So, if a person has chosen to serve as a guardian of law and order in society, the prohibition on falsifying information becomes especially significant for her.

You need to work efficiently

The ethical standard of a civil servant's work is a sense of duty. It is currently considered one of the key ethical criteria. The sense of duty closely mutually determines all other concepts. It describes the moral activity of a person. It is impossible to imagine a sense of duty for an immoralhuman or non-self-aware, for a person who is not responsible.

Another aspect of being a civil servant is impartiality. This ethical standard regulates the need to act strictly as stipulated by legal regulations. Every person must realize the rights and opportunities given to him. In particular, a civil servant is obliged to exercise the right to evaluate, taking into account exclusively social benefits and circumstances that objectively establish the specifics of the situation. He is prohibited from initiating a confrontation between work-related responsibilities and private interests.

About codes

Such collections describing the peculiarities of civil service ethics are accepted in many powers. They are formed not only for civil servants, but also for other officials. So, in America, back in 1958, they adopted an ethical code that regulates the work of the government service. He stipulated the loy alty of workers and the importance of maintaining the constitutional order, obliged to work all day, receiving a fixed salary for this, and strive to find effective methods for solving the problems facing the state.

In 2000, the European powers formulated recommendations according to which codes of conduct for civil servants should be created. The focus was on ethical values. As the authors of the recommendations considered, such values will help prevent corruption and increase the effectiveness of measures to combat it.