Verified Document

Ethics In Contracting Essay

Ethics in Contracting Government is full of many hundreds and thousands of people earning their living through service. It is important that this idea of service is kept in mind as the collective purpose should supersede that of the individual who has chosen to work for the government. The idealism behind organized governments warrant an ethical code to help ensure the sanctity of government is preserved. This moral imperative is stressed even more when we examine those who have served in government and can use that experience to further themselves in post government employment. This unique position therefore places unique ethical requirements on those who are seeking post government employment.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the importance of ethics within post government employment and the need for ethical awareness to guarantee fairness. This essay will suggest that government employment at many levels is generally lacking any real ethical ideal that reflects the idea of service to one's country when they decide to take employment or contracts with the government.

Developing an Ethical Code

Before developing an ethical code within the realms of post government employment it is first imperative to realize the goals and purposes of what government is and does. The word "government" itself is Latin in origin and means controlling the mind. Is government responsible for ensuring that each individuals mental state is protected ? I don't think that is the case but the power of the government to regulate commerce, wage war and direct policy suggests that there are many practical and material effects of the government's actions.

Reason and rational thought should resonate from this code and it should be respected as an ideal. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides some coverage to rules of federal contracting through the executive branch. According to this document, the FAR "is established for the codification and publication of uniform policies and procedures for acquisition by all executive agencies. " Performance standards and very complex policies are listed throughout the FAR, but there is no real ethical code expressed.
The compartmentalization of government itself has relegated ethics to be separated into a different branch of the executive. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics is a guiding force for the federal government contracting markets. According to their website " he mission of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is to foster high ethical standards for executive branch employees and strengthen the public's confidence that the Government's business is conducted with impartiality and integrity."

Issues in Post Government Employment

The biggest problem in ethics in dealing with post government employment is that the exposure of this failure has devastating effects. A collective shame is often felt when rampant waste and abuse are noticed. Government workers and contractors need to understand that their business dealing are on a higher level of collective good and that their actions are more impactful than in the real business world where ethics really don't apply in the same manner.

The simple and easy pathways that lead from…

Sources used in this document:
References

Fair Acquisition Regulation (nd). Viewed 10 July 2014. Retrieved from https://acquisition.gov/far/index.html

Dallimore, S.M. (2006). The Ten Commandments of Ethical Government Purchasing. Government Procurement, 14(2), 28-30.

Schouten, R. (2013). Many ex-governors work as lobbyists, consultants. The U.S.A. Today, 11 Aug 2013. Retrieved from United States Office of Government Ethics (nd). Mission & Responsibilities. Viewed 10 July 2014. Retrieved from http://www.oge.gov/About/Mission-and-Responsibilities/Mission-Responsibilities/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Ethic Discussion Psychology -Ethics Ethics Add to
Words: 332 Length: 1 Document Type: Research Paper

Ethic Discussion Psychology -Ethics Ethics add to the beauty of profession whether medicine, healthcare, sociology, politics, education, business and even technology. Lack of ethics might not kill someone in most of cases but it certainly does affect the beauty of life. In psychology, ethics does play a role in developing trust between the client and the professional. Single parenting is a social psychology problem that also demands ethical practice since it deals

Ethics in My Sisters Keeper
Words: 2090 Length: 6 Document Type: Discussion Chapter

Ethics, Morality, & Medicine in My Sister's Keeper Ethics & Morality Ethics, Morality, & Medicine in My Sister's Keeper Ethics, Morality, & Medicine in My Sister's Keeper Both ethics are morality of topics of philosophical discourse. Ethics is sometimes also referred to as moral philosophy. Moral philosophy or ethics may defend, recommend, and/or systematize behaviors that are right and wrong. Morality could be explained as the context within which ethics are codified. Morality is

Ethics in Statistics
Words: 1261 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Ethics in Statistics Ethical Issues in Business Statistics Statistical knowledge has been under gradual growth since the beginning of 20th century. This growth has subsequently advanced into broad dimensions of data handling and analysis, resulting into a fully-fledged scientific discipline. Statistics is a science that serves within the framework of construction, and theoretical mathematical applications in order to analyze a set of numerical data hence obtaining credible knowledge (Kemptborne, 1979). Statisticians, thereby,

Ethics and the Legal Environment
Words: 3866 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

Ethics and the Legal Environment George Mackee has a problem. His wife is after him, his boss is after him, and one day soon, the whole community of Hondo, Texas may be after him. George has one very large, very simple problem: He works for Ardnak Plastics, Inc. Ardnack Plastics is a small manufacturing company making small parts for small machinery, yet its corporate problems are far larger. In the wake

Ethics
Words: 1300 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Ethics According to the dictionary definition, ethics refer to the "set of principles of right conduct, or more specifically, "the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession." Ethics and morals are closely related, but ethics is the term more commonly used in the professional realm, whereas morals generally refer to guidelines for personal behavior. Both ethics and morals are reflections of beliefs and

Ethics and Decision Making a Definition of
Words: 2275 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Ethics and Decision Making A definition of ethics broadly stated could be as that 'ethics is the science that deals with conduct in so far as this is considered as right or wrong, good or bad.' (Shapiro; Stefkovich, 2001) The word 'Ethics' has its root in the Greek language where ethos was the word used for a custom or usage for individual groups. This later moved on to mean the general

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now