O’Kelly, Ciarán and Melvin Dubnick, “Power and the Ethics of Reform.” In Ethics in Public Management, 2nd edition, edited by H. George Frederickson and Richard K.Ghere. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2013: 59-88.
Abstract: This paper makes the case for an approach to administrative ethics that regards it as a form of political power within contexts of organization and organizational change (reform). After articulating the logic of this perspective, it is applied to two cases of reform (No Child Left Behind in the US and National Health Service reform in the UK) where reformers have used the power of metrics and high-stakes accountability to force change — and in the process have altered the respective ethical landscapes.
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The document explores the power dynamics, moral frameworks, and mechanisms shaping administrative ethics and organizational reform processes.
Power and Ethics in Administrative Contexts
- Power broadly refers to the capacity to influence or control others’ actions, including governing and influence over organizational conduct.
- Foucault’s concept of governmentality emphasizes the governance of conduct within organizations as a form of power.
- Administrative ethics serve as mechanisms of governing, rooted in political and ideological debates, and are intertwined with power relations.
- Ethical landscapes within organizations are shaped by internal and external debates, political stances, and organizational purposes.
Traditions in Administrative Ethics
- The moralist tradition applies moral principles directly to individual conduct and organizational behavior.
- The instrumentalist tradition emphasizes functionality, focusing on coping with dilemmas and control mechanisms.
- These traditions often view each other critically, creating barriers to understanding the role of ethics in organizations.
- Both traditions influence policy and reform, with moralism favoring institutional reform and instrumentalism emphasizing problem-solving.
Ethics as a Component of Organizational Life
- Ethics are embedded in organizational language, norms, and mechanisms that enforce power and control.
- Moral personhood is shaped by context, relationships, and organizational roles, not just individual choice.
- Institutions educate and influence moral agency through internalized norms, roles, and scripts.
- Ethical landscapes are constructed through complex interactions of internal and external debates, power, and organizational mechanisms.
Metrics and Accountability as Ethical Tools
- Metrics and measures are used to produce legible, accountable, and standardized organizational behavior.
- These tools serve as communicative devices that normalize activities and align individual conduct with organizational ends.
- Accountability involves promises, enforcement mechanisms, and the shaping of mentalities to sustain organizational goals.
- Metrics influence moral selfhood by defining roles, expectations, and identities within organizations.
Thick and Thin Moral Standpoints
- Thick standards involve specific, context-dependent relationships based on loyalty, love, and commitment.
- Thin standards rely on abstract, universal principles like justice and procedural fairness.
- Organizations operate between these standpoints, with tensions arising from their conflicting demands.
- The balance between thick and thin influences organizational change, reform, and the definition of organizational good.
Administrative Ethics and Power Dynamics
- Ethical standards are expressions of power, used to maintain or challenge organizational and societal structures.
- The study of administrative ethics focuses on power relations, not just norms or virtues.
- Ethical compliance is often linked to control, discipline, and the enforcement of organizational standards.
- Power extends to how ideas of good are embedded in organizational practices and policies.
Case Studies of Organizational Reforms
- The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reform exemplifies the imposition of thin, metrics-based standards in education.
- Teachers initially embraced accountability reforms but faced personal and professional challenges, leading to resistance.
- The reform shifted teachers’ moral identities from thick professional norms to thin, standardized measures.
- The NHS reforms illustrate a move toward local expertise and market-based, thin standards, replacing centralized control.
- NHS reforms aim to empower clinicians and foster local, competitive health markets, reflecting a shift in ethical frameworks.
- Both cases reveal ongoing tensions between thick, relationship-based ethics and thin, standardization-driven reforms.
The Role of Metrics and Marketization
- Metrics serve as tools for discipline, normalization, and communication of organizational priorities.
- They produce vulnerabilities, influence behavior, and legitimize particular moral standpoints.
- Market-oriented reforms assume that decentralized, competitive relationships can replace traditional ethical concerns.
- These reforms tend to reinforce administrative ethics rooted in efficiency, performance, and stakeholder accountability.
Organizational Path Dependence and Reform
- Organizational trajectories are shaped by past reforms, institutional memory, and recruitment aligned with prevailing ethics.
- Reforms often reinforce existing power structures and moral frameworks, making change path-dependent.
- The ongoing struggle involves defining control, purpose, and ethical standards within organizational politics.
- Reforms reflect broader power struggles, with ethics serving as a means of enforcing or challenging organizational norms.