Can a high-performance public organization be highly ethical as well?

Ismo Lumijarvi and Klaus af Ursin

No 271, Apas Papers from Academic Public Administration Studies Archive - APAS

Abstract: The relation between integrity and high-performance seems to be an issue not yet extensively studied. This paper aims to give more understanding about this complicated question: How is ethics related to the high-performance orientation in the management models? Is highly ethical behavior seen somehow as an obstacle to high-performance or vice versa; is it more likely a precondition to it? We first try to clarify the concepts of ethics, public values and high integrity. The term 'integrity leadership' is introduced as well. Chapter 6 gives an overview of the models of high-performance. What elements of leadership are prioritized when striving for high performance? In the final chapters, high integrity and high-performance are put together, compared and discussed. Some empirical data from the study of the Finnish local police units (Lumijärvi & Vesterinen 2006) are introduced, as well some comparative data from EU countries. In the end, some concluding remarks are made concerning the basic question: Are highperformance and high integrity 'friends or foes'? Is it possible for a public manager to enhance or maintain similarly both high-integrity and high-performance orientation? The analysis here is primarily theory driven and tentati ve.

Keywords: New managerialism; Ethical behavior; Organizational values and public integrity; High-performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-01-24
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