HomeMy WebLinkAboutBZ Ethics presentation 2011What is Good and What is Right: Ethics in Montana Municipal Government
Betsy J. Webb
Associate Director
MSU Local Government Center
December 2011
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Ethics Resource Center
Well-implemented ethics and compliance programs double reporting and lower the rate of misconduct
A strong ethical culture also increases reporting and cuts misconduct in half
When both
a well-implemented ethics and compliance program and a strong ethical culture are in place, misconduct drops by 60% and reporting rises by 40%
(ERC, 2008 and 2010)
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Comprehensive Ethics and Compliance Program
6 components:
Ethics training for all employees
Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics in Place
Evaluation of ethical behavior as part of regular performance appraisal
Mechanism to report
misconduct anonymously
Mechanism to discipline employees
Mechanism to seek advice about ethics-related matters
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2008 City Charter, Bozeman, MT
The city commission shall …establish an independent board of ethics …(and) provide annual training and education of city officials, city boards, and employees regarding the state and
city ethics codes.
Art. VII Sec. 7.01(a)(b) Jan. 1, 2008
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Ethics Handbook
600 City officials, employees, board members
Two years of training completed; 2009 in-person/live training, 2010-2011 on-line course
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Bozeman: 37,280 population
Annual ethics training for employees, elected, appointed officials
Code Ethics – State and City-specific
Ethics Handbook
Evaluation of ethical behavior (city
core values) as part of performance evaluation
Whistle-blower policy defined; mechanism to report ethical violations defined
Mechanism to discipline employees and independent Board
of Ethics established
Ethics resource staff identified for guidance
Kalispell: 19, 927 population
Periodic training as needed. Group discussions in work areas as impacted.
Code of Ethics – State
Ethics covered in personnel handbook
As part of performance
evaluation if issues are present
Mechanism to discipline employees
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Research questions
1. Do employees of municipal governments with ethics and compliance programs observe a significantly lower rate of misconduct than municipal governments who do not have such programs
in place?
2. Do employees of municipal governments with ethics and compliance programs demonstrate a significantly higher rate of reporting misconduct than municipal governments who
do not have such programs in place?
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Research questions
3. Do employees of a municipal government with an ethics and compliance program in place perceive the ethics program as effective?
4. Do employees of municipal governments with ethics
and compliance programs perceive a stronger ethical culture in their work environment than employees of municipal governments who do not have a formal ethics program in place?
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Study Significance
129 cities and towns in Montana; 56 counties
Informal survey
75% of municipalities do not give new employees a copy of the Montana State Code of Ethics upon hire
93% of municipalities
provide no training on ethics to their employees (survey conducted by Survey Monkey, October 2011, emailed by list serve to 129 Montana municipalities, 45 responses or 35%)
Findings
can be incorporated into ethics program development across Montana and outside Montana
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Methods
Research Design:
Perceptions of Ethical Climate survey Pelletier & Bligh, 2006
Two First Class cities in Montana (over 10,000 pop)
Bozeman – 346 employees
Kalispell – 181 employees
Random
sample – 132 responded
The sample size of 132 allows for a 95% confidence level and a +/-7.4% confidence interval.
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Survey
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Instruments/data analysis
Instrument – electronic survey monkey or paper version
38 items
yes/no response (3 items)
Likert scale response (35 items)
Data Analysis
Independent-samples t test was used to determine
if City of Bozeman employees differed significantly from City of Kalispell employees on the survey items
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Results
Reliability for the survey was calculated Cronbach’s alpha was .939
Significant findings:
Perceptions of Ethics Program Effectiveness
t(69) = 4.357, p< .05, d = .87
Perceptions
of Ethics Code Awareness t(123) = 3.194, p < .05, d = .57
Perceptions of Ethics Resources Scale – Information
t(115) = 2.739, p < .05, d = .50
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After 2 trainings…
Significant differences in
Ethics Code Awareness (policy guides employees in decision-making; have read the code; understand the code; know the city’s ethical expectations; know that
policies exist)
Ethics Resources (resources are available; easy to get help; staff are available)
Ethics Program Effectiveness (program is effective; confidential manner; increased trust
in city; city concerned about ethical standards)
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Results
Not significant: Perceptions of Ethical Decision-Making Process, Perceptions of Ethical Resources Scales for Time and Money, Perceptions of Informal Ethical Norms, and Perceptions of
Ethical Leadership
Not significant: Observations of Misconduct, Reporting Misconduct
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Bozeman 36%
Kalispell 31%
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Results
Noteworthy: Positive
low concern about retaliation if they did report misconduct
Employees in both cities demonstrated support for their immediate supervisors (discuss ethical issues,
consult with them, good examples of ethical behavior)
Employees in both cities rated the top leadership as concerned with ethical practice (above neutral but below somewhat agree)
Both
sets of employees believe that ethical concerns are heard in their specific departments
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Results
Other results:
Employees leaned negative about whether the city is willing to do the right thing no matter the financial costs
They also leaned negative about whether the city rewards
employees for ethical behavior
Employees from both cities were close to neutral about personnel decisions (hiring and promotions) reflecting ethical principles.
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Observed Misconduct, Reported Misconduct, Received Training
Bozeman:
Kalispell:
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Comparing Bozeman and Kalispell
Ethics Code Awareness
6 items
BZ mean = 5.76
Kalispell mean = 4.75
Significant difference
Perceptions of ethical decision-making process
2 items
BZ mean = 5.61
Kalispell mean = 5.31
No significant difference
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Comparisons
Perceptions of ethical resources scale – information 3 items
BZ mean = 5.20
Kalispell mean = 4.35
Significant difference
Perceptions of ethical resources scale – time and finances
3 items and 2 items
BZ mean = 5.41 and 4.12
Kalispell mean = 5.20 and 3.70
No significant differences
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Comparisons
Perceptions of informal ethical norms
5 items
BZ mean = 3.85
Kalispell mean = 3.67
No significant difference
Perceptions of ethical leadership
10 items
BZ mean = 4.97
Kalispell mean = 4.90
No significant difference
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Comparisons
Ethics program effectiveness
4 items
BZ mean = 4.14
Kalispell mean = 3.6
Significant difference
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Bozeman lower means
The City rewards employees who exhibit ethical behavior, BZ mean = 3.23
The City is willing to do the right thing no matter the financial costs, BZ mean = 3.84
Personnel decisions reflect
ethical principles, BZ mean = 4.13
The Ethics Program is effective, BZ mean = 4.16
Moral concerns are given top priority by the City’s top leaders, BZ mean = 4.25
If I were to have an
ethical concern, I know I would be supported by the City, BZ mean = 4.35
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Conclusions
Employees need to be provided with appropriate tools and models to align their behavior with the organization
Significant differences were demonstrated (and should not be minimized),
the differences did not translate to behavior or to the overall culture
Look at the important role of leaders in creating and maintaining ethical culture in municipal governments
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Future research recommendations
Separate trainings for managers/supervisors/leaders? Specific focus on the primary role of leaders in building an ethical culture
Building an ethical culture in municipal government,
what works?
When does an ethics program translate into results?
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