Theoretical principles of ethics in the management of human resources in the South African public sector

English: The public sector is a sector characterised by its own value system. Values such as accountability, transparency, efficiency, equity, to name but a few, have to be taken into account by all those engaged in this sector. On the other hand, values are integral parts of ethics, thus necessitating that those engaged in the public sector should be well versed in ethics. participatory decision making to take place. Leadership that reflects innovation and imagination, driven by a vision and experimentation should be encouraged. The development of an ethics culture that goes beyond the confines of the institutions into the community should be entertained. The introduction of aspects of ethics in relevant subjects at tertiary should be looked into. Also suggested, are possible research projects that may emanate from this research project. In this dissertation, the author argues that theoretical principles of ethics should form the basis of all activities in human resource management in the public sector. Emphasis on human resource management is deliberate, since only human beings are capable of ethical or unethical behaviour. Managers of human resources in the public sector should be adequately trained in ethics in order for them to train their subordinates, and thereby curb unethical behaviour. Theories are helpful in predicting and explaining phenomena, such as why people behave the way they do. Principles, on the other hand, serve as fundamental basis for reasoning or action. Both the teleological and deontological theories of ethics are discussed in this dissertation. The two sub-types of teleological theory, that is, the directive utiliterianism and the situational sub-type are discussed, and practical examples provided. Deontological theory pertains to values, and it is also discussed with examples. Human resource management activities, such as human resource provisioning, utilisation, motivation, and maintenance are discussed from an ethical point of view. The roles of different role players in human resource management are explained, and so too is the necessity for ethics from each role player. Although no claim is made of being exhaustive on values, some important ones in human resource management in the public sector are discussed at length. The promotion of ethics is fundamental to the endeavour to curb unethical behaviour such as corruption, fraud, maladministration and theft. Different ways for the promotion of ethics in human resource management are suggested in this dissertation. Among these, leadership and training are singled out as being particularly important, because leaders determine the culture, climate, and the direction of institutions. While acknowledging that training has always been undertaken in human resource management in the public sector, training in ethics requires a paradigm shift. New training methodologies, designed to develop new attitudes and change old ones should be developed. Especially now that the South African Public Service is in a state of flux, it present an ideal opportunity for training in public service ethics. Suggestions for the promotion of ethics are dealt with in the last part of this dissertation. It is suggested, for example, that some form of enforcement mechanism for codes of conduct be introduced to enhance effectiveness. The democratisation of public institutions, which tampers with their bureaucratic nature, should be speeded up in order for participatory decision making to take place. Leadership that reflects innovation and imagination, driven by a vision and experimentation should be encouraged. The development of an ethics culture that goes beyond the confines of the institutions into the community should be entertained. The introduction of aspects of ethics in relevant subjects at tertiary should be looked into. Also suggested, are possible research projects that may emanate from this research project.