Moral Leadership and Administrative Statesmanship
The two articles provided point out important insights that a good public administrator with ethical responsibilities should show, especially if in the public service. These two documents explore and show that there is attention that is always there between morals, the Constitution of Fidelity, and sound decisions in governance. These two documents examine how publicly does should navigate dilemma situations without tell choir constitutional and moral considerations.
Newswander, in his document “The Guerrilla Statesmanship: Constitutionalizing An Ethic of Dissent, ” argues that public administrators should implement policies to uphold the requirements of the constitution because it’s their mandate and their duty to do both. In the thesis of the paper, he implies that administrators should uphold the ethic of dessent especially in cases where policies conflict with the Constitution. Administrators are placed on the opposition by the constitution and should have the interests of the public rather than their own interests and morals (Newswander,2012). According to newswander he supports the argument that bureaucrats should operate as provided by the constitution.
Newswander emphasizes moral courage for administrators, which adds the most strength to each argument. Guerilla statesmanship is a concept that shows dissent is not in subordination but away of administrators to show loyalty to the constitution. According to the article, any administrator who resists unconstitutional directives is fulfilling his or her mandate and constitutional obligations. This argument by Newswander changes the traditional perspective of administration, where administrators prioritized being obedient over serving the constitutional mandate. This argument also shows that democracy is growing. In his article, Newswander also acknowledges that there are risks that come as a result of dissent. Administrators may face dismissal or marginalization when they resist unconstitutional directives (Newswander,2012). News wonders says that administrators who are grounded in constitutional directives tend to face marginalization and may lose power as a result.
On the other hand, Newbold on his article, ’Statesmanship and Ethics: The Case of Thomas Jefferson,” discusses how complex executive decisions are made. Newbold explains how Thomas Jefferson was caught up in a dilemma during the Louisiana Purchase. In the article new board says that Jefferson knew for a fact that the land would be useful for the future of the Nation; however, to purchase it, it was not on the constitution and the Constitution did not authorize him to do so. Newbold’s article explains how administrations involve themselves in dirty hands by violating constitutional directives for the greater public gain (Newbold 2005).
Newbold shows that Jefferson was caught in the middle of morals and constitutional directives while purchasing the Louisiana. New bold uses this case, which is well known to show how public administrators are caught between while trying to make a decision. Public administrators have to choose between the law provisions and the welfare of the Nation.
Newbold’s strengths in his argument come in the nuance of moral compromise. His argument on dirty hands implies that administrators usually make imperfect decisions. New bold focuses more on the burden of the decision-making administrators face, who hold high positions in the administration. For both articles, they add that decisions by administrators required thoughtful reasoning. However, on the new bold “dirty hands” argument, if leaders violate the constitution in the name of public gain, there are risks of normalizing overreach. If not well-bounded, this doctrine can go overboard and increase the chances of misconduct.
Newswander focuses on administrators resisting unconstitutional directives, while Newbold focuses on the difficulties administrators undergo to make choices for the public and the nation. Both arguments reflect the idea that our public administrators and public servants should operate within the constitutional directives.
When researching public policy issues, these two sources are highly important and relevant. Executive orders, contemporary debates, constitutional interpretations, and bureaucratic resistance show this same tension seen in these articles. Administrators today should show constitutional loyalty.
Finally, new bold and newswander affirm the importance of ethics in governance. They show how courage and accountability are important in public administration. Public administrators require deep Roots on constitutional loyalty.
References
Newswander, C. B. (2012). Moral leadership and administrative statesmanship: Safeguards of democracy in a constitutional republic. Public Administration Review, 72(6), 866-874.
Newbold, S. P. (2005). Statesmanship and ethics: The case of Thomas Jefferson’s dirty hands. Public Administration Review, 65(6), 669-677.
