Organisational Ethics Management to Promote Good Governance in the South African Public Service

Abstract

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of misconduct. The purpose of the research is to explore the need for organizational ethics management to promote good governance in the South African Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Systematization of the literary sources and approaches for solving the problem of misconduct indicates that despite the legislative and institutional frameworks that are implemented, various forms of misconduct persist in the department, the cause of which could be institutional and explored and described in the study. The relevance of this scientific problem decision is that this study intends to promote good governance in one chosen department in South Africa, and the findings may also apply to other government departments. Investigation in the paper is conducted in the following logical sequence: conceptual frameworks of organisational ethics management and good governance are explained, followed by an explanation as to how organisational ethics management can promote good governance; after that, a contextual framework is discussed, exploring various cases of misconduct that impede good governance in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. The methodological tools of the research methods were conceptual and document analysis and synthesis. The paper presents the qualitative study results which show few institutional factors, such as lack of audit action plans, absence of funding models, ineffective internal control systems, and lack of compliance. These may be considered factors impeding good governance in the Department. The results show that organisational ethics management needs to incorporate various aspects of ethics into the Department, such as ethics training, code of conduct, establishing an ethics committee, promoting ethical behaviour, and disciplinary measures to combat misconduct and promote good governance. The results of the research could be helpful for other South African government departments to combat misconduct and promote good governance.