13th European Conference on eGovernment – ECEG 2013 1 | Page 171

Michaelene Cox

Table 3: Correlations between corruption and ethics training in 50 U. S. states

Case studies may also be fruitful to develop a richer understanding of the dynamics at work in public administration. A closer look at the circumstances in which relatively low numbers of convictions are not linked to strong e‐Government performance may reveal interesting explanations not consistent with predictions.

4. G2E ethics training in the U. S.

Several U. S. state ethics commissions emerged in the nineteenth century as a response to widespread and highly publicized corruption scandals and as an institutionalized vehicle for political reform( Smith 2003). NCSL reports that 41 states now have ethics boards and / or commissions that exercise jurisdiction in issues of probity dealing with public officials and employees. While monitoring and enforcement remain primary functions, most of these bodies also provide training activities. Fifteen states impose some form of mandatory ethics education for public officials and / or employees, while others offer training as an option. Training can be provided on an irregular basis or on regular intervals, and can vary among states in respect to topics being emphasized or focus on ethics laws, rules and / or value‐based principles such as fairness and belief in democratic processes. Despite variability among states, most programs have some testing component for the individual and the administrator to assess learning outcomes. There is also a growing trend for more online services and for those to be outsourced to private contractors( Gant, Gant and Johnson 2002). The NCSL reports that on‐line ethics training or ethics resources are currently offered to officials and / or employees in 29 state executive branches, and in 21 state legislative branches.

Illinois is a forerunner for online state ethics training, the development of which quickly followed corruption convictions of two of its recent governors, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. Some particular features of the state’ s ethics training can be illustrated here as they are becoming commonplace in other states. For instance, as professor at a state‐funded university in Illinois I must complete the state’ s online ethics training each year as a condition of my employment per legislative decree. Completing the program takes 30‐60 minutes and can be done in segments. The program is not touted as a test but as a teaching aid. Nevertheless, after relevant ethics and laws are explained, correct answers must be entered for about a dozen hypothetical cases before a certificate is issued. The web‐based delivery system is owned and administered to eight Illinois public universities by Workplace Answers, a San Francisco‐based company with a global clientele. A generic ethics program was initially developed in 2003 for Illinois state agencies, but three years ago public universities collaborated with the vendor for tailoring content for university employees. Some content is under license by those schools now. While topics stay the same from year to year, there are occasional changes in the hypothetical cases / illustrations to alleviate boredom for test takers and to prevent hurried test taking. The tests are administered manually or in Spanish as needed for accessibility. Each university has an ethics officer responsible for monitoring usage. Shane McCreery, ethics officer at Illinois State University, reports that about 8,000 statewide university employees take the online training each year. Online training is convenient and inexpensive, and presents only a few technical challenges; for example, most employees log in during lunchtime and sometimes cause the system to freeze. In assessing the efficacy of the program, McCreery thinks that the greatest impact is enhancing employee awareness of workplace ethics and notes an increase in whistleblowers since implementation of the training. He believes that what ethics training will not do, however, is to deter wrongdoing. This perspective is at odds with e‐Government proponents and so reinforces need for further study.

5. Implications for G2E ethics training

Corruption unquestionably has ramifications for political and economic development in all countries. It unfairly and inefficiently redistributes goods and services, weakens public trust in government, and undermines the rule of law. Specific strategies for successful controlling corruption are plentiful but generally require tailored reform, public and private sector commitment, and limited opportunities and incentives for wrongdoers. It is hypothesized that e‐Government can facilitate these measures. It appears that a highly decentralized federal government such as the U. S. grapples to implement best ethical practices despite its considerable IT

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