| Abstract [eng] |
There is quite a number of articles and studies on public administration ethics, nevertheless, one important element is missing in the context of research of public administration ethics and that is ethics infrastructure. There are no many investigations into the ethics infrastructure of public administration in Lithuania and if there are any, they are of general character and touch upon the ethics infrastructure of public administration in Lithuania and its basic elements only in general outline. This is the reason why the ethics infrastructure of public administration in Lithuania and the basic elements of its macro level have been chosen as a subject of research. It is presumed that the aforesaid ethical problems and ethical violations are also determined by the ethics infrastructure of the country’s macro level. The project is aimed at ascertaining the correspondence between the elements and an ideal model, the relation between the ideal model and the actual situation of Lithuania by presenting the image of the ethics infrastructure of public administration in Lithuania. An attempt is made at giving an answer if the problems of ethics infrastructure elements cause the functional problems of macro level ethics infrastructure, which elements have effect, what gaps in problematic elements originate disfunctiality problems and how the system is functioning. The functionality is defined as correspondence to an ideal model. A dependent variable is the functionality of the macro level ethics infrastructure. Independent variables are the basic elements of the country’s macro level ethics infrastructure and their condition. The following main hypotheses were put forward: 1. The functional problems of the ethics infrastructure of public administration in Lithuania are caused by some macro level elements and the main gaps in the elements determine the functional problems of the system; 2. The aspect of elements relation having effect on the system functionality is important. Both the first and the second hypothesis have been proved in the project. Correspondence between the model and actual practice exists only in two elements, i.e. in the established legal basis and the major state institutions of ethics supervision. Other elements do not function in the way it is established in the ideal model. The legal basis, i.e. the first element of the macro level ethics infrastructure, corresponds to the ideal model. The ethical standards, values and principles prescribed by acts of law of the country are also in compliance with public expectations. However, the main problem as far as this is concerned remains non-concurrence in the scales of values of the society and public servants. The element of active civil society is not well functioning, either, the society keeps away from this role and remains a passive observer. Notwithstanding a broad section of different groups, associations and non-governmental organizations, they are weak and marginal. The society still believes that ethical problems are “second-rate” and settlement of them shall be the matter of separate state institutions. The initiative is taken only by single citizens, no collective actions exist. The political leaders’ attention to ethics bears the cyclical nature. Though the problems of officials and politicians’ ethics are emphasized by the society (from the outside) and the politicians themselves (from the inside), the interest is not great when the ethical problems are raised only by one or another politician. Taking the model into account it may be stated that the existing possibilities are not fully used, not all the elements are included and the aforesaid gaps cause the problems that determine partial functionality of the system. |
