Ethics in the Public Sector

Essay # 45346

This paper discusses the city of Federal Dam, Minnesota, and the ethical issues associated with the treasurer of the city embezzling monies.

1,487 words () | 7 sources | APA | 2003 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper uses the events that happened in Federal Dam, Minnesota, to discuss the ethical issues of: 1) what motivates someone to engage in unethical behavior; 2) why was the opportunity provided to engage in this behavior; 3) what controls should be in place to help prevent this type of behavior; 4) when does the organization take responsibility for this type of behavior; and 5) what other solutions are there to address unethical behavior.

From the Paper:

"The theory of corporate illegality states that in order for corporate illegality to occur, three factors must be present. First, there must be a motivating tension for the person to break the law in order to achieve a goal. Second there must be the opportunity to engage in illegal behavior. Finally there must not be effective controls in place to prevent or discourage the behavior (McKendall, 2002). Using the case above regarding the City of Federal Dam I can only speculate on the motivating factor that caused Ms. Jensen to engage in the illegal behavior of cashing checks into her own personal bank account."