Reflections on ICMA's Code.(ETHICS)(International City Management Association ethical standards)

Public Management, March, 2005 by Branscome, Curtis

Author Terry Cooper, in his ethics textbook The Responsible Administrator, notes that the ICMA Code of Ethics is the "most operational" of the codes adopted by associations of governmental professionals. The code of the National Education Association (NEA) is the only other one that has an enforcement mechanism. Cooper notes, with apparent approval, that the ICMA Code is 300 words long, while NEA's contains 1,200 words.

He takes the position that effective codes of conduct cannot be imposed upon a group. They require the active participation of many. Ethical laws may ...