UNIVERSITY OF GHANA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY RELEVANCE OF THE CODE CONDUCT AND WORK ETHICS TO THE GHANA CIVIL SERVICE BY SAMMY - LONGMAN ATTAKUMAH (10256505) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL SOCIOLOGY DEGREE APRIL, 2013 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i DECLARATION ―I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree to any University or elsewhere‖ ……………………………………….. ..………………. SAMMY-LONGMAN ATTAKUMAH DATE (STUDENT) ……………………………………….. ……………….. DR. KOFI OHENE-KONADU DATE (SUPEVISOR) ………………………………………… ………………… PROF. CHRIS ABOTCHIE DATE (SUPEVISOR) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii DEDICATION Ann, Ian, Marian and Lilian University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My sincere gratitude goes to my supervisors, Dr. Kofi Ohene-Konadu and Professor Chris Abotchie, who supervised the work and for their invaluable suggestions. Their observations and comments were indeed very helpful. Special thanks also go to the following personalities: Mr. W. K. Kemevor, Head of the Civil Service and Ms. Nancy Lucy Dzah, former Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, variously, for the information and documents given me. It is also a delight to acknowledge the following: Dr. Dan-Bright Dzorgbo and Mr. E. H. Mends all of the Department of Sociology, University of Ghana, Legon, for their inspiration which spurred me on while pursuing this academic work at the Department of Sociology, University of Ghana. Special mention is also being made of Mrs. Edwina Asantewaa Annor, a Private Secretary at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, for typing the greater part of this work, Mr. Kwesi Twumasi-Ankrah for the assistance in the Data Analysis and Mr. Benjamin Samuel Addo, both of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing. Finally, I wish to put on record my appreciation to Chief Directors and Heads of Directorates and Departments/Units, and all those who contributed in diverse ways and for their roles in this research, but cannot be mentioned individually due to lack of space. I am solely responsible for any commissions or omissions found in this work which may be due to human error. SAMMY-LONGMAN ATTAKUMAH University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv ABSTRACT Over the last ten (10) years the Ghana Civil Service has been implementing a new Civil Service Code of Conduct and Work Ethics policy. It was introduced in 1999 by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service (OHCS) with the ultimate goal of improving the work culture, enhancing the overall professional efficiency and image of the Civil Service. This study into the relevance of the new policy to the Civil Service of Ghana was done from the stand point of the top level management personnel of the Service, who were responsible for its successful implementation. The study was conducted between October 2012 and April 2013 within a random sample of 8 out of 24 Ministries and 3 purposively selected ministerial organizations located within the Ministerial Area in Accra. The study population of 135 personnel comprised of 27 Chief Directors and 108 four-line Directors. The triangulated approach was employed in the gathering of both qualitative and quantitative data. Primary data was gathered through questionnaires administered by the investigator to the respondents, interviews and the observation method, whilst secondary data was obtained from official records and library sources. At the end of the data gathering period, out of 56 questionnaires administered 45 (80.4%) responses were obtained. Since the groups in the study population are fairly homogeneous, the total responses obtained for the study could be said to be statistically representative. The general objective of the study is to provide an understanding of how the policy has been implemented for the past decade, how far the goals have been achieved and the challenges. The four specific objectives of the study are to: Examine the rationale for and key elements of the new Civil Service Code of Conduct and Work Ethics policy; Assess the relevance of the new Code of Conduct and Work Ethics to the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the implementers; Examine the adequacy of strategy for the successful University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v implementation of the new policy; and find out the challenges and make policy recommendations. The two hypotheses tested are: That top level managers of the Civil Service did NOT show a low level perception of the Civil Service Code of Conduct/Work Ethics; and, That there is NO significant difference in the strategy adopted by the Chief Directors and the approved HRM strategy for the implementation of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy. Having in mind the objectives of the study, the theoretical frameworks used are the Systems Theory, the dominant culture-cum-sub-culture models, the Ethics Management Theory and the related ―Ethics Benchmarking‖ model and the modern Human Resource Management approach. The major findings of the research are that, the implementers have not done enough to achieve the policy goals. First, though majority of respondents had considerably high level perception and understanding of the key principles of the policy, the implementation was poorly managed. Secondly, we noted that the preponderance of such non-rational factors as political interference, personal concern for career progression and job security, doing favours for family and friends and to an extent, office romance among respondents meant that they play major roles in decision-making by ‗big men‘ or top level management of the Civil Service. The implementers have thus permitted desirable ethical principles and values of the Service such as objectivity, meritocracy, organizational loyalty, accountability and professionalism, to suffer when making ethical and official decisions. In sum, because the implementers have low level of understanding for the basic principles of the policy, ineffective systems and structures have been adopted for the implementation. Poor and mediocrity ethics leadership and management thus translate into the overall failure to achieve the short-to-medium term goals of the policy. Though respondents perceive the policy as a relevant mechanism for leveraging the image of their University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi organizations, new developments within the local and global policy environment, including the passage of new laws and policies years after the adoption of the Code of Conduct policy in the Civil Service, respondents do not favour its revision soon. The study also pointed out that issues of sexual harassment and work place romance may be difficult to address or sanction. This may not only be due to cultural factors which compel the female victims to condone or tolerate these unethical conducts or prefer to ‗suffer in silence‘, but also because top level leadership lacks the commitment needed to make official policies bite. Regardless of the goals the new policy, the overall evidence from the study, makes it clear that the poor implementation the human rights of workers were not likely to be address adequately, nor will the desired local and international labour regulations reflect in the Civil Service administration in Ghana. The study therefore recommends that, the implementers should adopt modern human resource and ethics management strategies with committed leadership, accountability, systematic training, the application of rewards and sanctions and de-politicization of the Service, to help transform the overall professional efficiency, work culture and image of the Civil Service as envisaged. Finally, given that some of the initial theoretical assertions have been confirmed by the study and others refuted, the enhancement of our appreciation of how relevant the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy is to the Civil Service cannot be underscored. In this regard, it is hoped that this study would be a wakeup call for the Public Policy fraternity that laudable as a policy may be, the envisaged goals would not be realized if those in charge are not fully committed to adopting appropriate mechanisms for implementation. The findings of this study could thus usefully form the basis for a more rigorous research in future to help build the evidence based knowledge on the Code of Conduct and Work Ethics within the Ghana Civil Service. S-L A. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... xi LIST OF CHARTS, DIAGRAMS AND FIGURES ........................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the Study ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 THE NEW CODE OF CONDUCT AND WORK ETHICS POLICY. .......................... 7 1.2.1 Policy Aspiration (Long-Term goal) ........................................................................ 7 1.2.2 Policy Objectives (Short-To-Medium-Term goals) ................................................. 8 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .............................................................................. 9 1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................... 12 1.5.1 General Objectives ................................................................................................. 12 1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................ 13 1.7 HYPOTHESES ............................................................................................................. 23 1.8 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS .................................................................................... 24 1.9 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .............................................................................. 29 1.10 CHAPTER ORGANIZATION ................................................................................... 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 31 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 31 2.1 Initiatives for Appropriate Conduct/Work Ethics for Ghana Civil Service .............. 31 2.2 Concerns About Work Ethics in the Public Service in Ghana .................................. 34 2.3 Business Organizations Codes and Ethics - Do Leaders Always Practice What They Preach – The Myths and Reality. .................................................................................... 36 ii. TheMyths and Reality ................................................................................................. 38 2.4 Ethical Environment Of The New Civil Service Code Of Conduct and Work Ethics Policy. ................................................................................................................................. 44 2.5 Definition of the Civil Service ...................................................................................... 46 2.6 Role and Functions of the Civil Service ....................................................................... 47 2.7 Staffing the Civil Service .............................................................................................. 47 2.8 Strengths, Principles and Values of the Civil Service................................................... 48 2.9 Ministries - Definition, Mandate and Structure ............................................................ 49 2.10 Some Developments Which Contributed to the Current Ethical Environment .......... 52 2.11 Politicization of the Public Sector: .............................................................................. 54 2.12 The Civil Service Career Training and Development ................................................. 55 2.13 Training and Development Responsibilities in the Civil Service ............................... 57 2.14 Reporting on the Training and Development Programme. ......................................... 60 2.15 Evaluation of Training and Development ................................................................... 61 2.16 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ix CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 63 3.0 RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................................................. 63 3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 63 3.2 Sampling Design ........................................................................................................... 64 3.4 Data Handling ............................................................................................................... 70 3.5 Ethical Considerations .................................................................................................. 70 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................... 74 4.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ................................. 74 4.1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS ................... 74 4.1.1 Age of Respondents ................................................................................................ 74 4.1.2. Sex of Respondents ............................................................................................... 77 4.1.3. Length of Service of Respondents ......................................................................... 80 4.2 KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF RESPONDENTS ......................................... 82 4.2 1 Respondents‘ Knowledge of the Guiding Principles of the Code of Conduct. ...... 82 4.2.2 Perceptions of Respondents on the Implementation of Approved Work Ethics. ... 86 4.2.3 Respondents Satisfaction in Staff Compliance with the Work Ethics. .................. 91 4:2.4 Respondent‘s View on the Extent to Which they are Providing the Best Ethical Leadership for their Organizations as ‗Ethical Role Models. ......................................... 94 4.3 PRACTICES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ETHICS POLICY ..................... 98 4.3.1 Ethics Implementation Programme Put in Place by Chief Directors. .................... 98 4.3.2 Situations Which Pose Greatest Challenges in Ethics Decision-Making and Work Ethics Management. ...................................................................................................... 105 4.3.3 Respondents‘ Performance in Handling Ethical Issues as Head of Department. . 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh x 4.3.4 Issues of Primary Consideration For Top Level Management Personnel In Ethics Decision-Making Situations. ......................................................................................... 114 CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................... 119 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................... 119 5.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 119 5.2 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 121 5.3 Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 126 5.4 Future Research ........................................................................................................... 129 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 130 APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR RESPONDENTS ............................................ 134 APPENDIX II: TESTING OF HYPOTHESES ................................................................ 141 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xi LIST OF TABLES Table 4:1:1 Age of Respondents…………………………………………………… 75 Table 4.1:2 Sex of Respondents…………………………………………………… 77 Table 4.1:3 Length of Service/Grade of Respondents…………………………….. 81 Table 4.2:3 Respondents‘ Satisfaction with Staff Compliance to Work Ethics… 91 Table 4.2:4 How Managers Perceive Their Ethical Leadership Role (Do You Serve as ‗Ethics Role Model‘ for your Organization?)…………….. 94 Table 4.3.2 Respondents‘ Prioritized Key Sources of Ethical Challenges and Dilemmas…………………………………………………………….. 106 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xii LIST OF CHARTS, DIAGRAMS AND FIGURES Diagram 2.1 Structure of a Ministry ……………………………………………… 50 Chart 4.2.1: Knowledge Base of Respondents on the Guiding Principles…….. 83 Chart 4.2.2: Perception on Implementation of Approved Work Ethics………… 87 Figure 4.3.1: Ethics Management Programmes Implemented by Chief Directors…101 Figure 4.3.3: Respondent‘s Performance in Ethical Issues as Head of Organization………………………………………………………… 113 Figure 4.3.4: Key Concerns When Leaders Make Ethical Choices & Decisions…. 115 Figure 4.3.5: Respondent‘s Views About Revision of the Code of Conduct……... 117 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study Modern organizations are constantly seeking ways of gaining competitive advantage in business. One sure way of remaining relevant in business is ensuring that the organization has a vibrant business culture and good corporate image. The culture of an organization provides standardized conduct employees are expected to exhibit in order achieve the goals of the organization and through this it acquires its corporate identity. Focus on the culture of the organization thus enables managers and subordinates to understand the approved standards of behavior which underpin the day to day interactions that would enhance productivity within the work place environment. This view point is underscored by Asare-Bediako a Ghanaian Human Resource management and organization development consultant who has stated that: ―Most managers believe that a strong organizational culture, closely linked to organizational objectives and goals, can mean the difference between success and failure in today‘s business world.‖ (Asare-Bediako, 2002:279). This assertion suggests that a close correlation exists between what employees do or do not do to achieve the set goals - corporate culture - and organizational efficiency and success - good corporate image. Understandably, when an organizational culture is being promoted, good management practices require that institutional arrangements are put in place to enable employees understand the goals of the organization and work to attain them. This may be so because employees need to acquire the shared values and attitudes essential for the achievement of the desired goals of the organization which helps to create a good corporate image. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 Fundamentally, the task of providing the appropriate culture for an organization has been the core responsibility of management. Several institutional mechanisms are often adopted to create and transmit the desired culture to employees to ensure organizational efficiency and effectiveness. When the goal is transforming the culture of their organizations, a key organizational driver or modern tool which has been used by corporate management has been to adopt Code of Conduct or Business Ethics benchmarking. (Mary Whaley, 2007). Establishing the appropriate framework for organizational culture requires that the elements and principles must go through consultations and formal approval process to ensure general acceptability and applicability to meet the expected standards of attitudes and conduct required within the organization (Asare-Bediako, 2002) Thus, like all organizations, the Ghana Civil Service requires a positive work culture is essential for ensuring productivity consciousness, organizational efficiency and good corporate image. For this to be successfully promoted then, good management practices and employees orientation must be seen as a ‗sine qua non‘ and indispensable within the Civil Service. Historically, the Civil Service has evolved work culture and professional ethics which traditionally have been identified with it over the years. These include the principles of objectivity, integrity, meritocracy, confidentiality, anonymity, political neutrality and permanence. As a carry-over from the Colonial Civil Service, the cultural temperament inherited by post-colonial Civil Service predominantly was guided by the principle of ―Command and Control.‖ The phrase ‗your obedient servant‘ aptly conveys this temperament of the old order. The Service structure had the semblance of military regimentation and characterized by ―order from above‖ with directives issuing from a superior officer, ―the boss‖ to the ―subordinate‖ who carried out orders with enthusiasm and/or without question. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 Though this long cherished organizational culture of the Civil Service appears to have declined today, sections of the public feel reprehensible and opprobrious about the poor image and identity of the Civil Service which has attracted various criticisms. Clients who come into business contacts with Civil Servants often come face to face with attitudes and conduct they consider contemptuous, disrespectful and frustrating. Complaints about the Public Service range from inflexibility, sluggishness and long delays, insensitivity and lack of courtesy. It appears then that until the recent Civil Service reforms with the introduction of the new Civil Service of Code of Conduct, the old ways of doing business largely held sway over much of the Civil Service business practices. Before the reforms, a largely conservative crop of leadership which existed was hierarchically structured and determined the character of business processes and frontline services of the Civil Service. Also the philosophical underpinning of the ‗colonial mind‘ was loyal service to the British imperial government (the colonial master). In line with this, the General Orders and Administrative Instructions and other institutional structures of the Service were established to govern the Ghana Civil Service. This meant that the administrative structure of the colonial master designed for exploitation and expropriation of the resources of pre independent Ghana remained largely intact, albeit, a facade. Over the years, the Civil Service had gone through several legal and institutional reforms either to consolidate long held ethical and attitudinal traditions or intend to modernize and transform the structural and administrative processes of the service. In recent years, major reform initiatives aimed at re-engineering the Public Service of Ghana in general commenced with the passage of the Civil Service Law, 1993 (PNDCL 327). Thereafter, the National Institutional Renewal Programme (NIRP) was established in the 1990s. This culminated in the preparation of a new strategic document which prescribed a major University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 direction and agenda for the socio-economic transformation of Ghana – the ―Vision 2020‖ Development Agenda. The ―Vision 2020‖ itself was adopted by government in 1995 as a national strategic programme. The document defined the developmental path the nation would embark on for the next twenty years, beginning in year 2000. The ultimate goal envisioned in the ―Vision 2020‖ policy document was that Ghana should attain the ―Middle Income‖ status of development by the year 2020. The First Step (the preparatory phase) of the said ―Vision 2020‖ lasted from 1996 to 2000. The Civil Service was expected to drive the new state-led transformation process and the need for it to acquire a new character and psyche of its own became apparent. Consequently, Government decided to undertake specific institutional and administrative reforms as a pre-requisite for strengthening its own bureaucracy to enable it spearhead the new development agenda of the country. The Service reforms were intended improve its performance with the ultimate goal of making it efficient to be able to drive the nation‘s development agenda. Creating a professionally oriented ethically sensitive Civil Service with the appropriate work culture, was a positive way government thought it could help create a good image for the entire Civil Service. Within the general framework of the Public Sector in Ghana then, the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) is not only the Central Agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies for institutional reforms and organizational development, but also responsible for broad strategic human resource development and management policies for the entire Service. This responsibility which is stated in its Organizational Manual says that ‗it exists to promote dynamic leadership, manage human resources and promote organizational development … in a manner consistent with best management practices and good governance.‖ (OHCS, 2002:5) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 Government business requires that the Civil Service exudes a work culture which must make the Public Service delivery effective and efficient. The attitudes and conduct of Civil Servants must demonstrate considerable level of professionalism, satisfy the needs of customers and clients and create a positive image of government. The Service must ensure that it has what may appropriately be called the ―right performance mindset‖. (AAPAM, 2010:14) The understanding is that it is not sufficient for Civil Servants to will efficiency and effectiveness. They must strive to acquire the right competencies by way of knowledge, attitudes and skills and be motivated to translate these competencies into achieving the vision and mandate of the Service. In its bid to design a new organizational culture for the Ghana Civil Service, the new policy reform was anchored upon a gradual introduction of market orientation, customer- centered services, effective and efficient services, results oriented performance as key components. To ensure the development of Civil Service organizations, committed to new and more effective work culture, top management of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were required to develop Sector Medium Term Development Plans (SMTDP). In this regard, a new national planning template that would guide MDAs in the preparation of their Plans was developed by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in accordance with the National Development Planning (System) Act 480. Some features of the SMTDPs were the formulation and adoption of sector by sector corporate Vision, Mission Statement, Goals and Strategies together with sector- specific Core Values which should guide the conduct and behavior of all employees and workers of each organization. As part of the Service-wide reforms, MDAs were mandated to establish a Client Services Unit in line with official directives. Ultimately in 1997, the annual Performance Agreement mechanism as a management tool for setting annual University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 performance targets as the basis for evaluating institutional performance was introduced for the leadership of MDAs. This new mechanism was designed for ensuring public sector accountability, efficiency and transparency. As a policy all Chief Directors and line Directors of MDAs, as well as Regional and Co-cordinating Directors of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) were to undergo yearly evaluation of their performance. A minimum score of 70% performance standard was established for the annual appraisal exercise. Thus any top level manager of the Civil Service who obtained scores below or above the minimum would be liable for the appropriate rewards or sanctions, as the case may be. A new Staff Performance Appraisal instrument was also introduced whereby individual targets were to be set for employees in line with the goals of the organization. This instrument also had in-built mechanisms for rewards and sanctions. Subordinates were to be appraised periodically, by their supervisors, usually, at the end of the year and the employees. This would also help identify the performance gaps and training needs of each employee. An efficient Civil Service depends on the quality of its employees. Ensuring a professionally oriented organization capable of providing dependable and satisfactory executive and administrative services to support government policies and programs would thus be a great asset for attaining Ghana‘s Vision 2020. In this direction a further attempt to further grow the new organizational culture for the Service, saw the introduction of a new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy for the Ghana Civil Service in 1999 by the OHCS. This was in step with attempts to transform the Service into a market-oriented ―mind-set‖ in line with its Corporate Vision of becoming a customer oriented organization providing excellent services to the benefit of the government and people in a manner consistent with best management practices and good governance. (OHCS, 2005) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 1.2 Study Area Altogether 24 Ministries within which the research was conducted were in existence at the time of the study between the period of October 2012 and April 2013. The Accra Metropolitan Authority area in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana constitutes the Study Area because all the organizations under study are located there. Specifically, virtually all the 24 Ministries and the other three ministerial organizations included in the study are found in the enclave commonly referred to as the Ministries Area. The 3 organizations were selected purposively and belong to a group of Civil Service organizations known as the Office of Government Machinery (OGM). They include the Office of the Head of the Civil Service (OHCS) the Public Sector Reforms secretariat (PSR) and the Public Services Commission (PSC). 1.2 THE NEW CODE OF CONDUCT AND WORK ETHICS POLICY. The new policy prescribes reviewed standards of conduct and work ethics for Civil Servants. They may be classified as the aspiration or long-term goal and the objectives or short-to-medium-term goals. These are encrypted in PART I of the Code of Conduct policy document. 1.2.1 Policy Aspiration (Long-Term goal) ―The Ghana Vision 2020 envisages a Public Administration System (PAS) which is driven by a market oriented, liberalized economy, operating in an environment of good governance. This expectation of the role of the PAS, calls for a Civil Service which is customer sensitive and responsive to its social obligations.‖ (OHCS, 1999:3) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 1.2.2 Policy Objectives (Short-To-Medium-Term goals) In the short-to-medium term however, the five (5) objectives of the policy are that: 1. The culture/psyche of Civil Servants should conform to the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics which specifies the norms and standards of behavior and attitudes governing themselves and their employer, clients and the public. 2. The standards and norms of behavior should become a framework for promoting good governance and image of the Civil Service. 3. These rules reflect the human rights of the worker, local and international labour regulations, as well as the culture of the people of Ghana and the working environment of the Ghanaian Civil Servant. 4. The Code of Conduct is the primary guide to Civil Servants in their normal relationships and dealings with stakeholders. (i.e. the yardstick for measuring conduct) 5. Appropriate administration sanctions should be applied where a Civil Servant‘s conduct is found to be inconsistent with the Code. (OHCS, 1999) From the above objectives of the policy, it may be observed that four key issues stand out. In the first place, the new policy has established appropriate norms, values and standards of conduct as the new work culture which would guide daily interactions between the Civil Servant and his/her employer, clients as well as the public. Secondly, the Civil Service was to acquire the ethos of market orientation, provide customer-centered services in an effective and efficient way to achieve results oriented performance. Thirdly, the policy will serve as a new instrument to enable the leadership of the Civil Service develop the new work psyche of Civil Servants and the professional competence required in the Civil Service. Finally, as a sector-wide reform, the policy was to help transform the work University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 environment and ultimately provide the organizational culture required for projecting the good image of the Ghana Civil Service. For over a decade, the new policy has been implemented. The top leadership of the Civil Service was charged to commit itself to ensuring its success, and they were to be held accountable. It is therefore logical to question the extent to which the approved standards and norms of behavior of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics serve as a framework for promoting the desired professional and ethical conduct in the Civil Service? In other words, in what way have the newly prescribed business principles and ethics in the policy impacted on the Service? Have the leadership of the Civil Service succeeded in ensuring that workers observe the organizational work ethics? When confronted with unethical issues such as fraud, conflict of interest, nepotism or cronyism and corruption, how do the top management personnel conduct themselves? What considerations determine the decisions of these top officials? Do they adopt non-rational methods or rely predominantly on social networks when addressing job-related challenges? For instance, do the policy‘s principles of merit, fairness, openness and public interest serve as the basis for decision- making by the leaders or do they resort to other considerations? It is the conviction of this investigator that these issues merit empirical investigation. 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM As has been outlined, a new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy was introduced in 1999 for the Civil Service with the view to transforming to transforming the Culture of the Service. The objective of the policy, as has been examined was to provide a framework to: ―…firmly establish in the Ghana Civil Service culture/psyche, a Code of Conduct/Work University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 Ethic for Civil Servants … appropriate norms and standards of behavior and attitudes…‖ (OHCS, 1999:3) The expected outcome of the policy was to bequeath the entire Civil Service with a healthy and productive organizational culture that would give it a new public image. It was the expectation that when the new principles and standards are fully established, the work attitudes and conduct of Civil Servants would be radically transformed and te entire Service culture would graduate into a goal-oriented, customer-focused, productivity inclined and image enhanced Civil Service. The Code mandates that: ―… each person in the Civil Service of Ghana accepts personal responsibility for developing and exhibiting a strong work ethic and affirms his or her commitment to combating negative work habit in the Civil Service of Ghana‖ (OHCS 1999:21) Undoubtedly, the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy which was launched and circulated by the leadership of the Ghana Civil Service, had in it ―…provisions made for appropriate administrative sanctions to be applied where a Civil Servant‘s conduct was found to be inconsistent with the Code‖. (OHCS, 1999:3) Thorough staff orientation, mentoring, coaching and training, were required Civil Servants to acquire the knowledge- base and competencies needed to apply the new professional ethos and standards to their jobs. There was also the need for all Civil Servants to be well educated in the knowledge and capacity to make ethical decisions adequately as required by the job. As a new service–wide mechanism for improving employee conduct and poor work ethics, personnel who were in top level management of the Service charged with the implementation, were to be held accountable. In view of the high expectations people had at the beginning of the policy concerns have been expressed from several quarters about the progress of implementation, the implementers and the perceived impacts of the policy University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 for over a decade of its introduction. Whilst some observers assert that there have been modest improvements and that time was needed for the full benefits of the projected changes to occur, others believe not much progress has been made by way of improvements. Yet still, others have the perception that nothing will change unless a shake-up that will ensure ―… a radical change in the mind-set, away from the attitude of ‗business as usual‘ especially, for those leading the change‖ (PSRS, 2012:4) In light of the dichotomy of views expressed, the pertinent question that arises is whether the appropriate structures, strategies and personnel were put in place by the implementers to ensure its success. Some critics also hold the cynical view that little has been achieved and think that the leaders who are responsible for the implementation of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy do not fully understand the underlying rationale for its introduction. They conclude that it was not justifiable for the leadership of the Service to be satisfied that employees had acquired the requisite ethical knowledge but applying it was the problem ant that was why the desired results were not visible to most people. So the question this research is asking is whether any of these views represent the true picture and which of them are speculations, exaggerations or accurate? Is the ethical knowledge acquired by the implementers being translated into the requisite ethical behavior and professional conduct? Do the rules reflect the human rights of the worker, local and international labour regulations in the working environment of the Ghanaian Civil Servant? Do the managers of the policy provided good ethical leadership to serve as role models for subordinates in their organizations? It is the search for answers to questions such as these underline a sociological study of the phenomenon. The need for evidence-based explanation to the prevailing phenomenon devoid of myths, stereotypes and conjectured debates about the relevance of the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 policy has become more pertinent now than before. The fact that the policy has been managed by leadership of the Civil Service for over a decade makes this assertion very prudent. The general objective of the study therefore derives from the need to find out from the viewpoint of top management personnel of the Service responsible for the implementation of the policy, to assess the current status of implementation, the challenges and the prospects of the policy. 1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 1.5.1 General Objectives In researching into the relevance of the new Civil Service Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy, the general objective of the study is to provide empirical basis for understanding how it has been implemented for the past decade, how far the goals have been achieved and the challenges. 1.5.2 Specific Objectives 1. To examine the rationale for and key elements of the new Civil Service Code/Work Ethics policy; 2. To assess the relevance of the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics to the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the implementers; 3. To examine the adequacy of the strategy for the successful implementation of the new policy (i.e., the extent of compliance to the required structures, systems and processes to achieve the desired policy outcomes); 4. To find out the challenges and make policy recommendations. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The new Code of Ethics introduced by OHCS into the Civil Service in 1999 has been viewed as a useful public sector policy initiative with the long term goal of transforming the image of the Civil Service. Its immediate impact was to provide employees new work ethics, values, attitudes and the required professionalism as part of a service-wide reform of the Ghana Civil Service. Having in mind the objectives of this research, a number of theoretical frameworks have been adopted for understanding the phenomenon. One of the paradigms considered relevant for this study is the Systems Theory. It takes its roots from ―cybernetics―, as applied to the study of organizations as social systems. Sergio Verdu (2008) has pointed out that the principle in ―cybernetics‖ is that when natural processes occur without assistance or control, they have a tendency toward a state of disorganization, or chaos. Thus, ―purposive behavior of humans in organizations … requires control mechanisms that maintain order by counteracting the natural tendency toward disorganization‖ (Verdu: 2008:51) The theory helps us to understand the need for the introduction of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy as a mechanism for regulating the ethical conduct of the Ghana Civil Service. The Systems Theory helps us to first conceptualize organizations, as open systems that are made up of several sub-systems which interact to determine the overall effectiveness and efficiency. The theory provides that a system processes inputs into outputs from its internal or external environment and influence the operational efficiency of the organization. Thus the Systems Theory provides a perspective that helps University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 us to see how the interplay of the people‘s political and social-cultural beliefs and values influence the organizational culture and work ethics of the Civil Service. Within the Ghana Civil Service, all the top level managers are perceived to be primarily Ghanaians. This is an assumption that some may challenge because most top level Civil Servants have had prolonged exposure and training in Western education and values. Another notion is that because most workers are recruited from different ethnic groups in the country, their worldviews of the Civil Service leaders and those of the employees have the disposition towards behaving in a somewhat ‗commonsensical‘ way and portrayal of the generality of Ghanaian cultural and traditional values, beliefs and social organization at the work place. In this respect, the theory alerts us about the influences which sub- cultures can have on organization either ―positively as a facilitator of effectiveness and success or negatively as a barrier to morale, motivation and performance.‖ (Asare- Bediako, 2002:257). Business Ethics of organizations are largely influenced by the existing political and socio- cultural environment, and the Ghana‘s Civil Service is no exception. In this regard, the book ―Business Management‖ published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG, 2009) has identified ten common socio-cultural elements of the Ghanaian social environment which may influence the ethical orientations of employees, managers and leaders within Ghanaian organizations. They include: ―Belief in the benevolence of the creator; extended family system; respect for elders; stress on achievement; authoritarian political structure; hospitality and gratitude; male dominated society and a show of masculinity; society dominated by communal values; and similar attitude to time.‖ (ICAG, 2009:25). The Chart below is an adaptation from ICAG‘s publication with supplementary University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 information. It shows in general terms, how the Ghanaian socio-cultural variables can affect work ethics of business and public sector organizations. Table on Impact of the Social Environment on Management in Ghana. MANAGERIAL FUNCTION IMPACT Organizational Structure The structure of most organizations in Ghana is centralized and hierarchical with decision-making often restricted to the top hierarchy. Organizations are bureaucratic in character, adhering to established procedures and ―traditional‖ ways of doing things. The structure reflects the Ghanaian traditional political/social structure is which often centralized in character with a lot of emphasis on seniority/age than competence as the criteria. Communal values encouraged by loyalty to the extended family system promote team spirit and cohesiveness. Leadership and Management Style Leadership and management styles in some organizations in Ghana reflect the benevolent authoritarian nature of Ghanaian traditional society. The Managers are authoritarian in their leadership style or at best they aspire to be ―boss‖ or ―chief‖: to be the one in charge or in control. They do not want to ―off-load‖ responsibility to subordinates or subscribe wholly to the concept of worker participation and direct criticism is not very common. A worker‘s annual leave as a right is rare. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 Time Management Time management in organizations in Ghana reflect traditional attitude to time with negative effects on management and organizations. It is expensive and ignores the money value of time. The average Ghanaian‘s gross lack of time consciousness and respect for deadlines often results in latecomers which lead to loss of time schedules even for official work. It prolongs decision-making unnecessarily in most organizations. Employees who have imbibed the Western concept of time are often in conflict with their colleagues who still stick to the ―African time‖ or the ―Ghana-Man-Time‖ (―GMT‖) Some organizations are not able to meet deadlines of customers because of poor attitude to time. It requires extra investment in resources to oblige staff to stick to time schedules. Human Relations Aspects of Ghanaian culture which promotes good human relations in organizations include hospitality, communal values and respect for authority. Others are people‘s desire to receive honour and self-esteem from other people. The tendency of some employees towards strong attachment to the extended family and ethnic group has the inherent tendency to breed nepotism, favouritism and cronyism which are some common practiced in a lot of organizations in Ghana. Enforcing a disciplinary action against certain employees may look like the twists and turns in a theatre, whilst a staff assistant who may be a mere messenger or ‗legman‘, may also be a traditional ruler or ― éminence grise…‖ (Cribbin, 1972:62) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 Commitment to Organizational Goals The Ghanaian worker‘s hierarchy of loyalty is initially to his primary group, next to the extended family and then to the ethnic group. He/she considers it a moral obligation ―…to share the benefits of his/her employment helping family members, home town members, church members, old school mates, ethnic group members to obtain jobs, loans, and other favours from the organization.‖ (Woode, 1986:.41-42). Employees trust, commitment and loyalty to the work group are sometimes heavily influenced by tribal and family considerations. The situation makes it difficult to obtain employee committed to the general mission and goals of the whole organization or its units. It also results in ―total disregard for the prosperity and resources of employers‖ (Woode, 1986:.45) Communication The typical Ghanaian employee subscribes to the traditional view that the elder is always right. This attitude has had some implications for the free flow of information in organizations. Employees tend to filter information going upward to the manger so that the ―boss‖ or ―chief‖ will not interpret it as criticism or a challenge. Powerful grapevines have developed as hot line, while rumours are roadrunners in most organizations. This may be due to the desire by some managers to maintain their hold on authority, status and power by keeping most vital information to themselves or their trusted cronies only. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 Progression of Women and Gender The Ghanaian society is influenced by high masculine values. This tends to restrict the mobility of women in the organizational hierarchy. Ambitious women who work it to the top are viewed with suspicion. Women who make it to the ―top‖ tend to be highly assertive and ―bossy‖ as a means of neutralizing the male attitudes. Human Resource Management In some organizations in Ghana, interviews are mere formalities and ethnic group, family ties or how well one gets ―connected‖ play a significant role in recruitment and placement of workers. Further, family and ethnic ties also influence the selection of employees for transfers, promotions, travels, training and other benefits within the organization. Communal values common with Ghanaians could make it easier to introduce participatory management schemes such as quality circles, autonomous work groups or productivity teams. Perceptions about Government Service/ Employment The concept of ‗Aban adwuma‘ aptly expresses the attitude of many Ghanaians to work in government services where some believe that one needs not exert or commit oneself when one does not know the governing owners the job or employment. Obtaining employee commitment, dedication, honesty and loyalty to the state agency has become a big challenge for state institutions, Loans or credits administered by government agencies are perceived to be a political handshake or pro-bono reward for voting for the government. (Source: Adapted from ICAG, 2009:27-28) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 These socio-cultural variables discussed may indeed have far reaching influence on the values that determine the ethical conduct of managers and employees in Ghana. We have reviewed them because their relevance as important socio-cultural variables for the management of organizational ethics in the Ghana Civil Service will be of interest to this research. Systems theorists again propose that organizations are social systems with their own life. They have personalities and like an organism, have individual unique characteristics and identity. Ghosh (2000) says that like organisms, social systems can be friendly or unfriendly, liberal or conservative, healthy or sick, grow or even die. Culture is said to be the norms of common values and attitudes that characterize or bind members of a group together. Consequently, when certain processes become routinized in the organization its character and pattern of behavior become self-evident as an identity of its own in much the same way as organizations may be identified with the brand name of goods and services they produce. (Ghosh, 2000) A number of authors such as Cribbin, (1972), have theorized that power is unequally distributed through every organization and it is proper to see the Civil Service as one such a system. Cribbin says that since people who occupy key positions of organizations find themselves in role sets, they must discover who casts the long shadows in the institution and who has the clout, and that ―…the manager-leader must identify power figures for the reason that they are in a position to augment or negate the leader‘s efforts to work effectively‖. (Cribbin, 1972:62). When viewed through the Systems Theory the assertion provides this study with a theoretical framework for understanding the extent to which the political leadership influences the ethical conduct of top level management which in turn University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 determines the ethical environment of the Civil Service in general. Cribbin further argues that when a political apparatus is omnipotent, and deviations by top men from the party line are ruthlessly dealt with; where criticism is not allowed, at least openly; where planning and policy are formulated by powerful bureaucracies, the leader-manger‘s behavior will necessarily be different significantly from that expected and demanded in organizations with democratic work environments. (Cribbin, 1972:54) Hence as this research proposes, the ethical conduct of management (i.e. what they do right or fail to do right) may largely determine the success or failure of any ethics management strategy and certainly the new Work Ethics policy. The Systems theory suggests that most large organizations, such as the Civil Service, have both dominant culture and numerous sub-cultures. The theory asserts that the cultural system may be a liability or an asset depending on whether it will promote organizational effectiveness or one that defeats or frustrates the achievement of organizations goals. In the real sense, since the ethos, values and norms are the elements of an organization‘s culture, the dominant culture is expressed by the core values that are shared by the employees of the organization. The organization‘s sub-culture includes those core values and beliefs that guide day-to-day actions and behaviors within the work group of the employee and the individual‘s personal convictions within the unit. Authors Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell (2000) have indicated that: ―When employees think they know the right course of action in a situation, yet their work group or company promotes or requires unethical decisions, interpersonal conflict will ensue. Often, when these employees follow their own values and beliefs and refuse to participate in corporate misconduct, whistle- blowing may occur.‖ Fraedrich and Ferrell (2000;162) Especially, when employees ―feel left out,‖ the condition for ‗whistle blower‘ is then created as employees rationalize that if University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 they cannot discuss with their coworkers or superiors about what they are doing or what should be done, then the only other option is to find an avenue outside the organization for help. (Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell, 2000). So how does top level management of the Service ensures that the value systems governing the sub-systems are in sync with and do not work to frustrate the success of the new policy? As a complement to the above perspective, ‗ethics benchmarking‘ is also considered relevant to this research. This proposition is made by Mary Whaley (2007). The rationale here is that there are functional areas within the organizations where ethical issues are a priority. This is so because at certain levels of the organization when professional and corporate ethical standards are violated through unethical conduct, such violations tend to hurt the organization most. Hence ‗ethics benchmarking‘ or prioritizing ethics is critical at such levels of the organization. This research asserts that reputation analysis is crucial at the senior and top management level because when the professionalism of the Civil Service is being assessed, people tend to conclude that the good ethical conduct managerial leadership is fundamental. One of the goals of the new Code of Ethics policy is to provide new core values for the Civil Service. Yet was alluded to earlier, perceptions still run that the Civil Service is yet to achieve maximum success in the implementation of the new Code of Ethics. In the view of this investigator, the leadership of Civil Service organizations is required to provide the right mind with ‗ethics benchmarking‘ as an indicator to achieving the required ethical character of personnel of the Service. Thus this work considers as a useful and indispensable management tool the views of Whaley for examining the implementation of the Civil Service Code of Ethics. Whaley‘s propositions on ‗ethics benchmarking‘ analysis University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 would thus be a useful tool to measure the specific variables of unethical activity and how leaders and managers work to achieve the goals of the new policy initiative of the Civil Service. The theory of ‗ethics benchmarking‘ would also be relevant for understanding the recommendations of this research and the way forward for the Civil Service organization. Another theoretical framework relevant to this study is the contemporary theories of human resource management (HRM). Within the context of this research, modern HRM theories postulate new ways managers of modern organizations should perceive their employees. One such theory asserts that employees of organizations are viewed as ‗stakeholders‘ and that management must consider sharing the Corporate Vision of the enterprise with employees as ―partners‖ for success of the business. To this end, employees are to be viewed no longer as ―wage labour‖ or ―cost center‖ that has to be managed, but as partners. The new HRM dictum is that, unlike other material inputs of the organization, workers are human capital, and the most valued of the assets of the organization. Hence employees are no longer to be perceived as the company‘s ―manpower‖ to be managed, as done in the past, through the ―command and control‖ structures of the organization. In this regards the strict application of the classical views of McGregor‘s Theory ―X‖ or ―Y‖ or ―Taylorism‖ have also been eroded with the emergence of ‗people management‘ approaches advocated by modern HRM principles. The new management perspective in HRM is thus: ―All roads lead to people.‖ (Ghosh, 2000:19). These ‗human centered‘ HRM perspectives for modern organizations are considered relevant frameworks for this study. The point being made is that until the Civil Service management begins to view employees as ‗assets‘ ‗partners‘ and ‗stakeholders‘ the practical results of success in efforts at transforming the Civil Service work culture begin to manifest more rapidly. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 The relevant issue that needs to be addressed is whether management of top level management of the ministerial organizations employ modern management principles which require the adoption of innovative and integrative methods as ‗empowering,‘ and ‗mainstreaming‘ workers to enhance ‗ownership‘ to correspond with the introduction of the new Code of Ethics policy for the Civil Service? The choice of ethics management programme by the leadership is equally of interest to this study. As a sociological study, these paradigms would serve as relevant guide for data analysis and the conclusions. The relevant theoretical perspectives we have navigated so far include the Systems Theory, the dominant culture-cum-sub-culture variables, the nuances of ethics management and ―ethics benchmarking‖ and modern HRM approaches. The relevance of these theoretical perspectives notwithstanding, they have their theoretical, methodological and substantive criticisms and limitations. Notwithstanding the various lapses, the theories are considered suitable tools that would provide the perspectives for this study. 1.7 HYPOTHESES Two hypotheses were tested relating to the second and third objectives of this study. Both have been stated in the report in the ‗NOT‘ or negative form as Null Hypothesis (Ho) The first hypothesis relates directly to the second objective of the study which is to which is to assess the relevance of the new Code of Conduct and Work Ethics to the knowledge, attitude and perceptions of the implementers. Hypothesis I: That top level managers of the Civil Service do NOT have a low level perception of the Civil Service Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 This is a non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis which measures the level of perception (whether low or high) leaders have about the policy. The second hypothesis relates to the third objective of the study which requires an examination of the adequacy of the strategy adopted by the implementers of the policy achieve the goals (objectives) of the policy. Here, we measure the relationship between the strategy adopted by the Chief Directors (dependent variable) and the HRM strategy approved by the OHCS (Independent variable) for the implementation of the new policy as: Hypothesis II: That there is NO significant difference between the strategy adopted by the Chief Directors and the OHCS Human Resource Management strategy for implementation of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy. 1.8 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS Within the context of this work, the various concepts and terms used need to be defined and well understood in order to provide clear and unambiguous meaning, as follows: A. The Guiding Principles of the Code of Conduct include: a) Selflessness: Civil Servants should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends. b) Integrity: Civil Servants should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to any individuals or organizations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties, including awarding of contracts, etc. c) Justice and Fairness: University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25 In carrying out public business including making public appointments, awarding of contracts, recommending individuals for rewards and benefits Civil Servants should make choices based solely on merit. d) Accountability: Civil servants shall be responsible to both the Government (the employer) and the public (customers) for their decisions and actions, and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office. e) Transparency: Civil servants should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict access to information only when the wider public interest clearly demands that the information should not be released. f) Leadership: Civil Servants should strive to excel in all their endeavours to be an exampl1 to others and encourage others to follow their footsteps. B. Basic Tenets of the Professional Work Ethics: Individual Responsibility: Each employee of the Civil Service accepts personal responsibility for developing and exhibiting a strong work ethic and affirms his or her commitment to combating negative work habits. (OHCS, 1999) Hence any person working in the Civil Service of Ghana is committed to: 1) Reporting for duty punctually and in good time before work begins: Workers should avoid habitual lateness to work and meetings, irregular attendance, taking more than the average number of sick days/casual leave; and using the weather, poor transportation and domestic problems as excuses for lateness and irregular attendance. 2) Devoting, during working hours, full time and attention to the business of the organization: No employee should sleep on the job during scheduled working hours, be at work but doing no work, deliberately and unduly slow in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 carrying out an activity or assignment (go-slow; work-to-rule), use or exaggerate sickness to avoid duty or work, let time pass without doing anything useful or constructive, trade, sell or transact private financial business on the premises of the organization, engage in long private conversation with colleagues, receive and entertain social visits, bring babies and children to office, perform unofficial duties or activities during office hours, read newspapers and work lotto numbers, get drunk on the job and/or be under the influence of narcotic drugs. eat in the office during official working hours, and keep the radio loud as to disturb concentration. 3) Guarding against absenting himself or herself from work without permission or reasonable excuse: It is not permissible to be persistently leaving work early, not returning promptly to work after meal breaks and approved leave, vacating post and failing to inform competent authority when leaving station, and non-opening of service counters in time and leaving counters unmanned. 4) Following and obeying lawful, legitimate or reasonable definite instructions, and complying with laid down procedures relating to one‟s work: No employee is allowed to engage in sabotaging the efforts of colleagues, organization and Government as employer, talking about the stress level of daily work, and using this as an excuse for not working, engaging in the unproductive comparison of better conditions elsewhere and using this as an excuse for not working. 5) Responding to legitimate requests and demands of members of the public with urgency, promptness and timeliness: It is unacceptable for a worker to demand or accept gifts of any kind before rendering service, show disregard for University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 deadlines, action steps and target dates, use delay tactics and red-tapeism as an excuse for non-responsiveness, being unfriendly, rude and discourteous to members of the public and not returning phone calls promptly. 6) Seeing a task through and having a sense of pride in accomplishing assignments every time: Putting off to tomorrow what can be done today and now, conducting business and delivering services poorly and ineffectively, always hoping for miracles and ―manna‖ to fall from heaven, constitute unapproved conduct of employees. 7) Undertaking tasks in ways that contribute effectively to achieving the goals of the organization: No employee shall engage in lackadaisical and display an ―I don‘t care‖ attitude, without sense of urgency, gain the reputation of one who cannot be ―counted‖ by the organization, refuse to rise to the occasion, and intentionally neglecting to do one‘s duty. 8) Individual Responsibility: Any person working in the Civil Service of Ghana is obliged to be personally committed to the chosen profession. Each person in the Civil Service of Ghana is expected to accept personal responsibility for developing and exhibiting a strong work ethics and affirms commitment to combating all negative work habits. 9) Organizational Culture: The organizational culture is the formal and approved way of life exhibited by workers as expected and enforced by an organization. (Asare-Bediako, 2000). It involves the learning, transmission and acquisition of work-related attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, values and norms that constitute the way of life or established formal behavior pattern of workers over time. The culture is the obvious and implied rules prescribing for the workers ways in which they should behave and treat customers. An University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 organization‘s culture is its ―personality" by which the public knows and identifies it. 10) Code of Conduct: The concept of Code of Conduct as used in this study conveys the same meaning as Code of Ethics, Business Ethics, Professional Ethics, and Business Code. In the context of this research ‗Code of Conduct‘ conveys the same meaning as CONDUCT is used in the ‗Code of Conduct for the Ghana Civil Service‘ document which says: ‗CONDUCT is behavior, attitudes and character exhibited by anyone within and outside the working environment. The standards of conduct generally required of any member of the Civil Service would be: Leadership, Selflessness, Competence, Integrity, Impartiality, Fairness and Honesty in matters affecting work and status in society‘ (OHCS, 1999:5) 11) Misconduct (or non-compliance): Misconduct in this research has the same connotation in the Code of Conduct document as defined in Section 76 of the Civil Service Law 1993 (PNDCL 327) as: ―Any act done by a Civil Servant without reasonable cause: which amounts to a failure to perform in a proper manner any duty imposed on him; or which contravenes any enactment relating to the Civil Service; or which is otherwise prejudicial to the efficient conduct of the functions of the Civil Service; or which tends to bring the Civil Service into disrepute; constitutes misconduct‖. (Section 76 of the Civil Service Law 1993 (PNDCL 327) 12) Performance Management System: A Performance Management System involves an institutionalized structure of rewards system for employees of an organization based on the setting of performance targets through performance agreements/annual performance appraisals, customer-based service delivery, as University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 well as business practice and procedures based on the principles of competition, impartiality, fair play, justice and human dignity. The MDAs were to introduce such business-oriented norms including the democratic values of transparency and accountability for compliance by management and workers at all levels of the Civil Service. 13) Benchmarking: Benchmarking is a management tool used worldwide in business and government organizations to improve performance outcomes. For key officials benchmarking helps them learn best practices, seek the commitment to goals by internal and external stakeholders and satisfy compliance accountabilities of the enterprise. 1.9 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1. The study is significant in that it draws attention to key responsibilities of top leadership of the Civil Service who are charged with ensuring the success of the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy for which they are to be held accountable. 2. It has revealed how certain underlying factors contribute to gaps in policy implementation and that in a work environment which requires the adoption of principles of objectivity and meritocracy, by the leadership their use of largely subjective mechanisms has resulted in mediocrity in performance. 3. The study has provided some in-depth understanding of why the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy has not successfully transformed the conduct and behavior of most Civil Servants. 4. It has been shown that though the policy is a good mechanism for enhancing performance in the Service, the Civil Service, it falls short of being the yardstick or framework for the professionalization, ensuring good governance and projecting the good University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 image of the Civil Service. 5. Finally this work has made some recommendations for improving implementation and using the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics as the viable standard for conducting official business, enhancing professionalism and achievement of the goals of the policy. 1.10 CHAPTER ORGANIZATION The study has been presented in five (5) chapters. Chapter One - the general introduction - presents the problem, the objectives of the study, theoretical perspectives, the relevant hypotheses to be tested and the key concepts and concludes with the relevance of the study. Chapter Two is the outline of relevant literature which was reviewed in order to provide insight for the study, Chapter Three outlines the research method involving the field work and outlining the analytical tools for the research work and some field problems and how they were handled. The field data has been presented, analysed and the discussion of findings in Chapter Four. Finally, concluding the report is Chapter Five, which carries the summary and conclusions drawn, policy recommendations and future research. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW In the review of literature, a number of works on business ethics and organizational culture in both public administration and private businesses are discussed with the view to providing lessons for the present research. According to available empirical studies modern business organizations are showing growing interest in Codes of Conduct and Business Ethics as the appropriate mechanisms for modernizing their businesses and the Ghana Civil Service is not an exception. 2.1 Initiatives for Appropriate Conduct/Work Ethics for Ghana Civil Service Since the attainment of political independence in 1957, the search for a Civil Service with an efficient bureaucracy and public administrative machinery endowed with appropriate organizational culture to deliver on its constitutional mandate and corporate goals has been pursued. To this end, several administrative and institutional reforms have been undertaken. In spite of modest achievements chalked by these reforms Ghana, like most other African countries, was adjudged by a World Bank evaluation report in the 1980s to have a weak capacity in the design and implementation of national development programmes. (Okoh & Lindsey, et al.1974) Despite its desire to ensure professional values such as effectiveness, probity, integrity and objectivity, the Civil Service continues to project negative images that tend to diminish its status and trust among members of the public. Civil Servants are perceived generally and often reported on by the media as corrupt, showing little commitment to their duties, lazy and largely exhibiting unprofessional attitude in their dealings with clients. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 A number of far reaching initiatives worth reviewing at this juncture, were made to reform the Civil Service as mechanisms for arresting deterioration and give the Service fresh charter. Some of these are contained in the Reports of Lidbury, Mills-Odoi Commission on the Structure and Remuneration (1967), Okoh Commission on the Structure and Procedures of the Civil Service (1974), etc. In 1989, a massive British government Overseas Development Agency (ODA) - sponsored Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP) was launched. In 1995 the Civil service performance Improvement Programme (CSPIP) was also launched. All these reforms were aimed at addressing some of the bottlenecks in the Civil Service. The key areas were: Control of the Size of the Civil Service; Pay and Grading; Organization and management reform; the Management of Retrenchment; and Training (Ayee, 2001:2). These reform measures did not appear to achieve much success for the following reasons: Primarily, the failure of the implementation of the reforms was partly due to the lack of leadership and commitment to the reforms by both politicians and Civil Servants (Ayee, 2001:5); System-wide problems that were not adequately addressed; Insufficient budgetary allocation; Failure on the part of the reforms to address the problems of poor conditions of service, poor motivation and low morale among Civil Servants; Donors and consultants took the center stage in the reforms and copious reports are not implemented; and Political instability (Ayee, 1993). It has been pointed out that ―in Ghana and other African countries, public policies and programmes have failed to achieve their objectives largely because the saints political leadership and top echelon bureaucrats) are few, the demons (hostile and apathetic groups) are many the wizards (policy analysts) are inappropriate and the systems are complex and the organizations are weak‖ (Ayee, 2000:1). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 In recent years, though, the OHCS in collaboration with Ministry of Public Sector Reforms (MPSR) has embarked upon to improve and reform the service to enable it to deliver the country‘s governance and development agenda. Some of the initiatives include the following: Review of skills mix in the Civil Service with the view to ensuring optimal staffing using approved organizational structure of MDAs; Re-centralization of training, recruitment, promotion and related budgets to ensure equity, transparency and a uniform standard. It is not sufficient merely to place existing staff into new positions without any re-tooling to make them effective in those positions; Accelerated Training Programme for the Leadership of the Ghana Civil Service to ensure and sustain continuous education to keep up with new developments (OHCS, 2007); Service delivery standards and improvements to facilitate timely delivery of services in a transparent and customer focused manner and to consult their customers and stakeholders on regular basis to get feedback on how to improve their services; Pay and pensions system review to make service attractive. One other report of an in-depth analysis of past administrative reforms by governments to create a positive image of the Ghana Civil Service that was reviewed is the ‗Report By Evaluation Panel On The Performance Agreement Of Chief Directors.‘ (OHCS, 1998) According to report most of the reform initiatives have failed to achieve the desired impact. It further offered a four reasons for the failure as: Inadequate political and managerial commitment to sustain the reforms; the reforms lacking proper programme implementation and especially; weak evaluation of feedback action; and that not much was learned and applied from the preceding reforms to ensure sustainability of the gains chalked. (OHCS, 1998:3) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 The conclusion drawn by the report of another in-depth study of the Civil Service Reforms which have been implemented in previous years up to 1995, suggests that the reforms were predominantly concerned with the structure of the Civil Service, decentralization, as well as compensation and remuneration. (OHCS, 1998:2) Rather than improving it, the report alluded to the fact that ―much of the reform initiatives failed to address the persistent negative culture of the Service.‖ Indeed additional observations made by the report about the subsequent Performance Appraisal of Chief Directors in 1999 stated that: ―…the reforms in Ghana could be said to have been motivated by the ‗annoyance principle‘ of the three stages of evolution of state types and their corresponding capacity building requirements‖ (OHCS, 1998:4) 2.2 Concerns About Work Ethics in the Public Service in Ghana Notwithstanding these and other service-wide reform initiatives, a writer on business ethics, (S.N. Woode, 1986 and S.N. Woode, 2005) has made a number of assertions about the poor work culture of the leadership of the Ghana Civil Service when he asserts that though the object of Public Administration was to provide services that go to improve the life of society, the conduct of Ghana‘s Public Administration was characterized by what he calls nine ―deficiencies‖ or ―wrongs.‖ They are: ―…a displaced sense of purpose, an urban bias, an elite mentality, nepotism, distrust, paternalism, centralization, and disregard for time, and an absence of organizational loyalty‖. (Woode, 1986:34) Woode also underscored the fact that rather than address such ―deficiencies‖ of poor work ethics in the Public Service, they were ―accepted and often spoken of as the normal way of doing things.‖ (ibid.) The writer therefore questioned the justifications for the establishment of Public Services which he refers to as ―self-serving.‖ He therefore raised four core managerial and ethical issues with wider theoretical implications for Public University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 35 Administration in Ghana. They include: 1. Whether public servants should pursue their privileges and perquisites of office at the expense of the responsibility and obligation to seek and protect the public interest; 2. Whether Public Administration could be described as equitable when there was widespread social inequity and injustice in one area of the country whilst others have seen rapid development; 3. Whether there could be a more moral administration which could conduct business and deliver services to people humanely, equitably and fairly; and 4. Whether it was right for public servants to devote official hours to their private business or if it was fair to the public for one to take up a full-time job which demands an eight hour day and work only 4 or 6 hours? The last two points 3 and 4, he stated, relate to the need for public servants to perform their duties with commitment to a high sense of professional ethics. (Woode, 1986:46) Though these observations by Woode (1986) were the ―wrongs‖ of Public Administration in general, they are of interest to this research as they seem to draw attention to our understanding of the poor ethical character and work ethics of some top level Management personnel of the Ghana Civil Service today. Thus relevant questions this research wishes to pose are: What has changed nearly 20 years after Woode (1986) had made those observations? Besides, why is this study bothered with perceived widespread ethical misconduct in the Civil Service today, 10 years after the Code of Ethics was introduced? Consequently, a concern of the present study is to find out what those who should do something about the ‗deficiencies‘- the senior and top level management personnel - are doing in addressing the current ‗wrongs or ‗deficiencies.‘ Furthermore, considering the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 36 measures currently being used by the Civil Service to implement the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy was launched, it is legitimate to ask whether it is possible for the leadership of the Service to really transform the poor work ethics of the Civil Service? The ensuing discussions focus on some perceptions of ethics management practices by organizational leadership. 2.3 Business Organizations Codes and Ethics - Do Leaders Always Practice What They Preach – The Myths and Reality. i. Preaching or Practices Relevant literature on the issue of ethical leadership provides insights into the extent to which organizational leadership can go to leverage poor culture and image of their organizations. Whereas some point to impressive success stories, others are also describe disappointments by some organizations implementing ethics policies. Nevertheless, a lot more suggest that the challenges associated with management‘s attempts at addressing poor work attitudes and transforming undesirable organizational culture through the implementation of otherwise good ethical policies for their organizations has not been always smooth. (Carter, 2000) In his contributions, the writer pointed out very forcefully that not all organizations practice what they believed in. In a survey conducted in Ghana by an accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP and published in the Industry Week Magazine, of June 1, 2000, it was observed that most companies which preach ethics do not really practice what they claim to stand for. The report states five most common unethical infractions as: ―…sexual harassment, employment discrimination, deceptive sales practices, breach of the environment and unsafe working conditions‖. According to the report about 61% of those surveyed said they did not think their company would discipline individuals who were guilty of an University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 37 ethical infraction. Nearly as many as 55% said their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was unapproachable if an employee needed to deliver ‗bad‘ news.‖ (KPMG LLP, June 1, 2000:15-18) The political history of Ghana shows that the 1969 Constitution stated rules of conduct for any person seeking to hold public office. This was justified on the grounds that the non- existence of a recognized Code of Conduct for public officers, especially non-career public officers in the past Convention Peoples‘ Party (CPP) regime in particular, ―led to abuse of office for personal gain or using public office to personal advantage.‖ (Woode, 1988:2) As a result of this deficiency, the Jiagge Commission (1969) recommended that ―a code of behavior similar to the General Orders applicable to Civil Servants be drawn up for the guidance of persons in public life.‖ (Jiagge Report, 1969, 237-238) However, notwithstanding the hand-side of history which they had, the men and women who held positions of trust and honour under the 1969 Constitution showed little respect for the provisions which mandates the declaration of assets and liabilities. It became apparent at the Taylor Assets Committee when ―it came to light that some members of cabinet had by January 1972, when the constitution was suspended as a result of the military coup d‘etat of 13th January 1972, not declared their assets and liabilities to the President, as required by the 1969 Constitution. Some did declare, but not everything.‖ (Woode, 1988:5) These reports go to affirm the views by Carter which suggest that while it may always be desirable, attempts at addressing poor work attitudes or implementing otherwise good ethical policies for their organizations is challenging and has not been always smooth. (Carter, 2000) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 38 ii. TheMyths and Reality Literature on the myths that leaders have about business codes of conduct and work ethics abound and we wish to review a few relevant ones. Some of these myths may arise from general confusion in the minds of managers about the notion of ethics. Other myths may also arise from narrow or simplistic views of ethical dilemmas. In theory, how managers of organizational culture handle Codes of Ethics at the workplace and what they can do to better manage ethics in the workplace may differ in space and time. Wong and Beckman in the Journal of Business Ethics of 2008 have observed that: ―…researchers are claiming that current literature is filled with strong arguments for more ethical corporate leadership and the incorporation of ethics in business curriculum…‖ but what is missing is ‗how to‘ in actually putting ethical goals and theories into practical action.‖ (Wong and Beckman, 2008: 173-178) One school of thought has offered an explanation to the problem which leaders and mangers face in managing ethics in the workplace. They blame it essentially on the existing confusion and misunderstanding about the concept and meaning of Business Ethics. In this regards, McDonald and Zepp, (1990) in their article: ―What Should Be Done? A Practical Approach to Business Ethics‖ which appeared in their publication, ‗Management Decision,‘ noted that when the topic of business ethics arises in the workplace, ―…it tends to bring cynicism, righteousness, paranoia, and laughter‖. The article explains further that ―…many leaders and mangers believe that business ethics belong to the domain of religion because it seems to contain a lot of preaching.‖ ( McDonald and Zepp, 1990: 9-13) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 39 Another school of thought has argued that many leaders and managers think business ethics is irrelevant. Some literature has reported that Case Studies on ethical dilemmas are often presented too simplistic as if every real-life situation on the job is either right or wrong such as ―should I lie, cheat or steal?‖ Consequently, many managers believe business ethics is irrelevant because much of training courses in business ethics avoid the real life complexities that make up the organization‘s working environment. In the light of this, Preston Townley (1992), in a speech entitled: ―Business Ethics: Commitment to Tough Decisions‖ states that: ―…it ought to be fairly easy to choose between right and wrong by relying on principles, but business activity often demands that we select from alternatives that which are neither wholly right nor wholly or wrong‖. (Townley, January, 1992: 208-211) It is significant to note that although some have asserted that leaders fail to take business ethics seriously, a lot more evidence shows however that when well- managed, business ethics can act as preventative medicine for the entire organizational system. One myth worth examining in connection with Business Ethics is that managing it is more of a matter for religion rather than management. In addressing this myth, however, Diane Kirrane, in "Managing Values: A Systematic Approach to Business Ethics,"(Training and Development Journal (November 1990), asserts that "altering people's values or souls isn't the aim of an organizational ethics program – but managing values and conflict among them is." Kirrane, November, 1990:44) A second myth is the reasoning by some leaders that their employees are ethical and that there was no need for attention to business ethics. But the truth is that ethical dilemmas faced by managers in the workplace are highly complex. Wallace (2008) gives three University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 40 parameters that enable one to know that there is a significant ethical conflict. They include the presence of significant value conflicts among different interests; real alternatives that are equally justifiable; and that when the issue has major consequences on stakeholders in the situation. Kirrane (1990) on the other hand mentions that when the topic of business ethics comes up, people are quick to speak of the Golden Rule, honesty and courtesy. But when presented with complex ethical dilemmas, most people realize there is a wide "gray area" when trying to apply ethical principles. Another myth worth considering is that business ethics is that business ethics it is a discipline best for philosophers, academics and theologians. Largely the lack of involvement of leaders and managers in business ethics has led many to believe that business ethics is a movement, which has little to do with the day-to-day realities of running an organization. The belief is that business ethics is primarily a complex philosophical debate or a religion. However, there is every cause to agree that business ethics is a management discipline with practical approaches and benefits for businesses and communities that include several practical tools. There are leaders also who believe that Codes of Ethics, or a list of Ethical Values to which the organization aspires, are rather superfluous because they represent values to which everyone should naturally aspire. However, this view has been counteracted by others who argue that the value of a code of ethics to an organization shows its priority and focus regarding certain ethical values in the workplace. For example, it is obvious that all people should be honest. However, if an organization is struggling around continuous occasions of deceit in the workplace, prioritizing honesty becomes appropriate. Honesty should then be listed in that organization‘s Code of Ethics. That Code of Ethics as an University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 41 organic policy must change along the needs of society and organizations are not in doubt. The current Civil Service Code of Conduct as has earlier been acknowledged, has been implemented for over a decade. In the light of the assertion that organizations are dynamic, would the policy need to be reviewed? This work will attempt to verify if top level management of the Civil Service have some myths about Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy and how such perception may have contributed to the present state of progress made in achieving the goals of the new policy. Other literature suggests there is a positive correlation between an organizational culture and work ethics, employee performance and good corporate image. In underscoring this point Asare-Bediako (2002) has argued that ―…a lot of attention has been given to the concept of organizational culture largely as a result of its impact on organizational effectiveness and that today, most managers believe in and appreciate the power of organizational culture in shaping employee beliefs and guiding employee behavior on the job.‖ (Asare-Bediako, 2002:297) Suffice it to say that, this conviction is apparently catching up with modern business practice, and that the era of strong organizational culture has dawned. In tandem with trends in modern organizational management, the Civil Service Code of Conduct/Work Ethics was introduced by the OHCS in 1999 with the objective of transforming the work culture of the organization. But what are some of the implementation methodologies that have been adopted by the top level management of the new policy. Available literature points to a number of options. This research work is a sociological study about how relevant the new Civil Service Code of Conduct has been to the organizational culture of the Ghana Civil Service. It tries to do University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 42 an in-depth examination of some of the myths and challenges facing the implementation of such a major public sector policy reform initiative. It is further designed to provide an evidence-based insight which provides some understanding of the socio-cultural milieu and from the viewpoint of the top level Civil Service managers, issues underpinning the implementation of the policy. The study also attempts to put forward options for designing a make-things-work culture for the Ghana Civil Service and help achieve the policy goals. One premise that is guiding this study is that public policy initiatives which tend to threaten parochial, albeit, rational interests, power and positions of the ‗Big Men‖ tend to fail or become unsuccessful. On the other hand, policies which the ―Big Men‖ perceive would allure to their benefit are more likely to receive their blessing. I dare to refer to a message at a public spot in Accra which reads: ―If Big Man thief, i take; if Small Man take, i thief.‖ This message seems to lend credence to the view that most public institutions in Ghana take the character and demeanor of the men at the top. Thus the Civil Service in particular wears the semblance of being the ‗masters‘ and seldom as ‗servants‘. The perception that public institutions in Ghana are bereft of personnel with the psyche for ―public service‖ and that instead of being ―service-minded‖ what they demonstrate in abundance is evidence of people who are ―self-serving‖ because of their ―having an elite mentality has become difficult be serve the people and rather tend to lord it over them. He further asserts that ―it used to be the practice of public official letters to end with ‗Your Obedient Servant‘ or ‗Your Humble Servant‘, but all that has changed and the change has come with a lack of civic sense and professional conscience and worse, a lack of a sense of duty towards the public.‖ (Woode, 1986:35-37) The extent to which these observations lend credence to the findings of this research is of interest. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 43 It further been hypothesized that it is largely the subjective rather than objective rationale of top level management that determine the success or failure of the new Civil Service Code of Ethics policy. The lack of objectivity, meritocratic and public service-mindedness is said to inhibiting service delivery of the Civil Service. Woode again asserts that a closer look at organizations reveal that, ―Although it was unethical for any public office holder, members of all tribes practice nepotism.‖ (Woode, 1986:38) This, according to him, was contrary to the erroneous perception that only a particular ethnic group in Ghana was guilty of the practice. And it is to a large extent true that the dominance (either quantitatively or qualitatively) of a particular tribe in an organization is often a function of who is the head of personnel or the overall boss of the place. How this impacts on the organizational culture as undesirable has also been explained. Woode, (Woode, 1986:38) asserts that ―nepotism is practiced in response to two pressures. First of all, he says it is practiced in response to take care of one‘s own and secondly, to meet one‘s family obligations. (ibid) He argued, for example that ―…it is easier to employ one‘s nephew or brother (niece or sister) for work that may not exist and get paid out of public funds than to keep him(or her) at home, feed and clothe him (or her).‖ Nepotism, he says ―also helps persons in authority to surround themselves with mindless minions they can trust….and if one has to go on leave or vacation it is re-assuring to know that one‘s replacement is a tribesman or a relation.‖ (Woode, 1986:39) How valid this hypothetical view is would be examined within the theoretical perspectives and objectives of this research work. African Public administration systems, including the Ghana Civil Service are said to be challenged by the vicissitudes of being incapable of providing, the critical managerial and leadership capacities needed to backstop and satisfactorily carry out its Public Services mandate. This kind of challenge was raised in the Aide Memoire for the 32nd Conference of African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) where four University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 44 reasons have been attributed, namely, that: (i) the ―Constant breakdown in data-gathering, policy analysis, programme planning, implementation and coordination, records management and archiving systems and accountability and reporting systems; (ii) gaps between formal legal stipulations and actual behaviour outcomes – wide variance between planned goals and achieved results; (iii) steady politicization of the ―career‖ service in the wake of the political history of one-party or military regimes; (iv) introduction of extraneous - personality, sectional, political, and other arbitrary - factors into office scenarios that require otherwise decisions–making professional and experts.‖ (AAPAM Aide Memoire, 2010:4) 2.4 Ethical Environment Of The New Civil Service Code Of Conduct and Work Ethics Policy. The Ghana Civil Service is modeled after the Imperial Service, beginning with the establishment of the Colonial Service of the Gold Coast. This was the instrument of imperial policy in the Gold Coast and was mainly concerned with the ‗maintenance of law and order‘ to facilitate colonial exploitation of the natural resources and protect trade. The history of the modern Ghana Civil Service is really the development of ―Africanization‖ Policy and Programmes. Though made up predominantly of expatriates, the years preceding the 1914-18 war saw the inclusion of several local personalities in the senior grades of the Colonial Civil Service. In 1925-26, Sir Gordon Guggisburg, then Governor of the Gold Coast, put out the first organized plan for the development of an indigenous Civil Service. This plan was formulated to increase the number of Africans holding European appointments, to reduce the high cost of employing Europeans and creating local administrative machinery for his accelerated development plan for the Gold Coast colony. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 45 In 1941 Captain Lynch‘s Report led to the launching of a scholarships programme on a substantial scale and the definition of the ―Africanization‖ policy. In 1948, an interim Public Services Commission was set up to advice the Governor on appointments and promotions in the Public Service. For the first time in the history of the Public Service of the colony, vacant senior service positions were advertised locally. Following public criticisms of the policy on ―Africanization‖, the Saloway Committee was set up to draw a scheme for the progressive ―Africanization‖ and for the education and training of Africans to take up senior appointments in the Colonial Civil Service. The Lidbury Committee Report of 1951 made wide-range recommendations affecting the redesigning of the structure of the machinery of government. The Civil Service was restructured and statutory corporations were established to assume certain functions of government. The Lidbury Commission adopted as a model the British Civil Service System and in 1951, when the Gold Coast gained internal self-government, the Departments and portfolios existing then were located in the Office of the Colonial Secretary which was sited within the current Ministry of the Interior building but were later converted into Ministries. Since then, throughout political independence of Ghana in 1957 and after the attainment of Republican status in 1960, various Ministries and Government Departments have been created, restructured or re-aligned to suit the going needs. 1n 1960, the Constituent Assembly passed the Civil Service Act, 1960 (C.A.5). The Act provided for the monolithic service, the creation of Civil Service posts, the setting up of Ministries and Departments, the appointment and retirement of Civil Servants and their Conditions of Service, disciplinary proceedings and other matters relating to the Civil Service. The Civil Service Act, 1960, was later complemented by the Civil Service (Interim) Regulations, 1960 (L1.47) commonly referred to as the General Orders (or the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 46 GOs). The GOs provided for the creation of a Civil Service Commission, the structure of the Civil Service, Conditions of Service, the filling of vacancies, promotion, transfers and postings, discipline, and the necessary code of conduct and ethics for the professionalization of the Service. In 1993, the Civil Service law, 1993 (PNDCL 327), was passed to replace the Civil Service Act, 1960 (C.A.5). The law states that: ―The Civil Service forms part of the Public Services of Ghana‖, and that it ―…comprises service in a civil office of government in both central and local government.‖ (PNDCL 327:5). Subsequently, Local Government Act 462 of 1993 and Local Government Service Act 656 of 2005 have also been passed to govern the operations of the Local Government system as a separate autonomous service, decoupled from the Civil Service. 2.5 Definition of the Civil Service Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides that the Ghana Civil Service belongs to the public sector family. Established by both the 1992 Constitution and the Civil Service Act, 1993 (PNDCL 327), the Service has been defined as being at the core of government administrative machinery and the heartbeat government business. According to the Act, the Civil Service has: ―The object is to assist the Government in the formulation and implementation of government policies for the development of the country.‖ (PNDCL 327:2). It has overall responsibility of overseeing the business of most other Services, each of which comes under a particular sector ministry. The sector ministries are by law required to ensure the efficient and effective performance of their sector Departments and Agencies. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 47 2.6 Role and Functions of the Civil Service For the purpose of achieving its object under the legal provisions, Section 3 (1a-h) of the Civil Service Law, 1993, (PNDCL 327) the Civil Service performs the following functions: ―initiate and formulate policy options for consideration of government; initiate and advise on government plans; undertake such research as may be necessary for the effective implementation of government policies; implement government policies; review government policies and plans; monitor, co-ordinate and evaluate government policies and plans; perform such other functions as are incidental or conducive to the achievement of the object specified in this law; and perform such other functions as the Executive may direct.‖ Civil Service Law, 1993 (PNDCL 327:5) 2.7 Staffing the Civil Service According to section 4 of the Civil Service Law, 1993, PNDC Law 327, the following are members of the Service: a. A person serving in a civil capacity in a post designated as a Civil Service post by or under the Law in: Office of the President; a Ministry; a Government Department/Agency at the national level; any other Civil Service Department established by or under the authority of the law the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the Consolidated Fund or any other source approved by the Government; b. A person holding a post designated as a Civil Service post created by or under the authority of any other enactment, the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the Consolidated Fund or any other source approved by the Government. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 48 2.8 Strengths, Principles and Values of the Civil Service Since its establishment, the Civil Service has over the years played a key role in the economic growth, progress and stability of Ghana, formulating and implementing local and foreign policies of successive governments. It has, and continues to facilitate the growth of the private sector through the creation of enabling environment for development of the sector. It has cultivated for itself time tested strengths that are said to be priceless. As has been observed, these are values of permanence, continuity, impartiality, integrity, anonymity and meritocracy. Over the years, these values constitute ―spirit de corps‖ and the Civil Service performance. One role which the Civil Service has played that is appropriate to emphasize, is the stabilizing factor of the political life of the country. In times of change of government, the Civil Service has held the nation together in the interim before the incoming Government takes office. The Civil Service is responsible for the proper custody, safety and integrity of government records, properties and stores until they are of no further use to the state. The Civil Service records are the most important source of a nation‘s history and legacy. In this way, the Service provides the institutional memory on the life and actions of the society. However this is another source of challenge for the Service which requires further research as this is not part of the scope of the present research work. The Civil Service perceives its role as serving the Government of the day to the best of its ability, in accord with the principle of neutrality, whatever the creed, shape and size or colorations of the Government politics. Transitions over the years from constitutional civilian regimes of the First Republic, through years of military dictatorship to the Fourth Republic administrations have been smooth. This is because it took an ―impartial‖ Civil Service to make it possible. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 49 The Civil Service prides itself in the lofty ideals of ―anonymity‖, in the sense that the public is not required to know what Civil Servants do for their political ―bosses‖ behind the scenes. This ethics means that no matter how great the contributions a Civil Servant makes, the majority of the credit will accrue to the Minister and government. The Civil Servant exists in the shadows of the political boss and thus remains anonymous. Every Civil Servant observes the ―rules of confidentiality and secrecy‖ and will not disclose classified or sensitive information without authority. 2.9 Ministries - Definition, Mandate and Structure The Civil Service Law, 1993 (PNDCL 327) provides in the Section 11(3) of the law that the Ministry is the highest body for any sector of the economy. ―A ministry established under this law for a specific sector shall be the highest organization for the sector‖. (PNDCL 327:8) It is further specified that the Ministries are public policy making organizations with literally no implementation functions. According to Section 13 of the law, ―A Ministry shall: initiate and formulate policies taking into account the needs and aspirations of the people; Undertake development planning in consultation with the National Development Planning Commission; and Co- ordinate, monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of the sector and decentralized departments.‖ (PNDCL. 327:9). Ministries thus set the parameters for what public and private sector organizations can do to accelerate a sustained national development. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 50 Although there are organizational differences between Ministries, each Ministry generally follows uniformity in the bureaucratic structure provided under Section 12(1) of the Law which also establishes in each Ministry the Divisions as follows: a. General Administration and Finance Division (Directorate) b. Planning, Budgeting, Co-ordination, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (Directorate). c. Training and Human Resources Development Division (Directorate), and d. Research, Statistics, Public Relations and Information Division (Directorate) As set out in the law 13 (2), the established divisions have the responsibility to: ―provide administrative support for the political head of the Ministry; and co-ordinate and monitor programmes of the Ministry.‖ DIAGRAM 2.1 STRUCTURE OF A MINISTRY STRUCTURE OF A MINISTRY MINISTER DEPUTY MINISTER CHIEF DIRECTOR POLICY PLANNING MONITORING /EVALUATION DIVISION FINANCE AND ADMIN- DIVISION HUMAN RESOURCE DEVPT. DIVISION RESEARCH STATS INFO MAGT. DIVISION DEPART MENTS GOVERNING COUNCILS BOARDS REGULATORY BODIES SERVICE AGENCIES SUBVENTED AGENCIES CORPORATI ONS PUBLIC COMMERCI INSTITUTIO 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 51 As shown in Diagram 2.1 above, the political head of the Ministry is the Minister. He/She is the one who answers questions in Cabinet and in Parliament. The Minister is thus responsible and accountable to the president and Parliament for policies, actions and conduct of their Ministry, Department and Agency. Currently, there are 23 Ministries which form the major sectoral organizations of the National Government. The law provides that the president may by Executive Instrument (EI) published in the Gazette, establish Ministries and re-designate ministries Ministers are assisted by Deputy Ministers also appointed by the President. Ministers may delegate day-to-day responsibility in a particular area to a Minister of state in the case of a cabinet Minister or to a Deputy Minister. Cabinet Ministers may appoint Special Advisors/Assistants (―Political‖ or ―expert‖) who are not subject to the rules on recruitment, selection and political impartiality. These appointees help Ministers on matters where government work and that of the party in power overlap and where it is inappropriate for Civil Servants to be involved. They add political dimension to the advice available to the Minister or expert advice in their professional field. (Poses sense of inadequacy and lack of confidence and a frequent source of conflict) The bureaucratic head of the Ministry is the Chief Director, a public officer appointed by the president with the advice of the Civil Service Council given in consultation with the Public Services Commission. The Chief Director and the Administrative (bureaucrats) and Technical Officers (technocrats) of the Ministry are the permanent, non-political and constitutionally, servants of the state or Public Servants. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 52 The Heads of Divisions or Directorates (Line Directors) of the Ministry together with career officers help the Minister to exercise his/her portfolio responsibilities. They provide detailed policy advice, sector administration and management and policy execution and service delivery. Chief Directors are responsible to the Minister who in turn is accountable to Cabinet and Parliament. 2.10 Some Developments Which Contributed to the Current Ethical Environment The Ghana Civil Service, like all Public Sector institutions, has been confronted with numerous problems and challenges. These have affected not only the performance and competence and efficiency, but also eroded work ethics and engendered the ethical environment, culminating in the poor public image of the Service. In addition to the negative ethics espoused by Woode (1976), the Service has sometimes been accused of excessive bureaucratization or complication of simple procedures, insensitivity to customer needs and weak service delivery. While there may be some justification for these criticisms and accusations against the Service and Civil servants, some of the problems and challenges faced by the Civil Service include the following: There are perceptions of inadequate staffing, in terms of the right mix of skills and numbers to cope with the challenges of national development and sustainable democracy. Though appointments are made towards rectifying the manpower shortage, there is said to be a decline in the level, content and frequency of training and development offered to Civil Servants. Whereas rapid modernization and the use of technology is a prerequisite to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the Service, the knowledge, skills and competency base of personnel have not kept pace with changes in technology. (OHCS 2005:8) Hence the Service has not sufficiently adapted to modern work methods and management practices; Delays in promotions and stagnation of officers in their grades; Selective University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 53 employment policy for the Civil Service; Poor Conditions of Service and low salaries, to the effect that notwithstanding the new Single-Spine Pay Policy recently being implemented by government, of all the Public Services in Ghana, Civil Servants are still considered the lowest paid personnel within the Public Service (CLOSSAG, 2010:29) Insufficient budgetary allocation for the operations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to the extent that virtually all MDAs are under resourced and lack the capacity to capitalize on technological changes to modernize operations and processes. There is inadequacy of working tools to operate a modern management system for effective and efficient service delivery. Over the years, there has been a pervading low morale and erosion of ethical and moral values and the stigmatization of the Service as a corrupt and laden with inefficient systems. (OHCS, 2005:7) The lack of appreciation by the public and sufficient recognition of her employer for the value and role of the Civil Service and the functions of Civil Servants has been referred to by some as an ―occupational hazard‖ OHCS, 2005:7). The perception is that the Civil Service lacks the drive and capacity to assist government in delivering on its programmes. Recruitment into the Service has now become unattractive not only in terms of pecuniary rewards and the poor conditions of service, but also due the fact that the Service has lost the influence that it used to wield in the colonial days and the period immediately following the attainment of independence. Over the years, not only have successive governments paid less attention to the development of the Civil Service, but also failed to give to the Service the recognition that it deserves. (OHCS 2005: 7) Systematically, some departments of the Civil Service, deemed sensitive or productive, have been hived-off from the Civil Service by successive University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 54 governments, and their staff given better treatment in terms of salaries and other conditions of service even though their functions and activities have remained the same and without any visible qualitative improvement in service delivery. This practice has had a demoralizing effect and low morale for Civil Servants. The hiving-off off of some departments and giving them preferential treatment has been perceived by the leadership of the Service as tantamount to tacitly officially assenting to the proposition that the services rendered by the Civil Service as the machinery of government, are less important and strategic than the Service rendered by the hived-off organizations. 2.11 Politicization of the Public Sector: Politicization of the public sector is said to be increasing and raises concern. For instance excessive use of political influence creates non-transparent and un-meritocratic procedures in making executive appointments to key decisions in public institutions. Second, the Public Service is made to undergo excessive mobilization and commitment of financial, human and material resources to the political agenda of the elected leaders a form of top- down politicization; Further fear or threat of demotion, transfer or dismissal is instilled among those public servants who fail to conform to the biddings of the political bosses. The situation may pose a morbid fear or intimidation in the working environment for the top officials including the Chief Directors and other senior and top level professional bureaucrats and technocrats of the Service; When Ministers fail to separate their political role and sometimes personal interests from that of governmental role and use Civil Servants for the former, it compels the sycophantic involvement of officers in partisan politics. Party political affiliation and allegiances or activities as a means to gratification for public servants may be noticeably glaring University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 55 (bottom-up politicization). To this extent, political neutrality as a professional virtue may become a great challenge for an increasing number of Civil Servants. Politicization can thus negate the merit principle governing public organizations and compromise the professionalism required of an impartial public service. It does undermine the morale and legitimacy of government bureaucracy and the confidence and trust the public reposes in it. A de-politicized Civil Service on the other hand promotes meritocracy, stability, continuity, professionalism and rationality. These are values, though weak today, have persisted despite political and social upheavals and sometimes violent swings in the political pendulum due to change of regimes. The public expects to receive uniform and impartial treatment. The reality though is that this poses a challenge for modern customer care practices because the Service is weak and meeting the differentiated and targeted services and the required tailor-made through Client Services. Although the principle serves the utilitarian purpose of fairness and human dignity, customer services offered by the Civil Service bureaucracy have become largely unsatisfactory due to the numerous challenges which have over the years confront the Service. 2.12 The Civil Service Career Training and Development The bottom line of any ethics program is embedded in the principle that the programme implementation must achieve the appropriate behaviors expected in employees. (Brenner, 1992) The most important outcome in capacity building in ethical behavior is what the organization prefers. The best ethical values and intentions have no relevance unless they produce fair and just behaviors among staff in the workplace. That is why there is the need to prepare a list of ethical values and norms and develop policies, procedures and training modules which translate those values to appropriate behaviors. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 56 In law, the Civil Service is an equal opportunity employer, built on the merit principle, by which only the best qualified and suitable staff are expected to be appointed into and developed in their careers. Standardized guidelines and procedures are the basis for recruitment, rewards, training and development and promotions. It is considered the most effective way to ensure consistency, uniformity, fairness and secure public confidence in the integrity of the system and processes adopted to procure competent and suitable staff whose performance would be enhanced. The role of training and skills development is crucial for any organization and cannot be overemphasized. The Civil Service needs to plan and ensure that employees have the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to perform effectively on their duties which would lead to the achievement of the mission of their organizations. Unlike the past, today there is a clear-cut policy of career training and development. According to ‗The Training and Development Policy of the OHCS and Guidelines for Implementation‘ document of 2008, the goal is to among others, unearth and enhance potentials of Civil Servants to enable them perform to higher quality and performance standards; improve the knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them perform their jobs effectively; ensure the availability of the requisite skilled personnel to meet future needs; and educate officers to appreciate the crucial role of the service in creating enabling environment for private sector-led economic growth. (OHCS, 2008:2) There is therefore a positive correlation between the systematic acquisition of training that permits Civil Servants to internalize these attributes and higher levels of service delivery. (ibid, p.1) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 57 2.13 Training and Development Responsibilities in the Civil Service i. Responsibilities for Training and Development (T & D). The responsibilities for the Training and Development (T & D) of the human resource capacity in the Ghana Civil Service are at three levels of the OHCS, the MDA (CMA) and the individual employee Civil Servant. Basically the OHCS has, among other things, the overall responsibility for training and development within the Civil Service. The OHCS sources funds and arranging periodic Competency Based And Scheme of Service Training and Development of personnel of the Civil Service; monitoring and evaluating training and development of personnel in the MDAs; developing administrative controls; and offering needed guidance to MDAs after receiving and analyzing annual training and development reports from them. At the OHCS, however, the responsibility has been assigned to the Director, Recruitment Training and Development Division (RTD) who has to liaise with the Director, Career Management Directorate (CMD) of the OHCS to provide the following: First the officer takes leadership in providing technical advice and other substantive inputs towards the formulation and reviewing of national policies on training and development; Second, she/he does the overall co-ordination of Competency- based and Scheme of Service training and development programmes and activities within the Civil Service, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of implementation; Thirdly, she/he issues effective application of standards, directives, rules and instructions in the form of operational manuals on staff training and development. The OHCS is equally responsible for the setting up and managing facilities for the training within the Civil Service. The four institutions currently being run are: The Civil Service Training Centre (CSTC) which runs courses including management skills training in the managerial and supervisory grades; performance management and the Ethical Leadership course. Second, the Government Secretarial School (GSS) with headquarters in Accra has University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 58 branches in Koforidua, Kumasi, Secondi, Ho and Tamale. The related professional courses run by the GSS are high level training for all categories of officers in the Secretaries Class and Special Capacity Development programme for the Senior Private Secretaries and other top level secretaries in the Civil Service and includes ethics of the profession; Thirdly, the Institute of Technical Supervision (ITS) located in Accra, offers training in Supervisory Management for officers in the Artisanal grades from Junior Foremen up to Works Superintendent and runs courses in Maintenance Management, Occupational Health and Safety and Workplace Improvement techniques: Finally, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) In all its curricula, GIMPA-run courses have built-in professional Ethics considered relevant in training for in successful Leadership in the Civil and Public Services of Ghana. It must be noted that graduates in every core Managerial Leadership programmes the courses are structured in a hierarchy with each programme beginning with the Certificate courses through Diploma in Public Administration, the Certificate in Administration and Management, Women in Development, the next is the Senior Management programme and finally, the Chief Executive programmes. Within each of these training programmes are in-built topics which are concerned with the Code of Conduct in the Civil Service, Work Ethics, and the ethics related to each professional category within the Civil Service. ii. Training Responsibility of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) According to the structure of the organization, each MDA (i.e. CHIEF DIRECTOR) must have a Human Resource Development Unit (Directorate) with the Director of this Unit collaborating with Heads of the other Units/Directorates and Heads of Sector Agencies. He/She is responsible for assessing and determining the staff training and development University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 59 needs and planning appropriate interventions to meet such needs. The training and development needs of all categories of officers emerge after they have appraised by their supervisors or superior officers during the annual Staff Performance Appraisal exercise conducted usually at the close of each year. The practice requires that Heads of MDAs develop and maintain updated database of training facilities, libraries and resources including training institutions, consultants, specialists, etc. which they will use from time to time. Heads of MDAs are to ensure the provision of the necessary facilities and motivate Civil Servants to pursue self- development training activities. Training needs strategy, structures, and procedures must be set out to guide the implementation of the training and development component of requisite staff of the organization. Heads of MDAs shall, in consultation with the Heads of Classes, ensure that Civil Servants under their control receive appropriate training and capacity enhancement training programmes e.g. Scheme of Service Training, to enable the staff to perform the duties of their posts at a high level of efficiency and to prepare them for career progression. Chief Directors and Heads of Department have the duty of ensuring that appropriate use is made of available knowledge and skills, especially those acquired through special departmental training and development programmes. iii. Training Responsibility of the Individual Civil Servant. Each Civil Servant has the responsibility to avail himself/herself of the training and development opportunities to his or her post. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 60 2.14 Reporting on the Training and Development Programme. Each MDAs is obliged to submit to the OHCS the cost of their planned training and development programmes for the year at the beginning of each year and not later than 30th January. Heads of MDAs and Human Resource Directors are to arrange to brief personnel nominated for training and development on the purpose and objectives of the programmes they are nominated to attend. Each Human Resource Director in an MDA is mandated to maintain a database of all training and development undertaken by every MDA. This should include information such as course title, the cost and source of funding, duration, and name of institution attended by personnel of the MDA during the year. It is mandatory for every officer on return from course to brief his/her Head of MDA and submit a report including copies of Project Work/Thesis, to his/her MDA and the OHCS. The Heads of Department, Human Resource Directors and supervisors are required to hold conferences with personnel returning from training and development programmes at which the trainees shall brief the staff of the MDA on the training undergone. As a mandatory requirement, each MDA is required to submit to the OHCS comprehensive annual HRMD reports on training and development programmes undertaken during the year by 30th March of each successive year. The OHCS evaluates the training and development programmes undertaken during the year based on the reports submitted by MDAs. Based on these reports, the OHCS prepares annual consolidated reports on training and development programmes undertaken within the Service for the information of the Civil Service Council. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 61 2.15 Evaluation of Training and Development Each MDA has the responsibility to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and development programmes executed during the year and report its findings to the organization which did the training. Human Resource Directorate is expected to keep proper records of all training to improve future training programmes. The Chief Director of the OHCS through the Director responsible for Recruitment, Training and Development has the responsibility to co-ordinate and publish every year progress made in the Civil Service as a whole in the area of Human Resource Training and Development. An assessment of the impact of the year‘s training on Performance in the Service is also to be done to form the focus for the training activities of the following year. 2.16 Summary Against this background, the task of this research work is to aver itself to examining the extent to which the policy objectives (primary short-to-medium) of the Civil Service Code of Ethics have been realized. As we have seen the policy had assigned top management personnel of the Service to implement the policy with the view to achieving the objectives envisaged for which they would be held accountable. These include the need to change the poor professional and unethical conduct of employees so that and the day, Civil Servants would have acquired the new norms, values, attitude and work ethics for their jobs. The study provides evidence-based insights for understanding the socio-cultural milieu within which the senior and top level managers of the Civil Service are expected to exercise their responsibility for the successful implementation of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy. We will also attempt to identify some of the underlying challenges to the success of the policy. Attempts would also be made to put forward University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 62 recommendation for making-things-work to enhance a more successful and sustainable ethics management programme within the Ghana Civil Service. Finally the contribution of this study is that lessons learnt would enhance both to the theory and practical understanding of other public policy initiatives in Ghana as well as provide the basis for further research into organizational Codes of Conduct and Work Ethics policies. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 63 CHAPTER THREE 3.0 RESEARCH METHODS In discussing the methods used for this research we examine the research design, sampling procedure, the methods of data collection and data handling. The section ends by considering a number of ethical and other issues associated with the field work. 3.1 Research Design This research is an empirical study into the relevance of the new Civil Service Code of Conduct and Work Ethics policy. The study was conducted among Civil Servants, focusing on the top level management personnel as respondents. In view of the objectives of the study and the type of information required which is to collect and analyze data that would enable us draw valid conclusions, we chose to speak to two categories of the management personnel. These are the Chief Directors and four-line Directors of the Ministries and the Office of Government Machinery (OGMs), who constitute a fairly homogeneous group of the Civil Service. The study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data which was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. First the simple random technique was used to select the required sample of Ministries. Then using the purposive sampling technique, the four-line Directors category of respondents was selected whilst for the Chief Directors category, the simple random method was again adopted. Primary data was obtained through the use of the questionnaires administered by the researcher and interviews. This instrument was complemented by the use of the non-participant observation method. Secondary data on the other hand was gathered through content analysis of documentary sources (published and unpublished) and library sources. Data obtained from official University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 64 documents was combined with sources including official reports, publications and research papers from the Ministerial organizations, as well as local and foreign internet sites related to the study. Data collected was handled by first of all going through and carefully editing and coding. With the aid of SPSS computer programme, the data was processed and classified with the view to obtaining statistical tables, figures and charts. Using the t-test and the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) the relevant research hypotheses were tested. The results obtained were by way of the Means, Standard deviation and Standard error using 95% (0.05) confidence level as the basis for arriving at the interpretations. 3.2 Sampling Design a. Sampling Frame Having in mind the objective of the study and the type of information required, two categories of respondents were identified within the top level management personnel of the Civil Service. These are two categories. The one group is all Chief Directors and second group made up of the four-line Directors of the Service with both categories of officials being fairly homogeneous in character. Both groups together constitute the sampling frame of this study. b. Target Population The target population of the research comprises of all top level management personnel of the Ghana Civil Service from which the study population of 135 was identified and then the final sample of respondents was selected. The total number of these top level personnel is found in all the 24 Ministries and the ministerial organizations (OGMs) which were in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 65 existence at the period of the research. Primarily, it is this group within the Civil Service to which the research findings would be generalized. c. Sampling i. Simple Random As a first step in the process of selecting the respondents for the study, the simple random method was used in selecting the sample of Ministries. Proceeding from a list of 24 existing Ministries, the lottery method (a component of probability sampling process) was used in the selection of the required sample of 8 Ministries. The same random sampling method was used for selecting the first category of respondents who include the Chief Directors. The second category of respondents, being the four-line Directors was selected using the purposive method. ii. Purposive Sampling With regards to the selection of the three relevant ministerial organizations within the Office of Government Machinery (OGMs), the purposive sampling method was used. This is due to their central roles as Human Resource Development and Management and the Policy Planning, Management and Monitoring and Evaluation within the Ghana Civil Service. As indicated earlier, the purposive sampling method was also used in the selection of the four-line Directors who constitute the second category of respondents. Based on the objectives of the study, once an organization is included in the sample, it formed the basis for selecting the respondents. Thus as a rule, the 4-line Directors from the Ministries were purposively selected and included in the sample as my respondents. Secondly, the top officials of the 3 OGMs – i.e., the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, the Public Sector Reforms Secretariat (PSRS) and the Public Services University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 66 Commission (PSC). Concluding, in view of their central responsibilities in policy formulation, management and training, career management, monitoring and evaluation and research within the Ghana Civil Service the Chief Directors and four-line Directors of these OGMs were selected purposely. iii. Sample Size At the end of the sampling process, out of a study population of 135 top level management personnel of the Service, 56 respondents, representing 4i.5% were selected as the final sample size for the study. The breakdown of the figure is that out of a total sample of 56 respondents, 11 (or 20%) were made up of Chief Directors and 45 (or 80%) were four-line Directors. They have the top level managerial responsibility for ensuring the successful implementation of the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy for the entire Civil Service. It is for this number of respondents who were administered the questionnaire, and for some not being able to complete the questionnaires for want of time, they were interviewed. The researcher thus considers these two homogeneous categories of respondents a fairly representative sample of both categories of top level management personnel of the Civil Service. 3.3 Methods of Data Collection The research made use of primary and secondary sources and combines both qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data was collected using the questionnaires administered by the investigator to the respondents. While qualitative data was also collected to complement quantitative data. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 67 a. Primary Data i. Administering of Questionnaires The investigator administered questionnaire was the method by which primary quantitative data was obtained from the respondents. The questionnaire instrument was used for guiding some of the interviews by the researcher and the responses were recorded with an electronic voice recorder and a jotter as additional support that could facilitate post-interview recording checks for possible errors. Hand written records during the interview sessions and make transcription easy. The use of the electronic recorder was however disclosed to respondents and their permission sought. For each respondent, the actual interview date and time was fixed by them but the time agreed on was made flexible due to their busy schedules and most frequently interruptions by visitors. Interviews had to be re-scheduled when we could not proceed due to such interruptions. The questions which were constructed around the study objectives were both open-and close-ended types. They were formulated in such a way as to make respondents feel comfortable and freely express their opinions on the issues without compromising the reliability of the method. The questions were in three main sections. The first section was about respondents‘ knowledge, views, perceptions and opinions about the new Code of Conduct/Ethics policy. The second set of questions relate to the respondent‘s conduct by way of their ethical conduct and activities undertaken indicating whether they conform to the principles of the Codes/Work Ethics. Questions on implementation and recommendation of the code and policy implications were also asked in this section. The third and last section of the questionnaire was in relation to the socio-demographic University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 68 characteristics of respondents. In using the face-to-face interview technique the responses were recorded on the spaces provided on the interview schedule, whilst an electronic recording device was also deployed as support for recording the responses. This was to ensure the accuracy of responses elicited and the voice recording were later transcribed. Though the data being gathered was from Civil Servants who were predominantly literate, this method adopted primarily to reduce the non-response rate. The questionnaire instrument used in collecting much of the quantitative data which was complemented with data obtained from non-observation method with library and official documents. ii. Non-Participant Observation Method In addition to interviewing the respondents, the non-participant observation was also used to obtain supplementary field data. A number of activities, events and programmes were carefully selected by the researcher for direct observation. They include observing behavior, corporate events as management meetings as retreats, seminars and workshops and some personal interviews. On the usefulness of this method, Agyeman (1990) writes: ―In addition to obtaining information from opinion leaders, the researcher has to make direct observation of his own…this use of combined instrument in one and the same data collecting situation has proved very useful…‖ (Agyeman, 1990:12) b. Secondary Data The secondary data were obtained from official records and documents and library materials through content analysis. The aim was to verify the documents and ascertain issues relating to the objectives of the study. Ethical conduct persists in the records of organizations. The aim of the content analysis was also meant to examine the extent to which the officials responsible for the implementation of the ethos have succeeded in institutionalizing them into the organization‘s culture. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 69 i. Use of Recorded Information Information obtained from official documents and records was used to verify and authenticate the primary data obtained. It was used selectively to verify the extent to which key policy expectations of the Code and the implementation outcomes of the policy. We also verified the views, perceptions and claims of respondents during the interviews with the view to ascertain their veracity of the responses and to enable the researcher validate empirical evidence on the research variables so as to enrich the discussions. The measures instituted by top management of the organizations to ensure that business ethics were of essence for the image and success of the organization. In this regard, official documents were examined to obtain records of evidence of the framework and implementation mechanisms instituted to guide policy implementation and provide feedback that will enable management to monitor and employee compliance with the provisions in the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy. ii. Records and Documents Reports, Organizational Manuals, Job Schedules, Staff Performance Appraisal Instruments, meeting attendance records, etc. were examined. Other documents of interest were Workshop and Conference papers, the Mandates, including Legislative and Executive Instruments (LIs and EIs), Constitutional and Policy documents related to the topic were considered relevant. These sources were expected to provide institutional evidence of the level to which top level management personnel of the Service was proceeding in attempts to integrated the principles of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics into conduct and behavior of employees of their organization so as to promote the new Civil Service culture. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 70 3.4 Data Handling At the end of the data gathering period, 45 (80.4%) responses were obtained out of 56 questionnaires administered. In terms of percentages, 82.0% the responses were line Directors and 18.0% constitute Chief Directors. Since the groups in the study population are fairly homogeneous, the investigator was satisfied with the total responses obtained for the study which could be said to be statistically representative. Hence we proceed with the data handling stage. Data from the field was then edited, coded and verified for inconsistencies or incompleteness of the responses received. At this stage the electronic recording device used for the recording of the responses was deployed in transcribing responses that were not clearly understood during the interviews. After the classification was completed, the data tabulation was done using the SPSS computer package to obtain the frequencies, percentages, the charts, figures and diagrams. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to ensure analytical accuracy in testing the various hypotheses formulated and avoid the problem of drawing wrong conclusions. In testing the level of significance, the alpha level of 0.05 (95% Confidence Level) of significance was used, whilst in the case of testing the hypotheses the standard t-test was applied to test the significance of the results obtained as a basis of support for or rejection of the hypotheses. 3.5 Ethical Considerations Gathering data among senior management of the Civil Service who are the primary respondents on the subject comes with some ethical challenges for the study. By the nature of their work, the categories of Civil Servants in the sample are a very busy group of officials working around the clock on tight work schedules. To minimize the number of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 71 possible research biases arising from respondents and obtain a level of objectivity, consistency and validity of data the following measures were adopted. At the commencement of the field work, respondents were first briefed on the research objectives. Though most of them acknowledged the need for the study and some had expressed the desire to volunteer information, one constraint was the time constraints which did not permit the researcher to increase the sample size of officials included the research sample. The first category of respondents from whom data was collected was the superior officers who were available. During the initial contacts, appointments were fixed with them and follow-up mobile phone calls made to confirm the interactions. The actual interaction with respondents was done in privacy with the help of an electronic voice recorder and a jotter to facilitate the recording the responses. The intention for employing the electronic recorder was equally disclosed to respondents by the interviewer. To safeguard the identity of each respondent their names and other personal identities were left out of the questionnaires. In their responses, respondents were asked not to preface responses with statements that could easily give away their true personal identities. However, some of the respondents were bold to tell the interviewer: ―you can quote me verbatim.‖ It was remarkable to see how some who related personal histories about the Service spoke with passion and said they would not be bothered should their identities be disclosed or names even acknowledged. The report however has tried to present the views of some respondents so as not to expose them unduly. A number of problems were encountered in the field trying to obtain data from both primary and secondary sources. First due to the tight work schedules of respondents it was University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 72 hard to get them for scheduled interviews. Secondly some of the secretaries of respondents did all in their power to prevented the interviewer from seeing their ‗bosses‘ even when we had prior appointments. Thirdly the interview sessions had to be rescheduled due to interruptions by urgent matters or important visitors. Fourthly some respondents were posted out from their ministries and the situation interrupted scheduled interviews. Also worth mentioning was the problem of local and foreign travels embarked upon by some of the respondents which made reaching them difficult. Finally, accessing some official records came with a lot of difficulties due to the poor and unreliable records management system and records keeping culture in the organizations. A number of measures taken to minimize possible research biases arising from the field and their effects on the reliability, level of objectivity and validity of the data include the following: First the interviewer had to disclose to any secretary who tried to frustrate a scheduled interview with their ‗bosses‘ that he was a senior Civil Servant on an official assignment and this approach often made it easier to gain access to the respondent. Second the interview responses were recorded with an electronic voice recorder and a jotter as additional support that will facilitate post-recording checks on possible biases in the interview responses and make transcription easy. The use of the electronic recorder had to be disclosed to respondent and their permission sought. Finally respondents were assured that they would remain anonymous and that the information was meant for academic purposes only. 3.6 Non-Responses The non-responses resulted from various circumstances in which the respondents were found. Of the 3 (13.9%) Chief Directors who were non-responsive, two (2) had been University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 73 officially replaced and one (1) happened to be on annual official leave. Of the 8 (17.8%) line Directors who failed to respond, two (2) had been posted to other organizations, one (1) had travelled out of the country, whilst the remaining five (5) could not be reached on the contacts they had provided. Though the researcher has years of working experience as Public and Civil Servant it was not always easy to get access to official records due to the poor and unreliable records management system and poor records keeping culture of the Civil Service. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 74 CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS In this chapter, primary data gathered from the field work, comprising quantitative and qualitative data are presented. At the end of the data gathering period, 45 (80.4%) responses were obtained out of 56 questionnaires administered. First the information obtained from 45 respondents has been summarized. The respondents were selected from among the top level management personnel of the Civil Service working in 8 Ministries and 3 organizations from the Office of the President (OGMs) located in Accra. Data from this source are from the two categories of respondents, namely, 8 Chief Directors and 37 four-line Directors of the Civil Service. The groups in the study population are fairly homogeneous and the investigator was satisfied that the total responses obtained for the study are statistically representative. In the data presentation, the qualitative data obtained is presented alongside the quantitative data to enrich the discussions and findings. SECTION A 4.1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS 4.1.1 Age of Respondents The correlation between the age of respondents and their grades within the Civil Service is relevant. Age generally tends to reflect a trend that usually corresponds with the system of career progression being operated in the Civil Service. This research is dealing with ‗Directors‘ and Chief Directors‘ as the respondents. The age variable is relevant sociologically since it will help us appreciate its relationship with the grade variable of these homogeneous groups. As a group they have gone through similar career experiences University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 75 in the Service and collectively constitute the cohort referred to in this study as top level management personnel of the Civil Service. Table 4:1:1 Age of Respondents Age of Respondent (years) Grade/Position of Respondent Total Chief Director Director 41-50 0 0.0% 3 6.7% 3 6.7% 51-60 8 17.8% 34 75.5% 42 93.3% Over 60 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Total 8 17.8% 37 82.2% 45 100.0% Table 4.1:1 above represents of the age profile of the 45 respondents combined with their grades. According to the Table, there are 8 Chief Directors and 37 line Directors selected from the 11 Central Management Agencies for the study. According to the table, all the 8 Chief Directors fall within the ages of 51 and 60 years. On other hand an overwhelming majority of 34 (75.6%) out of 37 line Directors are between the ages of 51 and 60, whilst only 3 (6.7%) fall below age 51. Consequently, it is rational to expect that the longer the service the richer the knowledge base and logically the more competent the officer must be in a positive correlation with the length of service. Sociologically, a Civil Service bureaucracy that is implementing a Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy may be characterized by certain conditions which have unintended consequences. Presumably the age/grade and position of an employee on the corporate ladder tends to impact their ethical values, attitudes and conduct of people as employees or in managerial leadership. The sociological relevance of this view to this study is that as in most corporate environments, the age-grade and competence level variables of the respondents are expected to enhance their capacity as leader-managers who better understand and promote good work ethics within the Civil Service. Be it as it University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 76 may, we have seen from the systems theory which provides the us the framework understanding that the political leadership influences the ethical conduct of top level management that intend determines the ethical environment of the Civil Service in general. Besides, Cribbin (1972) argues that when the political apparatus is omnipotent, deviations from the party line by the men and women at the top of the bureaucracy are dealt with in a ruthless manner; where criticism is not allowed, at least openly; and where planning and policy are formulated by powerful bureaucracies, the leader-manger‘s behavior will necessarily be different significantly from that expected and demanded in organizations with democratic work environments. (Cribbin, 1972:54) As a large bureaucracy it is reasonable to understand that power is a resource within the Civil Service that is unequally distributed and the working environment has the tendency for excessive bureaucratization and being politicized (Cribben, 1972) As noted earlier in the review of literature, Ghanaian managerial leaders tend to be authoritarian and traditionally enjoy being the ‗boss‘, ‗chief‘ or ‗in control‘. (ICAG, 2009:27-28); That being the case, decision-making has the tendency of restricted to the top hierarchy with minimal delegation of authority. Against this backdrop of the existence of such social factors in the Civil Service, inter age/grade communication gap may develop leading to latent tensions within top level management personnel and between them and personnel at middle and lower ranks. Within the current ethics management environment in the Civil Service, the conclusions we may draw is that human potentials and initiative may be nipped in the bud, the innovation and loyalty of subordinates stifled and high-fliers, frustrated. The leader- mangers would thus be perceived as a generation of ‗dream killers‘ who are in the habit of promoting a work environment with ethical frustrations and inertia. Detrimental as this University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 77 may be, the consequences include the prevalence of ethically non-responsive personnel in the Service both at the middle and lower levels of the organization. 4.1.2. Sex of Respondents The sex of respondents presents two main issues of concern to this research. These are the concerns about gender balance at the top level management of the Civil Service and the related issue of what is sometimes referred to as the ‗glass ceiling‘ in gender analysis. (ICASG, 2009:27-28) Secondly, the relevance of the sex variable of respondents brings to mind the issue of sexual harassment/office romance. In a very significant way, the sex profile of respondents has relevance to the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics because when workplace or office romance develops among staff, then it becomes an issue for ethical consideration within the organization. To the extent possible, its prevalence has far reaching consequences for the attainment of an ethically healthy Civil Service work environment. The trends from some reports on job-related gender relations in some Ghanaian companies allude to office romance which has led to instances of marital infidelity. No doubt indications are clear that such sexual scandals have the tendency to destroy the image and survival of business organizations. In the light of this, we present the field data on this variable in Table 4.1.2. below. Table 4.1:2 Sex of Respondents Sex of Respondent Grade/Position of Respondent Total Chief Director Director Male 8 17.8% 25 55.5% 33 73.3% Female 0 0.0% 12 26.7% 12 26.7% Total 8 17.8% 37 82.2% 45 100.0% University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 78 In Table 4.1:2 above the sex composition of respondents is presented. The table shows that out of a total of 45 respondents, only 12 (26.7%) are females and a dominant 33 (73.3%) are males. It may also be observed that whereas all the 12 (32.4%) female respondents are line Directors and as many 25 (67.6%) are men. The statistics therefore shows that among Chief Directors and line Directors in the organizations surveyed and probably, for the entire Civil Service in general, there is gender imbalance. is a mirage. This assertion may be justified against the backdrop of the literature we have reviewed earlier which asserts that the Ghanaian society tends to be sexist and many people enjoy sexual innuendoes, also the upward mobility of women in the organizational hierarchy may be highly restricted. (ICAG, 2009:27-29). In this regard, some gender activists and advocate groups believe that attaining gender parity in Ghana‘s Public Service in the near future is a mirage or far from being attained. Some data exist to show that this assertion is largely the case in the Civil Service. Consequently, we can safely say that if care is not taken the attainment of an ethically healthy Civil Service may equally be farfetched. Additionally, the issue of sexual harassment/office romance is of relevance to the new policy on the Code of Conduct. Section 33 (1) of the policy states that: ‗a Civil Servant shall not exploit his/her relationship with another officer/person to gain advantage of him/her sexually, or confer undue favours on him/her for sexual and other purposes‘ (OHCS, 1999:17) Furthermore, since 2010, government has issued a policy directive requesting every governmental entity to formulate and enforce a work-place gender policy/policy against sexual harassment. It is apparent, however, that most Ministries are yet to oblige and put in place a work-place sexual harassment policy in compliance with the directive. This situation could make it difficult to address or even sanction unethical issues bothering on sexual harassment or work place romance. Moreover in a cultural University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 79 environment such as ours, some women for several reasons most often choose to tolerate or prefer to suffer such unethical office affairs in silence. When viewed from the stand point of the new policy, it appears that though such is undoubtedly unethical much of it has not been prioritized for attention and will go a long way to damage the reputation of the Service. Hence the gender profile of respondents is of concern to this study. Complicating the issue of gender in the work place is the cultural attitude of the Ghanaian toward it. Voices have been raised in the media about ‗sex-for-grades‘, ‗sex-for-jobs‘, and sex for this or that ostensibly to draw attention of the authorities to the growing prevalence of the phenomenon. But issues concerning gender are said to be taken very casually by people in authority much less the average worker, primarily because ―the understanding and sensitivity to gender issues among Ghanaian workers in general is low.‖ (MOWAC/GSS, 2010:15) Additionally, a 2009 report by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs-MOWAC (now known as the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection) lends further credence to the above presumption when it said: ―Even in the ministry where one would have expected a better balance of women and men to really put across the argument and justification for equality in gender issues even at the work place, men far outnumber women in other Ministries, the situation was understood and the status quo was accepted as some sort of balance.‖ (MOWAC, 2009:27). From Table 4.1.3 above and the related analysis on the sex composition of respondents, we can safely say that the top level management position of the Civil Service is mostly male dominated. The preponderance of males over females within an institutional and cultural context where sexual harassment is not considered an ethical priority, and where University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 80 work place gender policy is not enforced is a strong recipe for the prevalence of office romance. 4.1.3. Length of Service of Respondents The correlation between length of service and the age/grade of respondents is of relevance to the study for the primary reason that we can better understand their implications for the attitudes to and the practices of respondents towards an ethics policy management. Granted, it will take a minimum of Fourteen (14) years for a ‗cadet‘ fresh entrant into the entry grade of the Civil Service as an ‗Assistant Director Two B‘, to rise to the terminal grade as ‗Director.‘ This means that ideally, a ‗cadet‘ officer spends a minimum of three years in each grade to earn an upward movement to the next grade. In this regard – the ideal situation - rising through the ranks from Assistant Director Two B, Assistant Director Two A, Assistant Director One, Deputy Director, and finally to the grade of ‗Director.‘ In reality however, it may take fifteen years or more, and in rare cases may never reach that terminal grade. So for a cohort of Assistant Directors Two B to reach the final grade as ‗Director,‘ (formerly known as Principal Secretary) they must have had enough group experiences to have built intimate solidarities and established group loyalties over the years. Whether these were done within or outside their career path, such relationships are of sociological interest to this study so far as management of a service- wide ethics policy is concerned. Granted, if an officer has been certified as a high-flier, he/she may be promoted out-of- turn when his/her capabilities to undertake higher responsibilities well have been established. Thus a person on the Grade of Assistant Director One (AD I) may be promoted to the grade of Deputy Director out-of-turn within a time frame that may be less University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 81 than is required. Since the respondents of this research are ‗Directors‘ and Chief Directors.‘ With this background we are in a position to appreciate the homogeneity and career experiences of respondents who collectively constitute the cohort of top level management personnel of the Civil Service responsible for implementing the new policy. Table 4.1:3 Length of Service and Grade of Respondents. Table 4.1:3 above depicts the how long respondents have worked as Civil/Public Servants and the present grade. Out of a total of 45 respondents, 20 (44.5%) have been in the Service in the range f 21-25 years, but only 3 (6.7%) have been in the Service for less than 16 years. Again, whilst 11 (24.4%) of respondents have been in the Service for over 25 years, 11 (24.4%) have worked between 16 and 20 years. Whilst the statistics show that on the average more Chief Directors (50%) have served longer in the Service than their junior colleague line Directors (43.2%) it is also obvious that some Chief Directors and line Director have the same length of service and that some years of service overlap. Generally the age of the respondents appear to correlate positively with length of service, grade and work experience. The current statistics above is also intended to provoke discussions on possible out-of-turn promotion for any officer or whether the out-of-turn promotion policy exists only in theory. So far the data above does not support evidence to that effect. From Length of Service Grade/Position Total Chief Director Director Below 16 years 0 0.0% 3 6.7% 3 6.7% 16-20 years 1 2.2% 10 22.2% 11 24.4% 21-25 years 4 8.9% 16 35.5% 20 44.4% Above 25 3 6.7% 8 17.8% 11 24.5% Total 8 17.8% 37 82.2% 45 100.0% University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 82 this observation it is we can better appreciate the implications this has for the successful management of the new Code/Ethics policy. A key objective of the new policy is to create an ethical mindset that would enhance professional competence, efficiency and accountability of the personnel. However, the prevailing situation in the Civil Service may have the tendency to make managers career- focused rather than being performance orientated. The meaning of this point is that career- focused officers tend to be pre-occupied with walking the ropes, avoid taking risks and be the ‗good boy‘ for the sake of being ‗climbers‘ of the corporate ladder of the organization. (Cribbin, 1972). Such officers tend to see promotion on the job as a right and tend to be docile and bureaucratic-minded with a routine mindset and less inclined to be innovative. The performance-oriented officer on the other hand tends to be innovative – an initiative- driven, goal-getter - less bureaucratic and thinks ‗out-of-the-box.‘ He/she is more inclined to ‗break the rules‘ when they must, and tend to challenge the status-quo and the established negative ethos and culture of the organization. SECTION B 4.2 KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF RESPONDENTS 4.2 1 Respondents‟ Knowledge of the Guiding Principles of the Code of Conduct. The Civil Service Code of Conduct is grounded in six basic Guiding Principles while the Work Ethics has seven values which would be considered. This research believes that an invaluable pre-requisite for the leadership of the Service to successfully drive the implementation process of this new policy is anchored on their thorough understanding of its underlying principles. Top level management of the Civil Service, the Chief Directors and their line Directors are expected to champion and lead their organizations in the management and enforcement of the Code of Conduct/Work Ethics. They must as well University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 83 provide the leadership as role models and always exhibiting exemplary ethical judgment and conduct of integrity. It also is their responsibility to put up the requisite plans, structures and systems for effective ethics management. This requires an appreciable level of understanding of, and commitment to all the principles of the Code with the right ethics mindset. Thus the question as to how well respondents understood the underlying principles of the Code was of essence for the successful implementation of the policy. This question is also of relevance to my research objective of assessing the knowledge and perceptions about the new policy from the point of view of the top level management personnel of the Service who are the implementers. Chart 4.2.1 below presents the knowledge base of respondents on the Guiding Principles underlying the Code of Conduct. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 84 Figure 4.2:1 above represents the respondents‘ level of understanding of (i.e., knowledge base.) of the six key ‗Guiding Principles‘ of the Code of Conduct. (see Part 2, Appendix IV of the Code of Conduct policy document). In Figure 4.2.1 above, the red bar indicates that the respondent ―well understood,‖ the principle (as in having the best or high understanding expected). Whereas the mauve-coloured bar means the respondent has working understanding (mediocre) of the principle. The Figure further shows that out of the six ‗Guiding Principles‘ the 84.4% of the respondents have very good understanding of the leadership principle, this is followed by ‗Integrity‘ 80.0% and ‗Selflessness‘ 77.8%, in that order. However, only 42.2% of respondents ‗understood‘ the ‗Accountability‘ principle, ‗Transparency,‘ 57.8% whilst 68.9% of the respondents are for ‗Fairness‘. Thus we can fairly conclude that top level management personnel of the Service ‗well understood‘ (highly knowledgeable) only half (3) of the guiding principles of the Code and the other half (3) is ‗understood‘ (mediocre knowledge). The significance of this observation is not far-fetched. When put into context, the age/grade and length of service are closely linked to these guiding principles and there is no gainsaying the fact that Chief Directors and line Directors ought to be highly knowledgeable about all the guiding principles of the Code. It therefore quite inexcusable to find such low percentage of respondents with middle-of-the-road understanding (i.e. ‗understood‘) Indeed, within contemporary Public Administration, the most heard of the most abused principles of the Code are perhaps the principles of ―probity‖, ‖accountability‖ and ―transparency.‖ Hence top level officials who have been charged with the responsibility of the successful implementation of the policy, must inexorably exhibit a high level of understanding of the concepts of ―probity‖, ―accountability‖ and ―transparency‖. This is not only desirable but also obligatory but also indispensable for University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 85 enhancing professional competency, and mediocre leadership cannot help achieve the goals envisaged by the new policy. Any doubt that the concepts have also become key issues guiding public sector management reforms today and imperatives for ―good governance‖ and a requirement for ―a Civil Service which is customer sensitive and responsive to its social obligations‖ (OHCS, 1999:3). Hence these principles have been incorporated into the new Code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy. Moreover, Ghana which is a signatory to the Charter for Public Services has under the auspices of the African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) committed itself to the implementation of the harmonized continental Public Service commitments. To this end, all top level management personnel of the Civil Services on the continent (including Ghana) have been called upon to eschew all forms of mediocrity and to provide a new kind of professionalism and visionary leadership that would be accountable and responsive for ―insuring public sector institutions against moral hazards and miscellaneous ethical violations.‖ (AAPAM Aide Memoire, 2010:2). Finally, the public and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding ‗Accountability‘ and ‗Transparency‘ from public office holders. In order to contextualize the issue, we may not be far from the facts to suggest that since modern trends in public sector management makes these ethical values key deliverables, it may appear rather absurd for top level management personnel to show a sense of mediocrity in or deficiency for understanding the principles of ―Accountability‖ and ―Transparency‖ principles required by the Code. In sum, the 57.8% and 42.2% of respondent level of understanding thus poses a challenge for top level management in particular and raises concerns for the Civil Service in general. Undoubtedly, top level management of the Civil Service, the Chief Directors and their line University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 86 Directors are expected to champion and lead their organizations in the management and enforcement of the Code of Conduct. They also ought to lead as ethics role models, otherwise as leaders how can they effectively lead any ethics-mentorship programme designed for workers at the shop floor of their organizations? As it has been observed: ―If the top echelon of the service saw themselves as fully and personally accountable for the performance of the entire workforce under their command, their accountability is on the pain of real sanctions against their own positions‖ (GOG-PSRS, 2004:31). Further evidence exists in several reports by the Auditor General which corroborate these research findings which indicate that ‗Accountability‘ has been minimal at top level management of the Service. 4.2.2 Perceptions of Respondents on the Implementation of Approved Work Ethics. We have observed that the policy prescribes seven (7) Work Ethics which are to serve as yardstick for guiding the sector-wide conduct of Civil Servants. As implementers of the policy, top level management of the Civil Service, it has been the job of Chief Directors and their line Directors in leading their organizations in the management and enforcement of the Work Ethics and serving as role models. This research considers both roles as invaluable pre-requisites for the policy to succeed. And that the implementation is anchored on leadership in-depth understanding of the tenets of the Work Ethics. In this regards the Chart 4.2.2 below represents the perceptions as to whether management personnel of their organizations were implementing the approved Work Ethics of the Civil Service. The question requires a ―Yes‘ or ―No‖ response depending on whether the respondent agrees or disagrees with the assertions of the question. Additionally, the question is in response to the research objective of assessing the knowledge and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 87 perceptions of the top level management of the Civil Service about the basic tenets of the Work Ethics policy. The Chart 4.2.2 above illustrates whether respondents agree (or do not agree) to the assertion that management personnel of their organizations in general are observing and complying with these seven (7) principal tenets of the Work Ethics (Ref. Appendix IV). The blue coloured bars represent respondents‘ views that management ‗is complying. The red bars on the other hand stand for management ‗is not observing‘. From the Chart 4.2.2 above, it is shown that whereas as high as 37 or 82.2% of respondents perceive ‗punctuality‘ as the greatest challenge to top management personnel of the Service, only 8 (17.8%) agree that the personnel is ‗reporting for duty punctually.‘ This perception suggests that habitual lateness to work and corporate meetings, irregular attendance to official functions as well as leaving the job, meetings and functions before closing hours appears to be the normal practice or the predominant conduct among the leadership. Next on the scale of non-compliance by respondents are the tenets of ―timely performance of tasks‖ and ―taking pride and joy in doing more than is required‖ Only 42.2% of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 88 respondents believe that management complies with both tenets of the Work Ethics, whilst as much as 57.8% of think management does not comply. This suggests that management personnel of the Service do not meet time-lines in the performance of their jobs nor do they take joy and pride in their performing their assignments. The latter also implies that they are in the habit of setting personal limits to their commitments and not willing to provide good quality services nor strive for excellence in the service of clients. These conducts are inconsistent with the new Work Ethics. On the positive side of the compliance space however, as many as 36 (80.0%) of the respondents view management personnel to be working to contribute effectively to achieving the goals of their organizations, as against 9 (20.0%) of the respondents who think otherwise. We understand this to mean that management displays an attitude of a sense of urgency to duty, gaining the reputation of being ―counted‖ by the organization and the tendency to rise to the occasion and not neglecting their duties. Furthermore the 68.9% of respondents perceive that management responds to ‗legitimate requests and demands from the public with urgency, promptness and timeliness‘ whilst 31.1% do not support the idea. The preponderance of 68.9% ‗yes‘ respondents over ‗no‘ is an indication of the state of mind of a leadership struggling with mediocrity in work attitude. The statistics from the Chart 4.2.2 showing that 62.2% of the respondents further perceive that on the issue of ‗obeying lawful, legitimate and reasonable instructions using the laid down procedures,‘ management personnel have a mediocre mental attitude. Finally the Chart 4.2.2 shows that 26 (57.8%) of the respondents think that management personnel fails to comply with the tenets of the Ethics requirement, whilst 18 (42.2%) of the respondents think that as top level management they usually comply. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 89 From the discussions of Chart 4.2.2 above, we see a pattern of mediocrity (i.e. generally within the Civil Service, obtaining assessment scores below 70.0% is considered as failure or non-performance). Per the height of the bars which represent their own self-assessment, the respondents failed to comply with most of the tenets of Work Ethics of their organizations. One of the work ethos in which respondents fared worse of is in the issue of ―Reporting for duty punctually‖ – 82.20% - (i.e. punctuality/poor time management) The trends from the assessment of the variables on Work Ethics (Chart 4.2.2) suggests that the results obtained pertaining to time management corroborate with earlier observations made on the ‗Guiding Principles‘ of the Code of Conduct. From both analyses, the results show that the major canker with the top management level personnel of the Civil Service is poor time management or ―Punctuality‖. At this juncture, we can enrich the discussion with information obtained from the non- participant method on poor time management – lateness to work and meetings, poor time management and reporting habits - by the top management echelon of the Civil Service. It was observed that even at high profile statutory meetings of Secretary to the Cabinet and the Head of Civil Service with Chief Directors, held every three months to deliberate on Cabinet Decisions, the Chief Directors recorded high rates of lateness and absenteeism. For instance the attendance records for one such meeting show that out of 24 Chief Directors only 4 were present for the meeting. As many as seven were ‗absent with apologies‘ and six were represented by their line Directors. Altogether eleven were actually absent from the meeting. Though the meeting alluded to several lapses in the job performance of Chief Directors, nothing was done about their absenteeism which is a form of ‗misconduct‘. No pronouncement as an indication of some disciplinary action was made University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 90 nor any sanctions or a word of caution/reprimand for the intransigence of these high level officials until the meeting came to an end. (Eghan, 2011) Indeed the 8 official working hours in the Civil Service runs from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm with the lunch break period spanning 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm. The Work Ethics also requires each Civil Servant to be committed to ‘reporting for duty punctually and in good time before work begins‘ (OHCS, 1999:21). However the observations made earlier in the review of literature, Wood 1986, had mentioned how bad the attitude of some public servants could be with respect to poor time management culture. Yet the Code of Conduct policy is clear in its pronouncement on the matter that: ‗administrative sanctions to be applied where a Civil Servant‘s conduct is found to be inconsistent with the Code‖ and that: ―each person in the Service accepts personal responsibility for developing and exhibiting strong work ethic and affirm his or her commitment to combating negative work habits in the Civil Service of Ghana.‖ (OHCS, 1999:3) When unethical conduct by the top level management is not sanctioned, it creates poor ethical work environment. It should therefore not require a logical mind to second-guess what we should expect from the middle, junior and lower ranks of the organization‘s hierarchy. The implications of this and other evidence of poor working habits of the Chief Directors from the statistical Tables, Charts and Figures in this Chapter have serious consequences for the image of the Civil Service. On the bases of the evidence, it would be fair to suggest that the objectives for the introduction of the new Code of Conduct may be far from being achieved. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 91 4.2.3 Respondents Satisfaction in Staff Compliance with the Work Ethics. On the issue as to whether management was reasonably observing or complying with the approved Work Ethics of the Civil Service, the empirical evidence in Chart 4.2.2 depicts their level of compliance with the seven tenets of the Work Ethics. In eliciting responses on this issue, respondents were asked whether they were satisfied with the compliance to the norms and standards of the Work Ethics by staff of their organizations. In asking this question, the researcher wanted to find out from management their perceptions on the extent to which their subordinates were complying with the new policy. Responses to this question would further enable the researcher assess from respondents if as the policy implementers their style of leadership made it successful for the Work Ethics to become relevant the yardstick for the conduct and norms of their workers, and consequently whether responses can help in verifying the extent to which the objectives of policy have been achieved. We conclude from the data from Chart 4.2.3 above that the performance of management was mediocre. This shows that the policy objective that the new code of Conduct/Work Ethics policy would become the yardstick for the conduct and norms of workers was not achieved. Table 4.2:3 Respondents‟ Satisfaction with Staff Compliance to Approved Work Ethics Level of Satisfaction Frequency PERCENTAGE (%) SOMEWHAT DISSATISFIED 11 24.4 SOMEWHAT SATISFIED 34 75.6 TOTAL 45 100.0 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 92 Table 4.2.3 above shows the degree to which top level management respondents‘ feel satisfied with staff compliance to Work Ethics. To measure the degree of ‗satisfaction‘, a ten-point scale was again fixed as follows: ‗Extremely Dissatisfied‘ = 0 point; ‗Very Dissatisfied‘ = 2 points; ‗Somewhat Dissatisfied‘ = 4 points; ‗Neutral‘ = 6 points; ‗Somewhat Satisfied‘ = 8 points and ‗Extremely Satisfied‘ = 10 points. The responses recorded in Table 4.2:3 above show that whereas out of the 45 respondents 34 (75.6%) were ‗Somewhat Satisfied‘ (8 out of 10 points), only 11 (24.4%) were ‗Somewhat Dissatisfied,‘ (4 out of 10-points). In sum we can say that respondents perceive their subordinated as primarily complying with the new Work Ethics of their organizations. But the compliance is to what extent? The task of management in every organization is to help the individuals achieve their own set goals by directing their efforts towards the attainment of the goals of the organization. (Fulton and Hanks, 1990:258). Indeed a basic presumption of the Civil Service Code of Conduct is that workers have personal responsibility and commitment to comply with the Work Ethics of the Service. (OHCS, 1999) If 75.6% of respondents agree to be ‗somewhat satisfied‘ that their subordinates are complying with approved ethics, this is not surprising. After all the leadership of ‗mediocrity worshipers‘ can only produce mediocre, not excellent followers. In other words, since the leaders themselves exhibit mediocrity in their performance in our previous assessment which was below 70.0%, any wonder that their subordinates would do better. Considering the initial enthusiasm which seems to drive the policy launch, therefore we can safely conclude that only a ‗miracle‘ will help transform the Civil Service culture to achieve the long term goals of the policy. Maintaining the dominance of a mediocrity of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 93 leaders in the Service in a world where clients are demanding and deserves quick solutions to the nation‘s developmental challenges, is most unfair for the Civil Service which is most vilified not only for its negative work ethics, but also for its weak performance and poor Service image. As we have observed from the literature review, there is growing advocacy for more ethical corporate leadership today. (Wong and Beckman, 2008:173- 178). This means more ethically minded and high-flying achievement oriented leadership is required within the Service for the desired organizational culture envisaged and the policy becoming a framework for promoting good governance and projecting the good image of the Civil Service cannot be successfully achieved. Furthermore, the research has shown that the old Human Resource Management (HRM) philosophy and core believes which do not promote organizational efficiency appears to be guiding the respondents in the implementation of the new policy (such as McGregor‘s Theory ‗X‘ and ‗Y‘). This obviously is inimical to the needs of modern organizations. One of the policy‘s goals was to improve the work culture, enhancing the overall professional efficiency and image of the Civil Service. This research considers over 25% non- compliance rate to the new policy by implementers and subordinates as a poor indication that the implementation performance of Directors and Chief Directors of the Ghana Civil Service is a failure. Taking into consideration the inherent inadequacy of McGregor‘s Theory for managing modern businesses, the tenets of modern HRM practices (Gosh, 2000) are without doubt the prudent way forward if the modernization of the work culture of the Civil Service is to be a success. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 94 4:2.4 Respondent‟s View on the Extent to Which they are Providing the Best Ethical Leadership for their Organizations as „Ethical Role Models. Theoretically it is believed that managers of organizational culture these days have little excuse not being able to handle Codes of Ethics/Work Ethics in the workplace effectively. Antoinette Durant (2003) has accentuated the importance of ethical leaders in governance institutions today in her book ―How Important are Ethics in Today‘s Society‖ when she emphasized that: ―The importance of ethics in today‘s society is beyond comprehension, we need people who are ethical in our Governmental system. If we are unable to trust the people we appoint to office to run our country along with their subordinates then our hope for an ethical society will be none-existent‖. (Durant 2003:5). Having this view in mind, the respondents were asked the question under consideration in order to find out whether they were did their best or consider themselves as key providers of ethical leadership for employees of their organizations and directorates. In other words, do top level management personnel see themselves as the best ethics role models for their staff? Against this back ground, respondents were provided a scale of responses from which to select the option which adequately represents their conviction as follows: i) Disagree Completely = 0 ii) Strongly Disagree = 2 iii) Somewhat Disagree = 4 iv) Somewhat Agree = 6 v) Strongly Agree = 8 vi) Agree Completely = 10. Table 4.2.4 below illustrates the extent to which managers agree that they serve as important ethical role models for their organizations. Table 4.2:4 How Managers Perceive Their Ethical Leadership Role (Do You Serve as „Ethics Role Model‟ for your Organization?). Degree of Agreement Frequency Percentage (%) Strongly Agree 28 62.2 Agree Completely 17 37.8 Total 45 100.0 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 95 As shown by the Table 4.2.4 above, 28 (62.2%) of the respondents ‗Strongly Agree‘ (8/10 point level) that they provide the best ethical leadership for staff of their organizations whilst 17 (37.8%) ‘Agree Completely.‘ (10/10 point level). Interestingly, none of the respondents felt he/she was performing at Average (6/10 point level) or below ‗Disagree‘ with the assertion of the question. This shows a high level perception of the respondents because as top level management personnel of the Service they see themselves as key players and indispensable in the provision of excellent ethical leadership for subordinates of their organizations. In view of such high level of self-assessment about their own ethical leadership roles for their organizations, there is the need to test the first hypothesis of the study at this stage. TEST OF HYPOTHESIS: The first hypothesis to be tested relates directly to the second objective of the study to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions the implementers have about the new policy. This is a non-directional (two-tailed test) is a measure of how high or low the perception of the leaders perception about the Code and Ethics of the policy. In this regard, the Null Hypothesis is stated as: Null Hypothesis (Ho): That top level managers of the Civil Service do NOT show a low perception level of the Civil Service Code of Conduct/Work Ethics. Alternative Hypothesis (H1): That top level management of the Civil Service show a low perception level of the Civil Service Code of Conduct/Work Ethics. The figures used in the computerization of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) are shown in Table I & Table II, in APPENDIX II. and the test results are presented as follows: University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 96 TEST RESULTS: The test results are as follows:  Mean =1.444  Standard deviation = 0.659  Two-tailed (Significance), t* = 0.000, and the associated df = 44  level of significance = 0.05 (0.025 for two-tail)  t 0.025,44=2.021 INTERPRETATION The figures from the table show that the two-tailed significant value of 0.00 is less than 2.021 (i.e. at 95% Confidence Level). The Decision Rule is that we compare the computed statistics---with the Critical Region values---which will cause rejection or acceptance of the Null Hypothesis. The Rule of Thumb is: a) Accept the Null Hypothesis if the computed statistics falls between the critical region and the mean; OR, b) Reject the Null Hypothesis if the computed statistics falls outside the critical region values. Since t*