What is Good and What is Right: Ethics in Montana Municipal Government

Abstract

To determine the effects of a formal ethics program on observations of misconduct, reporting of misconduct, and perception of ethical culture, two Montana First Class cities were selected to study. A 38-item survey was utilized and independent-samples t tests were calculated. Three years after implementation, a formal ethics program made a significant difference in Ethics Code Awareness, Perceptions of Ethics Program Effectiveness and Perceptions of Access to Ethics Information. No significant differences were found between employee groups on Ethical Decision-Making, Perceptions of Ethical Resources Scale - Time and Money, Perceptions of Informal Ethical Norms, and Perceptions of Ethical Leadership. There were no significant differences in observations of misconduct or reporting of misconduct among the employee groups.