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H.A. KHAN
the terms being used, the advocates of good governance and the quality of government assert that public service ethics is a crucial element of governance. Without ethics, the search for good governance is fruitless. Without ethics, government resources will be mismanaged; and in an extreme situation will cause serious devastation and the failure of the states. The term public ethics includes the values and norms and the moral standards or principles that guide the public services. Ethics are the defined as the code of conduct.
Globalization and Corruption Globalization has opened up, on the one hand, opportunities to ensure accountability, and, on the other, opportunities for corruption. It provides opportunities for multinational corporations to locate their businesses outside their national borders, especially in the developing countries, which do not have strict enforcement of laws regulating business, labor and the environment. Furthermore, many developing countries characterized by a high level of corruption allow multinational corporations to bypass laws through the payments of bribes or tax sweeteners. Therefore, one of the major challenges for developed countries is how to enforce laws on the companies, which are located beyond their borders. The challenge for developing countries, by contrast, is to enforce laws without discouraging investment in their countries. There is thus a “race to the bottom” among the developing countries in terms of the enforcement of business, labor, and environmental regulations since stricter laws can deter potential investors. Therefore, developing countries must balance economic interest and the protection of labor and environmental interests. Although labor and environmental degradation can lead to long-term problems for nations, governments in developing countries especially feel the urgency to solve the economic problems of unemployment and poverty. Within this context, the challenge for public administration is to establish ethics and accountability, which would promote good governance and quality of government. Corruption in the government can have far- reaching consequences that affect the whole population. Corruption, on the part of either an individual or an organization, can have a damaging impact on the people affected. Corruption by the government, however, can have devastating effects on everybody in the country. In a globalized world, corruption by a government can have an effect that is limited not to a single country, but spreads across many countries.
