IS THERE STILL A PUBLIC SECTOR ETHIC?
An International Symposium on Ethics in the Public and Private Sectors
organised by Royal Holloway in association with Philosophy of Management
Thursday 6 November 2003 10.30 am - 6.30 pm
The Picture Gallery
Royal Holloway University of London
Egham, Surrey
M25 Junction 13
Nearest airport: Heathrow (7 miles)
40 minutes by rail from Waterloo Eurostar terminal
SPEAKERS
o Baroness Warnock of Weeke
Formerly Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge
o Dr Piers Benn
Lecturer in Medical Ethics & Law, Imperial College, London
o Professor Charles Berg
Professor at the Institut Superieur d'Etudes et de Recherches
Pedagogiques,
Luxemburg University
o Dr Bob Brecher
Reader in Philosophy, School of Historical and Critical Studies,
University of Brighton
o Dr Bruce Charlton
Reader in Evolutionary Psychiatry, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
o Stuart Etherington
Chair, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
CONFERENCE CHAIRS
o Professor John Edwards
Professor of Social Policy, Royal Holloway, University of London
o Nigel Laurie
Management Consultant and Editor & Publisher, Philosophy of Management
(formerly Reason in Practice)
CONTEXT AND PURPOSE
In recent years managers and markets have come to play key roles in a public
sector constantly required to show improved performance and delivery
against a background of scarce resources, rising expectations and increasing
transparency. Public accountability, audits and league tables have become
guarantors of performance where once an ethic of public service and the
demands of professionalism ruled. As a result, some would argue that the
public sector traditions of service and professionalism and the very notion
of a public sector ethic are under increasing strain. Others contend that
consumer choice, the rigour of the market and managed services offer more
than the traditional ethic could ever hope to provide.
The public sector has therefore had to adapt to a grafting of managerial
styles with little apparent concern for the full benefits and costs of
trying to merge managerialism with public service. We know some of the
costs affecting providers: doctors who feel they have lost control of their
work to managers; teachers who feel their public standing has collapsed;
public sector professionals who feel they have lost their autonomy under a
welter of monitoring and measurement.
Such responses point to a fundamental concern. What damage - if any - is
being done to the public sector ethic of service and the autonomy of
professionals?
The march of managerialism, however, might not be the sole cause of the
perceived weakening of an ethic of public service. The decay of a
professional ethic is further advanced in the private sector from whence
comes the more persuasive threat. Privatism has been grafted on to the
public sector alongside managerialism. Patients, pupils, students, the
recipients of social work, all are now placed in a market as clients or
customers and professional autonomy has been subverted by the demands of
productivity in serving them. Private choice has perhaps supplanted
public good.
This symposium will bring together experts in ethics and in the public and
private sectors to present their latest thinking on these matters and open
up debate on an area of critical concern. The symposium is organised to
provide plentiful opportunities for formal and informal discussion.
o The ethics of managerialism vs the ethics of professionalism
o Autonomy vs performance measurement
o The purposes of the public sectors
o Public ethics vs the ethics of the market
o Do we need a public sector?
o Public sector users as citizens
o Is the public sector morally superior to the market?
o The ethics of service in a world of consumers
o Are public sector professionals equipped to make rationing decisions?
o Meeting needs vs maximising welfare
o Are ethics negotiable?
o Is political correctness the real enemy of traditional ethics?
o The ethics of multicultural provision
o Difference, diversity and the public ethic
o Is affirmative action unethical?
o Fear and loathing in the town hall, at the politicisation of professional
ethics
o Is there a trade off between ethical behaviour and doing it for profit?
For further information contact
Nigel Laurie
Tel/fax: +44 (0)1883 715419
email [log in to unmask]
REGISTRATION
£50 including tea, lunch, coffee and reception
Unwaged: £30 Students: free (subject to availability)
Please use the form below
IS THERE STILL A PUBLIC SECTOR ETHIC?
Thursday 6 November 2003
10.30 am - 6.30 pm
The Picture Gallery
Royal Holloway University of London
Egham, Surrey
________________________________________________________________
REGISTRATION FORM
The fee includes coffee, lunch, tea and a reception
Please send
... Standard tickets at £50.00
.
.. Unwaged delegate tickets at £30.00
... Free student tickets (subject to availability)
Make cheques payable to "RHUL" and mark clearly on the reverse "Ethics
Symposium"
Enclose an sae with this form and return to:
Professor John Edwards
Department of Social and Political Science
Royal Holloway University of London
Egham Surrey TW20 0EX UK
Print your name here as it should appear on your name badge
Please indicate how many vegetarian lunches are required
Contact: Nigel Laurie
telephone +44 (0)1883 715419
email [log in to unmask]
Conference details are published in good faith but the organisers reserve
the right to make changes to any aspect of the event if, in their opinion,
forces beyond their control make this necessary.
To secure a place your booking must reach us by Monday 20 October
Nigel Laurie
Editor and Publisher
Philosophy of Management (formerly Reason in Practice)
74a Station Road East
Oxted
Surrey RH8 0PG
UK
Tel/fax +44 (0)1883 715419
Visit our website at www.managementphilosophers.com
Join the ManagementPhilosophers discussion list
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