Essay Example on Government Contracting: Navigating Ethics, Reform, and Accountability

Most of the government work takes place by contract. The Iraq war brought to public attention the existence of a reality that had not been revealed. Emerging discussion on the double growth of the defense department, resulting in a lion's share, proves the government's inability to account for its contracts. The US experienced a decline in the acquisition of the workforce who urgently needed to execute different roles. The public learned that core laws enacted to hold officials accountable likely did not apply. They also learned that policies and regulations designed to account for contractors involved long-standing policies and statutory preferences. Also, top officials were in control, making the citizens have less say in the whole process. The government must ensure public contracting is aligned with ethics to match the established laws that require a transparent, accountable, and fair process.

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The mid-20century congressional hearing focused on cost overruns and the expenses of contracting in consideration to the defense department. However, despite reforms for decades, the underlying causes have been resistant to change. Both DOD contract management and DOD weapon system acquisition for 20 years have been at high risk now, and there have been concerns regarding what to buy and the process to follow (Danielle, 2012). To create a balance in the whole process, the government needs to understand the level of work contracted and the level of competition. The new administration quickly acted following the urge for reforms by former president Barrack Obama (Taponen & Kauppi, 2017). The promise offered included the reform of government policy, ensuring competition, and bolstering workforce acquisition.

Nevertheless, the reforms neglected the rule due to various assumptions of contracting laws and non-compliance with established policies. The first premise is that fundamental rules should govern contractors and officials involved. The rule of law requires government officials to protect citizens from the misuse of funds and define their authority (Taponen & Kauppi, 2017). The 14 Amendments and the Bill of rights offer ethics rules, and freedom of information, which apply to government and private sectors.

The ethical misconduct resulting from Iraq stimulated widespread awareness. For instance, it harnessed private enterprise for public purposes and provided political and technical support for welfare tasks (Guy & Ely, 2018). Public contracting is not suitable in the hands of private sectors considering the public interest would be at stake. As a result, the government should deploy an official or organization that is entrusted with the duty. President Obama's administration offered several alternatives to unlock the current contracting stalemates. The proposal issued involved better contracting management, performance contracts, commitment to competition, reformulation, and increased public participation.

The ethical obligations need alignment with the taxpayers’ money used to provide practical and technical learning to offer information freedom. Contract employees are required to learn new skills and have real-time access to information, compared to ordinary citizens who need more effort to do the same. Additionally, officials and contractors coming together in one goal is a significant aspect compared to the previous strategy of a revolving door (Larson, 2019). Controlling organizational conflict of interest has been successful with the development of OCI rules. Disappointed bidders are empowered to understand the contracting process and ensure accountability and integrity are followed, and the winning business has been awarded in a free and fair manner. The government should protect the public interest from threats during the contracting process. Limited rights are offered for the citizen to participate in the process, with the audit being carried out to review areas of conflict of interest to ensure transparency and accountability. The disclosure process is a crucial factor during contracting. If not considered, the whole system can fail. As a result, the government needs to take specific measures to ensure disclosure of information becomes a priority in public contracting (Larson, 2019). Current policy advocates that contracts be awarded to an ethical contractor with a satisfactory record of business and integrity. Additionally, harmonizing the contracting process to eliminate cases where large contractors take advantage of small businesses requires the government to employ a debarment and suspension system to control the process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is time to explore the efficacy and possibility of public service ethics to govern all those who execute government operations. Various reforms have had a significant impact on the reinforcement of weak areas. For instance, comparative advantage has grown based on factors such as information asymmetry and logic, resulting in ethical principles. The revolving door assures contractors a steady flow and understanding of the enacted policies. Contracting appears to be a global phenomenon for which appropriate local modification adopted by the American system has led to strengthening the ability to solve issues that may arise in contracting and other government operations. Although contracting is a lucrative industry for small and large businesses, enacting a more sober approach can protect the billions of dollars spent on various government projects. As a result, it will ensure public expenditure on various amenities proposed has been achievable without corruption, fraud, and bribery. Nevertheless, the government needs to be keen on ethical violations in the contracting process. Public officials need to portray a high level of integrity and transparency in their undertakings of various contracts.

Reference

Danielle, B. (2012, March 14). Government accountability: The conflict between ethics and reality in the military-industrial complex. Pogo. https://www.pogo.org/investigation/2012/03/government-accountability-conflict-between-ethics-and-reality-in-military-industrial-complex/

Guy, M. E., & Ely, T. L. (2018). Essentials of public service: An introduction to contemporary public administration. Melvin & Leigh Publishers.

Larson, S. J. (2019). Essentials of public service: An introduction to contemporary public administration. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 25(3), 423-425. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1511103

Taponen, S., & Kauppi, K. (2017). Forget “blind leading the seeing”–improving public service management. International Journal of Public Administration, 40(13), 1114-1128. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2016.1242617