Essay Example on City Managers: Ensuring Economic Development Amidst Population Growth

Due to the availability of job opportunities in cities, there has been natural population growth, making it difficult to manage. City mayors are obligated to employ city managers to play a central role between politics and administration. The main reason for the employment of a city manager is to ensure a durable economic development through the fulfillment of public interest under the ethical code of conduct and oath of office of the profession (Thaler & Helmig, 2016).

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A city manager is required to find an intersection between social responsibility and public interest. Social responsibility involves a person’s accountability in fulfilling their civil duties and participating in activities that benefit society. The public interest requires a personal assessment of one's actions to see their impacts on the people they directly interact with. These two aspects intersect in that they are both involved in maintaining an equilibrium between one's duty and satisfaction of society's needs (Mensah, Agyapong and Nuertey, 2017). As a city manager, it is essential to actively assess myself as I perform my duties, to ensure they are effective and beneficial in satisfying the needs of the citizens.

My responsibilities as a city manager are to practically focus on the daily city activities and programs to ensure they are beneficial to the people I serve. I manage the city budgets, oversee city personnel, improve their professional abilities, and provide important services such as safe water supplies, trash pickups, and recycling programs. I arrange meetings with several heads of departments to identify and resolve issues arising and ensure completion of reports and studies that have been commissioned by the mayor. I respond to and address delicate questions by citizens and media regarding the city council. I work on important developmental projects and make recommendations to the mayor and other city leaders regarding project costs, budgets, and needs of employees.

The code of office for public service in this profession encourages transparency, openness, and accountability (Yusuph, Guohua and Abeid, 2016). I keep the community and stakeholders informed on all the affairs of the local government through reports. I also encourage citizen communication with the city government officers to ensure their interests are captured and satisfied through developmental projects.

To make my decisions, I consider the right of citizens, focus on fulfilling the interests of the society, follow the accepted values, and the principle of democratic governance. I will use these aspects to efficiently and effectively foster developmental projects and provide quality and timely services to the public. I will separate myself from all political influences and actively follow and act in the socially accepted norms of behavior of my society.

In reference to the ‘Code of Ethics for United States Government Service' (Robert, 2020), I add that a city manager should be a resident with knowledge, understanding, and interest in the city's needs. She should be loyal to the city mayor and affirm the worth and dignity of the city services, work tirelessly towards the interests of the city, and developing projects. She should submit all proposals to the mayor and stakeholders, offer professional and technical advice about plans and policy options, and be involved in setting community and organization goals.

Conducting oneself in a professional, legal and ethical manner is essential to achieving set goals (Thaler & Helmig, 2016). Performing my duties in the accepted code of conduct will enable the public service organization and me to deliver and accomplish the developmental projects and services to the community effectively. The law of conduct gives a person a sense of commitment to an organization (Yusuph, Guohua and Abeid, 2016). Failure to conduct in an accepted manner will lead to discontinuation in developing and reaching set targets. The inability to accomplish set goals will discourage society and stakeholder participation in projects of the public office. This act may make stakeholders invest in other ventures and withdraw their support from the city organization. Therefore, conducting oneself in a legal and ethical manner is essential to achieving social responsibilities and public interests.

References

Longley, Robert. (2020, February 11). Code of Ethics for United States Government Service. https://www.thoughtco.com/code-of-ethics-for-us-government-service-4052443

Mensah, H. K., Agyapong, A., & Nuertey, D. (2017). The effect of corporate social responsibility on organizational commitment of employees of rural and community banks in Ghana. Cogent Business & Management, 4(1), 1280895.

Thaler, J., & Helmig, B. (2016). Do codes of conduct and ethical leadership influence public employees’ attitudes and behaviours? An experimental analysis. Public Management Review, 18(9), 1365-1399.

Yusuph, M. L., Guohua, W., & Abeid, A. R. (2016). Code of ethics and conducts in public service: The litmus test for public administrators ethical decision making in resolving ethical dilemmas: A comparative study of Tanzania and South Africa. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) e-ISSN, 79-87. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ahmed_Abeid2/publication/312968090_Code_of_Ethics_and_Conducts_in_Public_Service_The_Litmus_Test_for_Public_Administrators_Ethical_Decision_Making_in_Resolving_Ethical_Dilemmas_A_Comparative_Study_of_Tanzania_and_South_Africa/links/588b51e192851c02fa5f9076/Code-of-Ethics-and-Conducts-in-Public-Service-The-Litmus-Test-for-Public-Administrators-Ethical-Decision-Making-in-Resolving-Ethical-Dilemmas-A-Comparative-Study-of-Tanzania-and-South-Africa.pdf