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Following is a speech by the Acting Secretary for the Civil Service, Ms Anissa Wong, at the Ethical Leadership Forum 2000 today (March 30):
Ethical Leadership and the Civil Service
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Commissioner, Dr Cheng, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am extremely delighted to have this opportunity to address the Forum today. My purpose is to share with you some thoughts on "ethical leadership" and how this relates to the Civil Service.
Ethical Leadership
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The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines Ethics as "Relating to morals, treating of moral questions, morally correct, honourable." And "Set of principles of morals, science of morals, moral principles, rules of conduct, whole field of morale science."
As for leadership; a leader is defined as a person or organisation followed by others. By extension, therefore leadership can be defined as the ability to get others to follow.
Combining these two definitions gives a simple basis on which to articulate this important phrase. That is: "the ability to lead others to follow a set of principles of morals as set out in clearly defined rules of conduct."
If that is all that is meant by the phrase, then assuming ethical leadership must be a simple matter of setting out appropriate rules and then ensuring compliance with them. The civil service certainly has no problem with setting rules: after all, that is what we do best! We have the Civil Service Regulations, the Financial Regulations, the Security Regulations, Regulations relating to office practice, to procurement of goods and services and, of course, on corruption prevention.
So the rules of conduct exist. Are these sufficient in themselves? It seems to me there must be something else, something above the rules to support and promote acceptance of the rules.
What needs to be in place is a shared set of values which represent the ethical standards we want to achieve through the rules.
As Betrand Russell is reported to have said: "Man is not a solitary animal, and so long as social life survives, self-realisation cannot be the supreme principle of ethics."
The essential feature of every cohesive system is that they have a set of values which are genuinely shared by the vast majority of the members of the organisation, the company or the community. Individual organisations develop their own set of values in conformity to the overriding socially acceptable norms.
Invariably, these values are relevant to the business practice of the organisations. Some will go so far as to set down the values the organisation will strive to achieve in its attitudes to its workforce, its suppliers and clients. Others go even further to determine a set of values which encompass their role in the community, not just in a business context but also a social, political or charitable context.
I have come across companies which encourage staff to get involved in voluntary work, some commit to contribute certain fixed amounts of their profit to help charitable causes. Others have gone so far as to set up charitable Funds through which they support worthy causes. Of course, many will participate in the life of the community in other ways. Some are committed to ethical business practices, paying their staff fair wages and providing reasonable benefits, treating their suppliers and customers fairly. Some take extra care to ensure the impact of their activities on the environment is minimized, some contribute to education, some to research. Many organizations encourage their staff to take an interest in the political development of the community, to register as voters, to stand for election.
Why do organisations feel that it is worth their while to have value systems which go beyond their basic functional needs?
I believe the answer lies in the realisation that no entity can survive in a vacuum. Successful organisations invariably come to recognise they have a social responsibility. The fact is that shared values are the glue which binds human enterprise together.
Shared Values in the Civil Service
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Now over 190,000 strong, the Hong Kong Civil Service in the single largest employer in the territory. Our range of jobs is enormous, from the mundane to the exciting. The civil service has a leading role to play in promoting Hong Kong as a successful and attractive place in which to live and work. That role can only be effectively discharged if we maintain public support to our work.
Our free and open society means that members of the public have access to an enormous amount of information. Every action, every decision taken and every comment made by a civil servant today runs the risk of being subject to the minute scrutiny of a vocal and critical media, well-organised community groups, the legislature and any of the other monitoring bodies which make up the Special Administrative Region's administrative framework.
This is the reality facing the civil service now and the situation will no doubt continue. Don't misunderstand me: I do not see this as a bad thing. I am a firm believer that we cannot just rely on the conscience of civil servants for good governance. As Civil Service Bureau, we have a responsibility to ensure the civil service remains clean, efficient and responsive to the needs of the community, and I welcome the scrutiny of Government, which is vital in an open and equitable society. We have nothing to fear from such scrutiny.
The civil service undoubtedly has a leading role to play in helping to shape the social value system and secure adherence to it.
As part of this the civil service value system is an important matter for the community. Why? Because of the unique position in society of the civil service and the role model which the civil service must be for the community.
If ethical leadership means anything, it must mean that we can only lead by example. We must not tolerate any failure to adhere to our own core values if we expect to be able to secure acceptance to the wider societal values which we espouse.
Just under two years ago, the Chief Secretary for Administration gave an opening address to a seminar on Maintaining Integrity in the Civil Service. She set out six key principles which form the basis of the shared value system in the civil service. These principles are :
* Commitment to the rule of law
* Honesty and integrity above private interests
* Accountability and openness in decision-making and in all our actions
* Political neutrality in conducting our official duties
* Impartiality in the execution of public functions
* Dedication and diligence in serving the community
The Chief Secretary went on to say that all civil servants must adhere to these core values.
We do not need to look too far back into our history to see a time when corruption was endemic both in the civil service and in the community as a whole. It has taken the concerted efforts of the ICAC, the civil service and the community working together over many years to make Hong Kong one of the least corrupt places in Asia, if not the world.
Clearly the threat of corruption is ever present, and we must ensure that we never become complacent. We must constantly work to ensure that all our staff understand and comply with the core values.
The process starts with induction. Staff are given sessions on corruption prevention, service to the community and the core values. They are also given a handy guide book on the standard of behaviour expected of staff at all levels. Of course we also make it clear that deviation from the standards expected will not be tolerated and strict action is always taken against those found to fall short.
Our Civil Service Regulations codify almost all aspects of the management and administration of the civil service. As we gradually move away from a prescriptive management approach to encourage greater flexibility and discretion among departments and agencies, there is a need for the Civil Service Regulations to be updated and refined to give clear guidance to managers and staff on the standards and values required of the civil service. We shall continue to review the various CSRs on conduct and discipline to ensure that they do serve this purpose, always bearing in mind the need to conform with our shared value system.
There can be no debate about this: the civil service from top to bottom must maintain the highest standards of behaviour both in public and in private. The community has high expectations of its civil servants. We must constantly strive to meet these expectations.
We pride ourselves that Hong Kong has a modern legal system and that we adhere to the Rule of Law. We can say so with confidence only because the community has accepted a shared value system which places social stability above personal advantage.
There are strong pressures which could destroy our system if we are not vigilant. Corruption is undoubtedly the most insidious and most difficult to defeat. Yet there are other pressures with equally damaging potential. Pornography, drug abuse, discrimination, and of course crime in all its forms pose their own threats to society.
With all these pressures, ethical leadership, which I have defined as "the ability to lead others to follow a set of principles of morals as set out in clearly defined rules of conduct" is not just desirable but an imperative.
Does the civil service have the qualities to qualify as an ethical leader?
I believe the Hong Kong civil service has a justifiable claim to this role and I hope I have been able to indicate why this is.
Thank you.
End/Thursday, March 30, 2000
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