role as a public administrator is usually beset by conflicts. These conflicts, as in all organizations, stem from the vested interests of various individuals with their own agendas meeting personal objectives while working in a public institution. In private companies, performance stems from imperatives to meet fiscal objectives; generating revenue and having the ability to borrow more money to finance new projects. No such natural restraint exists in the public sector, where monetary success elevates one leader while destroying another. One method of getting ahead, in any situation, is to tell blatant lies about another. This is the subject of Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life.

Lying is sometimes appropriate in one's role as a public administrator. This is because the life of a public institution, as well as its funding, depends on political patronage. It is always critical that public administrators maintain that the public institution is...
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