Practices and challenges of civil service ethics in service delivery of the administrative staff of jimma university main campus

Abstract

The main objective of this study designed to evaluate the practices, challenges and relationship of civil service ethics and service delivery in administrative staff of Jimma University main campus. A descriptive survey method that involved both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed. Data were collected from 342 employees of administrative staff through simple random sampling technique and from 3 top officials who were selected through purposive sampling technique. Questionnaire and interview were the predominant data collection tools whereby the former was used to collect data from employees of administrative staff and the latter for the three top officials. Tables, frequency counts, percentages, mean scores and standard deviations, correlation and regression were used to analyze the quantitative data whereas the qualitative data were analyzed through narrations. The analysis, hence, made it possible major findings that extraordinary lack of public servants accountability, lack of employees’ integrity, lack of honesty, lack of impartiality, lack of competences, lack of serving the public interest, lack of respecting the law, and lack of transparency were observed at study area. It was also found that poor mechanisms to reward employees who demonstrate exemplary behavior as major reasons that caused the prevailing ethical problems at study area. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that employees are an engine of a government that enables Jimma university main campus to translate public policies into practices. Therefore, to realize the better professional ethics and service delivery, it’s necessary to give more attention to solve those problems at the study area. It is recommended that it is advisable to give adequate continuous on job and off job trainings to employees and even for top officials to promote their performance based on professional ethics. It is better to be free of top official and employees from inappropriate interferences and job assignments and appointments should be only based on merits. It is also better to establish appropriate reward program to promote performance of employees. Finally, it needs comprehensive research investigations regarding public servants professional ethics in public universities on the topic area.