Administrative ethics
The moral attributes that a person exercises in an administration office are such as honesty and devotion to a person’s duties; principles and a sense of responsibility for one’s actions and words that the person uses is part of administrative ethics.
Moral principles which a person should apply in administrative ethics specify the rights and duties that a person should respect especially when dealing with matters that seriously affect other individuals and the entire society. The principles also specify conditions that collective policies and practices should satisfy when dealing with individual persons or the society.
Order custom essay Administrative ethics with free plagiarism report
450+ experts on 30 subjects
Starting from 3 hours delivery
A person with morals of should ask whether the action performed serves everyone’s interest and whether it is accepted by all even those who were not aware of their particular circumstances. However it should not be specific to one person because this neglects the opinion of others which is vital and needs to be considered when dealing with people. (Thompson, 1985).
Statistics show that America has over 250,000 rivers which occupy a space of 3.5miles of its land. Its largest river is the Mississippi river which at its mouth has a flow volume of 593,000 cubic feet per second. The longest river in America is river Missouri whose length is about 2,500 miles. Other rivers are such as Yukon, Rio Grande, St. Lawrence, Arkansas, Colorado, Atchafalaya, Ohio, Red, Brazos, Columbia and Snake among others.
Since the signing of declaration of independence for America, rapid building of dams in the rivers have taken place and currently statistics show that 600,000 miles of rivers in America have been used for dams which range between 60,000 to 80,000 in number. These figures amount to 17% percent of the nation’s river mileage.
95% of dams in the U.S. are owned by private companies or persons and they are regulated by the state dam safety agencies in the country. The dams provide many benefits both to the owners and the country and the people around the facility.
Domestic water supply, flood protection, hydro electric power, industrial water supply, agriculture and recreation are some of the benefits that are derived from dam construction.
On the other hand, dams can cause economic and societal risks such as floods, excessive leakage and internal erosion of the land beneath the dam. Dams can cause both positive and negative effects on the environmental, effects on wild life living in the rivers and the economy of a country.
This therefore calls for careful construction to eliminate the negative effects. The persons who have the interest of dam construction should therefore ask themselves whether it is morally to go ahead and build it. They should be able to know whether their actions are right and whether they bring a good effect in the other person or not.
Since the start of building of dams in America, the receivors have brought many effects on the environment; both positive and negative. On the positive side, dams have proofed to be very useful to the people as well as the country itself. The dams have been used for recreation, for controlling floods as well as for generation of power and job creation. (Macline & Siccohio, 1999).
There are several positive effects on the environment that result from construction of dam; the following are some of the benefits enjoyed by the environment and support dam construction.
According to (Moignr, Feder & Garbus, 1992), dam construction and holding of reservoirs have prevented sediments from moving down the stream or going to the shows of beaches on lakes and oceans. This makes the ocean shows and the river streams clean.
Dams are able to control floods in their area of construction and thus reduce the dangers that are related to floods such as death of people and animals, loss of property and destruction of agricultural land. Drainage in the area and land improvement precautions are improved and this results to increase in soil productivity and consequently increased production of agricultural products.
Dam construction reduce the pollution effect especially in the downstream because their storage reservoirs which reduce the pollution materials coming from upstream.
People in the area benefit from electricity energy generated from the dams thus increasing productivity and general development in the area.
Dam construction in and area brings an increase in number of transport means especially if there is waterway transport services. There is increased availability of drinking and domestic water in homesteads therefore people lead a more comfortable life. This means that people have access to safe drinking water within their reach and they are able to use the water for their dairy chores.
Agricultural production is increased due to availability of irrigation water from the constructed dams in an area. Fishing activities also take place in the dams improving people’s lives as well as raising their living standards.
However negative effects are also experienced in the environment due to construction of dams.
Dam construction leads to change of water flow which changes and interrupts most of the ecological processes of a river. Sediments of a river, nutrients, biota and energy of a river are interrupted by dam construction.
The dams have also brought severe detrimental effects to the environment which includes loss of animals that live in water, soil erosion and loss of land.
According to (Scott & Smith, 2001), dam construction results to destruction of nature which changes water regime and as a result some detrimental effects may take place such as; unexpected floods and destruction of vegetation and nature structures which have formed on the river banks.
Earth quakes can also be experienced around the area due to the large volume of water which is filled in the water receivers. This was experienced in America as a result of construction of Hoover dam, the area near the dam has now been depressed bringing serious environmental problem. Old dams have also collapsed due to the weight of the lake which has resulted to many deaths and floods in an area. . (Duflo &Pande, 2007).
Problems have also been experienced between two countries as a result of blockage of water due to a dam construction in one country and hindering flow of water of that river into the next country. Dam construction also results in increase in evaporation of water due to the increase in the water surface area.
Change in climate is experienced due to changes in air moisture percentage, big scales of air movement and change of temperature due to the big mass of stagnant water in an area. Although these changes are not harmful to humans, they are experienced and can be noted in animals and plants which in turn bring secondary effects to humans.
Floods experienced as a result of dam construction lead to loss of soil and water nutrients and therefore the agricultural activities in the area are affected greatly. (Shai, 2007).
Increase in water borne diseases such as typhoid, typhus, fever, malaria and cholera may be experienced by humans due to the stagnant water caused by dam construction.
Dam construction affects social, cultural and economic structures of people’s lives especially those who are forced to move out of their homesteads and settle in different areas so the dams cab be constructed.
Apart from the environment, construction of dams also has effects on wild life that live in water masses. Fish, crocodiles, hippopotamus and other reptiles are affected both negatively and positively by the construction of dams.
There are several positive effects experienced by the wildlife;
Construction of dams on rivers have created a clean environment for egg laying fishes in the ocean and the river beds because holding of sediments by the dams has prevented the sediments from interfering with the zones where the fish and other animals lay their eggs.
Construction of dams may also result to generation of new species in the water masses. This is due to the change in temperature of the water, change in salt concentration and change in oxygen distribution in water. (Scott & Smith, 2001),
Apart from the benefits drawn from dam construction by the animals, there are negative effects which actually outlay the positive effects.
Constructions of dams on rivers hinder reproduction of migrating fishes due to the flood effect that destroy the egg beds where the animals initially laid their eggs. The egg bed is also destructed as a result of digging up of the bed and the varnishing works done on them. (Macline & Siccohio, 1999).
Dams hinder the normal passing ways of aquatic animals. This leads to reduction in population of aquatics especially fish due to lack of ovulation and feeding of animals especially those that are upstream. There is a likelihood of fish damage as they pass through the turbines, floodgates and pumps of the dams. Drainage of marshy waters and other water masses as the construction work goes on affects the animals living in them and they may also die. (Moignr, Feder & Garbus, 1992),
Water quality changes greatly due to drainage of irrigation water, this may lead to increase in salt density in the water and over transfer of food raising the emergence of water lichens and also change the living species which are in the water. Species may also change due to erosion caused by human activities and increased mud levels in the water due to the construction of the dams.
Dam construction results to discharge of toxic materials in the water such as toxic metals and pesticides. This affects sensitive animals, changes their food chains and may also result to extinction of the animals due to death. (McCranes, 1978).
The water at the bottom of a reservoir of a dam is usually very cold as compared to the normal water flowing in the rivers; the same water does not have enough oxygen and this puts a great risk to the animals which live downstream because they experience a different environment and they are likely to migrate or even die as a result.
Dam construction in an area brings several economic changes which may be for the benefit of the country and the people living around or may lead to destruction of the economy.
(Duflo &Pande, 2007), examined dam effects in a country and concluded that the population of people living downstream benefit in a large way especially from the water from the dams and they don’t have to rely on rainfall for they crops; they are able to irrigate their land and therefore lead to increase agricultural productivity in the area. Their land in insulated from precipitation shortfall and increase their yields.
Importance of dams in an economy is that it produces electricity at a constant rate which is used to develop the place by being in areas such as factories, schools, recreational areas and other areas that improve an economy of a place.
Electricity from the dams is also economically viable because it can be shut down when not in use, the dams are also able to produce electricity for, and many years therefore they give a surety of power for economical use.
Dam construction in an area is said to bring employment opportunities for the people who live in the area. Dams need a lot of human resource during its construction and after, casual workers, engineers and other important posts need to be filled to ensure that its construction and management is well carried out. Many people therefore are able to benefit from employment and this improves their living stands as well as their economy.
There is increased trade in the area which improves the lives of the people living there. Small businesses thrive and therefore the economic level of the place as well as the people goes up and the living standards become better.
Industrial development in the area speeds up, due to irrigation of crops and availability of hydro electric power. Food production becomes high and therefore the people are able to feed well and trade with other products.
On the other hand, the economy may experience negative effects from dams; the negative effects of dams to the economy of an area are mostly experienced by the people living upstream, this is because their land and forests are destroyed particularly when the dams’ receivers are filled.
Increase in salinity and excessive diffusion of land which is near the dam area, also damages production activities of the people living upstream due to this, it reduces agricultural products, they also suffer from rainfall reduction and rapid reduction of their yields. (Duflo &Pande, 2007).
Dam construction and especially Yosemite dam led to destruction of a national park which was known for its positive land use and instead the land was flooded so as to create a recreational around the dam. This shows that construction of dams results to loss of useful land which would have otherwise be very productive.
Dam construction however is very expensive and it has to be built at a very high standard, this means that a lot of money is spent in the construction process and once the dam is finished, it takes many years for it to bring profits to the country.
Dam construction brings loss of businesses and homes for people as a result suffer economic losses. Areas that flood due to the dam also cause people to move out of their lands and many of their crops and property is destroyed. (Kader, 2000).
Dams bring recreational services to an area and these services improve the area in a positive way. Dam construction leads to attraction of both domestic and international tourists. Dams also provide water sports, pleasure activities as well as leisure especially from the dams that form behind the dams.
Dam construction brings about many developments in an area. Social building such as hotels, clubs and restaurants thrive in the area and attracts many people from the area and also from outside the region. Schools, churches and hospitals also develop in the area thus creating better living standards for the people and bringing the area into life and making people become more active.
New roads are also constructed as a result of dam construction in the area. This means that people are able to access the area well for recreation and other reasons.
The political issues that arise as a result of building dams in American rivers determine whether the rivers are being managed or mismanaged, this is due to the fact that America and its citizens depends on the health of these rivers and the decisions which are made should go beyond dam building or dam removal into the society that depends on these rivers for survival.
Policy makers in America are putting their effort in changing the management of the rivers in America by trying to remove dams which are built in them and simulating the seasonal flow of the rivers so as to restore the habitat; their work however has had an unstable degrees of success. (Workman, 2006).
Many people who have dealt with dam politics like William Lowry described the efforts to restore rivers in America by looking at how rivers and public policy interact. He looked at the physical differences in rivers which affect the set policies as go further to analyzing political difference of the different people who use the rivers.
Rivers should be restored by making sure that the water quality is restored, seasonal flows are back as well as the natural habitat such as fish, hippopotamus and crocodile are back into the rivers. He further seeks to whether the degree of restoration is affected by the existing political circumstances. (Workman, 2006).
Dams and dam construction should be well managed to ensure that they are safe and prevent any detrimental effects on the living things and property which is around it. It should be put in mind that if a dam fails, it would bring floods to homes, businesses, and roads and destroy many other properties.
A maintenance and repair program for dams should be set to ensure that dams are safe. This should include frequent checks on the dykes, water levels and the walls of then dam to ensure that they are safe and are able to hold the amount of water to as to avoid breakage of the wall which would lead to floods and property destruction.(Wehr, 2004).
Emergency action plans should be put in place to take care of any hazards which may occur in the dams. Personnel shouldn’t always be ready to take care of any casualties which may be reported so that the destruction effect is reduced.
A fully staffed group and safety program should be set so that they can come and carry out a periodic inspection on the dam to ensure that the dam is safe for people and the animals. The groups should approve designs for dam construction and carry out the construction inspection to ensure that it is up to standard.
Reference:
Duflo, Esther, & Pande, R. (2007). Dams, 122(2): 601–46.
Quarterly Journal of Economics
Cite this Page
Administrative ethics. (2016, Jun 14). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/administrative-ethics/
Run a free check or have your essay done for you
