Guardians of the Public Trust: Mechanisms for Administrative Accountability and Ethical Governance
Keywords:
Administrative Ethics, Public Accountability, Corruption, Whistleblowing, OmbudsmanAbstract
The systematic literature review examined existing research to study how administrative accountability and ethical governance operated through their respective mechanisms. The review addressed the general problem of declining public trust, driven by corruption and misconduct, which imposed high social and economic costs globally. The review followed PRISMA guidelines to evaluate 78 peer-reviewed articles that were published between 2018 and 2023 to identify three research questions that explored factors that enabled or obstructed effective whistleblowing and design elements that determined ombudsman effectiveness and the relationship between these mechanisms and wider integrity systems. The research results demonstrated that whistleblowing achieves success through three required elements which include a strong legal-institutional system and an organization that supports whistleblowers and a specialized method to tackle the psychological challenges whistleblowers experience. Ombudsman institutions achieve their goals through their ability to operate independently from their official powers which include complete investigative authority and their need to gain public support. The synthesis demonstrated that these mechanisms achieve their best results when they operate inside an entire integrity system that depends on particular contextual elements. The three different types of organizations which include internal reporting and external oversight together with supreme audit institutions and anti-corruption agencies need to establish purposeful connections while using technological tools with careful consideration. The review showed that public trust requires continuous funding for both institutional systems and foundational integrity values. The study recommended legal changes that will enhance whistleblower protection rights and maintain institutional independence and establish shared accountability systems for public organizations.
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