THE BASICS

A single, uniform source of standards of ethical conduct and ethics guidance shall be maintained within the Department of Defense (DoD), and each DoD Agency shall implement and administer a comprehensive ethics program to ensure compliance with such standards and guidance (DoD 5500.07-R).

1.1 Introduction to Ethics in Government Contracting

Personal conflict of interest among government contracting personnel is an important area in government contracting in which clear, concise, and up-to-date regulatory coverage is urgently needed. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) lists statutory regulations to guide employees who perform acquisition support functions under contracts awarded by federal government organizations. In 2009, new developments were implemented in an attempt to curtail the rise of corruption and unethical occurrences in government contracting.

To act ethically or unethically is the question that employees face when administering government contracts. According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), government contracting employees may solicit, evaluate, negotiate, and award contracts to any contractor, vendor, or supplier authorized to do business with government contracting organizations. These employees should uphold the highest standards of ethical integrity since their job requires exercising judgment over public funds.

Federal government contracting is an important component in the United States' success. These organizations are major participants in the acquisition of goods and services from public and private entities, and Congress has enacted statutes and regulations that guide government contracting policies and values. Recent increases in government spending have contributed to unethical behaviors by government contracting employees. To combat this, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has allocated financial resources to fight against contracting fraud. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG), overseen by the Inspector General, monitors and tracks the use of taxpayer dollars through assessments, evaluations, examinations, and inquiries. The Inspector General is required to keep Congress updated about any concerns noted regarding the use of taxpayer funds.

With unethical behaviors continuing to plague the government contracting arena, researchers struggle to fine reasons for such occurrences. Unfortunately, no consensus exists, either about why unethical behaviors occur or about how to prevent them. Contributing to the problem, vaguely defined regulations do not provide enough transparency in the contracting process; furthermore, government contracting organizations may not be clearly defining ethical standards.

In the past decade, unethical behaviors by some government contracting employees have increased.36 Since 2005, increases in unethical behavior by government employees have been reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO); however, there was a reduction in employees who revealed knowledge of unethical behaviors. For example, employees have taken unauthorized gifts in exchange for unwarranted contracts.

It is highly unethical and improper for government contracting employees to work outside the confines of the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) requirements. As unethical behaviors by employees continue, researchers attempt to understand what leads to such behaviors. This trend in abuse of ethics generated an impression of widespread ethical violations in government contracting organizations. In addition, workplace culture might influence unethical behavior.

1.2 Who Is the Government Contracting Employee?

Although government contracting employees have been subject to an extensive set of personal conflict of interest rules under statute and Office of Government Ethics (OGE) regulations, unethical behaviors by those individuals still plague government contracting organizations. Is it necessary to be ethical in government contracting? Is it acceptable for government contracting employees to take gifts from contractors doing business with the government? Are government contracting employees mindful of ethics in their business relationships with contractors? Government contracting employees are faced with challenges of ensuring that their decisions are ethical and comply with precise standards of conduct whenever doing government business.

In light of recent scandals involving government contracting personnel, we can note that government contracting ethics are not what they used to be. In recent years, business between employees and contractors became a teaming approach. The days of the government conducting business at arms' length are gone. Due to teaming with contractors, one might argue that the government has relaxed its ethical standards in government contracting. Is teaming between government contracting and contractors beneficial to the government or does teaming present employees with ethical challenges and obstacles? Some people postulate that these changes have improved business relationships between government contracting organizations and contractors. Still others speculate that the government has opened avenues for their employees to be unethical. Regulators' mandate is to prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption government contracting; however, government contracting is still plagued with scandals and controversies.

What is ethics? Merriam Websterdefines ethicsas a set of principles that governs the individual. However, before we can determine what ethical standards an employee is required to follow, we should first understand who the government contracting employee is. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) classifies the contracting employee series (1102) this way:

Positions in the contracting series are concerned with: (1) soliciting, evaluating, negotiating, and awarding contracts with commercial organizations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and State, local or foreign governments for furnishing products, services, construction or research and development to the Federal Government; (2) administering contracts by assuring compliance with the terms and conditions of contracts, including resolution of problems concerning the obligations of the parties; (3) terminating contracts by analyzing, negotiating, and settling claims and proposals; (4) analyzing and evaluating cost or price proposals and accounting systems data; (5) planning, establishing, or reviewing contracts, programs, policies, or procedures; (6) formulating and administering policies and procedures to insure achievement of Federal socioeconomic goals, such as those affecting small business, labor surplus areas, and disadvantaged business firms; (7) developing acquisition strategies and directing or...