Layout JGP Mei 2016 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 388 Received 21 May 2016 Revised 13 June 2016 Accepted 17 August 2016 DOI: 10.18196/jgp.2016.0035 Ethical Behavior, Work Values and Performance of the Provin- cial Government Officers of Agusan, del Sur, Philippines, in the light of ASEAN Integration JED P. ACERO University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines acerojie@yahoo.co.uk ABSTRACT Thisdescriptive-correlationdeterminedthelevelofethicalbehavior,workvalues and performance of the Provincial Government Officers of Agusan del Sur,Phil- ippines.Findings servedas thebases for interventionscheme throughan orien- tation plan for the recommended programs.There is avery high level of ethical behavior,high level of work values and excellent performance of PGAS’ depart- ment heads. There is no significant relationship between the subjects’ profile and their level of ethical behavior. There is no significant relationship between respondents’ profile and their level of work performance. However, there is a significant relationshipbetween respondents’ levelofethical behaviorand work values. There isa significant difference between the level ofethical behavioras perceived by the different respondents: municipal mayors, department heads, anditsemployees.However,there isnosignificantdifferencebetweenthelevels ofworkvaluesasperceivedbythedifferentresearch-respondentsandnosignifi- cant difference between the levels of work performance as perceived by the research-respondents. There is a difference on the actual rating and perceived work performance of the rating of the respondents. The proposed intervention scheme through and orientation plan as programs forPGAS’departmentheads after thorough study shall be implemented, monitored and evaluated by both the PGAS’ department heads, non-government organizations and other stake- holders. Key words: Ethical Behavior, Work Values, Performance ABSTRAK Analisiskorelasi-deskriptif inimenilaiperilakuetis,nilaikerjadankinerjaPejabat Pemerintah Provinsi Agusan del Sur,Filipina. Temuan yang ada menjadi dasar untukskemaintervensimelalui rencanaorientasiuntukprogram-programyang direkomendasikan. Berdasarkan analisis yang dilakukan, perilaku etis, nilai kerja https://doi.org/10.18196/jgp.2016.0035 mailto:acerojie@yahoo.co.uk dankinerjaparaKepalaDepartemendiProvinsiAgusandelSurberadapadatingkatyang sangat baik. Namun demikian, tidak ada hubungan yang signifikan antara profil responden dengan tingkat perilaku etis maupun dengan tingkat kinerja. Hubungan yang signifikan ditemukanantara tingkatperilakuetisdengannilaikerja.Adaperbedaanyangsignifikan dalam tingkat perilaku etis yang dirasakan oleh responden yang berbeda: Walikota, Kepala Departemen,danKaryawan.Namun, tidakadaperbedaanyangsignifikandalamtingkat nilai kerja dan kinerja yang dirasakan oleh para responden. Ada perbedaan pada nilai kinerja yang sebenarnya dan yang dirasakan oleh responden. Skema intervensi yang diusulkan melalui rencana orientasi program bagi para Kepala Departemen Provinsi Agusan del Surharus dilaksanakan, dipantau dan dievaluasi secara kolaboratif oleh para Kepala Departemen Provinsi Agusan del Sur, organisasi non-pemerintah dan pemangku kepentingan lainnya. Kata kunci: perilaku etis, nilai kerja, kinerja INTRODUCTION Ethical behavior, work values and performance are concepts very common but quite taken for granted among government officials and employees. These should be given importance espe- cially among provincial government officials and employees who are under the supervision of the Department of Interior and Local Government because the success on the implementation of a public policy depends on how these concepts influence deci- sion making. Although public officials and employees are not expected to make a perfect performance, they have at least to live up to their oath to serve for the best interest of thecountry. Ethics is what people see as appropriate behavior. In the field of public administration, ethics sets the norms of conduct for public servants. Appropriate behavior in the conduct of their responsibilities as public officials occupying sensitive position goes a long way in gaining the trust and confidence of the people and the community which in turn would lead to greater partici- pation in governing the Local Government Unit. To a great ex- tent, the success and failure of performance of LGU’s officials and employees depend on how they behave in the conduct of their official duties and responsibilities and how work values are translated in attaining its goals andobjectives. Work values have their effects on the ethical behavior and performance of employees in an agency that provides programs and projects and the delivery of services wherein the future of JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 389 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 390 one’s nations at least depends on the type of public officials and employees that we have. The utilization of work values as a pos- sible avenue for bureaucratic change stems from its contribution inestablishing socialchange.Ifpeoplewantto changethepresent social system, it could be assumed that commitment to work values could be transmuted into moral convictions in the bu- reaucracy also for those employees who have such commitment. This study aims to determine the level of Ethical Behavior, Work Values and Performance of Provincial Government Offic- ers of Agusan del Sur, Philippines. Findings of this served as bases for a proposed intervention scheme. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the provincial government officers in terms of: age, gender, highest educational attainment, religious affiliation, combined monthly income and position? 2. What is the level of ethicalbehavior of the provincial government officers as perceived by the respon- dents according to the following dimensions: Honesty, conflict of interest, respect of law of interest, equality and democratic responsibility; 3. What is the level of work values of the research subjects as perceived by the respondents: achievement, indepen- dence, recognition, relationshipand support; 4. What is the level of work performance of the research subjects as perceived by the respondents:effectiveness,efficiency, economy,human relations; punctuality and attendance, initiative, leadership and stresstol- erance? 5. Is there a significant relationship between the: profile and level of ethical behavior, profile and level of work values, profile and level of work performance, level of ethical behavior and work values, level of ethical behavior and work performance and level of work performance? 6. Is there a significant difference on the level of ethical behavior of the research subject as perceived by the following respondents: provincial government officers, pro- vincial government staffs, and municipal mayors; 7. Is there a significant difference on the work values of the research subject as perceivedbythe followingrespondents: provincialgovernment officers, provincial government staffs an d municipal mayors: Is there a significant difference on the actual rating andperceived work performance rating of the respondents; What are the fac- tors affecting the work performance of the provincialgovernment officers and What intervention scheme can be proposed based on the findings of the study? Ethical behavior, work values are important elements of per- formance. Focusing on these variables, this study is beneficial to the following entities: Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur. Findings of this study would help the Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur to improve its Provincial Human Resources Management thru its HRMO. This would help them determine what area/areas in their ethical behavior needed improvement and subsequently in planning for the necessary steps to maxi- mize effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of its services. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This study is anchored on Section 4 of RA 6713 otherwise known as the Code of conduct of Philippines’ Government offi- cials and Employees. Although there are eight norms under this law; but in this study it is summarized into honesty, respect of law, conflict of interest, equality and democratic responsibility. The work values are based on motivation-hygiene theory by Herzberg as cited by Hellriegel, et.al.,(1989). He said the responses suggest that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction, as was traditionally believed. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying.The Work Values Assessment test is based on Dawis and Lofquist’s (1984) theory of work adjustment. The theory, which has evolved over four decades of research, provides a comprehensive model for conceptualizing the interaction between individuals and their work environments. On Performance, it is based on Douglas McGregor’s Theory X-Theory Y view of human nature and mo- tivation as cited by Robbins(2004). JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 391 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 392 METHODOLOGY Research Design The research design was descriptive-correla- tion study using quantitative and qualitative approach. It was descriptive because it presents and describes the result where it is established by hypothesis and correlational-relational showing the relationship of the concept of the study. Research Environ- ment. This study was conducted in the Province of Agusan del Sur to all Provincial Government Officers. Agusan del Sur is a first class province with an approximate area of 890,500 hectares or 8,965.50 sq. km. ranking as the fourth largest province in the country. Research Respondents. The research-subjects of the study are the Provincial Government Officers. The choice of the prov- ince and its provincial government officer or the department head is done purposively There are 23 department heads from 23 provincial government offices as research-subjects as the same time, is one of the groups of the research-respondents of the study. The 14 municipal mayors from the 13 municipalities and 1 city of the province were also chosen purposively as respon- dents of the study; and 310 research-respondents from the staffs or employees as sample from the different offices of PGAS with a total of 347 research-respondents, hence, this study is a trian- gulation. Research Instrument. The instrument is a researcher-modi- fied standardized validated by experts. The questionnaire has two parts. Part 1 will be about the demographic profile of the sub- jects while Part 11 contains the specific questions of the study. It will be designed to measure the level of ethical behavior, level of work values and level of performance of the provincial govern- ment officers of Agusan del Sur, Philippines. On ethical behav- ior, the provision of RA 6713 is adopted only it is summarized into: 1) honesty; 2) conflict of interest; 3) respect of law; 4) equal- ity; and 5) democraticresponsibility. On Work Values, the indicators designed by, Dawis and Lofquist’s (1984) based on the Work Values Assessment test by TABLE 1. RATING SCALE USED IN THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 393 TABLE 2. SCALE AND DESCRIPTIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE VARIABLES the O*NET consortium, a project produced and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Employment and Training Ad- ministration, and the Office of Policy and Research (OPR). Their instrument has been reproduced here for public use underpro- Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 394 vision of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 1996). While on performance, the dimensions include: 1) effectiveness; 2)ef- ficiency; and 3) economy. These are based on the theory of New Public Management. The items are developed and constructed by the researcher. Further, it is also based on the Performance of Employees System (PES) for the provincial government employ- ees of Agusan del Sur. Qualitative approach is also used in this study. The selection made by the respondents is based on the Likert Scale. The following is the description of the scale: FINDINGS Behavior refers to the set of principles, standard, rules and norms of behavior with moral duty and obligation. As used in this study it refers to honesty, conflict of interest, respect of law, equality and democratic responsibility.Work Values refers to glo- bal aspects of work that are important to a person’s satisfaction.Performance refers to the system of evaluating em- ployee to help them reach reasonable goals and thus ensure that the company performs well (Christensen, 2007). As used in this study it refers to affectivity, efficiency and economy. Interven- tion Plan refers to the program which will be used by the Provin- cial Government of Agusan del Sur through its Provincial Hu- man Resource Management Office.PGAS refers to Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur Table 3 discloses the summary on the level of ethical behavior of provincial government officials in terms honesty, respect of law conflict of interest, equality and democratic responsibility with a grand mean of 3.19, 4.35 and 4.25 and interpretation as high, very high and very high respectively. This means that ma- jority of the research-respondents describe their department head possess the above-mentioned ethical behavior in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities. This finding corroborates on the findings of Acero (2008), that the Punong Barangays were rated very high on the level of ethical conduct, in the Municipal- ity of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. TABE 3. LEVEL OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TABLE 4 LEVEL OF WORK VALUES OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS Table 4 depicts the summary on the level of work values of provincial government officers on the following indicators: achievement, dependence, recognition, relationship and support. The data show that provincial government officers who are the department heads possess and practice the above-mentioned work values. The result also show that a big majority of the respon- dents perceived a satisfactory work values except the department head employees whom they rated their “bosses” as outstanding in terms of the work values listed above. If the latter group of respondents showed the highest level of perception of workval- ues to their department heads, it only implies that work values shown by their respective heads to their office are felt by its em- ployees which make sense of the result. It can also be deduced JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 395 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 396 that somewhat a crystal reflection of employees to their depart- ment head because of its excellent rating to the latter. TABLE 5. LEVEL OF WORK PERFORMANCE OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OFFICERS Table 5 presents the summary on the level of work perfor- mance of provincial government officers with a grand mean of 3.96, 4.23, 4.33 or very good, excellent and excellent from the municipal mayors, department heads and its employees respec- tively. This means that most of the department heads exhibited the highest level of performance that they could ever achieve. If this is the case, it can be construed that these group ofappoint- ive public employees perform their duties with utmost commit- ment, dedication, and hard Performance appraisals do serve a useful role in the workplace. A common misconception is that the sole purposeof an appraisal to inform an employee of how his performance has been rated. Unfortunately, this is often all that is done. A productive perfor- mance appraisal, however, can accomplish much more. It serves as a work session in which takes the time and effort to meet with an individual employee and set new goals for the coming year. As what Douglas McGregor’s Theory X-Theory Y view of hu- man nature and motivation as cited by Robbins (2004), that under Theory X, the four assumptions held by supervisors are the fol- lowing: 1) employees inherently dislike work and, whenever pos- sible, will attempt to avoid it; 2) Since employees dislike work, theymust be coerced, controlled,or threatened with punishment to achieve desired goals; 3) employees will shirk responsibilities and seek formal direction whenever possible; 4) Most workers place security above all. . TABLE 6. SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESPONDENTS PROFILE AND THEIR LEVEL OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR Table6 presents the significant relationship between research- subjects profile and their level of ethical behavior. The result shows as to age with a computed r-value of 3.67 and critical p values of.885. This reveals that the null hypothesis on the signifi- cant relationship when subjects are group according to age to their level of ethical behavior is rejected, hence, notsignificant. It could also be compared with the results of all clients profile that the p value and r value of each is notsignificant. Further, as far as gender is concerned, it showed a computed r-value of 1.74 and critical p values of.995. This also reveals that hypothesis is rejected, hence, not significant. This means that there is no significant relationship between the gender and its level of ethical behavior. Whether the subject is male or female, he could have a high level of ethical behavior because human behavior could be a product of his culture and religion. The find- ings of Natinga (2001) on the awareness of barangay officials on barangay financial management corroborated the findings of this study. A study considers the relationship between perceptions of ethical behavior and the demographic characteristics of sex, age, JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 397 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 398 education level, job title, and job tenure among a sample of mar- keting researchers. The findings showed significant probably be- cause the subjects are in the marketing field while in this study are government officials. Kelly, S.W.(2000). TABLE 7. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESPONDENTS PROFILE AND THEIR LEVEL OF WORK VALUES TABLE 8 COMPUTEDR - VALUE CRITICALP VALUES DECISION ON HO INTER-PRETATION Table7 presents the significant relationship between research- subjects’ profile and their level of work values in terms age, gen- der, educational attainment, monthly income and position. As to age, a computedmean value of3.67andcritical p valuesof.885 where decision is reject hypothesis, thus, not significant. This means that whatever values do the department has, is not af- fected by age of an employee.. Hence, there is no relationship between age of the research-subjects and the level of work values. SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESPONDENTS’ PROFILE AND THEIR LEVEL OF WORK PERFORMANCE Table 8 presents the significant relationship between respon- dents profile and their level of work performance in terms of age, gender, highest educational attainment, monthly income and position show a computed r value and critical values to re- ject hypothesis, hence, not significant. This means that the above research-subjects’ profile does not show any relationship to de- partment heads’ work values of PGAS. Whether you are at the retiring age, male or female, master degree holder or bachelor’s degree holder, with an income below 30 thousand or above, and whether you are only an officer in–charge or designate depart- ment head, has nothing to do with one’s work values. Work val- ues could probably an attributes gain from the family, friends and from its culture and religion. Statistical test also shows sig- nificant relationship between respondents’ level of ethical be- havior and work values. The result shows a computed r-value of -.512* and a critical r-value of.003. The values show to reject hy- pothesis; hence significant. This means that, there is a highly significant relationship existed between the two. Ethical behav- ior and work values are highly correlated; because work values of persons are extracted from its ethical behavior. Ethical behavior and work values are inseparable, because the former describe work values as to what is right and wrong; and good or bad. Both concepts are related and sometimes used interchangeably (Cruz, C.L. 2005), thus, a high relationship is established. This means that there is no relationship existed between the two. A very high level of work performance can not just be attributed to its level of ethical behavior. There could some other factors that could establish such relationship such as management andleadership JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 399 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 400 style, organizational planning and development, and financial management. These findings contradicted the findings of Abdon (2000) which showed a high relationship between ethical behav- ior and work performance TABLE 9. SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESPONDENTS LEVEL OF WORK VALUES AND WORK PERFORMANCE Table 9 presents the significant relationship between the re- search-subjects’ level of work values and work performance with a computed r-value of.251 and critical p-value of.248. This also reflects to accept hypothesis, because it is not significant. This means that there is no correlation that existed between the two. TABLE 10. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AS PERCEIVED BY DIFFERENT RESPONDENTS Table 12 unfolds the significant difference between the level of ethical behavior as perceived by the different respondents: municipal mayors, department heads, and its employees with a mean of 3.95, 4.35 and 4.25 respectively. The result shows an F- values of 4.305 and Critical F-values of 3.478. This also reveals to reject hypothesis; hence it is significant. There is no differ- ence whether the respondents are mayors; the department heads themselves, and its employees that they should have a high level of ethicalbehavior. TABLE 11. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF WORK VALUES AS PERCEIVED BY DIFFERENT RESPONDENTS Table 11 discloses the significant difference between the level of work values as perceived by the different respondents: Mu- nicipal Mayors, Department heads, and its employees with a mean values of 4.01, 4.14,and 4.24 respectively. The computed F-value is.878 and critical F- values of 3.478. The hypothesis is accepted; hence not significant. The variables correlated is notsignificant to work values. TABLE 12. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF WORK PERFORMANCE AS PERCEIVED BY DIFFERENT RESPONDENTS Table 12 presents the significance difference between the per- ceived work performance rating of the respondents and the ac- tual rating of the respondents. The work performance as per- ceived by the research-respondents: with a means of 3.96, 4.23 and 4.33 with variables correlated to its municipal mayors, de- partment heads, and provincial government officers or the de- partment heads respectively. The computed F value is 4.360 and JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 401 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 402 critical F-values is 2.895. The result shows to accept hypothesis; hence, not significant. This means that work performance is not determined by one’s position in the office. The Actual Rating of PGAS’ department head has been Very Good for the last three years. While on the perceived work performance rating as con- ducted by this study is excellent. The diffierence could be attrib- uted due to constraints of time, and place. The level of work performance of Provincial Government Officials or department of Agusan del Sur with a grand mean of 3.96, 4.23, 4.33 or very good, excellent and excellent from the municipal mayors, de- partment heads and its employeesrespectively. DISCUSSION The intervention plan is somehow a basis to effectively attain the goal of the researcher to establish a very high work values in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities. Therefore has relatively important in monitoring and evaluating the plan in order to increase performance and become aware of their role that plays in development. The orientation plan is developed with the end of sustain the high level of work values in the dis- charge of their duties and responsibilities; and continuously im- prove the level of work values with regards to achievement, de- pendence, recognition, relationship and support for governance, public accountability, and public transparency; and could con- tribute for the policy making and decision-making for the im- provement of every department and the entire PGAS in the de- livery of its services mandated by law in their respective offices; and could be able to translate the results of this study into reality as this will become basis of genuine public service by empower- ing the department heads of quality management responsive to the needs of the clienteles. Considering the result of the study, it could be assumed that with respect to ethical behavior, work values and performance of the provincial government of Agusan del Sur, the province is ready to participate in the conduct of business to its ASEAN neighbors in the light of Asean Integration. Agusan del sur is one of the provinces of Northeastern Mindanao known as CARAGA Region. It can offer best goods and products to its Asean Neighbors and is known as the province of Gold. The province has a very rich culture and natural resources which are showcased during its Naliyagan Festival with abundant natural resources and it is known of its palm oil industry. This is true in Agusan del Sur and it is true in Davao and Mindanao and the entire island of the Philippines. Basically, Agusan del Sur and the Mindanao is generally peaceful and this reflects the entire island of the Philippines. The business and investment could be safe with government officials who are very accommodating, friendly and hospitable. Mindanao is the “Land of Promise”, Philippines is the “Pearl of the Orient Sea”, in Davao City, “Life is here” and I welcome you all to Agusan delSur. CONCLUSION Based on the findings, it is concluded, that Provincial Gov- ernment Officers of Agusan del Sur’s possess and practice ethi- cal behavior as mandated by R.A. 6713otherwise known as “Code of Conduct of Government Officials and Employees” and has strengthened work values in their working conditions, all of these are translated into their work peformance mandated by law un- der the Civil Service Commission. The proposed intervention scheme as orientation plan as programs to theProvincial Government Officers shall be implemented, monitored and evaluated by both the Provincial Government Officers of Agusan del Sur through the PGRMO and the office of the Govenor, Non-Government Organization and other stockholder. Further research shall be conducted regarding ethical behavior, work value and performance includingspirituality. References Abdon, Jr.N.B. (2000). Religiosity, ethical practice and performance: A case of Bureau of Internal Revenue.Unpublisheddoctoraldissertation,UniversityofthePhilippines, Diliman,QuezonCity JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 403 Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2016 404 Acero,B.P.(2008). Ethical Conduct and Work Performance of Punong Barangays. Un- published master’s thesis, Bukidnon State University. MalaybalayCity. Cruz, C.L. (2005) Contemporary Ethics. Philippines:National BookStore, Inc. Hellriegel,D.,et.al.,(1989).OrganizationalBehavior.5thed.,WestPublishingCompany, NewYork. Manual on RA 6713. Code ofConduct of Government officials and Employees. Natinga, W.Y.(2007).Awareness ofbarangay officials onbarangay financial manage- ment. Unpublished master’s thesis, Bukidnon State College. Malaybalay City. 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