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Most people have at least a vague sense that someone somewhere is doing mischief with the data footprints created by their online activities: Maybe their use of an app is [...]

A study of corruption is provided. Corruption in the public sector results in a greater reliance on consumption rather than income taxes, according to this study. Corruption in the private sector benefits from a smaller rather than a larger government, according to this study.

Scepticism about employing business methods and market criteria in the NHS was based on an often intuitive rejection of the assumptions which lay at the back of the reforms of the late 80s'. Even if the 'goods' provided by both the public and private sectors are not identical, the public sector must still to achieve its objective be run efficiently. The ethical values of the NHS are broadly understood by most. The Health Service can be called a high ethics organisation; the commitment to which can result in an unwillingness to change. It has been difficult in the NHS to encourage people to treat complaints positively. Compared with the public sector the values of business seems rather ambiguous. There is some scepticism about the idea of ethics being centrally important to business. St George's has adopted a set of values called 'The way we work'. Initially some people were uncertain about the inclusion of any contribution from patients. The Health Service is not a business when defined as the pursuit of profit. But organisations, private as well as public, need to be aware of their various stakeholders. The Health Service is not a commercial concern but must have a real interest in financial viability. The public and private sectors can learn from each other. For example, the public sector value of service to the patient can be translated into the Quality Management concept of the 'customer as king'. The public sector concern with financial probity has to a large extent also been adopted by the private sector. Where business has been better is in operationalising its values and in linking them directly to the delivery of their product or service. Linking the professed values to the operation of the service can present real management choices and sometimes with real ethical dilemmas. The NHS operates in a world of inevitably scare financial resoures. No government is going to finance a perfect health service. It is not unethical to institute proper financial controls and to ensure as far as possible the delivery of value for money. At times it is not easy to convince professional people (e.g. doctors) that a limitation of their freedom of choices is worth the sacrifice. Financing the NHS does raise ethical problems and so does the culture of changes in which it exists. It is nonetheless essential to grasp the nettle now. Within the present framework, a crucial clinical and management task exists to ensure the implementation of standards. The culture of commitment in the NHS is potentially its enormous strength in the change process. Its values are its ethical core which must be protected, developed and used in the constant improvement of services offered to the public.