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Summary
Ethics_JG Class 03

OVERVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS CLASS (05:04 PM)

INTEGRITY (05:06 PM)

  • Often Integrity and honesty are confused with each other but both of them are different in certain aspects. Honesty refers to the quality of being truthful and sincere in one's conduct. It is an external concept and does not guarantee the highest standards of behaviour.
  • Integrity on the other hand is the mother of all values and refers to steadfast adherence to values and principles irrespective of place and circumstances. It means following the highest standards of behaviour and consistency in one's actions and thoughts. Integrity has the following aspects :
  • a)Choosing the right conduct.
  • b)Openly declaring one's stance.
  • c)Acting consistently with the choice made even if it is inconvenient to do so.
  • EXAMPLES
  • 1)Gandhiji withdrew from the Non-cooperation movement after the Chauri Chaura incident even though the movement was at its peak as he believed in the value of Non-violence and was not ready to compromise despite unfavourable results.
  • 2)Field Marshal Manek Shaw denied going to war with Pakistan even if it meant resigning from the services.
  • Integrity implies adherence to several values including honesty, Therefore one can say that honesty is a necessary though not a sufficient criteria for integrity. To be a person of integrity one has to be honest, But being honest alone does not ensure integrity.
  • MORAL INTEGRITY 
  • If your actions align with your values, It is moral integrity. It means you judge the actions of the other by the same moral standards as you judge your actions.
  • INTELLECTUAL INTEGRITY
  • If your actions align with your knowledge, It is an example of intellectual integrity. You don't deny something you know to be true just because doing so would benefit you.
  • It does not imply stubbornness but rather the ability to accept one's own mistake.
  • When you act in accordance with professional values, standards and norms in a consistent manner even when you face criticism or allurements.

IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY FOR CIVIL SERVICES (05:50 PM)

  • Civil servants with intellectual integrity would be aware of the ground reality and would learn from his/her mistakes and not live under the false presumption.
  • It would help the civil servants address stereotypes and judge others by certain preconceived notions.
  • Civil servants possess wide discretionary powers and in the absence of integrity they may exercise them for personal gains and political purposes.
  • Civil servants with integrity enjoy greater credibility in the eyes of the public and therefore are more likely to be heard and followed by the citizens.
  • Civil servants are supposed to inspire and lead others without integrity they would not enjoy the respect of others.
  • Public officials need to show integrity so that they are not shy or being held accountable by others.
  • India suffers due to the limited availability of resources and integrity can help in ensuring the efficient utilisation of the same.

2ND ARC DEFINATION OF INTEGRITY (06:03 PM)

  • According to the 2nd ARC, Integrity means that civil servants should be guided solely by the public interest in their official decision-making and not by any financial or other consideration either for themselves, their families or their friends.
  • They must be responsible towards their duties and obligations and try to make optimum utilisation of public money, deal impartially with the public, comply with the laws, show transparency in their actions and uphold the idea of justice.

INCULCATING INTEGRITY INTO THE CIVIL SERVICES (06:09 PM)

  • Assigning mentors to young civil servants at the early stages of their careers, So that they can learn to deal with adverse situations with utmost integrity.
  • Integrity should be an important criterion in deciding the prospects, promotions and the ACR of the civil servants.
  • Young civil servants should be provided ethics training that should cover topics such as dealing with conflict of interest, blowing the whistle on corruption within the department etc.
  • Exemplary punishment for corrupt civil servants and changes in corruption laws to ensure their effective enforcement.
  • Inculcation of values and ethics in society at an early age with the help of family and school.
  • Making ethical conduct an important criterion for the selection of civil services. The personality test stage should include psychometrics and other evaluations to judge the integrity of other candidates.
  • Providing incentives for honest and ethical behaviour displayed by the civil servants. For example: We may introduce a reward scheme that recognises efforts made to expose corruption within the government.

ETHICAL DILEMMA IN CIVIL SERVICES (06:22 PM)

  • An Ethical dilemma is a situation in which a choice has to be made between two morally valid options and it is difficult for the decision-maker to choose one path.
  •  It's a situation where one has to choose between two sets of values that are equally justifiable and each of those choices can have a significant impact on the stakeholders involved.
  • Civil servants often face ethical dilemmas during their work and in such situations, societal and personal guidelines may not provide a satisfactory answer.
  • The standards to be applied while resolving the ethical dilemmas cannot be based on religion, Social norms, Personal feelings and even laws, rules and regulations.
  • EXAMPLES
  • 1)Confidentiality versus corruption.
  • A civil servant faces the dilemma of keeping some information confidential when wrongdoing is informed where exposing it may conflict with their duty as a civil servant to maintain strict confidentiality.
  • If environmental guidelines provide that the industry must establish a waste treatment plant the exorbitant cost involved may result in mass layoffs and create economic difficulties.
  • 2) Direction from superior vs personal values.
  • A Police officer who believes in non-violence and a dialogue-based approach has been asked by a senior to use a lathi charge on a group of students protesting.
  • 3)Public opinion vs expert opinion (06:58 PM)
  • Often civil servants have to face conflicts in balancing public opinion and knowledge from experts in making decisions that affect the public.
  • 4) Wistleblowers' dilemma
  • A civil servant may face the dilemma of keeping the information confidential where wrongdoing is involved and exposing it may conflict with their duty to maintain strict confidentiality, compromise the interest of their department and also expose them to potential retaliation.
  • 5)Budgetary constraints v/s essential service to the citizen 
  • A civil servant often needs to balance budgetary constraints with public demand for essential services such as health education etc.
  • 6)Personal values v/s professional values
  • Advocate fighting heinous crime case of his client, His values are against such actions and crimes.
  • 7)Neutrality vs directions provided by the political executives
  • In Normal circumstances, Civil servants must uphold neutrality and remain unbiased but they may land up in a dilemma when they face pressure from political leaders and parties.

APPROACH FOR RESOLVING THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN PUBLIC SERVICES (07:12 PM)

  • STEP 1
  • Identification of options available in the situation.
  • analysing the consequences of choosing one option over the other.
  • STEP 2
  • One must identify both the positive and negative consequences associated with a particular option.
  • STEP 3
  • Identification of stakeholders.
  • However mere identification of the stakeholder is not enough and it should be supplemented by the following questions:
  • a)Who would benefit from choosing that course of action?
  • b)Who would be negatively affected as a result of that course of action?
  • c)What would be the short-term and the long-term effects of the decision taken?
  • d)After considering the above question which option would present the best combination of maximisation of benefits and minimisation of harms?
  • e)Analysing the actions based on certain moral principles such as honesty, Integrity, Transparency, compassion etc.
  • f)Analysing if the options chosen violate any ethical principles.
  • g)Evaluating the root causes that led to the dilemma and addressing the same so that such a situation does not emerge in the future.

TOOLS OR STANDARDS TO RESOLVE THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS (07:25 PM)

  • Gandhiji's talisman so that the interest of the poor and marginalised are given the first priority.
  • Constitutional values and principles to ensure that one's actions conform to the constitutional goals.
  • Relying upon the code of ethics to judge the alternatives from the perspective of foundational values of civil services.
  • Analysing the options from the perspective of a consequentialist approach to maximise the good for the maximum number of people.
  • Taking the deontological approach that ensures that one follows one's duties irrespective of the consequences.
  • Taking the virtue-based approach where moral values and principles are given the highest importance.

ETHICAL GOVERNANCE (07:40 PM)

  • It refers to governance i.e. carried out while keeping ethical concerns in mind, One can say that ethical governance is a step ahead of good governance as it seeks to realise certain universally desirable ethical values and not merely values of administrative efficiency.
  • Some of the elements of the ethical governance are as follows:
  • a)Compassion 
  • b)Impartiality 
  • c)Selflessness 
  • d)Dedication to public service 
  • e)Transparency.
  • f)Accountability.

The topic for the next class: Challenges to the Ethical governance in India.