Corruption is a threat to democracy, and public perceptions of it are a major factor in determining how widespread and detrimental it is. Talk about it. (Answer in 150 words)
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Vishal SinghBegginer
The culture of working from home has given rise to a number of ethical issues in private companies. Given this, do you believe it is morally acceptable for an employee to work a second job? Talk about it. (Answer in ...
Vishal SinghBegginer
States frequently disregard moral principles and the directives of these organizations in favor of their own interests, despite the fact that there are numerous institutions in place to guarantee justice in international relations. Talk about it with examples. (Answer in ...
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The pursuit of national interests often leads states to disregard moral values and ignore the directives of international institutions. For instance, the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003 violated international law and the UN Charter, yet it proceeded with the intervention to secure its strateRead more
The pursuit of national interests often leads states to disregard moral values and ignore the directives of international institutions. For instance, the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003 violated international law and the UN Charter, yet it proceeded with the intervention to secure its strategic interests. Similarly, Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 breached international law and the Helsinki Final Act, but it prioritized its geopolitical interests over moral and legal obligations. China’s actions in the South China Sea, such as building artificial islands and militarizing them, also contravene international law and the rulings of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. These examples illustrate how states often prioritize their own interests over moral principles and international institutions’ directives, undermining global governance and the rule of law. This highlights the need for stronger mechanisms to hold states accountable for their actions and ensure compliance with international norms and institutions.
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Kavita SinghLearner
The general public, in addition to public employees, is crucial in institutionalizing high norms of moral behavior and sound government. Give specifics. (150 words)
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Answer: There are increasing expectations in countries across the world that the government and its various organs maintain high ethical standards and integrity in governance. In response, countries have made significant progress in terms of developing effective Civil Service Ethics, Codes of ConducRead more
Answer: There are increasing expectations in countries across the world that the government and its various organs maintain high ethical standards and integrity in governance. In response, countries have made significant progress in terms of developing effective Civil Service Ethics, Codes of Conduct, transparency measures, Ethics and Integrity systems, and anti-corruption agencies. It is public servants’ responsibility to maintain and strengthen the public’s trust and confidence in government, by demonstrating the highest standards of professional competence, efficiency and effectiveness, upholding the Constitution and the laws, and seeking to advance the public good at all times. However, as a necessary prerequisite for internalising integrity and ethics in democratic governments and the Civil Service, it is not only public servants but also common citizens that play a key role:
- Dealing with officials: All citizens in their official dealings with public bodies, civil servants, and public officials should observe a number of responsibilities of good citizenship. For example, honest reporting of crimes or stating facts in the courts of law etc.
- Serving as role models: Citizens such as celebrities, sportspersons etc. also play a role in institutionalizing and guiding ethical conduct in the society. For example, Amitabh Bachchan’s contribution in eradication of Polio from the country and moving out of Pan Masala advertisements keeping the public interest in mind.
- Grassroot empowerment: In the rising culture of Sarpanch Pati, it is the local people of the Gram Sabha itself who have to come out in protest so that women empowerment and decentralization become effective.
- Saving precious resources: Considering the fact that India is fighting for acute resources, it is the responsibility of every citizen to come up with efficient habits. For example, replacing flood irrigation by micro-irrigation techniques, conserving electricity, using renewable sources of energy, etc.
- Behavioural change: In the light of rising preventable deaths in India, citizenship participation becomes imperative. For instance, behavioural change is an important aspect of Swachha Bharat Abhiyan.
- Constitutional Duties: Fundamental duties have also been created considering the argument that with rights come responsibilities. So, it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to preserve India’s integrity and uphold constitutional tenets of an inclusive and cohesive society.
High standards of ethical conduct and good governance therefore aren’t just a prerogative of public servants alone but also require a careful balancing of citizens’ rights and duties. In the event of a citizen’s failure to comply with these requirements, a government organisation may impose an administrative penalty, usually in the form of a withdrawal of a service provided by the organisation, for a limited period of time.
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Kavita SinghLearner
Ethical corporate governance requires a proper balance between spirit and structure. Discuss. (150 words)
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Answer: Corporate Governance represents the value framework, the ethical framework and the moral framework under which business decisions are taken. In other words, the investors want to be sure that not only their capital is handled effectively and adds to the creation of wealth, but the business dRead more
Answer: Corporate Governance represents the value framework, the ethical framework and the moral framework under which business decisions are taken. In other words, the investors want to be sure that not only their capital is handled effectively and adds to the creation of wealth, but the business decisions are also taken in a manner which is not illegal or does not involve moral hazards. In recent years, corporate governance has received increased attention because of high profile scandals involving abuse of corporate power in some cases, like the IL&FS, Satyam Fraud, Kingfisher Airlines Fraud etc. As a part of ethical corporate governance, it must uphold the rule of law, transparency, accountability and protection of public interest in the management of a company’s affairs in the prevailing global and competitive market milieu. Ethical governance necessitates not only structure but also the right spirit:
- Ethical governance does not only relate to how the board is constituted and how it performs its role. It encompasses issues of board composition and structure, the board’s remit and the spirit in how it was carried out and the framework of the board’s accountability to its stakeholders. The spirit also includes how credible the appointed board is in drawing inspiration from the company and stakeholders. The ethics of the board members, or the managing director, directly channels into the governance of the company.
- An effective corporate governance regime not only includes structural provisions for civil or criminal prosecution of individuals who conduct unethical or illegal acts in the name of organizations, but also the spirit, which lies in how quickly action is initiated and processes are invoked for unbiased enquiries and necessary curative measures taken.
- A right combination of spirit and structure would include ensuring that a code of ethics is not only developed but also endorsed by the board of directors. Most Corporate Governance codes must provide guidance on the process of adopting ethical governance, what parameters decide ethical performances, outline processes and protocols to be followed, guidelines related to kickbacks etc. For instance, the most comprehensive recommendations on the ethics of governance are to be found in the Narayana Murthy Committee report on Corporate Governance.
- In making ethics work in an organization, it is important that there is synergy between vision statements, mission statements, core values, general business principles and code of conduct. An effective ethics programme requires continual reinforcement of strong values through corresponding structures in an organization.
Thus, the questions of ethics, or the right way to run a business, are inherent in all aspects of corporate governance. Ethical choices are relevant within the core business strategies that the boards pursue and the way that directs the business as a whole to achieve them.
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Kavita SinghLearner
Some behaviors are nevertheless morally justified even when they do not maximize positive outcomes because they uphold certain standards. Talk about it with examples. (150 words)
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Answer: According to the Deontological ethics of normative ethical theory, an action can be said to be right if the action follows a set of rules or standards not because of the amount of good in the outcome. This proposition is against the idea of consequentialism, which judges actions based on theRead more
Answer: According to the Deontological ethics of normative ethical theory, an action can be said to be right if the action follows a set of rules or standards not because of the amount of good in the outcome. This proposition is against the idea of consequentialism, which judges actions based on their results. For instance, taking the side of a Dalit mid-day meal cook at a primary school, even though the majority of parents threaten to change their children’s schools if she continues to cook is the right action. Even though, the result of children dropping out of school may be a wrong consequence. Norms that ensure the rightness of an action despite consequences:
- Following universal rules: The rules must be logically upright and shouldn’t lead to any contradictions. It should also be consistent and can be applied to all people in all situations. For example, corruption is prohibited even if some level of corruption makes decision-making quicker.
- Person’s intentions: Since we can’t always control or predict the outcomes of our actions, keeping intentions in control will ensure the right conduct in action. For instance, saving accident victims with the right intention even though sometimes it may lead to police inquiry is a justifiable act.
- Selfless act: Any actions should not be motivated by personal desire or greed but a set of certain socially accepted norms.
- Treating all people as “ends”: This ensures, knowingly and intentionally never sacrificing the good of one person for the good of another. For example, taking away one healthy person’s organs to save five other persons.
- Morally compliant action: Even though good action enhances the lives of those who possess it, it has to be in conformity with moral obligations as well. For instance, tax planning may help in maximizing profits, but it is morally obligatory for firms to do so without flouting the law.
However, sometimes de-emphasising consequences makes us guilty of ‘Crimes of Omission’, for example, not lying about the location of a friend, even to a person trying to murder him. One way of resolving this problem is through an idea called threshold deontology, which argues that we should always obey the rules unless in an emergency situation, at which point we should revert to a consequentialist approach. Nonetheless, it can be said that the deontological approach possesses the strong advantage of being able to account for strong, widely shared moral intuitions about one’s duties better than consequentialism.
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Kavita SinghLearner
Describe why one of the fundamental principles of public life is altruism. In this context, recommend a few actions to encourage selfless behavior in public services.(150 words)
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Answer: Altruism is the unselfish concern for other people-doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because one feels obligated to act out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. It involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people. This value constitutes one of the core valuRead more
Answer: Altruism is the unselfish concern for other people-doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because one feels obligated to act out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. It involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people. This value constitutes one of the core values in public life because:
- No expectation of reward: Altruistic behaviour is often performed unselfishly and without any expectations of reward. This constitutes a core value in public life as a civil servant has to work in public interest without the lure of any reward. Rather than profit, the larger public welfare is the motive of public services.
- Forgoing things even if beneficial: Altruism means forgoing things that may bring personal benefits if they create costs for others. In public life, while taking decisions it is not seen how much money the officer or the department might gain from the project, rather it is the public interest, which is supreme.
- Helping someone despite personal costs or risks: Discharging public duties often takes time outside of usual office hours for a public official. For example, a police man is expected to be available 24×7 if the service demands so. They not only risk their lives but also forgo spending quality time with their families during festivals etc. to perform public services.
- Sharing resources even in the face of scarcity: It is normal for people in their personal lives to share the available resources with people they are related with but it is equally important for public services as well. For example, a civil servant or a leader needs to distribute resources equally among the whole region they are responsible for rather than focussing only on a particular area or the community they belong to.
Measures to foster altruistic behaviour in public services
- Finding inspiration: Invite inspirational people who engage in altruistic acts to talk with the public servants. Seeing others work to actively improve the lives of individuals and communities can inspire public servants to act altruistically in their own lives.
- Practicing empathy: Help them practice empathy by building connections and putting a human face on the problems they see. Ask them to consider themselves in that situation, and think about things that they can do to help make a difference.
- Setting a goal: Find ways for public servants to regularly perform random acts of kindness for others. Also, look around for volunteers to work directly with the community. This would help develop compassion and altruism in them. Altruism is a positive force and such behaviour should be developed. It is usually influenced by interactions and relationships with others, social norms as well as socialization.
Thus, modelling altruistic actions can be an important way to foster pro-social and compassionate actions amongst the public servants.
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Krishana LalBegginer
In spite of their seeming effectiveness, India’s internal control mechanisms have not been able to effectively combat the problem of administrative corruption. Say something. Additionally, talk about the different causes of the same. (150 words)
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Answer: Internal control systems for curbing corruption are the mechanisms, laws, rules, and procedures, implemented to ensure the integrity of financial and accounting information, promote accountability and detect, punish and curtail corruption in the administration. The internal control systems iRead more
Answer: Internal control systems for curbing corruption are the mechanisms, laws, rules, and procedures, implemented to ensure the integrity of financial and accounting information, promote accountability and detect, punish and curtail corruption in the administration. The internal control systems in India are impressive on paper:
- Legislative control: Indian Penal Code, 1860; Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988; Right to Information Act, 2005, etc., are few legislations to deter corruption.
- Statutory and non-statutory bodies: Central Vigilance Commission, CBI, Lokpal, Lokayukta, etc. are the government bodies at central and state level to maintain the integrity in administration.
- Technological mechanisms: Switching to online mode, CCTVs at work place, digital empowerment of masses, etc., helps in ensuring transparency in the system.
However, it has been observed that the combined efforts of all these anti-corruption measures have not been able to curb the rising stakes for corruption due to following reasons:
- Collusion and nexus: An unholy nexus between corrupt officials and politicians exist at almost all levels of the government offices. As a result, there have been very few cases in which corruption is reported, and even in those few cases, there are delays and soft actions.
- Poor mechanism of impartial monitoring of the investigation: India does not have a strong and independent office of prosecutor like the ones existing in the UK and the USA.
- Recommendatory nature of agencies: The final decision to proceed against the corrupt civil servant rests with the government. Even the autonomous anti-corruption bodies like the Lokayukta can only recommend prosecution or departmental action for the consideration of the government.
- Procedural issues: There are too many procedures which make the system complex and thus breeds corruption. For instance, there are twelve stages in a departmental action. These stages start with the preparation of a definite charge sheet and end with the imposition of a penalty.
Thus, the need of the hour is to make the functioning of anti-corruption institutions independent, making their recommendations binding in nature, enabling effective communication and clear-cut procedural guidelines and establishing an independent institution to monitor the investigative process. Further, other systems/mechanisms of curbing corruption like the penalty rate, internal controls, external controls, and social control should effectively work in collaboration with each other.
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Khushi sainiLearner
Even if open and transparent governance is becoming more popular, do you believe that there are some good reasons to keep some information from the public? Provide examples to support your claims. (150 words)
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Answer: Transparency in administration is a sine qua non of participatory democracy and has gained prominence as a commitment of the state towards its citizens. It has the following significance for governance: Good governance: Disseminating information is crucial to good governance as it reflects aRead more
Answer: Transparency in administration is a sine qua non of participatory democracy and has gained prominence as a commitment of the state towards its citizens. It has the following significance for governance:
- Good governance: Disseminating information is crucial to good governance as it reflects and captures the government’s activities and processes. It also leads to accountability.
- Participative democracy: Every citizen of the state has the right to access information under the control of public authorities and evaluate whether it is in consonance with public interest.
- Economic and social progress: Transparency is the key not only to the architecture of good governance but also to a country’s ability to usher in rapid economic and social progress.
- Balancing power: Transparency can empower marginalized communities to battle the circumstances in which they find themselves and help balance the unequal power dynamics that exist between them and the government.
In this regard, the Indian government has come up with several initiatives towards open and transparent governance over the years like the Right To Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), the National e-Governance Plan, 2006, National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy, 2012, the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, etc. Despite the importance of transparency, withholding of information from the public becomes important due to the following reasons:
- National security: The RTI Act provides that certain sensitive information may be withheld from the public if the public authority in possession of the information thinks that the same is likely to jeopardize national interest or violate trade secrets. Also, the Official Secrets Act, of 1923 states that spying, sharing ‘secret’ information, interference with the armed forces in prohibited/restricted areas, etc. are punishable offenses.
- Privacy: Information that unnecessarily violates the privacy and confidentiality rights of individuals should be curtailed. For instance, sensitive information like the identity of victims of sexual abuse.
- Maintaining public order: Sometimes released information might lead to undue stigmatization of individuals or groups within the society and create issues with regard to public order. For instance, during violent upsurges, certain sensitive information is withheld to ensure peace and stability in society.
- Preventing misinformation: Some information, if released, might lead to the spread of rumors and consequently lead to panic and chaos. For instance, the spread of misinformation was rampant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, there is some merit in withholding information from the public. However, before withholding critical information, other issues must also be addressed such as reducing the misuse of RTI exceptions, broadly defining ‘national security’ and ambiguous terms used in the Official Secrets Act, 1923, etc.
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Khushi sainiLearner
The moment has come for a legally binding code of ethics for government workers, one that not only outlines the moral principles they must uphold in their public life but also lays out the consequences for transgressing these principles. Discuss. ...
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Answer: A code of ethics is a set of guidelines issued by an organization to its workers and management to help them conduct their actions in accordance with the primary values and ethical standards of the organization. The fundamental tenets of a code of ethics and values in civil services includeRead more
Answer: A code of ethics is a set of guidelines issued by an organization to its workers and management to help them conduct their actions in accordance with the primary values and ethical standards of the organization. The fundamental tenets of a code of ethics and values in civil services include integrity, empathy, objectivity, transparency, and professional competency, among others. There is no single code of ethics for civil servants in India. However, there are several conduct rules such as the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, All India Services (Conduct) Rules, etc., which prescribe allegiance to the Constitution, apolitical functioning, and objective decision-making. Several committees like the Santhanam Committee, Hota Committee, etc. have recommended a code of ethics for Civil Services in India. The Government of India also brought a Bill in the Parliament, which prescribed values that a civil servant should exhibit. A legally enforceable code of ethics is expected to bring the following changes in civil services:
- Improve service delivery:
- By helping in discharging official duties with competence and accountability; care and diligence; responsibility, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality; without discrimination, and in accordance with the law.
- By ensuring effective management, professional growth, and leadership development.
- By avoiding misuse of official positions or information and using public money with utmost care and economy.
- By ensuring that the civil servants serve as instruments of good governance provide services for the betterment of the public at large and protect the interest of the poor, underprivileged, and weaker sections.
- Avoid corruption
- By complementing penal provisions for instances of misuse of funds and official positions.
- By avoiding nepotism, and favoritism and instilling a sense of righteousness in civil servants.
- It will help in strengthening the ethical framework in the civil servant and more specifically principle of transparency which is considered a disinfectant against corruption.
- Apart from these, a legally enforceable code of ethics will bind a civil servant to display ethical values associated with civil services such as probity, compassion, empathy, neutrality, etc.
However, to further strengthen the ethical framework, it is equally necessary that the non-observance of these rules by civil servants is met with penal provisions. Given India’s past experience with the Citizens’ Charter, it can be safely presumed that a Code of Ethics that does not punish for its violation will not be successful. In this regard, the 2nd ARC fervently pitched for a Code of Ethics and related reporting systems to keep track of the ethical conduct of a civil servant. Accordingly, the ethical conduct of civil servants should be directly linked with their annual performance review report. Along with this, strengthening the ethical framework will go a long way in ushering in ‘good governance’.
See less - Improve service delivery:
Corruption is a multifaceted phenomenon, linking multiple issues together such as abuse of entrusted power for private gains, lack of integrity, taking bribes, maladministration, fraud, and nepotism. It is a challenge to democracy in following ways: It tends to threaten the basic social and economicRead more
Corruption is a multifaceted phenomenon, linking multiple issues together such as abuse of entrusted power for private gains, lack of integrity, taking bribes, maladministration, fraud, and nepotism.
It is a challenge to democracy in following ways:
The citizens estimate corruption in several ways, for example, citizens estimate the trustworthiness of the public organizations, social institutions as well the government of the country and in turn their acceptability and hostile attitude as well participation towards corruption shapes up. Further, the citizens watch how frequently the different forms of integrity-violating actions take place in public administrations and how deep rooted they are.
This estimation and perception of corruption by citizens can have following impact, which is harmful and help in widespread prevalence of corruption due to following reasons:
Thus the proper diagnosis of the causes and logic behind corruption play an important role in combating it. Maintenance of diverse forms of citizen participation, independent and self-regulated media, a high level of education, ensuring transparency and accountability will contribute towards a lower level of corruption.