<p>Can we have an ethical civil servant or is it an oxymoron? Asks Gopalakrishna V <br /><br /></p>.<p>One of the significant changes that have been made in the Civil Services Main Examination is the introduction of a compulsory paper on Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude accounting for 250 marks. Compared to the other three papers this paper assumes significance because; <br /><br />* The syllabus outlined for the other three papers i.e. History, Governance, Technology & Environment is a `known quantum’ as it was a part of the previous syllabus. Also, these subjects find a place in the syllabi of almost all the State Administrative Service Examinations. Moreover, it also overlaps with some of the subjects which are taught at the University level and also exist as optionals.<br /><br />* The subject matter, i.e. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude has never been part of the Civil Services examination or State Service examinations. Ethics in its ‘generic’ form is taught at some universities but Ethics, Aptitude and Integrity with reference to the Civil Services is not. Moreover, the syllabus will be using the case study approach.<br /><br />* It logically follows that most of the candidates have a chance of scoring reasonably well in the known areas, i.e. General Essay, the first three papers of General Studies and the Optional but would be in the dark with reference to the paper on Ethics. In such a scenario, the marks scored in the Ethics paper could make the difference between success and failure and between being selected for IAS or IRS. <br /><br />* Also, the UPSC has reserved the right to fix the minimum qualifying marks in any paper. So, if a minimum qualifying mark is fixed, there is a greater likelihood of not being able to score the minimum qualifying mark in the Ethics paper. In such case, the aspirant may be declared as disqualified even though he has done well in the other papers. <br />Thus, it is necessary to understand the nature of this paper and the kind of questions that can be asked.<br /><br />Paper on Ethics, why?<br /><br />Every profession has its ethics. So does Civil Service. The contemporary pre-occupation with ‘ethics in governance’ has arisen due to several factors;<br /><br />*The continued growth in size, scope and complexity of government and its resultant negative attributes <br />* Insistence of public towards an open and accountable government<br />* The growing demand for enhancing and protecting individual rights and freedom<br />* A general feeling of disappointment with the conduct of elected public officials, and frustration with the erosion of values among government employees<br />* Growing cynicism about the capacity of government leaders to protect the quality of environment and human dignity<br />*A deep feeling that people in politics and administration are not to be trusted, and<br />* The yawning gap between the existing laws and their implementation. <br /><br />Are not laws enough? <br /><br />A democratic government functions by making laws in the legislature which are implemented by the Civil Services. Despite the existence of innumerable laws in India we find many issues. Take for example, the Nirbhaya Act. It is paradoxical that after the provisions of the act were incorporated and implemented there has been no reduction in the atrocities. Similarly, we have a provision for prohibition of smoking in public places. Yet, we find many people smoking in public in open defiance of the Law. Thus, Legislation alone is not sufficient but has to be supplemented by ethics.<br /><br />Legislation and ethics must go hand-in-hand and support and supplement each other. Where ethics fails law is necessary and where law fails ethics enters. But both ethics and law must work in tandem to keep the society going. <br /><br />Public administration system admits of a three-dimensional structure; machinery, procedural and personal that can be presented in the form of a M-Triangle, the three sides of which are represented by man, machine and method.<br /><br />Among these three elements, the crucial one is the MAN who acts, reacts and enacts all things surrounding administration. <br /><br />The man, who is the Civil Servant, can either use the machinery imbued with the proper method for the welfare of the people and thereby ensure the greatest good of the maximum numbers or he can use it for his own personal selfish motives. A Public Servant chooses between the two based on the ethics that he has imbibed. He is, therefore, the one where ‘ethics’ inheres.<br /><br />Can we have an ethical civil servant or is it an oxymoron? The cynics would believe that an Ethical Civil Servant is a fiction, but our own experiences have proved that it is possible to do by selecting a recruit after testing his ethical traits, ie. by initiating action at the recruitment stage itself.<br /><br />Testing the ethics of an individual<br /><br />In order to test whether an individual is ethical or not we have to first understand the kind of ethics that are required in public administration. In public administration we can conceptualize four levels of ethics. <br /><br />* Personal morality: It is the basic sense of right and wrong. This is a function of our past and it is dependent upon factors such as parental influences, religious beliefs, cultural and social mores, and one’s own personal experiences. <br /><br />*Professional ethics: Public administrators increasingly recognize a set of professional norms and rules that obligate them to act in certain professional ways. Such guidelines are codified by professional associations like the American Society for Public Administration. <br /><br />* Organizational ethics: Every organization has an environment or culture that includes both formal and informal rules of ethical conduct. Public laws, executive orders, and agency rules and regulations all can be taken as formal organizational norms for ethical behavior. <br /><br />* Social ethics: The requirements of social ethics oblige members of a given society to act in ways that both protect individuals and further the progress of the group as a whole. Social ethics are formal to the extent that they can be found in the laws of a given society, informal to the extent that they are part of an individual’s social conscience.<br /><br />How would the examiner test the ethical fabric of an individual? It can be done by;<br />n Asking questions on the moral teachings of eminent philosophers and thinkers, and <br />n By confronting the aspirant with a set of situations and asking him/her, how he/she would resolve the ethical dilemma in those situations. <br /><br />Case study <br /><br />Saba and Farah were conjoined (Siamese) twins. The medical board pointed out that the separation of the two could take place leaving a 20% chance that either of the twins might die, and the other having reasonable prospects of living a healthy life. The parents of the child were opposed to the operation as they could not bear the loss of any one of the children. The question was whether to perform the operation or not? The case had to be referred to the Supreme Court. On what basis would the court decide? What would be ethical in this context? Under Article 21 of the Constitution each life has an inherent value in itself and would apply to both the twins but what about the inherent value of the life of the one who can survive because of the surgical separation? Unable to resolve the dilemma, the court has adopted the twins as wards and asked the Bihar Government to look after their expenses. It also wanted a six month report on the state of health of the twins. How many such ethical dilemmas do we face in real life? And how do we solve them? <br /><br />(The writer has been training aspirants for Civil Service exams for the last 20 years.)</p>
<p>Can we have an ethical civil servant or is it an oxymoron? Asks Gopalakrishna V <br /><br /></p>.<p>One of the significant changes that have been made in the Civil Services Main Examination is the introduction of a compulsory paper on Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude accounting for 250 marks. Compared to the other three papers this paper assumes significance because; <br /><br />* The syllabus outlined for the other three papers i.e. History, Governance, Technology & Environment is a `known quantum’ as it was a part of the previous syllabus. Also, these subjects find a place in the syllabi of almost all the State Administrative Service Examinations. Moreover, it also overlaps with some of the subjects which are taught at the University level and also exist as optionals.<br /><br />* The subject matter, i.e. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude has never been part of the Civil Services examination or State Service examinations. Ethics in its ‘generic’ form is taught at some universities but Ethics, Aptitude and Integrity with reference to the Civil Services is not. Moreover, the syllabus will be using the case study approach.<br /><br />* It logically follows that most of the candidates have a chance of scoring reasonably well in the known areas, i.e. General Essay, the first three papers of General Studies and the Optional but would be in the dark with reference to the paper on Ethics. In such a scenario, the marks scored in the Ethics paper could make the difference between success and failure and between being selected for IAS or IRS. <br /><br />* Also, the UPSC has reserved the right to fix the minimum qualifying marks in any paper. So, if a minimum qualifying mark is fixed, there is a greater likelihood of not being able to score the minimum qualifying mark in the Ethics paper. In such case, the aspirant may be declared as disqualified even though he has done well in the other papers. <br />Thus, it is necessary to understand the nature of this paper and the kind of questions that can be asked.<br /><br />Paper on Ethics, why?<br /><br />Every profession has its ethics. So does Civil Service. The contemporary pre-occupation with ‘ethics in governance’ has arisen due to several factors;<br /><br />*The continued growth in size, scope and complexity of government and its resultant negative attributes <br />* Insistence of public towards an open and accountable government<br />* The growing demand for enhancing and protecting individual rights and freedom<br />* A general feeling of disappointment with the conduct of elected public officials, and frustration with the erosion of values among government employees<br />* Growing cynicism about the capacity of government leaders to protect the quality of environment and human dignity<br />*A deep feeling that people in politics and administration are not to be trusted, and<br />* The yawning gap between the existing laws and their implementation. <br /><br />Are not laws enough? <br /><br />A democratic government functions by making laws in the legislature which are implemented by the Civil Services. Despite the existence of innumerable laws in India we find many issues. Take for example, the Nirbhaya Act. It is paradoxical that after the provisions of the act were incorporated and implemented there has been no reduction in the atrocities. Similarly, we have a provision for prohibition of smoking in public places. Yet, we find many people smoking in public in open defiance of the Law. Thus, Legislation alone is not sufficient but has to be supplemented by ethics.<br /><br />Legislation and ethics must go hand-in-hand and support and supplement each other. Where ethics fails law is necessary and where law fails ethics enters. But both ethics and law must work in tandem to keep the society going. <br /><br />Public administration system admits of a three-dimensional structure; machinery, procedural and personal that can be presented in the form of a M-Triangle, the three sides of which are represented by man, machine and method.<br /><br />Among these three elements, the crucial one is the MAN who acts, reacts and enacts all things surrounding administration. <br /><br />The man, who is the Civil Servant, can either use the machinery imbued with the proper method for the welfare of the people and thereby ensure the greatest good of the maximum numbers or he can use it for his own personal selfish motives. A Public Servant chooses between the two based on the ethics that he has imbibed. He is, therefore, the one where ‘ethics’ inheres.<br /><br />Can we have an ethical civil servant or is it an oxymoron? The cynics would believe that an Ethical Civil Servant is a fiction, but our own experiences have proved that it is possible to do by selecting a recruit after testing his ethical traits, ie. by initiating action at the recruitment stage itself.<br /><br />Testing the ethics of an individual<br /><br />In order to test whether an individual is ethical or not we have to first understand the kind of ethics that are required in public administration. In public administration we can conceptualize four levels of ethics. <br /><br />* Personal morality: It is the basic sense of right and wrong. This is a function of our past and it is dependent upon factors such as parental influences, religious beliefs, cultural and social mores, and one’s own personal experiences. <br /><br />*Professional ethics: Public administrators increasingly recognize a set of professional norms and rules that obligate them to act in certain professional ways. Such guidelines are codified by professional associations like the American Society for Public Administration. <br /><br />* Organizational ethics: Every organization has an environment or culture that includes both formal and informal rules of ethical conduct. Public laws, executive orders, and agency rules and regulations all can be taken as formal organizational norms for ethical behavior. <br /><br />* Social ethics: The requirements of social ethics oblige members of a given society to act in ways that both protect individuals and further the progress of the group as a whole. Social ethics are formal to the extent that they can be found in the laws of a given society, informal to the extent that they are part of an individual’s social conscience.<br /><br />How would the examiner test the ethical fabric of an individual? It can be done by;<br />n Asking questions on the moral teachings of eminent philosophers and thinkers, and <br />n By confronting the aspirant with a set of situations and asking him/her, how he/she would resolve the ethical dilemma in those situations. <br /><br />Case study <br /><br />Saba and Farah were conjoined (Siamese) twins. The medical board pointed out that the separation of the two could take place leaving a 20% chance that either of the twins might die, and the other having reasonable prospects of living a healthy life. The parents of the child were opposed to the operation as they could not bear the loss of any one of the children. The question was whether to perform the operation or not? The case had to be referred to the Supreme Court. On what basis would the court decide? What would be ethical in this context? Under Article 21 of the Constitution each life has an inherent value in itself and would apply to both the twins but what about the inherent value of the life of the one who can survive because of the surgical separation? Unable to resolve the dilemma, the court has adopted the twins as wards and asked the Bihar Government to look after their expenses. It also wanted a six month report on the state of health of the twins. How many such ethical dilemmas do we face in real life? And how do we solve them? <br /><br />(The writer has been training aspirants for Civil Service exams for the last 20 years.)</p>
