The public servants should put the public interest above the

self interestand subordinate institutional loyalties to the public good

.

They arecommitted ^toexercisedisc:retionary authority to promote the public interest

.

Accordingly they should oppose all forms of discrimination and harassment, and promote affirmative action

.

•

^{The public servants should recognize and support the}

public

'

^{s right to know the public's} business and involve citizensinpolicy decision

-

^making

^.

^{The publicservants should}

encourage the people ^to participate actively in the affairs of the government^.

136 LEXICON

•

^{II is the duty of the publicservants to respect the} Constitution and the Law that define responsibilities of public agencies, employees,and allcitizensandpromoteconstitutional principles of equality

,

^fairness, representativeness, responsiveness and due process in protecting citizens^' rights

.

•

^{The public servants are committed to perform their duties}

honestly and should not compromise them for advancement, honour, or personal gain

.

They should conduct official acts

without favouritism and ensure that others receive credit for their work and contributions

.

•

^The public officials should make every effort to strengthen organizational capabilities to apply ethics, efficiency and effectiveness In serving the public

.

m The public officials should strive for Professional Excellence

.

Theyshould work hardtostrengthenindividualcapabilitiesand encourage the professional development of others to upgrade competence

.

Characteristics of Public Administration

•

^{It is part of executive branch of government}

^.

•

^{It is related with the activities of the state}

^.

•

^{It carries out} the public policies

.

•

^Public Administration is politically neutral

.

•

It realises the aspirations of the people as formulated and expressed in the laws

.

•

^{Scholars insist on the commitment} and dedication to the well being of the people

.

Otherwise Public Administration behaves

in a mechanical, impersonal and inhuman way

Ethics in Public Administration: Status

inspite ofgrowingInterestinethics,thepublic isnotconvinced that there has been much improvement in bureaucratic behaviour

VALUES^{AN D}ETHICS^INPUBLICADMINISTRATION 137

This may be because schools of public administration have not uniformly instituted courses on ethics

.

It is recognized that there is no ^uniform approach ^to developing course in ^or teaching of ethics in schools of public administration

.

Public administration Es a complex, diverse and exciting

discipline^{involvingtheories}

,

^{paradigmsandpracticesoftenborrowed}

from other sciences^. Many scholars ^have bemoaned the fact that public administration has been in a state of chaos for years

.

Some scholars have questioned whether it is a separate discipline ^at all

.

But regardless of these allegations

,

^{there ES no question} about the need for and improvement of courses in public administration^. In this regard it is noted that if public administration itself has an

identity ^{crisis, it} should not be surprising that ethics ^{for public} administrators is undergoing a worse identity crisis

.

Ethics in Public Administration: Problems

Public administration's treatmentofethics involvesmany things, including whether to use philosophy as its foundation and^, if so^,

whose philosophy to use

.

Should the works of Aristotle and St

.

Thomas Aquinas

-

involving the existence of a real, external world with objective rules

,

^laws and regulations- be the foundation of ethics? Or should the philosophyof Plato and theGermanIdealists dictate the approach? Do we live in a subjective world created by human consciousness, where consciousness dictates reality ? Are right and wrong things ^we interpret as such? Are right and wrong relative to every actor? Or maybe there is a combination of both approaches that can help in the teaching of ethics

.

Inthis context,

John

^{Rohr and}Terry Copper,while recognizing theimportanceofteaching ethics in schoolsofpublicadministration

,

considers it difficult ^{to do justice to} ethics if classical or political ethics ⁽as he calls it⁾ is not the foundation

.

Yet this situationcreates

a dilemma:If ethics is derived from philosophy, philosophy will likely be short-changed owing to a heavy course load for public administration students^. On the other hand, If schools offer no

13B LEXICON

courses in philosophy, or only "a smattering of philosophy

/

the students are short changed

.

Rohr, thus develops an ethical foundation for bureaucrats based on the LLS^, Constitution and on opinions of the U

.

S^. Supreme Court^. Rohr writes^:

The best educated meansof preparingbureaucratsto fulfil this obligation ⁽an oath ^to uphold the Constitution⁾ is to use Supreme Court opinions on salient 'regime values' ^to encourage them to

reflect on how these values might best influence their decision making as persons who govern

.

Accordingto Rohr, then

,

the best approach ^{is to use} Supreme Court Opinions on salient regime values^, encouraging public

servants to consider how these values bestinfluence their decision making

.

Regimevaluesarethoseof the politicalentity brought into existence by the creation of the U

.

^S

.

Constitution. Ruhr believes that regime values derived fromstudies of Supreme Court opinions reflect the public interest or the salient valuesof society

.

^However,

while public administrators can make ethical decisions by studying opinions oftheSupreme Court,theseopinions areoftentediousand baring

.

Divergent opinions may provide a framework for decision making, but not necessarily for making the right decisions

,

which

is the core of ethics^,

Further,Rohr^'sreliance on the Supreme Court to guidepublic administrators in discretionary administrative decisions may be useful in the United States

.

But it is unlikely that these ^opinions wiil be helpful to public administrators in other countries

.

This same criticism is applicable to Immanuel Kant s argument, which claimed that obedience to law through application of the so<ailed Categorical Imperative made human actions ethical

.

Apparently something above and beyond the LLS

.

Constitution and the opinions of the Supreme Court is needed to guide the ethics of public administrators

.

Other authors think that classical ethics ^is outdated, that the principles developed by human reasons and related somewhat to theology are outmoded and no longer workable, particularly for

VALUES ANDETHICSINPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 139

people working in the public sector

.

What they suggest,arid what practice frequently bears ^out, is a so

-

called ethical principle that might be termed the

"

^{done thing}

.

" Adolescents aregreat advocates of this principle^: "Everybody is doing it_*

"

The claim that everyone is doing something doesnot alwaysmean that everyone is actually doingit;and if everyone isdoingit,that does ^noL necessarily mean that ^{the done thing is right. There} must be a criterion ^{tor morality}

(what is right or wrong⁾ other than the "done ^thing"

.

Business writerssuchasPeterDrucker,who makenodistinction between public and private administration

,

^deny that there is a separate ethics for business

.

^By implication, public administrators do not need a separate code of ethics

.

^{Drucker writes:} "^But there is neither a separate ethics of business, ^{nor is} there one needed

.

According to Drucker

,

^{!he only} ethics ^{needed for all} professionals iscontained intheHippocratic Oath"primumnon nocere"⁽"above all

,

^{not knowingly to do harm")}

.

This oath contains a general ethical principle ^of natural law and is addressed in classical ethics

.

Determinants of Ethics in Public Administration The major determinants of administrative conduct ⁱⁿ the public sector include^;

•

The political construct of which public administrators are a part

•

^{The legal framework}

•

The administrators and public employees who are responsible for the provision of public services

•

^The citizens and users of public services that ^{are a part of the}

civil society

.

First, the determinants of ethics in public administration with regard to the individual attributes of public/civil servants

include ethical decision-makingskills

,

mental attitude, virtues and professionalvalues^.Secondly

,

theorganizational _structuredimension

T 4U LEXICON

is explained by dear accoun⁽ability, collaborative arrangements

,

dissent channels,and participation procedures

.

Third, the political organizational culture includes artefacts, beliefs and values, and assumptions

.

Leadership is important in the development, maintenance, and adaptation of organizational culture^. Ethical behaviour is encouraged when organizations haveaclimate where personalstandards andemployeeeducation areemphasized,where supervisors stress the truth^, and where employees regularly come together to discuss ethical problems

.

^Finally, societal expectation includes public participation, laws, and policies

.

Ethical Issues in Indian Civil Services

Today the Indian Civil Services are facing a large number of ethical issues and most of them

,

^directly or indirectly^,are related

to corruption

.

Corruption is an important manifestation of the failure of ethics

.

The word corrupts' is derived from the Latin word ^'corruptus',meaning to break or destroy^'

.

The word ethics' is from original Greek term 'ethicos^',meaning 'arisingfrom habit

'

^,

It is unfortunate that corruption has, for many^, become a matter

of habit, ranging from grand corruption involving persons in high places to retail ^corruption touching the everyday life of common people

.

There are two facets to corruption:

•

^The institution which is highly corrupt;

•

Individuals who ^{ate highly} corrupt^.

There is a need towork on public profiteeringand also value

to be attributed to the services rendered by officers

.

Interlocking accountability is a process by which evaluation could be done easily and accountability _ensured.

Various ethical issues faced by our civil services are:

•

^Asymmetric distribution and Abuse of Power

•

^Lack of accountability

VALUESANDElHlCSINPUBLIC ADMINISTRAl ION 141

•

Political interference and Cronyism

•

^{Lack of integrity}

•

^{Lack of} action against corrupt officials

•

^{Lack of proper} protection to whistleblowers

•

^{Lack of proper} Code of Conduct for Pubfic Servants

•

^{Lack of} transparency and sensitivity towards common man in this regard,the Second Administrative Reform Commission

[ARG has observed as under

-•

Corruption is a matter of concern particularly at the cutting edge levels of the bureaucracy

.

•

^{There is a} perceptible lack of commitment in public servants

towards redressal of citizens^' grievances

.

•

Reddapism and unnecessary complex procedures add to the hardship of citizens

.

•

^{Government servants are}rarely held^{to account} and complaints

to higher authorities usually ^go unheeded^.

•

^Generally the attitude of many public functionaries is one of arrogance and indifference

.

•

^Frequent transfer of officers reduces their effectiveness and also dilutes their accountability

.

•

^{Sometimes there is "unholy" nexus} between unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats leading to poor governance

.

Value Conflicts

A value conflict occurs when individuals or groups of people hold strong persona! beliefs that are ⁱⁿ disagreement within themselves or in disagreement with the institution

'

^s/ organization

'

^s

values

.

Thesemay include religiousdifferences

,

cultural differences or differences in upbringing

.

142 LEXICON

Values^{^}basedconflictsareparticularlypervasive inpublic policy

.

Indeed, nearly all public ⁽policy⁾ controversies entail divergent beliefs about what is right and what is wrong, what is just and what is unjust

.

^Manypolicydecisions areessentially choicesamong competing values^, Simply consider how^:

•

^{Efforts to promote equal} opportunity might result in conflicts among values such as efficiency, justice, equality, diversity, merit, and individual achievement;

•

^{Crime prevention} policies might trigger competition among values suchasliberty, safety, dueprocess,equity, effectiveness, access, and justice; and

•

^{Domestic security} policies might produce conflict among values such as knowledge generation, information sharing, confidentiality, privacy, civil liberties^, individual rights, and safety

.

Framework of Ethical Behaviour

The role of ethics in public life has many dimensions

.

^At

one end is the expression of high moral values and ^at the other, the specifics of action for which a public functionary can be held legally accountable

.

Any framework of ethical behaviour ^must include the following elements:

•

^{Codifying ethical norms and practices}

^.

•

^{Disclosing personal interest to avoid conflict between public}

interest and personal gain^,

•

^{Creating a mechanism} for enforcing the relevant codes

.

•

^{Providing norms} for qualifying and disqualifying a public functionary from office^,

•

^{Public Interest} and Public Administration

The public interest refers to the “^{common well-being1' or}

"

^{general welfare}

"

^. The public interest is central to policy debates^,

VALUES ANDETHICSINPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 14J

politics,democracyand thenatureof governmentitself

.

^Government

has a universalistic character^{, tE} has ^to serve ^{the common good} without making any sort of distinction between man and mam The importance of a sense of public interest as a wider ethical commitment in public administration assumes significance in this context

.

Philosophies of Public Interest

Philosophies of public interest fallbroadly into four classes

-•

Intuitionist Philosophy

•

Perfectionism

•

Utilitarianism

•

^{Theory of Justice}

Intuitionist Philosophy

It seeks ^to Justify existing practices by pointing ^out that in conflicting situations, the administrator chooses an alternative by intuition

.

In other words, what the administrator actually does is an intuitionist solution which seems to him ^the right course of action under given circumstances

.

This philosophy does not provide any guideline for action

,

^{nor does it spell out an explicit}

theory of public interest

Perfectionism

The administrator views public interest from the standpoint of promotion of excellence in all spheres of social activities

.

Public resource should be spent in such a way that the best members of the society benefit most from the expenditure

.

Thus seen, Perfectionism is an elitist philosophy and anti^-egalitarian and is

not compatible with democratic society

.

It favours excellence at the expense of social equality

.

144 LEXICON

Utilitarianism

According to Utilitarian Philosophy the public interest Is served when a public policy makes as many as possible better

-off even though it may render a few worse^-off

.

Public interest is judged by the augmentation of the net balance of social satisfaction

.

Theory of

Justice

This theory was propounded by the philosopher

John

^Rawls

.

Rawls suggests twobasicprinciples of justice tolest public interest^. The first principle is that each person is to have an equal right to

the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others

.

The other principle postulates that public policies are reasonably expected to be to everyone's advantage and public position and offices are open to all

.

In case of conflict between these principles, the second principle is expected to prevail and give way to the first

.

Rational decision

-

^makinginpublic administration hasto have

an ethical framework

.

These principles provide an operating logic for the determination of public interest by the decision^- makers^.

Human Rights

Human rights are commonly understood as "inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human ^being." Human rights

are thus conceived as universal ⁽applicable everywhere⁾ and egalitarian ⁽the same for everyone⁾

.

These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights,in local,regional

,

national,and Internationa! law

.

The doctrine of human rights in international practice,within international law^,globaland ^regional institutions,

in the policies of states and in the activities ofnon

-

governmental organizations, has been a cornerstone of public policy around the world^.

VALUES ANDETHICSJN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 145

The main characteristics of human rights are

-•

^{They are} universal and inalienable

•

^{They are equal and non}

^-

discriminatory Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favours equality for particularcategoriesof,or foralt, livingentities

.

Egalitariandoctrines maintain that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social

status

.

According to theMerriam

-

^{Webster Dictionary, the term has}

two distinct definitions in modern English

.

It is defined eilher as a

political doctrine that all people should ^{be treated as} equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights,or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people or the decentralisation of power

.

Some sources define egalitarianism as the point of view that equality reflects the natural state of humanity

.

Dilemma

A dilemma is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is practically ^acceptable, One in this position has ^been traditionally described as "being on the horns ^of a dilemma^'1, neither horn being comfortable

.

Ethical Dilemma

An ethical dilemma arises from a situation that necessitates a choice between competing sets of principles

.

Thus an ethical dilemma can be describedas a circumstance that requiresa choice betweencompetingsetsofprinciples in agiven, usuallyundesirable or perplexing

,

^situation

.

There are three conditions that must be

present for a situation to be considered as ethical dilemma

-•

^{The first condition occurs in situations when an individual,}

called ^the "agent," must make a decision ^about which ^course

www.xaam.in https://telegram.me/UpscMaterials 146 LEXICON

of action is best

.

Situations that are uncomfortable but that don't require a choice are not ethical dilemmas

.

The second condition ^for ethical dilemma is that ^there must be different courses of action to choose from^.

•

^{Third, in an} ethical dilemma, no matter what course of action istaken

,

^someethicalprinciple^iscompromised

.

Inother words,

there is no perfect solution^.

Types of Ethical Dilemmas

Conflicts of interest are possibly the most obvious example that could place public sector leaders in an ethical ^dilemma

.

Other types of ethical dilemmas in which public servants may find themselves include conflict between: the values of public administration; justifications for the institutions; aspects of the code of conduct; personal values and supervisor or governmental directive; professional ethics and supervisor or governmental directive_;personal values and professional ethicsversusgovernmental directive;blurredorcompetingaccountabilities^{;and the}dimensions of ethical conduct

.

These dilemmas are in three broad categories:

*

^{Personal Cost Ethical Dilemmas- This} dilemma arises ^from situations in which compliance with ethical conduct results in a significant personal cost {e g^, jeopardizing held position,

missing opportunity for financial or material ^benefit, injuring valued relationship etc

.

^{] to the public}

-

^servant

-

^decision

-

^maker

and/or the Agency;

•

^{Right-versus-}Rrght Ethical Dilemmas- Thisdilemmaarises from situations of two or more conflicting sets of bona fide ethical values ⁽e

.

g^, public servants' responsibility of being open and accountable to citizens versus that ^{of adhering} to the Oath of Secrecy/Confidentiality etc^,).

Conjoint Ethical Dilemmas^-This dilemmaarises fromsituations in which a conscientious public

-

^servant

-

^decision

-

^{maker is}

VALUESAND ETHICS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 147

exposed to a combination of the above

-

indicated ethical dilemmas in searching for the

"

^right

-

^thing-to

-

^do"

^.

Examples ^of Ethical Dilemmas

Following are some examples of ethical dilemmas for a public administrator

-*

Would he keep silent when hefindsthat administrative discretion is abused

,

or that corruption or nepotism are practiced? Or should he blow the whistle?

*

^Should he actively engage in pressure group activities because he sympathizes with their views?

*

^Should he actively participate in party politics? Or should he endeavour only to promote the public good and uphold the high standards of public office?

Resolving Ethical Dilemma

Public servants should ask themselves following questions when ^making ethical decisions^:

In document Lexicon Ethics by Raz Kr (Page 132-144)