ethics concept series by t.

roychowdhary

01_Meaning and Dimensions of Ethics

Meaning of Ethics ethics focuses on providing a framework for
deciding what is right and wrong. Three com-
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of phi- mon frameworks are deontology, consequen-
losophy that “involves systematizing, defending, tialism (utilitarianism), and virtue ethics.
and recommending concepts of right and wrong Normative ethics examines moral standards
behavior”. that attempt to define right and wrong con-
duct. Historically, this has involved examining
Ethics refers to a set of standards, norms, principles
good and bad habits, duties, or an action’s con-
or directives that a society places over itself and
sequences. In addition, historically, normative
against which actions of individuals are judged from
ethics has focused on the prospect of a single
the viewpoint of rightness and wrongness or good-
moral standard defining right and wrong con-
ness and badness.
duct; but it has become more common for phi-
Ethics thus, is the branch of philosophy that con- losophers to propose a moral pluralism with
templates what is right and wrong. It explores the multiple moral standards.
nature of morality and examines how people should
c) Applied Ethics: It addresses specific, practi-
live their lives in relation to others. Ethics is the ra-
cal issues of moral importance. For example,
tional study of the meaning and justification of
one is doing applied ethics when one address-
moral claims. A moral claim evaluates the right-
es the morality of specific practical issues like
ness or wrongness of an action or a person’s
abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, en-
character. For example, “Lying is wrong” claims the
vironmental concerns, homosexuality, terror-
act of lying is wrong, while “One shouldn’t be lazy”
ism etc. By using the conceptual tools of me-
claims a character trait (i.e., laziness) is wrong.
taethics and normative ethics, discussions
in applied ethics try to resolve these issues.
Meta-ethics, Normative-ethics and
Applied ethics also tackles specific moral chal-
Applied-ethics lenges that people face daily, such as whether
Ethics is usually divided into three distinct subject they should lie to help a friend or a co-worker.
areas: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied While metaethics, normative ethics, and applied
ethics. ethics are distinct subjects, these subjects are in-
a) Meta Ethics: Meta Ethics is the study of eth- terdependent. For example, how one pursues nor-
ical ideas or ethical language. Metaethics mative ethics will be greatly affected by one’s meta-
examines the nature of moral claims and ethical assumptions. If one assumes, for example,
arguments. Meta-ethics, investigates big pic- that moral claims are divine commands, then
ture questions such as, “What is morality?” one’s normative positions will be determined by
“What is justice?” “Is there truth?” and “How identifying divine commands. Given this relation-
can I justify my beliefs as better than conflict- ship between metaethics and normative ethics, it is
ing beliefs held by others?” This partly in- common for metaethical questions to arise during a
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volves attempting to determine if moral claims discussion on normative ethics. Similarly, how one

p ow r s”
have clear essential meanings (i.e., they avoid pursues applied ethics will be greatly affected

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vagueness and ambiguity). But it also attempts by one’s normative assumptions. If one assumes
erin g E n d e a
to answer questions such as: Are moral claims that one always should pursue those actions
expressions of individual emotions? Are moral which lead to the best consequences, then one’s
claims social inventions? Are moral claims di- position on, for example, capital punishment,
vine commands? Can one justify moral claims? abortion, and terrorism will be determined by
How does one justify them? identifying which action(s) will lead to the best
consequences. This interdependence between me-
b) Normative Ethics: Another branch of moral taethics, normative ethics and applied ethics is the
philosophy is normative ethics. It answers the core of all moral philosophical studies, interpreta-
question of what we ought to do. Normative tions and interpolations.

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ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

Consequentialist ethics duty.

Consequentialism, as the name suggests, bases mo-

Modern deontological ethics was introduced by
rality on the consequences of human actions and
not on the actions themselves, its emphasis, thus, is Immanuel Kant in the late 18th Century, with his
on the rightness of the ‘end’ rather than morality of theory of the Categorical Imperative. Categorical
the ‘means’ employed. Three subdivisions of conse- Imperatives command unconditionally. They are
quentialism are: non-negotiable and should be always adhered to.
E.g. “Don’t cheat in your exam.” Even if you want to
• Ethical egoism
cheat and doing so would serve your interests, you
• Ethical altruism should not cheat, as cheating is inherently bad.
• Utilitarianism
Virtue Ethics
Ethical egoism is an ethical position which
claims that it is always right to do what would
Virtues are good traits of character and vices are
benefit you the most. In other words what ever
will give the best outcome to you is the most moral bad traits of character. Virtue ethics is person
thing to pursue rather than action based: it looks at the virtue or
moral character of the person carrying out an ac-
Ethical Altruism is an ethical doctrine that tion, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the
holds that individuals have a moral obliga-
tion to help,  serve or benefit others, if necessary at consequences of particular actions.
the sacrifice of self interest.
Virtue ethics not only deals with the rightness or
Utilitarianism wrongness of individual actions, it provides guid-
Utilitarianism is a normative-consequentialist ethi- ance as to the sort of characteristics and behaviours
cal theory that places the locus of right and wrong a good person will seek to achieve. In that way, vir-
solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choos- tue ethics is concerned with the whole of a person’s
ing one action/policy over other actions/policies. life, rather than particular episodes or actions. A
The underlying principle of utilitarianism is that an good person is someone who lives virtuously - who
action is right if it produces greatest good for the possesses and lives the virtues. Socrates, Plato
greatest number. According to this perspective, an
and Aristotle are the biggest proponents of vir-
action is morally right if the consequences of that
action are more favourable than unfavourable to ev- tue-ethics.
eryone’.
In normative ethics the idea of utilitarianism
emerged from the writings of 18th- and 19th-cen-
tury English philosophers and economists namely
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
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Deontological Ethics
p ow r s”
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Deontology (or Deontological Ethics) is an ap-
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proach to Ethics that focuses on the rightness or
wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to
the rightness or wrongness of the consequences
of those actions (Consequentialism).

Therefore it is sometimes described as “duty-based”

or “obligation-based” ethics, because Deontolo-
gists believe that ethical rules bind people to their

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02_Human Values
Meaning of “Value” in Ethics aspirations and form the basis of our lives as in-
dividuals and as societies. Human values are ‘Uni-
The word value is an ambiguous term as it has been versal’ in nature as they shared by all human beings
used, indiscriminately, by Philosophers, Psycholo- irrespective of their religion, nationality or cultural
gists, Administrators, Political scientists, Econo- background. Human values induce consideration
mists, Sociologists, Historians, Anthropologists, for fellow human beings.
Engineers, Medical practioners, Lawyers and so
on; hence it becomes indispensible for us to have Classification of Human values
a look at the etymological origin of the word to
understand its meaning in the context of ethics. A] Terminal values and Instrumental values
The word “Value” is derived from the Latin word Terminal values are the core permanent values
‘Valere’ meaning “to be of worth”. Therefore, et- that often become the traits of one’s character.
ymologically the term value denotes the worth of They can be good or bad. They are very hard to
something. The word ‘value’ came to ethics by the change. Terminal Values include things like hap-
way of economics. In Economics, it is used for piness, self respect, family security, recognition,
freedom, inner harmony, comfortable life, pro-
a) value in use that is, the capacity of object to sat- fessional excellence, etc. terminal values are desir-
isfy a human need or desire and able states of existence.
b) value in exchange or the amount of one com- Instrumental values are a part of a values defi-
modity that can be obtained in exchange for an- nition created by social psychologist Milton
other. Rokeach. He defined instrumental values as
those which are specific modes of behavior.
Generally, an object is said to have value, if it contrib- They are not an end goal, but provide a means
utes to the satisfaction of a human need. In ethics, by which an end goal is accomplished.
values mean our core ideas or beliefs that guide
our action. Values are acquired from knowledge, In a nutshell, Terminal Values signify the objec-
awareness, experience or through the process of so- tives of the life of a person – the ultimate things
cialization. These ideas or beliefs are dear to us and the person wants to achieve through his or her
on the basis of these ideas we decide what is right behaviour (the destination he wants to reach in life)
and what is wrong. Thus values are something that whereas  Instrumental Values indicate the meth-
are desirable and worthy of esteem for their own ods an individual would like to adopt for achieving
sake. Values have an intrinsic worth in ‘usefulness his life’s aim (the path he would like to take to reach
or importance’ to the possessor. Values are princi- his destination).
ples, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile
or desirable. Good values engender good thoughts B] Intrinsic values and Extrinsic values
and ultimately translate into good behaviour.
An intrinsic value is one which has worth in its

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What are Human values? own right. It is an end- in-itself. Intrinsic values
are good irrespective of the consequences they
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Human values are the virtues (i.e. desirable traits bring. Intrinsic value has traditionally been thought

erin g E n d e a vo u
of character) that guide us to take into account to lie at the heart of ethics. Honesty, temperance,
the human element when we interact with oth- courage, happiness, peace etc are examples of
er human beings. Human values are those values intrinsic values.
which help man to live in harmony with the world. An Extrinsic value is one which is a means to at-
Without values, human life would be drained of tain some other intrinsic value. It is of instrumen-
significance, degenerating into a bland and tex- tal worth only as they serve as means to achieve
tureless existence without differentiation. an end. Values such as health, money, fame, status,
intelligence, and so on are the ‘means-values’ or
Human values contain mankind’s deepest moral
‘path-values’ which help achieve the end values.

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ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

C] Institutional values and Individual values Fundamental Human Values

Institutional values are propagated by political,
social, economic or cultural institutions. For ex-
ample in a democratic society liberty becomes an in-
stitutional value. Similarly loyalty becomes a value
in a social institution like marriage. Individual val-
ues include both intrinsic and extrinsic values
which are considered important by the posses-
sor of these values. Self-esteem and fame can be
thought of as such values.
The values which are considered basic inherent
values in humans include truth, honesty, loyalty,
love, peace, etc. because they bring out the fun-
damental goodness of human beings and society
at large. Further, since these values are unifying in
nature and cut across individual’s social, cultur-
al, religious and sectarian interests; they are also
considered universal, timeless and eternal apply-
ing to all human beings.

How are Values formed?

People’s value system comprises both sets of
values—terminal and instrumental—which are
developed and reinforced through the culture
in which they grow on one side and the environ-
ment on the other.
Socialisation from parents, religious institutions,
friends, personal experiences, and society contrib-
ute to the formation of values in individuals. The
individual values are affected by our belief system,
prevailing social systems, and to some extent so-
cio- economic conditions. The terminal values are
formed over the years, whereas the instrumen-
tal values are determined by situations.

GRID OF HUMAN VALUES AND SUB-VALUES

Right-Conduct Peace Truth Love Non-violence
Manners Patience Truthfulness Kindness Consideration
Awareness Concentration Honesty Forgiveness Stewardship
Responsibility Positiveness Fairness Generosity Justice
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Independence Self-acceptance Trust Compassion Respect
Perseverance
p ow
Self-discipline Reflection
r s”
Tolerance Cooperation

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Courage Contentment Determination Service Harmlessness

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03_Attitude
Meaning of Attitude
Attitude refers to a psychological tendency that
is expressed by evaluating a particular object
with some degree of favour or disfavour. “Object”
includes people, things, events, and issues. Attitudes
are the feelings and beliefs that determine the be-
haviour of the persons. They provide framework for
responding in a particular fashion.
Attitudes may be positive or negative. Positive at-
titudes yield favourable behaviour and negative at-
titudes yield unfavourable behaviour. According to
theorists, an attitude is “a relatively enduring or-
ganization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioural
tendencies towards socially significant objects, Attitude and Values
groups, events or symbols”
Components of Attitude
Rosenberg and Hovland have expressed the tri- on the basis of underlying values.
partite view and stated that an attitude contains
cognitive, affective, and behavioural components
of ways. For example, many people are afraid /
scared of spiders. So this negative affective re-
sponse is likely to cause you to have a negative
attitude towards spiders. Affect plays a very im-
portant role in attitude formation. Also, affect is
a common component in attitude change. How
we feel about an outcome may override pure-
ly cognitive rationales.
3) Behavioural component:  The behavioural
component of attitudes refers to a tendency or
a predisposition to act in a certain manner. The
predisposition to behave in a certain manner
may be caused by affective and cognitive compo-
nents.
Attitude is all about whether you like or dislike
something. Value is a belief (about what is import-
ant). Value can exist in itself. Attitudes are formed
Explicit and Implicit attitudes

Every attitude has three components that are repre- • Explicit Attitude (Conscious) – If a person is
sented in what is called the ABC model of attitudes: aware of his attitudes and how they influence his
A for affective, B for behavioral and C for cogni- behaviour, then those attitudes are explicit. Ex-
tive. Although every attitude has these three com- plicit attitudes are formed consciously. These are
ponents, any particular attitude can be based on one largely governed by the cognitive component.
component more than another.
• Implicit Attitude (Sub-Conscious) – If a per-
1) Cognitive component: The cognitive component son is unaware of his attitudes (beliefs) and how
of attitudes denotes to the beliefs, thoughts, they influence his behaviour, then those atti-
and attributes that people would associate with tudes are implicit. Implicit attitudes are formed
an object. Many times a person’s attitude might sub-consciously. These are largely influenced by
be based on the negative and positive attributes
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affective experiences.
they associate with an object. When we form
our opinion or judgment on the basis of avail-
p ow r s”
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able information and decide whether you
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have a favourable or unfavourable opinion
on that, it is the cognitive part of an attitude
we are talking about.

2) Affective component: The affective component

of attitudes is related to feelings or emotions
(e.g., fear, sympathy, hate, like, pleasure) of
people linked to an attitude object. Affec-
tive responses influence attitudes in a number

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Dimensions of attitudes Attitude-Functions

The structure of attitudes can be examined by ex- Daniel Katz classified attitudes into different
ploring their STRENGTH, ACCESSIBILITY and AM- groups based on their functions
BIVALANCE.
• Knowledge function: knowing one’s or other’s
attitude imparts knowledge.
1) Attitude Strength
• Ego-defensive function: attitudes can help peo-
Attitudes differ in strength. Some attitudes are ple protect their self-esteem and avoid depres-
strong while some attitudes are weak. The strength sion.
with which an attitude is held is often a good predic-
tor of behaviour. The stronger the attitude the more • Ego-expressive function: used to express one’s
likely it should affect behaviour core values or beliefs.
2) Attitude Accessibility • Instrumental function: helps to choose what is
Attitude accessibility refers to the ease with which rewarding (and also avoid punishment).
attitudes can be retrieved from memory, in other
• Social Acceptance function: adapt to the so-
words how readily available is an attitude about an
object, issue, or situation. Attitudes that are more cially approved attitudes of a larger group.
accessible from memory are more predictive of be-
haviour and are more stable across time
3) Attitude Ambivalence
Attitude ambivalence refers to the fact that our eval-
uations of objects, issues, events, or people are not
always uniformly positive or negative; our evalu-
ations are often mixed, consisting of both positive
and negative reactions. In other words when we
simultaneously possess both positive and negative
attitudes toward the object in question we exhibit
attitude ambivalence.

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p ow r s”
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 ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

04_Foundational Values in Civil Services

The Necessity of Foundational Values Anonymity
Under modern rights based governance systems Anonymity is a key aspect of civil services. The
the concept of public services is fast changing. task of a civil servant is to assist the representatives
Bureaucrats today have become directly account- of the people by providing advice which is beneficial
able to the citizens. Modern Bureaucracy has to for the society and country. He should work from be-
respond to moral universe of the citizens. hind the curtains in an honest and non-partisan way,
helping the ministers to the best of his ability.
Bureaucrats have discretionary powers, therefore
they must be provided with guiding principles to Integrity
prevent ‘abuse of power’. The foundational values
provide these guiding principles. Integrity is the fundamental moral concept in
civil services. It is an important basis of ethical
Major Foundational Values for Civil Ser- behaviour and ethical competency. It is associated
vants with the value of being honest and maintain strong
moral principles. Integrity includes financial integ-
The major foundational values include the following rity, professional integrity and intellectual integrity.
Ethics and integrity are closely related. An ethical
 Neutrality person having strong moral values is bound to be a
 Anonymity man of integrity.

 Commitment and dedication to public ser- Impartiality

vice
Impartiality implies that the behavior and treat-
 Civil Activism ment by a bureaucrat to any individual or entity
has to be exclusively based on merit. To make fair,
 Important Commandment for Civil Servants just, equitable effective and efficient decisions, there
 Civil Services Accountability has to be absolute impartiality.

 Ethical Conduct of a Civil Servant Objectivity

 Responsibility Objectivity is founding advice and decisions on
rigorous analysis of the evidence. It entails that
 Courage of conviction truth remains true universally, independently of hu-
 Discipline man thought or approaches. An objective approach
is particularly important in decision-making pro-
 Integrity cesses.
 Humility Dedication
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 Impartiality
”
Dedication is the eminence of people to be de-
p ow r s
voted or loyal to duty or purpose, thought or ac-

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Neutrality
erin g E n d e a tion. Dedication is a vital personality trait of an indi-
Neutrality is the tendency of not to side in a con- vidual. This value gives the ability to continue acting
flict (physical or ideological), which may not when motivation is lacking. Dedication will drive to
suggest neutral parties do not have a side or are certain task rapidly
not a side themselves. In colloquial use neutral can
be synonymous with unbiased approach. Neutrali-
ty implies tolerance regardless of how disagreeable,
deplorable, or unusual a perspective might be.

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ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary
Empathy, Tolerance and Compassion
Public servants are meant to serve and this requires
developing a humanistic attitude. These values
guarantee that the public servants act sympatheti-
cally and interpret the rules to advance the public
interest. They must exhibit empathy, tolerance
and compassion towards the weaker sections.
Courage and Conviction
In public service, while facing different situa-
tions one may be buoyed by the circumstances,
fear, passions, greed since the decisions at the
helm would be affecting many interests, vested
or non-vested. It is during these trying moments
that courage of conviction helps a civil servant to
stay on the best course of action despite various
temptations and risks, staying firm in his beliefs,
values and duty. Hence, Courage of conviction as-
sumes importance in public service.
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p ow
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The spirit of service
The domain of civil service calls for duty in the spir-
it of service for country, society and its people
and sacrifices by putting aside greed, personal
entitlements and engagements. This is perhaps
the most important value that marks civil services
apart from other services and keeps the civil ser-
vants motivated to keep working for the welfare of
the people and betterment of the society.
Humility
Humility is the feeling or attitude that you have no
special importance that makes you better than oth-
ers or having a lack of pride. At first glance, humility
seems like a negative quality, almost like a sign of
weakness rather than strength. In reality, humility
is a type of modesty that helps the civil servants
to develop the art of empathy and dedication.
These foundational values creates an environment
of acceptance, and engenders currents that ulti-
mately lead to the creation of happiness and justice
for all
r s”
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 ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

05_ Emotional Intelligence

Meaning of Emotional Intelligence (EI)  Self-Motivation: The ability to channel emo-
tions towards the achievement of personal goals.
Emotional intelligence (sometimes referred to This includes the ability to delay gratification
as EQ) is the ability to perceive, understand, ex- and stifle impulses.
press, and control emotions.
 Empathy: The ability to read other people’s
Emotional intelligence has been defined, by Peter emotional cues and to take their perspective, be-
Salovey and John Mayer, as “the ability to mon- ing sensitive to how their feelings may be differ-
itor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to ent.
discriminate between different emotions and
label them appropriately, and to use emotional  Managing Relationships: The ability to react
information to guide thinking and behavior”. appropriately to the emotions of others as well
as manage one’s own; social competence.
The concept was popularized in a 1995 book by
Daniel Goleman, in which he argues that emo- Significance of Emotional Intelligence
tional intelligence counts more for success in life (EI) in Public Services
than IQ does.
 EI helps in better targeting of Beneficiary
Difference between IQ and EQ schemes
IQ is known as “Intelligence Quotient” and it’s a  EI helps in motivating the sub-ordinates espe-
measure of a person’s relative intelligence. Emo- cially under exigent or demanding situations
tional Quotient, also known as EQ, is the ability
to identify and manage your emotions and the  EI helps in appreciating the challenges of public
emotions of others. services better and helps in reducing stress

Merriam-Webster defines IQ as “a number used  EI helps in engendering policies that bring tangi-
to express the apparent relative intelligence of ble improvements in the lives of the vulnerable
a person. Determined by either the ratio of the sections of the society
mental age (as reported on a standardized test)
 EI act as a viable device to take relevant and
to the chronological age multiplied by 100 - or a
sound decisions
score determined by one’s performance on a stan-
dardized intelligence test relative to the average  EI helps in bridges the communication gap and
performance of others of the same age. Emotional reduces the chances of mis-communication
Intelligence is measured through assessments.
 EI imparts flexibility, empathy and clarity
Traits of Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Ways to improve Emotional Intelligence
The term emotional intelligence was coined by Pe- (EI)

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ter Salovey and John Mayer in 1990, who described

”
it as consisting of five traits: 1. Utilize an assertive style of communicating: -
p ow r s
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Assertive communication goes a long way toward
 Emotional Self-Awareness: The ability to mon- earning respect without coming across as too ag-

states as they occur.

erin g E n d e a
itor your own feelings and recognize emotional gressive or too passive. Emotionally intelligent peo-
ple know how to communicate their opinions and
 Self-Management: The ability to control im- needs in a direct way while still respecting others.
pulses, ensure that emotional reactions are ap- 2. Respond instead of reacting to conflict: - During
propriate, and understand what underlies those instances of conflict, emotional outbursts and feel-
feelings. ings of anger are common. The emotionally intelli-
gent person knows how to stay calm during stressful

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ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

situations. They don’t make impulsive decisions that 10. Be approachable and sociable: -Emotionally
can lead to even bigger problems. They understand intelligent people come off as approachable. They
that in times of conflict the goal is a resolution, and smile and give off a positive presence. They utilize
they make a conscious choice to focus on ensuring appropriate social skills based on their relationship
that their actions and words are in alignment with with whomever they are around. They have great
that. interpersonal skills and know how to communicate
clearly, whether the communication is verbal or
3. Utilize active listening skills: - In conversations, nonverbal.
emotionally intelligent people listen for clarity in-
stead of just waiting for their turn to speak.
4. Be motivated: -Emotionally intelligent people
are self-motivated and their attitude motivates oth-
ers. They set goals and are resilient in the face of
challenges.
5. Practice ways to maintain a positive attitude:
- Emotionally intelligent people have an awareness
of the moods of those around them and guard their
attitude accordingly.
6. Practice self-awareness: -Emotionally intelli-
gent people are self-aware and intuitive. They are
aware of their own emotions and how they can af-
fect those around them. They also pick up on others’
emotions and body language and use that informa-
tion to enhance their communication skills.
7. Take critique well: - An important part of in-
creasing your emotional intelligence is to be able to
take critique. Instead of getting offended or defen-
sive, high EQ people take a few moments to under-
stand where the critique is coming from, how it is
affecting others or their own performance and how
they can constructively resolve any issues.
8. Empathize with others: -Emotionally intelli-
gent people know how to empathize. They under-
stand that empathy is a trait that shows emotional
strength, not weakness. Empathy helps them to re-
late to others on a basic human level. It opens the

“Em
door for mutual respect and understanding between

”
people with differing opinions and situations.
p ow r s
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9. Utilize leadership skills: -Emotionally intelli-
erin g E n d e a
gent people have excellent leadership skills. They
have high standards for themselves and set an ex-
ample for others to follow. They take initiative and
have great decision making and problem-solving
skills. This allows for a higher and more productive
level of performance in life and at work.

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06_ Probity in Governance

Meaning of Probity • Openness – Holders of public office should be as
open as possible about all the decisions and actions
Probity means integrity, uprightness and hon- they take. They should give reasons for their decisions
esty. For public servants probity is not the mere and restrict information only when the wider public
avoidance of corruption but enforcement of im- interest clearly demands.
partiality, accountability, objectivity and trans-
parency. • Honesty – Holders of public office have a duty to
declare any private interests relating to their public
Probity in governance is an essential and vital duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising
requirement for an efficient and effective system in a way that protects the public interest.
of governance and for socio-economic develop-
ment. An important requisite for ensuring probity • Leadership – Holders of public office should
in governance is absence of corruption. The other promote and support these principles by leadership
and example.
requirements are effective laws, rules and regula-
tions governing every aspect of public life and, The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as
more important, an effective and fair implemen- the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works
tation of those laws. Indeed, a proper, fair and ef- as a public office-holder.
fective enforcement of law is a facet of probity.
This includes all those who are elected or ap-
Nolan Principles pointed to public office, nationally and locally,
and all people appointed to work in the Civil
In 1994, the UK government established a Com- Service, local government, the police, courts and
mittee on Standards in Public Life. The commit- probation services, non-departmental public
tee was chaired by Lord Nolan, and was tasked with bodies (NDPBs), and in the health, education,
making recommendations to improve standards of social and care services. All public office-holders
behaviour in public life. The report of the committee are both servants of the public and stewards of
established the seven principles of public life, also public resources. The principles also apply to all
known as the “Nolan principles”. These principles those in other sectors delivering public services.
encourage probity in governance. The seven princi-
ples are: Philosophical basis of Probity in Gover-
• Selflessness – Holders of public office should act nance
solely in terms of the public interest. They should not
Probity is an indispensible component of any peo-
do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for
ple-centric government. Indian scriptures and texts
themselves, their family or their friends.
like Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Buddha Charita,
• Integrity – Holders of public office should not place Arthashastra, Panchatantra, Hitopadesh etc. up-
themselves under any financial or other obligation to hold the principles of probity. Chinese philosophers
outside individuals or organisations that might seek like Loa Tse, Confucius and Mencius have cele-
“Em
to influence them in the performance of their official brated the concept of probity

”
duties.
p ow r s
Aristotle holds that virtues such as justice, char-

erin g E n d e a vo u
• Objectivity – In carrying out public business, ity and generosity are dispositions to act in ways
including making public appointments, awarding that benefit the possessor of these virtues and
contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards the society of which he is a part.
and benefits, holders of public office should make
choices on merit. For Immanuel Kant duty is central to morality.
Commitment to justice and probity become insep-
• Accountability – Holders of public office are arable from the performance of duty. Utilitarian
accountable for their decisions and actions to the viewpoint asserts that the highest happiness is
public and must submit themselves to whatever the greatest happiness of the greatest number
scrutiny is appropriate to their office. and it cannot be obtained without probity. Schol-

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ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

ars and leaders like John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,

Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma
Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Nelson Mandela,
Edmund Burke etc are also champions of probity.

Utility of Probity in Governance

 To ensure accountability in governance
 To maintain integrity in public services
 To ensure compliance with processes
 To preserve public confidence in Govern-
ment institutions and processes
 To avoid misconduct, fraud, mismanagement
or corruption

“Em
p ow r s”
erin g E n d e a vo u

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 ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary
07_Codes of Ethics and
Codes of Conduct
Difference between codes of ethics and public officials of acts of corruption to appropri-
codes of conduct ate authorities, when such acts come to their no-
tice in the performance of their functions
A Code of Ethics governs decision-making, and a
Code of Conduct governs actions. The primary dif-  Each party shall also consider establishing mea-
ference between code of ethics and code of conduct sures and systems to facilitate the reporting by
is that code of ethics is a set of principles which public officials to make declarations to appropri-
influence the judgement while the code of con- ate authorities regarding their outside activities,
duct is a set of guidelines that influence actions. employment, investments, assets and substan-
tial gifts or benefits from which a conflict of in-
Code of Ethics is an aspirational document, con- terest may result with respect to their functions
taining core ethical values, principles and ideals as public officials
of any institution, organization or community.
Codes of Conduct is a directional document con-  Each state-party shall consider taking disci-
taining specific practices and behavior that are plinary or other measures against public officials
followed or restricted under the institution, or- who violate the codes established in accordance
ganization or community. Code of Conduct origi- with this article.
nates from the code of ethics
For the purposes of implementing the provisions
of this article each state-party shall take note of the
relevant initiatives of regional, inter-regional and
Basis for Codes of Codes of multi-lateral organisations such as the international
code of conduct for public officials contained in the
Comparison Ethics Conduct
annex to General assembly resolution, 1996.
Nature General Specific
Scope Wide Narrow Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1964
Governs Decision mak- Actions
Indian Civil Services is governed by the Central Civil
ing
Services (conduct) rules, 1964. These rules were
Disclosure Publicly dis- Only for amended in 2014. This code requires the bureau-
closed. Employees or
crats to be politically neutral, honest, impartial
insiders
and maintain high ethical standards.
Primary focus Values or prin- Compliance
is on ciples and rules The amended rules state that every member of the
All India Services shall be courteous and respon-
sive to the public, particularly the weaker sec-
tions, and ensure accountability and transpar-
UN Convention against Corruption- Codes ency in the discharge of his duties.
of conduct for officials
“Em The broad highlights of the rules are

”
 Each party shall promote integrity, honesty and
p ow r s
responsibility among its public officials, in ac-  Every member of the service shall take decisions

erin g E n d e a vo u
cordance with the fundamental principles of its solely based on merit and in public interest and
legal system use public resources efficiently, effectively and
economically
 Each party shall endeavour to apply, within its
own institutional and legal systems, codes of  A bureaucrat shall not misuse his position to
conduct for the correct, honourable and proper take decisions that seek to derive financial or
performance of public functions material benefit for himself, his family or friends.

 Each party shall also consider establishing mea-  Every member of the civil services shall make
sures and systems to facilitate the reporting by choices, take decisions and make recommenda-

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ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

tions on merit alone.

 Civil servants shall not place themselves under
any financial or other obligations to any individ-
ual or organisation which may affect the perfor-
mance of his duties or discharge of his functions
 Civil Servants will now be required to declare
their private interests, if any, relating to their
public duties and take steps to resolve any con-
flicts in a way that protects public interest over
personal interest.
 Civil servants must maintain discipline in the
discharge of their duties and be liable to imple-
ment lawful orders duly communicated to them.
Civil servants are liable to maintain confidentiality
in performance of their duties as required by the
laws, particularly where the information or dis-
closure may prejudicially affect the security of the
state, strategic, scientific or economic interests of
the state, friendly relations with foreign countries
or lead to incitement of an offence or illegal or un-
lawful gains to any person or organisation.
Other amendments require the Civil servants to per-
form their duties with a high degree of professional-
ism, uphold supremacy of the constitution, uphold
sovereignty and integrity of India, the security pf
the state, public order, decency and morality; main-
tain integrity in public service, act with fairness and
impartiality and not discriminate against anyone
particularly the poor, the weak and the vulnerable.

“Em
p ow r s”
erin g E n d e a vo u

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 ethics concept series by t. roychowdhary

08_Aptitude
Meaning of Aptitude • Decision-making ability

Aptitude is an innate inherent capacity to perform • Ability to lead a team or work in a team
a task or learn a skill. An aptitude is a component
of a competence to do a certain kind of work at • The ability to breakdown a complex problem
a certain level. Outstanding aptitude can be con- at hand
sidered as “talent.” An aptitude may be physical or • Good communication skills to bridge com-
mental. Aptitude is inborn potential to do certain munication gaps
kinds of work whether developed or undevel-
oped. • Time-management skills and ability to meet
deadlines
The innate nature of aptitude is in contrast to
skills and achievement, which represent knowl- • The ability to organise and prioritise work-
edge or ability that is gained through learning. load
Aptitude and intelligence quotient (IQ) are re-
lated. • Logical and rational approach towards ad-
ministrative problems
Difference between Skill, Ability and Ap-
• Scientific temperament
titude
• Basic awareness about technology, economy
Difference between skill and aptitude is that
and geography
skill is capacity to do something well; Skills are
usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abil- • High level of professionalism
ities, which are often thought of as innate while
aptitude is natural ability to acquire knowledge • Art of persuasion and ability to negotiate un-
or skill. der tough circumstances without sacrificing
public interest
Utility of Aptitude
Good aptitude and positive attitude makes the bu-
Aptitude is an innate potential that helps in creating reaucracy efficient, effective and responsive to the
needs of the people.
• Conceptualization and creativity
• Leadership and adaptability
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Technical and inter-personal skills
• Coordination and collaboration
“Em
”
• Brainstorming and trouble shooting
p ow r s
erin g E n d e a
Aptitude Desirable in a Civil Servant
Some of the desired aptitudes in public services in-
vo u
clude
• Excellent organisation and negotiating skills
• Creativity and flexible thinking
• Leadership skills

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