Mains Practice Questions

Approach

• Start with what are public servants.
• Identify ten essential values that are needed to be an effective public servant.
• Describe the ways and means to prevent non-ethical behaviour in the public servants.

Introduction

The ten essential values needed to be an effective public servant are:

• Integrity: Consistency in the value system, thoughts and conduct.
• Leadership: Ability to lead subordinates towards a desired goal.
• Openness: Being transparent and open to scrutiny.
• Objectivity: Conscience for impartial decision making.
• Selflessness: Action should not be self-oriented.
• Honesty: Being fair, trustworthy and sincere.
• Accountability: Assuming responsibility and answerability for actions.
• Responsiveness: Addressing the demands of the public.
• Empathy: Feeling and acting towards elevating pain of public.
• Courage: Ability to do what is required even if the odds are against.

Unethical behaviors can plague a workplace and tarnish the organisation’s credibility. The ways and means to prevent the non-ethical behaviour in public servants are as follows:

• Code of Conduct: Having effective laws, rules and regulations that unambiguously define do’s and don’ts, along with a mechanism for quick action for unethical conduct.
• Transparency and Accountability Tools: Effective use of RTIs, social audits, e-governance etc.
• Protection to Whistle-blowers: It keeps the administrative machinery under checks and balances.
• Personnel Management: It makes the selection of candidates with high ethical competence and awakened conscience manageable; helps in promotions based on performance and periodic training.
• Rewards and Punishment Mechanism: It helps in terms of performance-based bonus that encourages hard work and discourages non-ethical conduct.

Ethical behaviour is the best not merely in the context of morality, but it is also the best in the context of one’s own career prospects. The union of these essential values and reforms can make public servants more effective and public oriented. The reputation of an officer gets built on the basis of his/her ethical conduct, which can stand him in good stead in future.