2022

(a): The ability to make sensible decisions based on knowledge and experience is known as wisdom. In any particular situation, a person’s decision is based on his experience and knowledge to overlook or reckon with something.

However, a bureaucrat engrossed with the periphery and ignoring the core issues should not become a preoccupation. A bureaucrat has various responsibilities, it is no doubt that he/she may miss or ignore something. But this should not be accepted in the legal framework. At a moral level, it can be accepted for few times but when it comes to law these mistakes could make pay heavy price. Because such mistakes lead us towards injustice and poor governance.

Some examples in the above context:

• Any negligence in passing a construction site could cause a heavy loss of life which will be a huge injustice.
• If a bureaucrat is trying to know only whether the school is opening or not and neglecting whether the children are coming or not will lead towards poor governance.

(b): A civil servant needs various qualities to tackle different crucial issues or take critical decisions. For this, he/she needs intellectual competency and moral qualities but this is not enough. Qualities such as compassion and empathy are equally important.

Let’s understand it with some examples:

• An accident happened at some construction site and three people got seriously injured. The accident happened by mistake because a worker among them forgot to switch off some machines. Now, the officer present there has lots of pressure to punish the culprit. But the officer knows it was not intended by the worker. Here, the officer needs compassion and empathy to deal with this situation and should try to not give some stringent punishment to the worker.
• Filling false dowry cases needs traits of compassion and empathy, otherwise, innocent people will get punished under the law.
• In the covid-19 situation, many officers have worked tirelessly, they worked and helped beyond their working time limit. In such situations, traits like empathy and compassion are most needed in the civil servants especially for vulnerable sections of the society.

Hence, with intellectual competency and moral qualities, a person can take rational decisions but it is not necessary, that decision includes empathy and compassion.

(a): Rules and Regulation act as a source of ethical guidance which clarify the values to be used and the procedure to be followed. These rules and regulations are the same for all and need to be implemented in a situation as per the task and the ground situation.

According to United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), the ethical public officer promotes socio-economic development and unethical behaviours threaten development and loss of trust in public institutions.

Difference in Approach

Positive minded officers

• They interpret the rules and regulations to provide justice in efficient manner and use their discretion to help the people.
• They provide the best solution that can meet halfway with the beneficiaries.
• They ensure the proper implementation of the scheme and carry out successfully in the proper way ensuring legal and moral protocols.
• They ensure that scheme is carried out for the purpose it was created rather than worrying about administrative aspect of implementation of the scheme.
• Example: When an officer at bank sends an official at the home of senior citizen for the banking services instead of refusing for the service.

Negative minded officers

• They find loopholes in the rules and exploit them for personal benefits and delay the process. They use their discretion to harass the people.
• They focus on implementation of the scheme and being insensitive to the issues arise during implementation of the scheme.
• Example: Denying food grains at ration shop to a person because his biometrics details were not updated in the database due to connectivity issues.

(b): Ethics is also known as moral philosophy which represents the values and customs of the society. It educates the society to know right or wrong form the perspective of society.

Ethical society ensures peace, love, and compassion because the personal values of a person are aligned with the social values.

The trust of the people in the government is maintained through public administration. If there is a void of ethics in public administration, then a society and nation will fail. The ethical society is devoid of social crimes such as theft, rape, harassment, etc.

Ethics and Values in Human Life

• Person makes decision and implements in a transparent manner as it brings openness to that group of people which are affected by the decision.
• Ethics ensures the malpractices like corruption is curbed in day-to-day life. Misconduct, abuse of power, and self-persecution has to be avoided.
• Work commitment requires time, punctuality, and respect to fulfil the promises. Swami Vivekanand said, “Every duty is sacred and devotion to duty is the supreme form of worship”.
• Responsibility and accountability come with transparency.
• A person must show sympathy in their actions towards the poor and disadvantaged section of society without breaking the law.

Role of Ethical Values in Resolution Conflict

• An ethical person resolves the conflict in accordance with law, justice, and compassion in the best interest of concerned societies while an unethical person resolves the conflict based on what is beneficial to him rather than society.
• Empathy and compassion ensure that conflict resolution creates win-win situation for all.
• The value of persistence helps an individual to follow ‘never give attitude’. The ethics also helps in anger management.
• Ethics teaches us to forgive rather than holding grudges against each other. Hence, the decision of ethical person is acceptable due to impartiality and trust.

(a): Ethics is the study of what is right or wrong in human conduct. It is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime.

What You have the Right to Do and What is Right to Do

Article 19 of the Indian Constitution provides for Right to freedom of speech and expression. It gives rights to every citizen to hold public meetings, demonstrations and take out processions. However, it doesn’t mean that citizens can block the road, railway and other transportation. Hence, holding strike and creating hurdles for others is not the right thing to do.

Similarly, under the Article 25, every citizen has freedom to profess, practice and propagate the religion. But, promoting religious conversion through bribery, coercion, violence is wrong and illegal action.

Under the PM Arogya Yojana, the Government offers a sum insured of Rs. 5 lakh per family for secondary care as well as tertiary care. But around 23,000 fraud transactions have been recorded in hospitals in Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Jharkhand. Here, beneficiaries have the right to utilise services, but its misuse defeats the purpose.

To conclude, it is ethics which help us in differentiating what we have the right to do and what is right to do. Rights are provided to live a better life, which help in capacity building of an individual, but its misuse defeat the very purpose.

(b): Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organisation which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain.

A newborn child is like a blank slate. It is the parents and teachers, who give a shape to the child like a clay pot is given shape by its maker. In our childhood, our parents and teachers used to tell us moral stories. Through this, they inculcate values to make an asset and valuable citizen for our nation.

IAS Armstrong Pame is the first member of Nagaland’s Zeme tribe to become an IAS officer, earning the nickname “Miracle Man” for creating a 100-kilometre road connecting Manipur to Nagaland and Assam without any government assistance.

But, in August 2022, IAS officer K Rajesh was arrested for taking bribes for issuing arms licenses, allotment of government land to ineligible beneficiaries and grant of other illegal favours.

These two examples show the big difference in values of an individual. It is the failure of parents as they failed to inculcate the moral values to their child.

In the Corruption Perception Index 2021, India ranked 85 among 180 countries. Hence, India has a long way to go to become corruption-free. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has rightly said that it is role of parents and teachers to shape the future of India.

(c):

Success is something that you must define for yourself and no one can do it for you. Success could mean a sense of giving back to the world and making a difference. It could mean a sense of accomplishment and career progression.

Success is the result of making right priorities and giving up less important things in your life. The Phogat sisters, Gita and Babita, sacrificed their childhood just to fulfill their father’s dream of gold medal in wrestling. They had suffered a lot of pain to make India proud on them.

The aspirants who prepared for IIT and NEET, also do sacrifices their desires, just to clear the exam and live a better life. They have the responsibility of their families, to uplift them from poverty and give them better lifestyle.

To gain something big, we must pay the opportunity cost of some short-term pleasure. Mahatma Gandhi gave up his western clothing and adopted khadi dhoti. He went to jail to make India free. He knew that Indians would get independence by giving up western lifestyle and hegemony.

Hence, Dalai Lama has rightly said that one’s success must be judged by the sacrifices he has to made to achieve his goals. By setting the priorities, we can achieve all our goals. Because failing individuals have given priorities to short term pleasure.

(a): When the government of a country performs its functions efficiently, effectively, and for the good of citizen then the carried-out governance is known as good governance. It has 8 major characteristics.

Electronic-Governance (e-Governance) uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the internet, the wide area network and mobile computing at various levels of the government and the public sector for enhancing governance. There are four pillars of e-governance:

• People
• Process
• Technology
• Resources

Recent Initiatives of e-Governance

• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): The DBT in public distribution scheme (PDS) has deleted approximately 4 crore duplicate and non-existing ration cards leading to the proper targeting of the scheme.
• Aarogya Setu: This application was launched for providing information about the potential risk of Covid-19 infection. It had helped successfully in identifying the potential hotspots.
• National Scholarships Portal (NSP): It provides a centralized platform for application and disbursement of scholarship to students under any scholarship scheme.
• Bhoomi Project: It is a self-sustainable e-Governance initiative for the computerised delivery of rural land records to farmers of Karnataka.
• e-Courts: It is the mission mode project which aims at utilizing technology for improved provisioning of judicial services to the citizens.
• Digi Locker: It aims at digital empowerment of citizens by providing access to authentic digital documents.
• PAYGOV India: It will offer end-to-end transaction experience for a citizen which includes accessing various services through the internet with payment gateway interface for online payments.
• Pragati: It is a unique integrated and interactive platform through which the Prime Minister oversees the implementation of various government schemes, grievances, state and central related projects & programmes by directly interacting with all stake holders through Videoconferencing on a single platform.

(b): The advent of pandemic has led all activities, businesses, education, trade, health, and social interactions to an online mode. The traditional learning and medical check-ups have shifted to completely digital experience such as NISTHA app for teacher’s training and Mission Karmayogi for the training of civil servants.

Benefits of Online Methodology

• Less investment in infrastructure.
• Efficient, economical, and cost-effective.
• Provides flexibility.
• Universal Access.
• Online methodology has led to wider acceptance for ‘Work from Home’, which has provided a boost to encourage careers and managing work-life balance.
• Teleconsultation has made it easy for patients and doctors to connect at ease, especially during the time of pandemic.

Disadvantages of Online Methodology

• Frequent network issues and technical problems particularly in underdeveloped regions.
• Increase in unemployment due to online education and other services.
• Lack of accountability, empathy, and teamwork spirit.
• Digital divide presents a challenge for universal usage of online mediums.

Ethical Issues Involved in Use of Online Methodology

• More benefits accrue to the English speaking, urban, rich people who have access to computer, internet, and electricity.
• Most of the villages are still not connected with the fibre-net and most of the poor people could not afford the computers and smartphones.
• The children which use internet more frequently are linked to security issues and cyberbullying, which hinders their moral development.
• The ability of children to learn critically is restricted when they use ready-made material form the internet, which has an impact on their cognitive development.

(a): In the history of humankind, war is one of the catastrophic instruments created by mankind itself. All around impact of war is not just limited to this generation but its hazardous impacts extend to next generations.

We are witnessing that how Russia – Ukraine war seriously impacting the all-possible corners of society by the way of gross human rights violation, disruptions in global demand supply chain, wastage of precious resources, widespread painful migration.

To avoid this type of episodes, nations should take collective stands and action keeping in view their own collective global interest rather than independent stands and individual national interest.

Possible ethical issues while launching the war and its continuation

• Ethical Issues of Human rights- In war time there is gross violation of human right. Women, children and other vulnerable section faces unprecedented hardships. For example, Human genocide, heinous massacre and brutality against women and children comes under the worsen form of human right violation.
• Ethical dimensions of rights of future generation and present generation- Cost of present generation war is paid by next generation. For ex- Hiroshima -Nagasaki bombing in second world war. The ethical concern here is why the cost of present generation should be paid by coming future generation?
• Issues of accountability and answerability- In war time, who is accountable and answerable to whom, there is no fix criteria.
• National interest vs Global interest – There is grave ethical concern is that nations put their own individual national interest over collective global interest.
• Individual Aspiration vs Collective Aspiration- Individual aspirations of political peers override the collective aspirations of millions of masses.
• Means vs Ends– For gaining territorial and expansion ends nation use wrong means of war, border conflict etc. It led to dangerous consequences which impacts all corners of society and even next generations.
• Issues of proportionate vs disproportionate dimension of war- Ethics of war should be entitled to its proportionate response but the activity of nuclear attack, mass massacre and gross violation of war ethics changes war into disproportionate dimensions. For example, attack on Ukraine nuclear reactor by Russia can amount to grave consequences to the world.

About war, Nobel Laureat John Steinbeck famously quoted that “all war is symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal. Humankind should understand the fact that war can never fix the problem. Aim of prosperous and peaceful society can be achieve through dialogue, diplomacy, decency.

(b):

(i) Constitutional Morality- In an important case, NCT of Delhi vs Union of India, Hon'ble justice of supreme court Shri Deepak Mishra wrote that “constitutional morality in its strictest sense implies a strict and complete adherence to constitutional principles as enshrined in the various segments of the document. It is required that all constitutional functionaries to ‘cultivate and develop a spirit of constitutionalism’. where every action taken by them is governed by and is in strict conformity with the basic tenets of the constitution”. For example, judgement of supreme court on Sabarimala and Hadiya case, abolition of sec377 etc.

(ii) Conflict of Interest- This situation arise when public duty interest conflicts with personal interest. This is the case where conscience being caught up in between the personal and professional ends. For example, former ICICI chairman Chanda Kochhar’s resignation, former NSE CEO Chitra Ramkrishna case.

(iii) Probity in public life - Probity is one of the virtues in public life. Person with higher probity quotient has higher grade of inegrity,honesty, decency and morality. Impartiality and non-partisanship are key instruments of aptitude of probity in public life. For example, life example of Abdul kalam and former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri.

(iv)Challenges of digitalization- Digitalization is the process of transformation of possible information into digital data format.  Challenges-

• Digital illiteracy and issue of digital divide among people.
• Cyber frauds and digital economic fraud.
• Cyber warfare.
• Mass surveillance and digital phishing attacks.
• Issues of poor network and connectivity.
• High energy consuming devices.

(V) Devotion to duty- It express the strong emotion, integrity, loyalty, determination and admiration towards duty. Swami Vivekananda famously quoted that "Devotion to duty is the highest form of worship of God”. For example, Nishkama karma concept of Bhagwat Geeta, way of life of Mother Teresa.

(a): A whistleblower is a person who informs about a person or organization engaged in illicit activity. There are many commissions who recommended that a specific law needs to be enacted to protect whistleblowers like Law Commission of India 2001, 2007 report of Second Administrative Reforms Commission. In India, whistleblowers are protected by the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014.

Policy measures to strengthen protection mechanisms to safeguard the whistle blower

• There are various policy measures regarding protection of whistle-blowers but their implementation is very poor. It is important that policies should be implemented properly for their safety.
• Submitting the issue as an anonymous person will protect the life of the Whistle blower.
• Specific training to teach workers their rights and about available internal and external protection programs, and for managers to learn these along with related skills, behaviours and obligations to act.
• Suitable legislation must be enacted to provide protection to innocent whistleblowers and the dilution of the act that is proposed by the 2015 Amendment Bill must be abandoned.

Hence, strengthening of the whistleblower protection mechanism will help in ensuring that the integrity of democracy is protected, cherished and upheld.

(b): The term "Corporate Social Responsibility" in general can be referred to as a corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company's effects on the environment and impact on social welfare. The activities include eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, ensuring environmental sustainability, etc.

Some of the Features of the CSR are:

• Self-Regulating Model: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable—to itself, its stakeholders, and the public.
• Improved Work Culture: CSR activities can help forge a stronger bond between employees and corporations, boost morale and help both employees and employers feel more connected with the world around them.
• Corporate Citizenship: By practicing corporate social responsibility, also called corporate citizenship, companies can be conscious of the kind of impact they are having on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental.

Although the corporate sector is generating wealth no doubt there is a huge gap in the wealth division, rich are getting richer day by day and the poor are becoming more poor which is against social welfare. Even though the Companies Act encourages companies to invest almost 2% of their average net profit in CSR activities but that will not be enough to counter environmental and climatic problems.

Various possible stakeholders in the above discussed case study-

• Prabhat as a vice president (Marketing) at Sterling Electric Ltd.
• Interest of Sterling Electric Ltd.
• Subhas Verma vs unique electronics ltd.
• Prabhat and his serious family responsibility.
• Ministry of Defence and its contract (National security).
  

(A) -Ethical Issues involved in this case-

• Professional ethics vs personal ethics-Professional ethics demands to stick over the rules of professionalism. Subhas Verma's offer of handing over secret document is violation of professional ethics as well as personal integrity. If Prabhat accepts the offer, then it will also be considered as violation of professional ethics and personal ethics.
• Integrity and trust issue with Subhas Verma-if Subhas Verma can cheat with his current company for the gain of managerial post, then what is guarantee that he will not cheat this company for further higher gains?
• Issues of corporate ethics violation- if Prabhat accepts the Subhas's secret documents and offer him as Manager post. Then this will be the case of serious violation of corporate ethics. This violation is entitled to legal battle if these things disclosed in public.
• Issue of conflict of conscience with Prabhat- Responsibility of two school going children and old ailing mother are prime concerns of Prabhat. Pressure of Job insecurity and serious family responsibility creates a conflict situation in his conscience.
• End vs Means –if Prabhat accepts subhas Verma's secret documents then it will be the clear case of achieving the end goal by using wrong means.
• Self- Interest vs Morality- Subhas Verma's offer of handing over the secret document to Prabhat for gaining managerial post is an act of selfishness at the cost of public morality.

B) Options available to Prabhat-

1.Prabhat can appoint Subhas Verma as Manager and submit tender bid with the help of Subhas's secret documents

Merits-

• Prabhat's company can be awarded much awaited tender.
• Sales and financial health of Prabhat's company can be improved.
• Prabhat’s lucrative job would be safe and secure. He can get further promotions.
• There will be no hardness in the life of Prabhat's old ailing mother and his two school going children.
• Subhas Verma can get a managerial job.

Demerits-

• There are integrity and probity issues with Subhas Verma. Prabhat's trust in Subhas Verma can create potential future risk to company.
• If the activity leakage of secret documents disclosed anyhow then legal case can be imposed on Prabhat along with his company and Subhas Verma.
• The reputation and image of Prabhat’s company can be damaged if exchange of documents things disclosed in public.
• This is critical defence project, so any wrongdoing and document fraud in tender can entitled to serious national security risk.

2. Prabhat can reject Subhas Verma's application and submit bid with outmost probity and wait for result. He should appoint a quick response team to search new opportunities to boost up company’s financial health as a plan B.

Merits-

• Prabhat can save himself and his company from future potential risk.
• Prabhat and his company can be safe and secure from possible legal issues.
• Prabhat would set an example of excellent corporate ethics and outmost probity.
• Prabhat can save nation from potential national security risk by rejecting Subhas Verma's offer.

Demerits

• Prabhat’s company can fail to secure much awaited tender.
• Prabhat’s could lose his lucrative job, so his school going children and old ailing mother can face some hardships due to job loss.
• Sales and the financial health of his company could be poorer.

3. Prabhat can apply for leave

Merits-

If leave granted, then

• He can save himself from conflict of conscience.
• His accountability and answerability can be shifted.

Demerits

• If tender fails, then his department can be closed and he can lose his job.
• His company’s financial health and sales can be poorer.
• His family can face hardships.

4. Prabhat can search for new job options

Merits-

If get instant job offer, then

• He can work with outmost probity and without any job insecurity pressure.
• Citing trust issues, he can softly reject the Subhas Verma’s offer.
• He can set an excellent example of upholding the corporate ethics standards and personal integrity.
• He can save his family from facing any hardship in future.

Demerits-

• It will pose question about his loyalty towards company in needy time.
• It can be the case that he might not get as lucrative job as he is in now.
• Company can stay his saving and other emoluments which are held under company's possessions.

c) Most appropriate option for Prabhat-

Prabhat can reject Subhas Verma's application and submit bid outmost probity and wait for result and He should appoint a quick response team to search new opportunities to boost up company’s financial health as a plan B.

Citing some trust and integrity issue with Subhas Verma, Prabhat should reject the offer of Subhas Verma and his candidature as a managerial post. He should send a strict warning to subhas Verma and tell him about possible course of legal action can be taken against him.

Prabhat should work very hard to get tender, because tender bid is in very nascent phase so he should not reach any conclusion. He should do all possible research and work harder to submit his tender with all sets of professionalism. Then wait for result. As plan B he can appoint a quick response team to swiftly search some new opportunities to boost up financial health of his company. He should convey this plan and strategy to his higher officials. If tender results do not come in favour, then he can introduce plan B.

It will help in many ways-

• He can set an example of outmost professionalism and personal integrity.
• He can save nation from possible potential national security risk.
• He can stick to the wisdom of right means for right Goal.
• Morality will win over self-interest.

Although Prabhat is single earner in his family of two school going children and old ailing mother along with serious economic concerns in life but he should choose integrity, probity, morality and national interest over greed, wrong means and self-interest.

The given case study pertains to a seemingly recurring issue that the officers in the bureaucracy face. This case study essentially represents the issue of following the orders from the superiors and adhering to organisational hierarchy vs taking the appropriate action.

(a) Ramesh has a few options available to tackle the situation mentioned in the question.

• Ramesh can withdraw the report following the instruction of his superior officer.
• He can also try involving his superiors by bringing the issue at hand to their notice and persuade them to take appropriate action.
• He can also forward the report directly to the Union Home Ministry and highlight (a) the issue of illegal immigration and (b) the non-cooperative attitude of his superiors at the state level.
• He can share the report with the media for compelling the higher authorities to address the issue.

(b) Out of the options mentioned above. Ramesh can choose the following options depending on their feasibility and practicality.

• Ramesh can withdraw the report as per the instruction of his superior and ensure that his career is not jeopardised in the long run.
• Ramesh should try to persuade the Addl. Home Secretary to accept his report since it would (a) not jeopardise his career and (b) ensure that the issue is addressed at the appropriate stage.
• He can also try involving the more senior officers by bringing this issue to their notice in an informal manner to (a) avoid antagonising his immediate superiors and (b) resolve the issue.
• Further, he can forward his report directly to the Chief Secretary of the State or even the Union Home Ministry to (a) ensure the redressal of the issue at the highest levels and (b) highlight the issue of non-cooperation of senior officers at the state level.

(c) A critical evaluation of the options available to Ramesh is also required.

• Withdrawal of report
  
  • Positives
    
    • Respect for bureaucratic hierarchy
    • Goodwill of his superior(s)
    • Smooth career growth and progress
  • Negatives
    
    • Lack of moral courage
    • Could lead to a further rise in instances of illegal immigration
• Forwarding of the report to higher authorities, i.e., Chief Secretary and/or Union Home Ministry.
  
  • Positives
    
    • Display of moral courage
    • Ability to take a stand
    • Ensure the redressal of the issue
  • Negatives
    
    • Displays a lack of emotional quotient
    • Against the Code of Conduct
• Involving the media
  
  • Positive(s)
    
    • Compel the authorities to act due to the resultant pressure
  • Negatives
    
    • Against the Service Rules and Code of Conduct
    • Possibility of misuse due to the critical nature of the information

(d) Ramesh faces the following ethical dilemmas:

• Code of Conduct and Service Rules vs Dedication towards Duty: Choice between doing his duty or not do his duty in favour of adhering to the codes of conduct and service rules.
• Personal Interest vs National interest: Personal interests and career prospects more important or the national interests.
• Accountability towards the Senior(s) vs Accountability towards People: Choice between serving the interests of his superior(s) or the people.
• Moral courage vs Adherence to Hierarchy: Choice between taking a stand for the correct action vs adhering to hierarchy and earn the superior(s)’ goodwill.

(e) The following measures can be adopted to deal with illegal immigration:

• Improvement of critical border infrastructure (roads, fences, lights etc.).
• Deployment of additional personnel for border guarding and monitoring duties.
• Zero-tolerance towards corruption in matters of illegal immigration.
• Use of technology (drones, satellite imagery, etc.) for efficient border management and surveillance.
• Effective implementation of Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) and Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique (BOLD-QIT) projects.

This case study seems similar to Surender Singh, a 59-year-old deputy superintendent of police (DSP) was run over by a dumpster while trying to stop mining activities near Pachgaon village in Haryana on July 19, 2022.

Stakeholders:

• Corrupt officials and politicians
• SP
• Ashoka (Journalist)
• Police officals
• CMD of the TV channel
• Mining Mafias
• Judiciary
• Local MLA
• Local People
• Chief Minister

Options with Ashoka with Merits and Demerits

Ethical dilemmas being faced by Ashok

1. Personal growth vs Social justice- He will get salary hike and promotion, but it will injustice to the SP’s family. The criminals will never be punished.

2. His son’s wellbeing vs Free Media- He will get soft loan for his son’s health treatment, but democracy’s 4th pillar will be dead.

3. Corruption vs Justice to SP’s family- The nexus between corrupt politicians and mafias will further grow. In future, police officials will feel under-confident in taking harsh actions.

4. Nexus vs Morality- The morality and ethics of Ashok will be dead. In future, more mafias will emerge.

Most Appropriate Option for Ashok

• Option C is most appropriate for Ashoka. He should resign from his post and make the report public by starting his YouTube channel.
• Besides that, he should also apply for job in other media channel also.
• In this way, the truth behind the nexus of media channel, corrupt politicians, civil officals and sand mafia will come to the surface.

Type of training for police officers posted to such districts

• Vehicle driving training module in difficult terrain.
• Training for usage of modern technologies such as drones for surveillance.
• Modern weaponry and training should be provided.
• Standard Operating Procedures for raiding at such sites.
• 24x7 Full support and communication channels from central control room should be there.

India is a democratic country and media is said to be the 4th pillar of democracy. Hence, it is the responsibility of the media to publish the true reports and expose the corrupt people. Media is the one who brings out evidence and only after that judiciary can give judgements.

The given case study enumerates a fairly common problem that working professionals face across sectors and industries. Further, the issue in this case study has a near-universal relevance and applicability.

(a) Under the given conditions, as part of the Inspecting Team I have a few options available.

• I can overlook the defects and pass the product.
• I can refuse to follow the company’s instructions and decline to overlook the issues with the product and pass it.
• I can also try to convince the management to not pass the product.
• Further, I can suggest certain measures such as rebranding the product, modifying the product and marketing it accordingly, etc., that can allow (a) me to maintain my integrity intact and (b) enable the company to keep its market position and reputation intact.

(b) A critical evaluation of the available options is required.

• Overlooking and passing the product
  
  • Positive(s)
    
    • Job security
  • Negatives
    
    • Lack of moral courage
    • Loss of consumer trust and market reputation for the company
• Declining to pass the product
  
  • Positives
    
    • Display of moral courage
    • Keeping the integrity intact
    • Continuation of company reputation
  • Negatives
    
    • Loss of job
    • Launch of the product despite resistance from my end
    • Display of lack of emotional quotient
• Convincing the management and modifying the product
  
  • Positives
    
    • Display of practicality
    • Display of emotional quotient
    • Display of moral courage
    • Reduced chance of loss of consumer trust and market reputation for the company
  • Negatives
    
    • Chances of overlooking suggestions by the company
    • Possibility of negative impact on career progression and even job loss
    • Possibility of negative impact on the company’s reputation in the event of rejection of the suggestions made

(c) I would choose to convince the management and make suggestions for modifying the product accordingly, rebranding and launching it accordingly since it would allow me to retain my employment and ensure my job security and enabling me to display moral courage and integrity. Further, it would also possibly allow the company to maintain its reputation and trust in the market and trust in the market.

(d) As per the given case study, I will face the following ethical dilemmas.

• Accountability to the Public vs Accountability to Company Management: Choice between ensuring that the correct product is delivered to the customers or adhering to the instructions from the management.
• Ethics vs Herd Mentality: Choice between taking a stand or following a herd mentality and going along with what the others are doing.
• Profit vs Integrity: Choice between profit and monetary gains or keeping my integrity intact by flagging the issues with the product.
• Moral Courage vs Job Loss: Choice between taking the correct action or facing a job loss and endangering my job security.

(e) There can be the following consequences of overlooking the observations raised by the Inspecting Team.

• Loss of customer trust and market reputation for the company.
• It can also lead to a culture of complacency in the company which could prove to be detrimental to its growth and existence in the market.
• It can also result in the loss of morale and drive in the employees of the company.
• It can also lead to dissatisfaction and distress on the part of the customers due to receiving a poor product from an erstwhile reliable company.

Various possible stakeholders in the above discussed case study-

• Rakesh as a joint commissioner in transport department of a city.
• Union of city transport department.
• Deceased driver.
• Deceased driver and his two school- college going daughters.
• Survived car driver.
• Police and its duty.

A) Possible options available to Rakesh to meet the above situations-

• Rakesh can accept both demands of transport union.
• Rakesh can reject the both demand of transport union.
• Rakesh can accept one of demand of department comfort and can reject another.
• Rakesh can appoint a departmental enquiry team which include half members from union and half from department.
• Rakesh can send strict warning to those who are involve in strike and can use police force to resolve the dialogue.
• Rakesh can seek advice from commissioner.

B) Critically examining each of options identified by Rakesh

1.Rakesh can accept both demands of transport union-

Merits-

• Deadlock can resolve soon and transport department can start working in full capacity.
• Deceased driver’s family would get instant justice.
• After resolving deadlock, Rakesh can use his time and energy on departmental work. This can enhance the productivity of department.

Demerits

• This activity can override police investigation report which cites that quarrel started by bus driver.
• It can send wrong message to other bus drivers.
• It can become the case of departmental jurisprudence.

2. Rakesh can reject the both demands of transport union-

Merits-

• Department’s exchequer can be saved.
• Department management’s decision would prevail.

Demerits-

• Deadlock can be continued for long.
• Productivity and efficiency of department can be reduced.
• Deceased driver’s family can face serious economic and livelihood concerns.

3. Rakesh can accept one of demand of department comfort and can reject another-

Merit

• Deadlock can reach to a conclusion.
• It can be half relief to deceased driver’s family.
• Productivity and efficiency of the department can be restored.

Demerits-

• It can be the act of overriding police investigation reports.
• Deadlock can be continued because transport union is stick to its both demands.

4. Rakesh can appoint a departmental enquiry committee which includes equal members from union and equal from department and some from police department. Union should resume work and wait for committee decision. Till committee conclusion come out, he can organise departmental funding to help family in buffer time.

Merits

• It can be the win- win situation for department management, transport union and police department.
• It can result in all aggregable resolution points.
• It can set an example of all party integrated dispute resolution system.
• Police department can provide the solution of appropriate proportionate legal angle which can motivate department management to be more sympathetic and kinder towards deceased driver’s family.

Demerits-

• Because of all parties involve so It can take time to reach a conclusion.
• Wastage of energy, time, resources if it ended in no conclusive state.

5.Rakesh can send strict warning to those who are involve in strike and can use police force to resolve the dialogue-

Merits-

• It is possible that by introducing element of warning and fear of police force, most of union worker can resume their work.

Demerits-

• This action can make the situation violent.
• It can introduce the elements of trust deficit and bitterness among the union workers and department management.
• Productivity of department can be poorer.

6.Rakesh can seek advice from commissioner-

Merits-

• As a more experienced person commissioner can give appropriate advice to deal with this situation.
• By consulting commissioner, He can take commissioner in confidence for future decisions.

Demerits-

• Commissioner have choice to diplomatically refuse to help him out.
• Commission can question the crisis dealing capacity of Rakesh.

C) Possible ethical dilemmas being faced by Rakesh-

1. Principal of natural justice vs Due process of Law-

• Principal of natural justice appeals that deceased’s family should get extra compensation and job to his family but due process of law hinders the department management to do so.

2. Right vs Duty-

• He is facing dilemma of public duty as a joint commissioner vs extra compensation and job rights of deceased family.

3. Public accountability vs Personal accountability-

• As a public servant, he is accountable to public service and activity delivered by him. On other hand, on compassionate and empathetic ground he is accountable to his personal conscience.

4. Code of conduct vs Code of ethics-

• Code of conduct demands what conduct rules and regulation say. Code of ethics demands the way of ‘what ought to do’ under the domain of morality.

5. Morality vs Law-

• Morality is what ought to do under principal of natural justice. While law follow the statutory rules and regulations under the domain of procedure establish by law or due course of law.

6. Conflict of Conscience- He is facing the dilemma of crisis of conscience as public servant being vs personal being.

D) Possible course of action by virtue which Rakesh can diffuse the above situation-

Rakesh has many courses of action to implement, but the best one is that-

Rakesh can appoint a ‘Departmental enquiry committee’ which includes equal members from Transport Union and equal from Department management and some from Police Department. Union should resume work and wait for committee decision. Since, committee decision process is time taking so he can organise departmental funding or personal funding to help out deceased family in this buffer time.

Merits -

• It can be the win- win situation for department management, transport union and police department.
• It can result in all aggregable resolution points.
• Transport union can resume functioning for time being.
• It can set an example of all party integrated dispute resolution system.
• Police department can provide the solution of appropriate proportionate legal angle which can motivate department management to be more sympathetic and kind towards deceased driver’s family.

Although, it can be a time taking process due to involvement of various parties but the final conclusion of this committee can be more comprehensive, majority agreeable, inclusive. Hence, Rakesh should use this integrated and all participative course of action to diffuse the above situation.

If any extreme case, committee decision is not in favour of deceased family then Rakesh as an empathetic and compassionate public servant, should organise departmental crowdfunding to help out driver’s family. As a joint commissioner, he should also provide some ad hock job to elder daughter of family.

(a) As an officer a situation always arises where an officer has various options to take a decision but she/he has to take decision which is best for all. Under the given scenario I have two options:

• I can take direct action and close all the industries hampering the environment, without analysing its immediate consequences like unemployment among workers, protests from labour unions, increased health issues due to a decrease in purchasing capacity of medicines, etc.
• The second option is that I would call a meeting with all the owners of the industries and environmental NGOs and talk with them to come to some common ground like setting a limit on using harmful elements and using better alternatives wherever available or possible, and with the help of the NGOs convince the medium industries to take new environmental clearance etc.

(b) In the first option, I am only completing my prescribed duty without analysing its long-term effect. In the immediate effect maybe health problems or pollution will be reduced but in the long term this decision has various other consequences like poverty, health deterioration due to poverty, other indirect environmental issues can happen due to plague etc.

• In the second option, I am considering the issue of everyone. There will be no direct shutdown of industries. Talking with every section of society and coming to the common ground is the best possible method. This may not show a positive result in the short term but in the long term it will reduce pollution without creating protests or unemployment.

(c) The environmental compliances suggested by me would be:

• Dividing industries into two categories, based on their harmful effect on the environment. Then, apply the tighter rules on the most harmful industries.
• Every industry will clean their own waste. And every industry must have water treatment plants.
• Use of sustainable alternative elements for harmful chemicals. And complete stoppage the elements or chemicals which are harming the environment most.
• New environment clearance must be taken by the second category industries (most harmful industries) etc.
• Monetary penalties must be given by the industries that will use the restricted chemicals and pollute the environment above the prescribed limit.

(d) The ethical dilemma which I will face is between the completion of duty and compassion and empathy towards migrant workers. Completion of duty is not would be rational but taking decisions with compassion and empathy toward migrant workers will be rational, moral and ethical. Another ethical dilemma which I will face will be between protecting the environment and protecting jobs.