Ethics

by D. Malleswari Reddy
1. Define what is the meaning of ethics. Explain the consequences of
ethics in human actions.

2. How can you judge a particular act as ethical? Discuss the

determinants of ethics.

3. Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless but knowledge

without integrity is dangerous. What do you understand by this
statement? Explain with examples.

4. Are human values universal? Justify.

Chapter 1

Ethics and Human Interface:

1. Essence, Determinants and Consequences of Ethics in Human
Actions
2. Dimensions of Ethics
3. Ethics in Private and Public relationships,
4. Ethics-Integrity and Accountability in Public Service
What is the meaning of Ethics?
 What is the meaning of Ethics?
Ethics is a set of principles that guide human action as right or wrong.

Thought

Behavior

Conduct
Ethics vs Morality
Morality vs Law
Essence of Ethics

Thought

Essence
of Ethics

Conduct Behaviour
When can we
say an action Does not
is ethical? cause harm to
anyone else in
Mandated by
nature
the short or
long run

Approved by the
society as right
What are the determinants of Ethics?
What are the determinants of Ethics?

Determinant is a factor that causes ethics

in human action.
 Personality

Professional
Family
codes

Determinants
of Ethics

Situation Peer Group

Episodic
Events
What are the consequences of Ethics in
human actions?
 Personal
Level

Consequences
of Ethics in
Human Actions

Public Professio
Level nal Level
 Individual Level

Credibility Confidence Social Capital

Ethics in Private Life
 Organisational Level

Public Service/ Good

Brand Equity / Trust of
Better Work Culture Stakeholder
Public
Relationship
 Societal/ Public Ethics

Less Greed/ Less

Less conflicts and
Equality and Justice corruption/ Equitable
more peace
Resource Distribution
Ethical Values as a celebrity
Ethics in the public life of public
servants
Ethics in the public life of a common
man
Medical Ethics
Technological/ Tech Ethics
Media Ethics/ Social Media Ethics
Legal Ethics
Regulatory Ethics
What are the Dimensions of Ethics?
What are the Dimensions of Ethics?

Meta Ethics

Normative Ethics

Descriptive Ethics

Applied Ethics
Meta Ethics
Normative Ethics
Descriptive Ethics
Applied Ethics
Ethics- Integrity – Accountability in
Public Service
 Integrity Thought
Acting with integrity means
understanding, accepting, and
choosing to live in accordance with
one's principles, which will include
Integrity
honesty, fairness, and decency. A
person of integrity will consistently
demonstrate good character by Speech Action
being free of corruption and
hypocrisy.
 Accountability
Accountability is being answerable to ones own action. Accountability is always
commensurate with responsibility, when one is responsible, one can be held liable for your
action or inaction.
Are Ethics Universal?
Chapter 3- Attitude:
1. Content, Functions, its influence and relation with thought
and behavior
2. Moral and Political attitudes, role of Social influence and
persuasion.
3. Emotional intelligence- Concepts and their utilities and
application in Administration and Governance
1. What is attitude? How attitude has the relation with thought and
behavior?

2. How ones political attitudes are shaped? Can we change them?

3. How could social influence contribute to the behavioral change of the

people?

4. What do you understand by the term emotional intelligence? How EI helps

in taking ethical decisions?

5. Public service should be the prime goal of a public servant. What do you
think are deviating the public servant in achieving these goals?
 Attitude - Meaning
It is the aggregate of a person’s
evaluations about a target object.
It means, whenever a person sees or
thinks of a target thing, the sum of
thoughts and emotions that get created
in a person constitutes attitude.
Attitude is the subjective individual
interpretation of the objective outside
world.
Attitude – Content
 Attitude- Functions

Functions

Value
Adaptation Knowledge Ego defence
expression
Attitude- Relation
with thought and Behaviour
behaviour

Thought

Attitude
Factors affecting our attitude
Moral and Political Attitudes
 Moral Attitudes
Morality refers to righteousness. An action that is regarded to be right by the society.

These vary with – Location, religion, locality, geography, government rules, time, etc
Ex: Euthanasia
Capital Punishment
Abortion
Sexual Orientation
 Political Attitudes
Its the qualitative evaluations of a political ideology.
Manifestation of Political attitude-
1. Voting
2. Social Media posts
3. Articles in News papers
4. Sloganeering
5. Political discussions
How political attitudes are formed?
Education
Election Campaigns
Economic Status
News Articles
Social media
 Role of Social Influence
It refers to one person influencing the other to change the latter’s attitude.
It can works towards positive change or negative change.
It can be used to change public and private attitude
The degree of influence changes from one person to another.
 Types of Social Influence:
1. Compliance

2. Identification

3. Internalisation
 Enablers of Social Influence
1. Peer Pressure
2. Charisma
3. Master- Servant Relationship
4. Content of the influencer
5. Presentation of the influencer
 Role of Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is a deliberate attempt to
condition the attitude of the other person.
Techniques of Persuasion
1. Logical Arguments
2. Incentivisation/ Disincentivising
3. Scare factor
4. Repeated reminders
5. TINA factor- There Is No Alternative
6. Appealing to the psyche
7. Empathising the cause of others
Role of persuasion in the life of a civil
servant
 Foundational Values for Civil Services
1. Objectivity
2. Integrity
3. Impartiality and Non Partisanship/ Neutrality
4. Dedication to public service
5. Empathy
6. Tolerance
7. Accountability and Transparency
 Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one's own

emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

Emotional Intelligence, as a psychological theory, was developed by Peter Salovey and John
Mayer.
"Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions
so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to
reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth."
 EI- Concepts
Daniel Goleman's five components of emotional
intelligence
Self Control- More Emotional Intelligence
How to develop emotional intelligence?
Children Office

Teamwork Openness
Conflict Management Conflict Management
Openness Role Play
Role play Decision Participation
Not condemning Case Studies
Importance of EI-
Innovation
Sense of security
Self confidence
Good Social Relations
Persuasion
Good Work Culture
Lesser Conflicts
EI- Utility in public administration and
Governance
1. Effective Communication and policy making
2. Stress and conflict management
3. Adaptability to the situation
4. Motivating the peer group
5. Empathy in public services
1. Discuss the role of family and educational institutions in promoting Gender
Equality in the Society?

2. Who is your favorite thinker or social reformer? What values you like in that
person?

3. “An investment in education pays best interest. What do you understand by this
statement?

4. What do you understand by the term Crisis of Conscience? Discuss how one can
overcome this crisis.
 Human Values
Values are firm beliefs.

Values are judged to be ethical or unethical.

Individual values Self-Development, creativity, liberty, survival
Cooperation, Tolerance, Compassion, Empathy. These help you as a
Social values
‘social being’.

Non-vegetarianism, compassion towards animals

Environment
Values
“Chipko-movement” is example of Social and Environment values.

Organizational Public service (in Government and NGO), profit (in private company),
Values Truth (Journalism)
Fundamental rights
Constitutional Fundamental Duties
Values DPSP- Creating scientific temperament, holding the honor of women
and so on.
Conscience
Crisis of Conscience
Gender Equability in the relationships
Role of family in imparting values to citizens
Role of Society in imparting values to citizens
Role of Educational Institutions in imparting
values to citizens
Lessons from the lives and teachings of
great leaders, reformers and administrators
 Socrates
1. Virtue is knowledge
2. No one does evil
voluntarily- Importance
of Introspection
3. Unexamined life is not
worth living
 Self Unity
Happiness Virtue
knowledge (Integrity)
 Plato
Book- The Republic
Nature= Work
It leads to Unity.
Physiolo
gical

Tripartite
Nature
of Soul

Reason Psycholo
gical
 Philosopher King

Disapproved
Democracy
 Aristotle
Disapproved the idea of Philosopher King

For democracy

Approved the unity principle by Socrates

and Plato
Fitness Essence Justice
Chanakya
 Buddha
The fundamental moral law of the universe
according to early Buddhism is what is
popularly called the “law of karma”: good
actions produce good consequences, and
bad actions lead to bad consequences. The
consequences of volitional actions can be
experienced in this life or in subsequent
lives.
 Gandhi
Truth is there is
everyone

Introspection
Rabindranath Tagore
Dr. B.R Ambedkar
T.N Seshan
S.R.Shankaran
1. Discuss the role of family and educational institutions in promoting Gender
Equality in the Society?

2. Who is your favorite thinker or social reformer? What values you like in that
person?

3. “An investment in education pays best interest. What do you understand by this
statement?

4. What do you understand by the term Crisis of Conscience? Discuss how one can
overcome this crisis.
Concept of Public Service
1. Philosophical basis of Governance
2. professional Ethics in the light of right understanding
3. Vision for Holistic Technologies
4. Codes of Ethics, codes of Conduct
5. RTI, Public Service Act
6. Leadership Ethics
7. Work culture
8. Ethical principles with in an Organizational content. - Ethical and moral values in governance
9. Ethical issues in international relations
10. corruption, Lokpal, Lokayukta
1. What is social media ethics? Explain the recent argumnts on
responsibilities of Social Media

2. Discuss the need for code of conduct and code of ethics.

3. What are the essential ethical values in governance? Explain any 3

with examples.

4. RTI is a tool for good governance. Discuss

5. What is work culture? How work culture defines an organizational

ethics?
Ethics Theories
Immanual Kant- Categorical Imperative
John Rawl- Contractualisation
Bentham and Mill- Utilitarianism
 Concept of public service

It implies services rendered by the Government to the public.

Timeliness, Transparency, Equality, Accountability in public

services.
Philosophical basis of Governance

Philosophers
Ethical and moral values in Governance
Professional Ethics- Holistic
Technologies
Code of Conduct

It is a prescribed set of do’s and don'ts's

Systematic documentation of acceptable and non acceptable behaviour

 Guiding
Light

Societal
Uniformity
Good

Purpose of
Code of
Conduct

Morality Privacy

Emergency
use
 Ministers

Code of
Conduct
Admini-
Judiciary
strators
 Code of Ethics
Code of Ethics is a broad framework of principles and standards acceptable to the
society.
Principles enunciated in the Code of Ethics guide the actions in Code of Conduct.
Nolan Committee-
Selflessness
7 Principles of Code of
Ethics Leadership Integrity

Nolan
Committee
Honesty Objectivity

Account-
Openness
ability
 Foundational Values for Civil Services
1. Objectivity
2. Integrity
3. Impartiality and Non Partisanship/ Neutrality
4. Dedication to public service
5. Empathy
6. Tolerance
7. Accountability and Transparency
RTI- Right to Information Act
Public Services Act
Leadership Ethics
Work Culture
Ethical issues in International Relations
Corruption- Lokpal and Lokyukta
 Concept of public service

It implies services rendered by the Government to the public.

Timeliness, Transparency, Equality, Accountability in public

services.
 Regulation
to
facilitation
Regulation
to
Democracy
developme
nt

Reasons

New Public
Technology
Mngt

Technical
Administra
tion
Philosophical basis of Governance

Philosophers
Ethical and moral values in Governance
Professional Ethics- Holistic
Technologies
Code of Conduct

It is a prescribed set of do’s and don'ts's

Systematic documentation of acceptable and non acceptable behaviour

 Guiding
Light

Societal
Uniformity
Good

Purpose of
Code of
Conduct

Morality Privacy

Emergency
use
 Ministers

Code of
Conduct
Admini-
Judiciary
strators
 Code of Ethics
Code of Ethics is a broad framework of principles and standards acceptable to the
society.
Principles enunciated in the Code of Ethics guide the actions in Code of Conduct.
Nolan Committee-
Selflessness
7 Principles of Code of
Ethics Leadership Integrity

Nolan
Committee
Honesty Objectivity

Account-
Openness
ability
 Foundational Values for Civil Services
1. Objectivity
2. Integrity
3. Impartiality and Non Partisanship/ Neutrality
4. Dedication to public service
5. Empathy
6. Tolerance
7. Accountability and Transparency
RTI- Right to Information Act
Public Services Act
Leadership Ethics
Work Culture
Ethical issues in International Relations-
Determinants

Nation Humanity

Sovereignty
Ethical issues in International Relations

International
War
Funding

Investment
Corruption- Lokpal and Lokyukta
It implies use of public office for private gains

Corruption

Systemic Non- Systemic

Challenges Challenges
Systemic Challenges

1.Lack of Transparency
2.Monopoly
3.Complexity of procedure
4.Weak Institutions
5.Poor Prosecution
Non Systemic Challenges
1. Displacement of Values
2. Politics- Bureaucracy- Business Nexus
3. Cash Economy
4. Meek protection to Whistle Blowers
II ARC- Corruption - Reasons
Political Corruption-
✓ In a democracy, all persons holding authority derive it from the people.
✓ All public functionaries are trustees of the people.
✓ Higher the echelon in public service, the greater is the ambit of discretion
✓ Therefore it is difficult to provide laws and rules that can regulate the exercise of
discretion in high places
✓ All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing (Edmund
Burke)
✓ The punishment suffered by the wise who refuse to take part in government, is to
suffer under the government of bad men (-Plato)
✓ Righteousness is the foundation of good governance and peace. (Confucius)
✓ Man himself must become righteous and then only there shall be righteousness in
the world. (Martin Luther King)
✓ Be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi)
✓ The line separating good and evil passes not between states nor between classes…
but through the middle of every human heart. (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
Investment on Education pays best
interest