Integrity

Integrity   Integrity means that the moral agent acts according to the inner convictions of a person. His conducts should be free from hypocrisy and deception. His actions should be in conformity with his stated values. But it is hard to follow high morals which one proclaims. The British historian GM Trevelyan has commented on … Read more

Code of ethics

Code of ethics Ethics codes are as old as antiquity. Religious traditions and civic cultures have codes as their foundations. The Mosaic Decalogue (Ten Commandments) is the keystone for Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Pericles made the Athenian code the underpinning of ancient Greek politics and culture. In each case codes carry general obligations and admonitions, … Read more

Ethical dilemmas in government and private institutes

Ethical dilemmas in government and private institutes The reputation and success of governance depends upon the conduct of public functionaries and what the public believe about their conduct. It is therefore of fundamental importance that public functionaries act justly and fairly to all, not only paying lip service to ethical conduct but also ensuring that … Read more

Objectivity: Meaning as a Philosophical concept

Objectivity: Meaning as a Philosophical concept   Objectivity, as a method of philosophy, is dependent upon the presupposition distinguishing references in the field of epistemology regarding the ontological status of a possible objective reality, and the state of being objective in regard to references towards whatever is considered as objective reality. In other words, what … Read more

Ethics in public administration

Ethics in public administration In the public sector, ethics addresses the fundamental premise of a public administrator’s duty as a “steward” to the public. In other words, it is the moral justification and consideration for decisions and actions made during the completion of daily duties when working to provide the general services of government and … Read more

Compassion towards the weaker sections

Compassion: Definition Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. Compassion is not the same as empathy or altruism, though the concepts are related. While empathy refers more generally to our ability to take the perspective … Read more

Emotional intelligence and their utilities and application in administration and governance

Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI) is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s).  Although the term first appeared in a … Read more

Aptitude

Aptitude An aptitude is a component of a competence to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Outstanding aptitude can be considered “talent”. An aptitude may be physical or mental. Aptitude is inborn potential to do certain kinds of work whether developed or undeveloped. Ability is developed knowledge, understanding, learned or acquired … Read more

Impartiality and Non-partisanship

Impartiality and Non-partisanship Impartiality and Non-partisanship Impartiality is a norm of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective standards, instead of on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the advantage to one person over another for unsuitable reasons. Impartiality is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally … Read more

Foundational values for civil services

Foundational values for civil services Values are the standards on which, we evaluate things. For every situation we don’t have time to ‘test’ the case on ethics theories such as utilitarianism. Values provide time saving short-cut in such situation. Under New public management (NPM), the concept of public services is fast changing. Bureaucrat has become … Read more