Public or civil service values and ethics in public administration

The 2^nd ARC recommends the preparation of Public Service Code for guiding public service employees and manages their conduct.

Through the code, the government should promote public service values and a high standard of ethics in Public Service operations, requiring and facilitating every Public Service employee to discharge official duties with:

1. Competence and loyalty
2. Care and diligence
3. Responsibility
4. Integrity
5. Honesty
6. Objectivity and impartiality
7. Without discrimination
8. In accordance with the law

A ‘Public Service Authority’ is also envisaged to oversee the implementation of the code, violation of the code would invite punishments and penalties.

This code assumes significance since there is no Code of Ethics prescribed for civil servants in India at present, although such codes exist in other countries. The code aims to prevent misuse of official position or information. At the same time, it provides for public servants to serve as instruments of good governance and use public moneys with utmost care.

Corruption is not an exclusive feature of modern times alone. In his Arthashastra, Kautilya provided a graphic illustration of corruption by saying that, ‘just as it is impossible not to taste the honey (or the poison) that finds itself at the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up, atleast, a bit of the king’s revenue’.

For Kautilya, corruption and administration were integrally linked. He provides a comprehensive list of 40 kinds of embezzlements. Arthashastra states that an increase in expenditure and lower revenue collection was an indication of embezzlement of funds by corrupt officials. He defined self enjoyment by government functionaries as making use of or causing others to enjoy what belongs to the king. This is similar to the current practice of misusing government offices for selfish motives such as unduly benefitting the self, family members, friends and relatives either in monetary or non-monetary form which harms the larger public good.

To check this, he prescribed a strict vigil over the superintendents of government. He suggested professionalism at work to curb the decline in output and corruption. He advocated hefty fines to be imposed apart from the confiscation of ill-earned hordes. Kautilya also proposed that several positions in each department should be made temporary. He favoured the periodic transfer of government servants from one place to another. This was done with the intention of not giving them enough time to pick holes in the system and manipulate it to their advantage. Even today, his thoughts hold merit if corruption as a menace is to be removed from governance.

Peace is one of the foremost reasons why we engage in and maintain international relations. This is because, after the two World Wars, the appetite for war and violence decreased dramatically across the world. War became unethical behaviour, unfit for civilisation, hazardous for humanity. We needed to establish peace world over and in order to establish peace we need security. A secure and peaceful world allows us to preserve, protect and create newer solutions to our problems. Peace builds communities, expands trade, aids development, helps sustain the environment, and most importantly, helps us claim our socio-political rights.

Security is derived from having strength. Strength in international relations is the ability to successfully negotiate in one’s favour. Strength can be sourced from military power, economic strength, a ‘soft-power’ status etc. An ethical use of strength to negotiate for peace and security is ideally what is required in international relations, but such is not always the case. For example, China has been using its strength to claim territories of other countries in the South China Sea, which is nothing but an unethical use of strength, and as such may not lead to peace and security in the region.

(a) Discipline in an organization ensures productivity and efficiency. It encourages harmony and co-operation among employees and also act as a morale booster for the employees. Discipline is very essential for a healthy industrial atmosphere and for the achievement of organizational goals. However, the management of workplace discipline remains a key problem in employee relations, and is one of the most discernible sources of conflict at work.

It may also be counterproductive in an organization because it may create a culture of fear and apprehension, which lowers worker morale and inhibits employee growth. Using negative discipline to punish employees for poor performance is not as effective as helping them to identify their weaknesses and explore how to improve upon their strengths.

Therefore while discipline is important in ensuring order and subordination, a fine balance needs to be followed so that it does not become counterproductive to the organisational interests. Positive discipline approach, which uses constructive criticism, can be followed to instill correct behaviour. For example explaining to an under performing employee how his/her failure to follow proper protocol is hurting her performance and then offer helpful suggestions for increasing productivity.

(b) Law, democratic government and market economy can be considered as three pillars of modern civilization. This argument can be tested on touchstone of Gandhian belief that moral values and obligations provide spiritual foundation of any civilization.

Moral Values and Law – Usually laws are public expression of morality which codifies the basic principle of conduct which a society accepts. Modern society has gradually replaced all those laws which were not in consonance with moral principles of recent times, for example slavery, which was once legal has been outlawed across the globe, respecting human dignity.

Moral values and Democratic Government – Democracy represents a set of decision-making institutions that embody respect for the equal worth of all citizens. This ensures that even powerless people get the right to express their preferences through democratic means. Values like equality, fraternity, liberty and justice are indispensible for proper functioning of a vibrant democracy.

It has been seen that whenever moral values and obligations were bypassed by democratic regimes, tyrannical leaders have emerged. This trend could be seen in many African democratic nations that compromise on moral principles in disguise of democracy.

Moral Values and Market Economy –  Market economy is based upon efficient market functioning and self corrective mechanisms but there are instances when it has been observed that in absence of moral values the market economy created havoc. The global financial crisis (2008-09) was a result of keeping moral principles at an arm’s length. Immoral principles like excessive greed and irrational exuberance where the unsustainable investment behaviour was observed raised a big question mark on basic principle of market economy.

These observations can be aptly summed up in the words of Gandhi where he contented that commerce without morality and politics without principles are sins.