Ethics Case Study – 22 _ INSIGHTS

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Akan d SitraOctober 29, 2013 at 1 1:04 am

Decision making in a cr itical situa tion takes a lot of coura ge and m ust be done keeping the consequences of the action taken in

mind. In this scenario, we ha v e the Home Minister of the stat e on one side and a poor labourer on the other. The Home Minister i

an elected representativ e of the m asses, a ma n wh o has power t o impact m illions of people. The labourer, w ho is also a hu ma n

bein g, ha s a lar ge fam ily to feed a nd w ould be unet hi cal t o leav e hi m to die.

This situation would not hav e risen if the comm unal cl ashes were stopped on time before the v iolence would hav e started and

gone out of proportion. The roads should hav e been constru cted properly to atta in connectiv ity to other cities. The civ il

infrastru ctur e should ha v e been built in t ime to ensure safety to the people. More hospitals should hav e been construct ed as such

cases will ar ise frequently . Accidents on the roads should be minimized so tha t liv es are not hurt. Th ese are th e main issues

wh ich need to be a ddressed fi rst , so th at such situ at ions dont ar ise aga in.

Now, I would sav e the Home Minister, as he would hav e powers to mak e all th e aforementioned suggestions practical. Since h e

suffered from an accident a lso, he would be proactiv e to make his constituen cy a better place. He would decrease commu nal

clashes and make the gover nment t ake all necessary construction activ ities to curb such tr agedies to happen again. If the

labourer dies, his fam ily can be reimbu rsed with money and jobs can be giv en to someone from th e family . A person would die,

of course, but we mu st take tha t risk to ensure th is never repeats aga in. A righ t decision which w ould impact mil lions of people

at t he peril of one, is a better decision th an doing nothing.

Reply

HimanshuOctober 29, 2013 at 1 :06 pm

i respect y our v iews..but th inking in respect of exam and as a question-answer scenario,we need not to mention first ha lf of

y our an swer .Th is wha t i th ink persona lly .Bec au se,h ere we dont need t o discuss past( lik e th is should h av e been done,t ha t

should hav e been done) or futu re.we strictly need to take th e present situation in mind,an d answer accordingly .

This what i am telling you on my experience.

comment please..

Reply

Akan d SitraOctober 29, 2013 a t 1:19 pm

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2/27/2014 Ethics Case Study 22 | INSIGHTS

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Yes, w ha t y ou said is t ru e, bu t I ha d my own th oug ht process.

1. It is a 300 m ark question.

2. We should alway s think of nipping the tragedy in the bud.

3. These scenarios will occur v ery fr equently . The ma in cause of such repeated tra gedies is the infrastructu re. Realizing

the basic cause and addressing it is much more effective th an just addressing the results.

4. I talked about all th e suggestions because, I wan ted to set the stage say ing wh y I wan ted to sav e the HM. If I say all

these can be done, and th en say, t he HM can do all th ese, so Im sav ing him , it m akes it a mu ch more th ought out

rational decision, rat her th an just rely ing on emotions and the present.

5. The past should teach u s how to behav e in the present and lay the road for future actions.

Reply

seemaOctober 29, 2013 at 5:11 pm

Well y our v iew s ar e too pr ac tic al as a DM.

But as u said that this will never r epeat aga in make it sure!

But if a labour die knw one going to remem ber this incident more then a month bu t if minister die it will definetly work for a

long time.

Al l m ini ster s ar e goin g pa y at ten ti on af ter wa rds.

An d m ore t hen th is th e m ini ster sur ely ha d a g ood insur an ce. Whi ch is m ore t hen an y compenset ion. Henc e gov t. Need n ot

neccessary to spend money on the labour. But v ia political pressure they deffinetly start t he constru cting infrastr uctu re

there.

But aga in this will definetly going to effect your car eer, hence, u mu st be ready w ith a good and practical exl painationinfront of media and other authority. Can say that the labour is more serious and other labours are in unrest situation. To

control the situation i hav e to take such decision.

Reply

shamOctober 29, 2013 a t 11 :58 am

But th is may lead to more clashes more lives.. I think from other perspectiv e.. home minister in past ha s not done much to

improv e infrastructu re, roads, hospitals, connectiv ity a nd to am eliorate the tense situation of comm una l violence. He just gav e

instruct ions to DM to keep a check over th e situation but h imself did not ta ke strong measures to tackle t he situat ion.

Here guidance from doctors is v ery critical , they can assess the situa tion and little bit better planning can sav e both of the lives

Labourer can not be left to die. Doctors can help to take a decision th at w ho is in more critical situa tion and for whom lesser tim

wou ld be ta ken for oper at ion a nd su rg ery . The one w ho is m ore c rit ica l should be trea ted f ir st a nd ev en eth ics of m edici ne

profession guide t he sam e principle.

Reply

Akan d SitraOctober 29, 2013 at 1 2:27 pm

1 . It wa s the Home secretary who asked the DM to take care, not the Home Minister. He cannot do any thing m ore, as his

wor k is t o giv e in str uc tion s to th e Collect or only .

2. The doctors them selves said that , both of them ha v e the same levels of critical ity . Both of them will die in 3 hours. And th

decision is totally in th e han ds of the DM.

Reply

Akan d SitraOctober 29, 201 3 at 1 2:38 pm

Moreover, there w ill be a lot of violence and other law and order problems in th e state, if people get to know that their

leader wa s killed because of deny in m edical facilities.

An d th e la bour er i s from th e sam e com mun ity as t he DM. Thing s wi ll get rea l u gly if people ta ke t ha t a s an other

commu nal r eason for more v iolence. It will be ver y chaotic, an d the DM will be suspended for sure.

Reply
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October 29, 2013 at 1 2:33 pm

regar ding y our second para doctors can help to take a decision th at w ho is in more critical situa tion and for whom lesser

tim e would be taken for operation and surg ery .i feel it is not possible to assess the crit icality of the medical situa tion.becaus

it is a hum an body. tim e taken for assessing the ext ent of dam age ma y be as good as perform ing the surg ery itself.

Reply

HimanshuOctober 29, 201 3 at 1 :00 pm

Friends the key given in the question is the hospital superintendent hinted you that the other may succumb to his

injuries during t he next 3 h ours of operation. Based on this medical opinion,th e decision making can be ta ken.Rest

thing s if occur like violence,unrest,fam ily condition of the laborer(in case he dies) will be dealt with th e administrat iv e

power and tools.

This what i think would be rational,irrespective of emotion,political influence and all.Please go through my answer and

comment.

Reply

ArjunOctober 29, 2013 a t 12 :18 pm

here th e decision is of giving priority in operat ion at th e hospital an d in accordance with the stan dard established protocols andVV IP sta tu s th at pri orit y shoul d be of the mini ster .It is a lso wor th ment ionin g t ha t t hi s distin ct ion h as n ot been giv en by th e

District Magistra te but the state an d he is merely acting a ccording to these dictums.. savin g the life of the minister more

important because he being the leader of masses also holds a constitutional au thority .

We should n ot forg et th at hom e m ini ster is al rea dy prov ided a securi ty cordon wh ich is not th ere for ordi na ry cit izen

empha sizing his relativ e importance in the v iew of STATE vis a v is comm on man.w e should also keep in mind tha t his death du

to non av ailability of Medical facilities (OT in this case) can be used as a political t ool to incite v iolence in his constituency

resulting in many more deaths of ordinary citizen and create trouble for administration as well.

meanwhile w e can pray for the life of the labour and provide him basic healthcare facility.in the u nfortunat e incident of his

death his fam ily should be giv en relief measures as admissible..

i would once again emphasize the point th at i ha v e decided ov er priority of operation and nothing bey ond that.

suggestions and crit icisms welcome.

best r ega rds

Reply

neerajOctober 29, 2013 a t 12 :29 pm

This problem presents us with a m oral dillema. Life in itself is very precioius and ome cannot distingu ish between sanctity of

both liv es.

We w ill ha v e to weig h ou r opt ions. A s a DM m y dut y is to en sur e th e well bein g of m y people. i ca nn ot le t c omm un al mat ter s

deteriorate. Life of democratically elected leader is also v ery im porta nt. But for the greater g ood of many one mu st wait.

i will direct th e doctor to operate on the labour asap and th en operate on minister. I must at least try to sav e the min ister as wel

Sometimes mira cle do happen

Reply

HimanshuOctober 29, 201 3 at 1 2:52 pm

The situat ion here requires medical atten tion, that too with limit ed resources. Since for minister all options for VIP treatm ent

cannot be availed right now, choice is left on with the local hospital treatment only. As per the medical information, the other

fellow may succumb t o his injuries during the nex t 3 hours of operation. So, here the success rate of operation will decide, which

case should be proceeded. Success of the operation would be decided with the expert kn owledge, proper a nd quick m edical

ana ly sis by t he av ailable doctors. Since, a view alr eady h as been provided in this regard, i will ask them to proceed with the

home minister. After treating minister, the laborer would be taken care, may be that would be helpful. To control the possibility

of clashes, i will call the police administr ation to remain alert and take all th e precautionary measur es in adv ance. In case the
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laborer dies; i will prov ide the family mem bers all the instant relief from emotional to financial an d other fut ure reliefs like

education, PDS, health benefits, etc u sing m y administrativ e power w ithin m y limitations.

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 29, 201 3 at 1 :00 pm

As both t he v ict im s ar e cr it ica l, choosing a ny one of th em must lie on an a na ly sis of th e consequen ces. In essence, a decision

must be taken ta king into account th e impact on the society for both liv es are human lives and equally va luable.

The families of both would be affected emotionally equally but unequally on several other counts such as livelihood,

compensation, pensions etc. Here clearly the fam ily of the m inister would suffer less tha n tha t of the labourer, overa ll.

Considering its impact on personal and professional life: the death of the Minister, my political boss, would am ount to

professional dereliction of duty . As an administr ator, professionally , the Minister should be my first priority and any other

citizen second.

However, as a hum an being i would be emotionally closer to the poor labourer giv en the irrepara ble damage to his fam ily .

Considering its social impact: The death of labourer m ay result in a commu nal riot giv en the flaring situa tion. But, with

suitable deploy ment of forces the situation can be controlled minimizing an y dama ge to life and property .

On the other ha nd, the death of the Minster may deal a severe blow to the sentiments of the people. It may even r esult in social

upheav al for he is th e elected leader of the people. His life is para mount to the people.This disorder m ay also be contr olled butclearly the cost to people can not be.

Therefore, as an adm inistrator i should save t he life of minster first. While th e death of the labourer w ould be a huge loss to his

family, me emotionally and may create comm unal flares; the situation may be controlled and the family be suitably

compensated. The compensation should be exceptional g iv en the exceptional ca se although it can n ot cov er th e cost of the poor

labourers loss emotionally .

Reply

Naveen ShekharOctober 29, 2013 at 1 :29 pm

Ag ree ,A dity a.

Good answer with good logics.

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 29, 201 3 at 2:1 6 pm

Adit y a, y ou w rote A s an adm ini str at or, pr ofessional ly , t he Mi nist er shoul d be m y fir st pr iorit y an d an y other c it izen

second. This statement practically may hold and has higher contemporary following a s evident from the preva lent acts

in our system. But principally it is wrong. For an a dministrat or citizen can not be second.

Your an swer otherw ise is im pressiv e.

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 29, 201 3 at 2:46 pm

Hi Pra soon,

First of all, a v ery good case study !

Secondly, about the answer : This is actually an ethical dilemma Prasoon. The principle of Duty is clashing with

Alt ruism or public good. We hav e to chose one principle over t he other. Choosing an y would not be wrong,

justifi cati on m at ter s.

If i was a common man i w ould have chosen the labourer, but given i am an administrator, i can not shed my duty

and official responsibility. It is not th at t he citizen is second, but the lea der who represents so ma ny people must be

given priority h ere both r ationally and em otionally.
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Citizen is alwa y s first but the representativ e of the citizens, extending the same rea son, is ev en more important. Ev en

the m inister could hav e belonged to a poor labourers family .

But, as y ou said it is difficult to choose between r ight a nd right .

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 29, 201 3 at 2 :55 pm

Impressive logic Adity a.

Reply

IAS Only..November 11, 2013 at 12:40 am

gud one

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 29, 2013 a t 1:19 pm

Choosing between right and right is tough . The situat ion here is not simply about doing good without ha rm bu t it is more

about doing good with h arm . In this case the DM requires an emotional stability and should be ready t o face the consequences of

such decision th ere rem ains a l arger possibility of guilt consciousness..

I will ch oose the laborer to be operated first despite the fact th at tw o men equally hav e their liv es at stake. This decision ma y

hav e grey a reas of arguments but in a democracy it is the highest duty of the entire government ma chinery th at its action

alw ay s shows a people-centric approach. Th e death of labor ma y cause both labor outr age and comm una l riots. And this will

presumably happen more immediately than the reaction over death of the minister. Communal clashes may cause more death

and ma y ca use social impact tha t ld be non-ending. Insensitivity to the problem now, ma y r ender administra tion skeptical to

the society ever. The district cannot moreover handle medical emergencies in extreme numbers. As the district is in a hill state

wi th poor infra str uc tu re, a l abor tur moil m ay fur th er g iv e a wr ong i mpression of states comm erc ia l a bil iti es. Both th e ev ent s

definitely ar e politically u nwa nted as no govern ment can a fford such situat ion.

Meanwhile assumin g death of an elected leader wont cause deaths and outr age is seeing thing s in mere black and wh ite. But

upheavals in this case may be controlled with police alertness and convincing people politically and through social engagement

No political party can afford going against an a ct of public benefit at least publicall y . As the DM I ll brief the Home Secretaryand giv e him due explan ation in writ ing. Ther e remain s immense possibility of suspension and car eer blockade but I finally owe

to the citizenry on behalf of the Government.

Reply

Anny MiddhaOctober 29, 2013 at 3:45 pm

y our rea soning is v ery good an d effec tiv e. bu t t hen th ere is one v al id a rg um ent ag ain st t hi s: th e death of lea der w ill not only

lead to communal riots but also political instability.

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 29, 201 3 at 3:57 pm

An ny th is situa ti on is in deed t ough . Ch oosing bet ween t wo l iv es can c au se a h um an to sin k under gu ilt an d an

administra tor can also not escape this emotion. If thought pract ically then a senior also will leav e you to decide for y our

own. I hav e defended for a l abor because in person I hav e seen police personnel an d politicians ru nning t o sav e their liv es

wh en t he la borer s shout a maa roooooooo.. . My exp eri enc e m ade m e ch ose this. A dity a a nd A ka nd h av e a lso put

forward their aruments and so have other candidates.

Here there can not be a perfect y ardstick to gauge th e implications.

Reply

AnjaliOctober 29, 201 3 at 6:57 pm
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Prasoon dont y ou think, y ou hav e not pondered ov er one aspect of case, superintendent hav e hinted labourar ma y di

next t o three hours of operation. And if he dies afterword will y ou not feel double guilty of causing loss to both l iv es?

Instead if you hav e gone other way at least y ou could hav e sav ed ones life.

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 29, 201 3 at 8 :09 pm

Act ua lly I fav ored t he la borer in my an swer An jali

Reply

AnjaliOctober 30, 2013 at 1 2:03 am

Prasoon, you ha v e not got m y qu estion, if inspite of operation labourar g oing to die then wh ats the m eaning of

operation a nd y our act of jeopardizing ministers life for him . Its better to operate on m inister so atleast his life

wi ll be sav ed.

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 30, 2013 at 1:51 am

How can it be said that wh ether w ho will die? If labourer is sav ed we can av ert tw o major troubles labour

unr est and comm una l clash. Labourers death will al so be a reflection of administrat ions lacun ae in

prev enting th is situa tion which wa s being monitored early . Means the v ery a ccident of this labourer is an

admin istrativ e failure. Even if he dies there wil l be lesser resentm ent and indignation and admin istration

wi ll h av e some fac e sav ing . On th e oth er ha nd t hi s mi nist er h as m et a n a cci dent . Th ough hi s life i s

v al ua ble but presen t sit ua tion s wa rr an t t hi ng s otherw ise.

Let us top this way . Instead of a labourer th ere is DMs kin. What w ill he do then? See the an swer to such a

situation is not easy . From an exam ination point of view w e hav e to defend our r easons. But I will ag ain say

as above that I have witnessed a few situations where labour unrest weighed heavily and non dared

by passin g it . No CM, No DM.

Sourabh has also written a convincing answer below. You can see it.

Reply

AnjaliOctober 30, 2013 at 2:1 7 am

Prasoon, Sourabh, has reflected my views in better way . Thats wh at I said in m y answer, as

superintendent ha s hinted labourar s condition is more critical so he may die next to thr ee hours of

operation. So obviously minister to be operat ed upon.

Reply

AnjaliOctober 30, 2013 at 2:1 9 am

Prasoon, I appreciate y ou for posting such a nice such ca se study .

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 30, 2013 at 2:50 am

An jal i I am sorry if I am int erpr eti ng it wr ong, but in th e abov e ca se doctor s ar e say ing th at wh en

either of the two will be operated upon, the other risks his life. The two hav e same ma gnitu de of

complication (clinically).

Reply

An ali
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October 30, 2013 at 5:10 pm

Prasoon, hospital superintendent hinted y ou that th e other m ay succumb to his injuries during

the next 3 hour s of operation. This sentence is not clear to me, Kindly if y ou can ma ke it clear

wh at it mean s. As y ou posted c ase st udy , y ou m ay better kn ow it .

I assumed as labourar m ay die during thr ee hours of operation, it mea ns he is more critica l to

surv iv e even after operation so why to waste precious time.

Akan d SitraOctober 29, 201 3 at 1 :26 pm

Someone is gonna th row stones at y ou the n ext da y shoutin g THIS GUY MURDERED OUR LEADER TO SAVE A GUY FROM HIS

OWN COMMUNITY!!!"

No offence though .

I loved y our first two lines. Can I use them in t he exam if I remem ber?!

Reply

Prasoon Kaushik

October 29, 2013 at 1 :37 pm

Brother such situa tions are alway s demanding. By the way t hey are called CORNELIAN DILEMMA.

Reply

NikkuOctober 29, 201 3 at 3:32 pm

Why not do a dra w of lots?

It is democracy and ever y body is equal.

The situation is a sort of zero sum gam e, as irrespectiv e of what stand y ou take, ther e is going to be an equally negat iv e

effect of it.

A dr aw of lot w ould bri ng an elem ent of fai rn ess an d object iv ity to the situ at ion, by rem oving th e element of discr eti on.

Discretion in th is case would be open to mal -interpretations and is bound to flare u p the alr eady tense situation.

Also, nobody seems to m ent ion a bout ta kin g a dv ice of a senior . Th is seem s to be a perfect case wh ere y ou should be seeki n

y our senior s he lp a s s/he m igh t h av e fa ced such a sit ua ti on earl ier an d may ac t a s a m oral g uid e.

In th e end the decision would be y ours, but gain ing a perspectiv e of a tr usted senior m ight a lso be considered in the cours

of action ..no?

Reply

Prasoon KaushikOctober 29, 201 3 at 4:01 pm

Appr ecia te y our idea of contac tin g a senior ..but a dr aw despite fa ir ness appear s less sensit iv e:(

others please sugg est

Reply

HimanshuOctober 29, 201 3 at 5:22 pm

agreepract ically here its only one person to take a decision.Draw or voting helps when y ou hav e to take a

decision on consensus among m ore tha n one or tw o.Consulting senior is one good and practical option .

Reply

Anjali
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October 29, 201 3 at 2 :48 pm

Here DM first informed about the comm una l clashes and ha v e been asked to monitor the situa tion. So if I were in tha t place, I

hav e sent imm ediately police force to disputed site so there m ight be the case that t he atta ck on labourar m ay be prevented at

first place.

As I come to k now th ere is ca sua lty its m y dut y to r ush al l pr ev eti v e m easu res t o the affect ed site, t o fur th er prev ent an y such

thing.

Second if both a re suffering same lev el of injury and doctor hint ed that la bourar m ay die inspite of operation so I would hav e

allowed Minister to be taken to OT.

But her e I need to prepare th e atm osphere and th at is also quick in time. So I would hav e talked to the fam ilies of both the person

acqua inted them of clear condition and ask their fav our to arriv e at quick decision. I would hav e told the fam ily of poor laboura

tha t superintendent ha v e this view , he will die inspite of operation so its ethically correct to allow operation on minister. I would

tell them they need not to worry a bout the financial difficulties, state w ould take care of it and hav e faith in god if he wishes tha

person will not die as they are doing morally v ery good job by a llowing operat ion on minister. God may bless them positively .

Till the operation of minister finishes, I would have tried my level best to make available all the care in that situation needed by

consultin g some specialist an d more experienced doctor t han the h ospital staff outside the h ospital v ia phone conference, to

explore any possibility to sav e that person.

If tha t person dies, definitely there w ill be some la w an d order problem so to prevent tha t I will alr eady deploy police force in

place.

Reply

SudhaOctober 29, 2013 at 6:23 pm

An jali,

Talking t o the concerned families is a new dimension am ong the answers. But I am not sure how mu ch positiv e their respons

wou ld be . Conc lu ding par t on ta kin g oth er m edica l opti ons to keep him al iv e at t he best t ill th e sur ger y is ov er is a g ood note.

Reply

AnjaliOctober 29, 201 3 at 6:48 pm

Sudha, y ou are right , there is uncert ainty of response from fam ilies, as situation is grim, but I though t Its, better to take

them into confidence, than nothing.

Reply

VinodOctober 29, 2013 at 8:13 pm

@Anjali

wh en y ou w ill be DM ,i dont th ink y ou w ould ev er a sk a common m an to help y ou to ta ke dec ision i n cr it ica l (or norm al )

situation (here you are asking a favour from the families whose members are going to die.).

how can a DM ask a poor family let their poor patient be died with out any treat ment only because a doctor has a view t hat

patient may not survive?

Reply

AnjaliOctober 30, 201 3 at 12:14 am

Vin od, br ai n storm ing question , t ha nks.

Here situation before me is to save one life out of two, its not th e ma tter of minister or la bourar, simply assume tw o lives.

Here my decision is clear t o sav e the life wh ich will be fruitful. Dont y ou think If I ll go for operation for laboura r an d sti

he will die, and with out operation min ister will also die, so it will be double tragedy .

I m not leav ing that patient without treatment, I am tr ying my level best to save him, by consulting m ore experienced

person.
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As r ega rdin g fa mili es its a lw ay s bett er t o take t hem int o confiden ce, I am only gov ern ment serv an t, but th ey ar e th e

guar dian of life of their fam ily mem ber and they hav e to face implicat ions of death. I do not left decision on them , I hav e

just a sked thei r fav our to support me in my decisi on.

Reply

Sagar HegdeOctober 29, 201 3 at 6 :24 pm

Here the case shouldnt be treated as one of high er importan ce and one of lower importance, For me a s a DM its just two liv es at

stake and no ma tter w hoever it is their life is at m ost important to them and their fam ily . I as a DM would treat it in same wa y

as any other case of two other l iv es at stake. So i would concentra te how to solv e this problem ra ther t han succu mbing t o societa

or political pressures.

I can ask for splitting of Doctors and ask them to work simulta neously on both patient s with m inimu m requ irement s, this

usually happens in Emergency rooms of Hospitals when th ere is Major Hav oc like earthqua ke or exploding of bomb w hen

patients coming w ith serious injuries increases to hun dreds. By doing th is they look into so tha t th ey dont loose them also they

arrange for further tr av elling, if time permits and anyone from 2 becomes tough enough t o trav el, will be taken by road to

district HQ or till then w eather eases Helicopter can be cal led.

By doing this we mig ht sav e both or loose both, but by doing this on a ethical basis i and my team dint do any thing wrong or

injustice to anyone of them at a same time ev en try ing to control riots by a ssuring th at labor is being treated with equal terms

wi th Home Minist er.

Reply

AnjaliOctober 29, 2013 at 6:46 pm

Sagar , Helicopter option is closed, read case again a nd there is no possibility to take th em aw ay , both are n ot in tha t position

If splitti ng of doctors possible then w hy doctors pushing on DM to ta ke quick decision.

Reply

Sagar HegdeOctober 29, 201 3 at 1 0:02 pm

Ya, bu t in my an swer i h av e clear ly ment ioned a fter few hours if it perm its th en h elic opter ca n be ca ld. An wa y s th an ksfor feedback

Reply

VinodOctober 29, 2013 at 8:36 pm

@ sagar

wh at abou t pr essur e fr om g ovt Hom e Secr eta ry is closely monitorin g t he si tu at ion?

wh at abou t t he dut y of DM to giv e pr otect ion pr iorit y to a const itu tion al ly elec ted repr esent at iv e?

wh at abou t y our commun ity an gle ?

by y our (DM) order m ini ster would die .

how will you face people who will be throwing stone at you next day or even in the same night outside hospital saying this

abcdDM killed our leader t o protect his abcd. bha i.

this is bloody senstive situat ion which ma y be lead to comm una l violance.

not only social and professional life of the DM is at stack even his personal life m ay come under th reat.

decision must be rational an d logical an d above all duty bound.

Reply

Varu n Chau daryOctober 30, 2013 at 1 :22 am
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.

tomorrow. And You Home secretary is Keenly watching,But we are not politicians to do in favour with govt Home

secretary .We are civ il servants to perform duty by side of civiliants

Reply

zeeshahOctober 29, 2013 a t 6:37 pm

life of both v ictims is equally v alua ble for their respectiv e families and the situa tion is equally emotionally intense for them .

savin g min ister or a la bour is equally ethical t o the DM, as their is no other option to save th e minister, but now DM has to give

the weightage to the postive outcome in saving a ny one. if he will save labour, then labour will serv e his family only and at the

ma x. ma y perform some social duties but if minister is sav ed he will serv e the consituency which he is quite awa re of. he is

choosed to serv e and is account able for that. h e has auth ority a nd will use that for serv ing and peacekeeping in the area .so his

loss will hav e a m ajor impact compared to the loss of labour a nd thu s DM shall choose to sav e him.

Reply

SourabhOctober 29, 201 3 at 9 :21 pm

Right to life is basic natura l right, w hich every individual hav e, whether a king or a w orker. As given in th e hy pothesis that

their is no other alternative for shifting patient to any other place and OT is minimally equipped and can serve only a

individual at a time.

Here, it is a critical dilemm a since i hav e to choose between two right s as both the patient s hav e equal righ ts to be saved. I will

ask the superintended, that among the patient, which one has a better chance of surviving after the operation, depending on the

age and other ailm ents.

On the feedback given, i w ill ask doctor to first operate t he person, wh o will hav e a better cha nce of surv iv ing.

But it w ill jeopardize life of other person.So will try to save th e life of other with some m easures. May a sk the superintendent to

convert a w ard into a sort of OT through w hat ever a v ailable m eans and resources we can gath er. May a lso contact some local

doctors, surgeons and retir ed personal to help in case of shortag e of manpower.

Will also tak e th e help of h ospita l staff to cr owd w ha tev er r esour ces thr ough local dispen sar ies and l ocal shop of m edica l

equipment. Will contact hospital in the capital and ask them the direction through which we can save the person, till the doctor

are busy in operatin g other person.

Also, may ta ke t he hel p of int ern et a nd t hr ough some v ideos about care in su ch situ at ion, wi ll a sk ju nior doctor s an d hospit al

staff to take care of the patient. This may insure tha t both the patient is treated, but the first person will hav e a better chance to

survive.

Aft er, th is in ciden t w ill al so ask for a r ev iew of emerg enc y situ at ion in th e hospita ls and w ill mak e it a poin t t ha t h ospita ls

should be equipped well for handling em ergency .

Reply

Varu n Chau daryOctober 30, 2013 at 1 :26 am

Ver y good an swer ! Bal an ced a pproach ..n ice

Reply

NITINOctober 30, 2013 at 1 0:50 pm

Best ansTussi great ho jahanpanaa..

Reply

sherOctober 30, 2013 a t 1:1 5 am

in my v iew first i w ill consult w ith the doctor th at how m uch tim e(approx) it will take to treat each of them ,after this first i wil

suggest to take minister in OT ,and as ther e is thr ee hour still left for labor,t i will br ief this, ov er phone to SP that y ou should
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beef u p th e secu rit y in a rea wh ere ri ots m ak e br eak out in t he case of an y ev ent ua lit y .Th an i w ill be in cont ac t w ith doct or a nd

try convey him t he message that please try to handle the home minister before 3 hour and if he will n ot be able to complete the

operation before three hour try to make, that kind of arrangement that will extend the life of home minister further so that in

mean time treatment of labor can be started .And in during HM operation i will contact a hospital having teleconferencing ,and

at th e same time i will designate a person to arrang e video conferencing from our hospital so tha t we can sav e the deteriorating

health of labor by whatev er infrastructure we ha ve in our hospital by the help of teleconferencing .so my aim w ill be to sav e

both liv es wi th pri orit y to HM.beca use dea th of HM wil l im pac t m ore people ,bec au se aft er h is death th ere wi ll be by elec tion

wh ich wi ll b e waste of resourc es an d in elec tion th is furt her degr ade t he env iron ment of city . so th is will be the fir st h an d

reaction to situation.

after this i will try to solve the labor problem permanently .

giv e suggestion to increase the OT

try to convince CM saheb to procure an all weather helicopter

Reply

Varu n Chau daryOctober 30, 2013 at 1:30 am

i cant get your answer.. how can you treat a patient using teleconference/video conference? we have enough doctors but not

infrastructure.

Reply

ash07

October 30, 2013 a t 2:23 a m

The case study inv olves a test of fast decision m aking u nder pressure. A s a DM, i ha v e to ensure that my decision hinges on

constitu tional prov isions and t akes into account possible fallout fr om th e decision.

The first thing is conceding a dereliction on my part t o take control of comm unal cl ashes among labourers which resulted in a

casualt y . Given th e var ious resource constraints like single OT, bad weat her to fly h elicopter, equal critica lity of injuries and

wa rn ing of succ um bness w ithin 3 hou rs, i ha v e to n ecessaril y decide on one a ga inst an other on ba sis of followi ng condit ions:

Firstly, A lthough Art 2 1 does not discrimin ate th e right t o life of any citizen, it is to be appreciated that a n elected

representativ e of the people represents the spirit of the w hole sum of parts and is a guar dian and reflection of the collective

conscience and hence shall be accorded more significance ag ainst an individua l. Secondly, new s of Death of Home m inister for

lack of timely medical care in state has a very real and dangerous fallout of sending a shock-wave across the state and fuelling a

political instability and unrest of epidemic proportions. Thirdly, considering my own comm unity , saving th e labourer at the

cost of ministers life is fraught with flaring the communal violences even more on charges of favouritism and the political

agitation caused by the death of the minister adding fuel to the fire and exploding into an unmanageable situation.This

provisions for giving priority to the minister for rushing int o OT.

Next, i shall undertake two things to do the best in my abilities to save the labourer. First, i shall immediately call up a hospital

in the capital a nd order for sending a mobile OT equipped ambula nce towards my t own via t he route on which the am bulan ce

carry ing labourer from here will meet it on the way somewhere in th e midpoint. Second, this would effectively mean t he

labourer can be operated upon after 4 hours but our best chan ce lies on the probability of the labourer being operated within 3

hours, this will requir e radio announcements to alert people and public to clear the route so that th e drivers of both am bulan ces

can sav e at least one hour each to ma ke it on time. This decision rests on the logic that distance is not measured in hours

meaning a 4 h our journey of ambulance can be completed in 3 hours with clear route and higher speed.

In the worst case if the labourer dies, the fallout of the new s of Death of labourer despite best efforts may flare up comm una l

tensions to some extent but wit h adequate reserv e police force and security safeguards it may be safely av erted.The moral

responsibility of disbursing th e ex-gratia to the next of kin to adequately sustain them for the rest of their liv es and scholarships

to his children ma y soothe the gr ief of labourers families.

Reply

LOTUSOctober 30, 201 3 at 5:25 pm

I WILL REQUEST THE TEAM OF DOCTORS AN D TECHNICIANS TO A RRANGE OPERATION FOR BOTH OF THEM , EVEN

THOUGH IT OF HIGHER RISK I WILL ASK THE TEAM OF DOCTORS TO EITHER DIVIDE INTO TWO OR ONE BUT TRY TO

ARRAN GE A LTERNA TE EQUIPMENT LIKE LIGHT A ND OTHER INSTRUMENTS WITH AV AILABLE TEC HNOLOGY AN D

RESOURCE, POSSIBLE INSTRUMENTS. I WILL EXPLAIN THE DOCTORS ITS VERY IMP TO SAVE TWO LIVES .MEANWHILE I

WILL BE COMMUNICATING WITH HE LICOPTER OFFICIALS TO BRING A LL THE EQUIPMENT PRESCRIBED BY THE DOCT ORS

EITHER MEDICINES OR INSTRUMENTS. AT THE SAME TIME I WILL TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE OFFICIALS IF THEY

CAN DO ANY THING REGARDING THIS SITUATION.
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1 . Analy ze the lifetime v alue contribut ion of two individual s to the nation and society . Remem ber that in exceptional

circumstances, an individual can be sacrificed in the larger interest of the nation.

2. Impact on indiv iduals families and their ability to get through the deva stationto demonstrate to the exam iner that

y ou h av e an em otiona l qu otien t a s wel l

3. Impact on your own career and how it is subservient to the larger public interest

Reply

Anu rag Th aku r

November 12, 201 3 at 4:31 pm

well Prasoon, y ou h av e real ly slam-dunk ed it th is ti me, w her e ar e y ou com ing up w ith th ese fr om,

well honestly (or h olly wood-ishly ), I feel a but ter fly effec t w ith a ny of my decision s her e.

I would ask the doctors to go ahead wit h th e operation of the labourer, fu rth er asking th em to ar rang e appropriat e life support o

attending staff for the VIP ( even Superitendent also isnt sure, he may yy yy yy yy y die, what if he doesnt, bingo )

My decision is based on v ery candid and pra ctical r easons. The issue isnt confined to the four wall s of hospital, neither does it end

wi th in i t a fter sav ing one and l osing ot her . Profession al ly , m y self, along w ith th e Home Mini ster sah ab ar e duty boun d tow ar ds

the people, so tha t poor labour should be my preference ( trust me, ev en if the minister w as preferred and sav ed, on wa king up,

he would hav e fired y ou giving y ou sam e advice, not only on the funny part but if he was a good leader too ).

How can denying that labour the preferential medical attention be considered prudent, if I am a resident of an area, meeting an

accident, lat er denied the required treatm ent in th e neighbourhood hospital becau se a VVIP ( elected by m e for my service) wa s

preferred ov er me. Had their been no weat herly disturbances, would hav e it happened tha t minister wa s operated there and I (

poor labour) w as air-lifted to other h ospital.

In my opinion, the rea sons of riots are alwa y s localized. And it is 100% pakka, tha t th e possible riots occurr ed after death of tha t

labourer would ha v e definitely cost me m y job ( plenty of exam ples from UP), ev en if it was Prime Minister wh o was sav ed in

place of that home minister.

An other exa mple, Sri V C Shu kla , Con gr ess MP and for mer MEA , w as m ur dered by Na xa ls in Cha tt isga rh in an am bush along

wi th other MLA s an al l. I dont r em em ber an y uph eav al in Pa rl iament over t ha t. Th ey didnt send a ny Ar my to av eng e th at (

migh t ha v e been different in ca se of US some cool Nav y SEAL or Delta Force action, plot for an other superb Holly wood mov ie).

But the tr uth is, ther e was no option with political class. When y ou are in governan ce, every thing in r eturn is repercussion of

y our ac t. Th e ru lin g pa rt y ac kn owledged t ha t fa teful ev ent un der colu mn of fa iled Gov ern an ce. Sim ila rly , if t he VIP woul d ha v

passed away in the above case, the governm ent might hav e accepted it under incapable medical facility, and m ight hav e

wor ked t o improv e it .

@ Prasoon, please review my thought process, Ill ma ke it in 3 00 words.

Reply
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Ethics Case Study – 22 _ INSIGHTS

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