Ethics Case Study – 6_ Ethics in Public Service _ INSIGHTS

8/10/2019 Ethics Case Study 6_ Ethics in Public Service _ INSIGHTS

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DDOctober 3, 201 3 at 1 :06 pm

Political neu tra lity is one of the basic chara cteristic of Civ il Services. Ajay s main dilemma in the case is balancin g his

professional responsibilities in a wa y tha t his fam ily life also dont get jeopardized.

Its a political riv alry wher e each party wan ts to score ov er another. A jay should not become a pawn of opposition political partyagainst the Chairman . Its clear that Cha irman is indulged in some illegal activ ities hence, Ajay can start an internal

procedura l inquiry a gainst him an d other wh o is inv olved in such act iv ities. He can also giv e an application regar ding

irregu larit ies of Chairm an to Chief Minister. If no action is taken on tha t application then h e can forward th e application to

Prime Minister also. But, in no way he should side with any political par ty or neither let th em use the public office for political

gains.

Wit h r ega rd t o his r esponsibil it ies towards h is family an d especia lly to h is wi fe w ho is su ffer ing th e m ost due to h is fr equent

tra nsfer the need is to develop a heal thy commu nication. He should listen to his wifes problems and should share his point of

v iew an d cir cumsta nces in w hi ch he wor k. T hey both can v isit to Psy ch ologist for Cou nsell ing as w ell .

Reply

Som

October 3, 2013 at 2:25 pm

Aja y is bein g t ested h ere for h is per sonal int egr ity an d professiona l pr obity .

It is important tha t he insula tes his personal problems from h is official work.

He needs to ask the opposition union mem ber to file a form al w ritten complaint r egarding ir regula rities instead of meeting

him in private.

Since it is certain that both the member and chairman are exploiting the situation, there is some leakage involved.In a

parallel move, he needs to launch a thorough investigation regarding the milk federation working from top to bottom. And

plugging loopholes by going through the relevant procedures and reporting it to higher authorities.

He should not yield to the pressure from political parties and maintain political neutrality.

Regarding the frequent transfers, he can seek redressal from higher authorities and administrative tribunals since fixed

tenur e is one of the rule in civ il services.

It

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2/27/2014 Ethics Case Study 6: Ethics In Public Service | INSIGHTS

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ep y

Abh inavOctober 21 , 2013 at 12:24 am

Good reply Som.. The la st line is relev ant a nd

the best remedy t o his current situation.

Reply

RRNovember 12, 2013 at 1:01 am

good answer

Reply

Ananya BasuOctober 3, 2013 at 1 :11 pm

considering the fact t hat a jay mishra is honest and respected by the people who know him w ell for his knowledge and affability

,his course of action should definitely be to remove all th e irregula rities present in th e state cooperativ e milk federation.howev e

he should not let him self become a paw n of the opposing party which would seriously u ndermin e his credibility .As a ma nagin g

director ,he is definitely supposed to unearth corruption done in th e federation ev en if t he cu lprit r esponsible is in good books of

the ch ief minister.no political bosses can qu estion th e v alidity of his actions as he is exercising h is power t o weed out corrupt

tendencies.as far as tra nsfers are concerned,he can put a stay on the order asking for the reason for his tran sfer and at the sam e

tim e give the best medical facility av ailable to his ill wife.he should however refrain from fam e seeking activ ities like releasing

the v ideo and justifying his stand in the media.it may garner him public sym pathy but at the same time people may question

his neutralit y .counter accusat ions of him being associated with th e opposing party m ay start.

in short, he should act with in his administra tiv e capacity to expose the corru ption and hence stop it and should absolutely

refrain from party politics.

Reply

champakaliOctober 3, 2013 at 1:38 pm

As a bur eau cr at man ag ing an ail ing state coopera tiv e, i t i s im pera tiv e th at Aja y main ta ins v ery hi gh standa rds of in teg ri ty ,objectiv ity a nd impartia lity in his conduct as a Mana ging Director. Howev er, the giv en situation presents multiple states of

dilemma for Ajay .

One aspect is to maintain his integrity and objectivity regarding the har d evidence available to him w ith respect to the

malfeasance in financial m atters which is punishable under the prevention of corruption Act 19 88. At the same time h e would

wa nt to a v oid th e polit iciza ti on of th e issue. Best cour se of ac tion in t hi s case would be repor t t he mat ter to h is super iors a nd h an

over a ll th e evidence to concerned auth orities irrespective of the possibility of his re-transfer. At th e same tim e, he should also

report the conduct of the board mem ber who provided him wit h th e evidence to concerned aut horities. Thus he could mainta in

his integrit y , dedication to serv ice along with his non-partisanship wit h respect to the public office.

Also, a pu bli c office is a gr eat responsi bili ty , t o be used to pr omote pub lic int erest onl y . Hen ce, eth ica l con duc t m an dat es th at a

public official can not compromise on his conduct as a public serv ant due to his personal life. Howev er, fam ily is equally

important a nd if situa tion dema nds Ajay could consider resigning his role as a public servan t and focus ma inly on his family .

Reply

neerajOctober 3, 2013 at 2:48 pm

I dont think r esigning is a good option.. every Official has to face moral dillema .. if ev ery good officer resigns, then ther e will

be n o one lef t t o cha ng e th e sta te of our c ount ry

Reply

ANKITOctober 3, 2013 a t 7 :39 pm

secondin neera . If we write resi nin in the answer Then no oint writin the exam. The examiner ou ht to check
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wh at ll we do in t he si tu at ion a nd r un nin g a wa y from life is nev er a n opt ion.

Reply

Akan d SitraOctober 3, 2013 at 2:1 7 pm

When a n h onest officer is sur rounded by people fu ll of quest iona ble m orals, t he best t hi ng to do is to come t ota lly clean .

Fact 1 The Chairman is siphoning of money.

Fact 2 The opposition board member h as concrete proof and is blackmail ing the ch airm an.

Fact 3 Ajay s wife is getting ill due to frequent tra nsfers.

Step 1 Announce that there is something wrong with the financials and ask for a CAG audit. This would ensure that there

wou ld be concr ete proof th at th e Ch ai rm an wa s doing somet hi ng ill ega l.

Step 2 Do not take the proof and v ideo giv en by t he opposition. This is uneth ical because they them selves are corrupt.

Step 3 As soon as allegations ov er the Ch airm an a re public. Go public with t he act ions of the opposition. Tell m edia how he wa

pressurized by ev eryone and submit th e v ideo given to him .

Step 4 This will ensure tha t both the cha irma n and th e oppositions acts are public and let the public an d the judiciary decide

their future.

Step 5 Make a strong case that , the compan y needs someone strong as an officer an d plead the high er au thorities to let him

continue as MD till th e dust settles.

These acts are v ery bold. These might a ffect Ajay s life also. Ajay m ust be bold enough t o tackle such weeds out of the sy stem. He

should also think a bout his wife who needs comfort and stability in their liv es. This will ensure th at th e MD has liv ed upto his

v al ues a nd t he oppr essors t ru e na tu re i s shown to the pu blic .

Words 2 58 Tim e 1 3m ins

This case study was BRILLIANT!!! I was seriously in a dilemm a for a l ong time!! Congrats Insights on m aking such a beautiful

question.

Reply

salmanOctober 3, 2013 at 2:39 pm

This case study inv olves following m oral issues :-

a) should Ajay go against the incumbent chairm an risking transfer ?

b) sh ould A jay ac cept th e ev iden ce fr om oppositi on m ember s ?

c)should Ajay go public with these evidence

Aja y kn ows th at th e in cu mbent chai rm an is corr upt .Keepin g in v iew hi s mor al s an d th e ethi cs of civ il c erv ices , he shoul d

definitely proceed against the cha irma n ev en at th e cost of risking tr ansfers.As far a s his wife is concerned he should make

arrangements for her to stay comfortably at a place with suitable amenities.As far as he is concerned ,he cannot keep aside his

duty in any case.

Aja y shoul d defin itely ac cept th e ev iden ce fr om t he opposit ion pa rt y mem ber s.He is n ot in dul gin g in an y corr upt pra ct ice by

taking t he evidence.It does not mat ter wh o is giving th e evidence as long as evidence is aut hentic.

Aja y shoul d not go publi c w ith th is ev iden ce. He shou ld foll ow pr oper c ha nn el. He shou ld discl ose these ev iden ces in fron t of a ll

the board members.These board mem bers definitely w ill pass a resolution in the board meeting for the remova l of the cha irma n

Also those Board m em ber s th at belon g t o oppositi on part ies w ill ra ise the issue i n t he l egi slat ur es wh ich wi ll force th e Gov t t o

institutea CBI inquiry .

Aft er t he issue i s ra ised in leg isla tu re an d get s consider abl e cov era ge by media ,it wi ll not be ea sy for t he polit ica l a ut hor iti es to

transfer the MD easily.

Reply


The Board m ember had conducted unethical and illegal act by blackmailing the incum bent chairma n. The MD(IAS) should

reprima nd him for his behav iour and ask him t o subm it the proof. IAS going public is not recomm ened as anony mity is an

integra l part of the services. He should request his ministry to make a comm ittee and submit t he proof to the comm ittee. Also,

he should describe to the comm ittee the offer made by t he Board of director and his blackm ailing h abits. The commit tee will

confront the chair ma n and the Board of Director, investigat e into the ma tter and take appropriate action against them . This

report of the committee will bring to public notice about the financial irregularities of the chairman and blackmailing of the

Board of Director. This will also help in dealing w ith t ransfer had he confronted the chairm an h imself and help him ta ke care of
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s s c w e. so, w e p a y r om ecom n g pa wn o e oa r o r ec or .

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:55 pm

Neeraj, an onym ity is not relat ed to not going public. It is a different concept. It mea ns that t he civ il serva nt is shielded from

his actions as perman ent execut iv e because the minister assumes responsibility for ev ery action of his, save illega l ones.

You d id not deal w ith h is per sonal life .

Reply

Abh inavOctober 21 , 2013 at 12:34 am

Adit y a,

I think going public and making statements in media is not the prerogative of bureacrats, rather it is the political

executiv e that is entitl ed to go public in matter s concering his/her ministry .

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 21, 201 3 at 12 :45 pm

You a re r igh t A bhina v .

Nonetheless, they do have limited rights.

Reply


Insights. Pls review. . I am wa y below the word limit . Do I need more explaining t o do?? Or am I missing v ital points to be

discussed??

Reply

Akshay SharmaOctober 3, 201 3 at 3 :06 pm

The present case concerns with th e valu es of non-partisanship, anony mity , public interest and objectiv ity . Ajay Mishra ha s the

following options to choose from:

1> To go directly to public with evidences surrendering to pressure and reveal the whole scandal.

2> To remain idle.

3> To write to concerned auth ority (Sta te Vigilance Department or Lokay ukta in th is case) by prov iding evidences.

If he follows first course, it would violate core v alues of anonym ity and non-part isanship. He would be acting as a paw n

intentionally or unintentionally and would seriously question th e neutrality of civil serv ice.

Choosing second option will am ount to be a party to such act of misuse of public money . No doubt m ainta ining stat us quo will

help his ailing wife but that would be at the cost of larger public interest. Further there are chances that he will be harassed byfrequent tra nsfers in case opposition comes in power.

Third and more prudent course would be to writ e to v igilance au thorities of stat e like Lokayu kta an d State Vigilance

Department s by providing v ideo evidences. The same should be informed about undue pressure he is facing from opposition and

how it is affecting its personal life (h is wife illness). Another option could be to suo moto revea l m isappropriations under RTI as

there is provision for the same under law. It w ould attract public attention. This will protect his neutrality anonymity without

submitt ing to pressure from opposition.

If last act ion fails he should resign and th en rev eal th e whole incident exposing political influence going public.

Reply

seekingenlightnmentOctober 3, 201 3 at 3 :09 pm
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Please review my answer and suggest improvements

Reply

prernaOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:42 pm

Aja y shoul d go by th e pr ocess an d should n ot get i nfl uen ced by an y kin d of outsi de pr essur e by opposition or an y one else. A jay

mu st report t his incident to his imm ediate senior, and if chair ma n is his imm ediate senior his mu st go a lev el ahead and report

the matter to them.

Giv e this issue some t ime a nd keep him self updated on the proceedings of the same. If there is no progress on probing t he issue,

Aja y shoul d dir ect ly appr oach th e CV C for a n in qui ry . A jay shoul d not let hi s decision be a ffect ed by an y un due offers for m

opposition wh ich ar e for th ere political g am e.

Meanwhile he a s a public serv ant h as to take transfer as a part of life and he should ma ke sure his wifes healt h is in good

condition and should take leav e for sometime a nd take car e of her in case needed. Make a v isit to a psy chiat rist and help h is wife

cope up with t he chal lenges faced by h er due to change in residence.

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 3, 2013 at 5:49 pm

Prerna, CVC does not conduct inquir y again st politicians.

Reply

prernaOctober 3, 2013 at 1 1:22 pm

Than ks , I am awa re of it.

I was confused if the chairm an is from political or admin side. I assumed him to be an admin istrator.

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:46 pm

Case study 6:

Impartiality and integrity are the t wo most important ethical v alues a civil serva nt ha s to follow. In the present case, Mr. Ajay

is in a dilemm a owing t o a conflict between his priva te life and public duties. He should not bow to any pressure a nd do wha t is

right and just being a public serv ant a nd a responsible husband.

Firstly, h e should get his wife admitt ed to the best hospital near by a nd call his/her rela tiv es to take car e of her and support h er.

Secondly , he mu st not bow to any pressure from both th e state governm ent rega rding tra nsfers and from the opposition

members.

Thirdly, h e must file a case against the chairm an after v erifying the tr uthfulness of the v ideo. In this, he m ust not be sway ed b

the offers made by t he opposition parties and wa rn th em of the consequences of offering to bribe a public serv ant.

As h e is li kely to g et t ra nsfer red t o a fa r a wa y distr ict , h e shou ld in form hi s wifes r ela ti v es about th at he w ould n ot m ove with

her wife th is time. She should be in the hospital with t hem t ill she gets fine.

He has to make some sacrifices but at no cost should he lose his integrit y and act w ith complete impar tialit y .

Reply

KritiOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:50 pm

As a n MD of an a ili ng Milk Co Opera ti v e, A jay s forem ost dut y is to t ak e steps t o rev iv e th e org an izat ion for la rg er publ ic g ood.

Known for his brutal honesty, he shall uphold the same values in all situations.
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. .

an officer has to be cautious and alert and he cannot take the evidences put forward by the board member at the face value.

if the report implicates the chairman he should fearlessly confront him and inform the higher authorities about the same.

wi th reg ar d th e tr an sfer i ssue, he shoul d ta lk w ith hi s wi fe, t ak e her i n c onfiden ce t ha t it is par t of h is job. h e should spen d more

tim e with her a nd give her m oral and psy chological support.h e should explain to her how it is important for him t o stand by his

v al ues.

Reply

muraleekarOctober 6, 2013 at 5:27 pm

The prospects of opposition par ty s coming in to power, the pr essure of their promina nt leaders and promise of good career

prospects should not be of any concern to Mr.Aja y Mishra . But th ere is conflict between his duty as a public serva nt an d his

familia l duty . He should concern about h is wifes detereorating heal th condition and relationship with children beaca use of the

frequent transfers.

The inact ion on the par t of the board mem ber who is soon be chairm an should not result into the inaction of Ajay w hen he is

provided with th e evidence to instigate a probe against the incum bent chair ma n. The best he can do is to persuade the board

member to register a formal complaint as part of the board members reponibility.

If, after ta king up th e inv estigation, he is transfered again he m ust ensure not to pass on the consequences to his fam ily by

ma king his case with th em an d earning th eir confidence and tru st to go on with his decission.

Reply
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Ethics Case Study – 6_ Ethics in Public Service _ INSIGHTS

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