Table Of ContentEthics and Governance
Consultant Editor
ArChAnA SAwShilyA
The Pearson–ICFAI University Series is an outcome of a collaboration
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Contents
About the Editor v
1 Character in Public Service 1
2 Morality in Public Service 13
3 Ethical Behaviour and Dilemmas in Public Service 23
4 Ethics in Public Service 31
5 Public Administration: Ethics and Virtues 42
6 The Social Ethos and Administrative Ethics 53
7 The Ethics of Citizenship 62
8 Public Service Ethics in Different Countries 73
9 Conduct and Discipline in Civil Service 90
10 Accountability in Civil Service 107
11 Administrative Corruption 130
12 Public Service Ethics in the Era of Globalization 170
13 Indian Administration: Some Ethical Dimensions 185
Glossary 215
Bibliography 217
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About the Editor
Archana Sawshilya is currently Associate Professor, Department of Political Science,
Aditi Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi, Delhi. She has authored several books and
articles on public administration, gender in administration, the non-governmental
sector and governmental policies and other related issues. She has taught these subjects
for several years and contributed to academic research.
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1
Character in Public Service
After reading this chapter, you will be conversant with:
• Meaning and importance of character
• Good character in administrative ethics
• Philosophical definition of character
• The definition of character for the twenty-first century
IntroductIon
The setting under which civil servants function is very complex and integrated in such
a manner that even a small thing, positive or negative, influences the entire administra-
tive structure. In such an environment, in which public administration is connected
with everything else in the society, civil servants are compelled to be more reflective
and proactive. Therefore, in the process of governance, administrators should be cau-
tious and take only such decisions which reflect concern for the welfare of the people.
If welfare is to be reflected in the policies of the government formulated by civil servants,
it is necessary that the character of civil servants should be good. They should be guided
by social, economic, legal and moral factors rather than personal interest. Every decision
made by a civil servant reflects his true nature and character. Therefore, it is necessary to
understand the various dimensions of the character of civil servants.
MEAnInG And IMPortAncE oF cHArActEr
According to Plato, character is enduring attitudes, sensibilities and belief in one’s
action. Character is not about the physical and materialistic conditions such as beauty,
rank, power and wealth. It is a display of one’s dominant thoughts and actions in matters
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2 | Chapter 1
of importance. In most of the cases, character is defined as the way in which an individual
thinks and acts in his everyday life.
The study of character focuses on personality disposition of an individual around
which his thoughts and actions revolve. Most psychological theorists have identified char-
acter closely with personality. However, character is much deeper than an individual’s
personality. At the same time, one should not mix up character with an individual’s tem-
perament and intellectual capacity; instead, character has more to do with moral quali-
ties. Character includes some types of individual thoughts and actions that are specific
to an individual. Therefore, a virtuous person is synonymous to a person who has good
character.
Individuals in public service have an even greater obligation to exhibit good character
compared to other individuals. The reason for this is that their activities impinge upon
the lives of citizens. If the character of those individuals is untrustworthy, it becomes dif-
ficult for them to take welfare-oriented actions. The activities of such public servants put
citizens at loss and inconvenience.
For example, in Indian cities, the recent introduction of the rule to wear helmets
compulsorily raised many eyebrows. The police justify this rule by pointing out the inten-
tion to save human lives during accidents. However, there are different versions to this,
one being that the traffic police have received huge bribes from helmet manufacturers.
The role of police personnel during the communal riots in Gujarat is another instance
which shows the importance of character for public servants. Whatever be the reason, it
can be stated that the decisions of public servants impinge on the lives of people.
Therefore, it is necessary that public servants exhibit good character, which in turn
reflects on their decisions and on the programmes genuinely aimed at the welfare and
protection of citizens. However, it is not stated that public servants alone should exhibit
good character; the entire society should equally possess good character. In a developing
country like India, the role of public administration is predominant. Hence, it is incum-
bent for civil servants to guide people in the right direction as guardians of society.
Good cHArActEr In AdMInIStrAtIVE EtHIcS
It is difficult to define character when it comes to public administration. It is all the more
complicated as the environment often colours the character of civil servants. However,
there are certain virtues which are universally recognized as the major constituents of
character with regard to public administration—honesty, justice, equanimity, compas-
sion, prudence, sincerity, discipline and humanity.
It is true that such attributes are important for every individual. But they are doubly
important for civil servants, as their decisions impinge on the lives of every citizen.
The importance of character in public administration has been recognized, and hence
detailed attention is being paid to it. However, such attempts are not new as extensive
literature has already been devoted to this.
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Character in Public Service | 3
1. Stephen K. Bailey suggested certain moral qualities for public administrators.
According to him, public administrators facing various moral dilemmas need
certain mental and moral qualities. The mental qualities include:
i. The public administrator should recognize the existence of moral ambiguity
for all people and public policies.
ii. The public administrator should recognize the conditioning of moral prin-
ciples in public administration by contextual and environmental factors.
iii. The public administrator should recognize the existence of paradoxes of
procedures.
Added to the mental attitudes, the administrator should have certain moral
qualities—optimism, courage and fairness. According to Stephen, these six ele-
ments constitute the elements of good moral character of public administrators.
2. Kathryn Denhardt provided another interpretation of the character of public
servants. Denhardt made an attempt to find the foundations of morals to guide
civil servants towards virtues, values and commitments towards their profession.
According to her, the moral foundations are honesty, benevolence and justice.
i. Honesty is the prominent virtue and is one of the fundamental qualities of
character. The confidence level of the public in governance increases based on
the honesty of public servants. The attributes of honesty are compassion and
acting in an honourable manner.
ii. Benevolence refers to the urge of promoting the welfare of others and, there-
fore, it is more concerned with the interests of others than the interests of
administrators.
iii. Justice is the third virtue and implies respecting the dignity of each individual
in the process of governance. It is a commitment on the part of the civil ser-
vant to ensure that the individual’s dignity is respected.
Denhardt emphasized that these three elements constitute the core of char-
acter in public service. By possessing these attributes, civil servants will be able to
enhance the ethical standards of public administration.
3. David K. Hart believes that there are vast differences between public administra-
tion and business administration. Public administrators, working on behalf of the
government, should possess a different set of personal characteristics for accom-
plishing higher level objectives such as welfare, social justice and so on. They
should set themselves a higher moral standard for discharging their functions
which are basic to the survival and progress of society. According to him, the
endeavours of public administrators are essentially moral in nature. Hence, the
moral character of public administrators should include superior prudence,
moral authority, and care and trust of citizens.
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