Professional Ethics in

Public Service

Facilitated by

Pratap Kumar Pathak

Welcome
Understanding Ethics and
Morality
 Meaning of “Ethics”
“Rational, optimal and appropriate
decision, behavior and response on
the basis of commonly desired
values, preferences and
expectations with effect of
rightness”
 What is “Ethics”

Set of standards of conduct and moral

judgments to determine “rightness”
and “wrongness” in behaviour and
action.
Morality: Response to
Externality
 Philosophy on Ethics
• Virtues: Justice, charity and generosity benefiting the person
and the society (Aristotle)
• State consequentialism: Evaluating the moral worth of an
action based on how much it contributes to the basic good of
a state.
• Utilitarianism: Conduct which produces the
greatest/maximum happiness or benefit to the greatest
number of people.
• Deontological theory: Ethics are central to morality - a
human duty - based on rational people’s respect for other
rational people.
• Hedonism: Maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain
 Scope of “Ethics”
• Meta-ethics: About the theoretical meaning and reference of
moral propositions and how their truth values may be
determined

• Normative Ethics:
Ethics Value for service, development, quality
outputs, productivity, competitiveness.

• Descriptive Ethics:
Ethics Value-free approach to ethics like
“ethical codes”, common pattern of behaviour irrespective of
real life situations. Prescriptive rather than normative ethics.
• Applied ethics: How moral outcomes can be achieved in
specific situations
Scope of “Ethics”
 Basic Principles of Ethics
• Utility principle
• Rights principle
• Fairness principle: Impartiality and neutrality
• Social justice principle: Equity
• Professional competency principle
• Efficiency principle
• Accountability principle
 Types of Ethics

• Ethics of Principled Conviction

– Asserts that intent is the most important factor.
– Good principles enforce ethical act.

• Ethics of Responsibility
– Outcome or consequence oriented ethics.
– Not dependent on high-minded principles.
 Different Schools of Thought

School Interpretation

Consequentialism All that matters is the consequences of a decision or action;

motivation is not relevant.

Contractarianism It is based on the concept of fairness. All individuals are

accorded equal respect as participants in social arrangements,
leading to the idea of a social contract and the right of
individuals to veto a proposed
solution

Pluralism Focuses on the concept of duty – individuals have an obligation

to each other to be open, honest and fair.

Aristocratic Focuses on the need of the individual to be enriched by the

Ethics in Public Service
Public Service Values
 Bureaucratic Ethics
Bureaucratic ethics is defined around "fairness" in
action and behaviour for public interest comprising of
trust, consistency, truthfulness, integrity, clearly stated
expectations, equitable treatment, a sense of
ownership, mutual respect and impartial decision
making.
Public interest or the best interest of the people is the
ethical framework and guiding philosophy for
professional civil service.
 Values and Morals:
Complementarity with Ethics
• Values are the rules by which we make decisions
about right and wrong, should and should not,
good or bad, feasible or infeasible, and so on.
• Morals have a greater social element to values
and tend to have a very broad acceptance. These
are the people’s fundamental beliefs and
motivational basis for ethical judgment in social
condition.
 Different Views on Ethical
Behaviour
• Utilitarian View
Where moral behaviour is that which delivers the greatest good to the
greatest number of people.
• Individualism View
Where moral behaviour is that which is best for long-term self-interest.
• Moral-Rights View
Where moral behaviour is that which respects fundamental rights shared
by all human beings.
• Justice View
Where moral behaviour is that which is impartial, fair and equitable in
treating people. (Protective, distributive and procedural justice)
 Particular Fields of Application
in Ethics
• Bioethics: Controversial ethics brought about by
advances in biotechnology like cloning, gene
therapy, genetic engineering
• Geo-ethics: Ethical management of relationship
between human and earth
• Service ethics: Effective service delivery with
public service motivation
• Relational ethics: Managing professional
relationships
• Performance ethics: Delivery of standard
and ethical performance
• Political ethics: Political neutrality
• Developmental ethics: Right approach,
priority and allocation for development
• Innovation ethics: valuing innovation and
creativity
 Ethical Responsibility
Involves more than leading a decent, honest,
truthful life.
And it involves something much more than
making wise choices when such choices
suddenly, unexpectedly present themselves.
Our moral obligations must . . . include a
willingness to engage others in the difficult
work of defining the crucial choices that
confront technological society .
 Ethical Standards
• Professional responsibility and
competence
• Learning and professional development
• Contribution to institutional development
• Responsibility towards societal issues of
transformation
 Benefits of Ethical Management
of Profession
• Social responsiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Standardized performance and reputation
• Performance and service culture
• Sustainability
• Attraction and retention of competent human resource
• Customer support
• Orientation to reform and improvements
• Social legitimacy
• Teamwork and productivity
Ethics in Public Service
Profession
 Basic Principles
• Clear ethical standards
• Legal framework: Adequate and appropriate
• Ethical guidance for public servants
• Knowledge of rights, obligations and consequences to public servants
• Political reinforcement to public service ethics
• Public scrutiny and transparency of decision making process
• Guidelines for interaction between public and private sectors
• Policy, institution, systems and methods for promoting ethics
• Adequate and appropriate accountability mechanisms
• Appropriate sanction against non-compliance and unethical
behaviour
 Values of Public Service
Professionalism
• Providing public benefits: Adequacy, Utility and
appropriateness
• Emotional competence for performance and
delivery
• Promoting democracy and governance
• Empowering citizens and clients
• Continuous improvement for better performance
• Politico-administrative synergy in delivery of
public value
 Who are Professionals
• Expert power
• Harmonized ‘knowledge’ and ‘wisdom’
• Use of expertise responsibly: integrity
• Marked as professionals: Legitimacy
• Delivering capacity for professional results
• Culture of performance, development, reform
• Professional networking capacity: knowledge
synergy
 Professional Ethics
• Personal, organizational and corporate
standards of behaviour expected of
professionals
• Making rational judgments, application of
skill, knowledge and competency for service
excellence
• Professional neutrality, impartiality and
fairness
 Professional Ethics
• Principles that guide the actions and
decisions of professionals, and determine if
they are good or bad, or right or wrong, or
rational or irrational, or just or unjust.
• Professional capability for securing social,
technical and professional legitimacy of
decisions and actions.
• Instrument for ensuring social accountability
and responsiveness.
 Occupational Ethics
“Among the universal ethical values
are honesty, integrity, promise-
keeping, fidelity, fairness, respect
for others, responsible citizenship,
pursuit of excellence and
accountability.”
- Michael Josephson
 Understanding Professional
Ethics
• Professional ethics is the field of
applied ethics and system of moral
principles that apply the practice of
certain profession or occupation.
• The field examines and sets the
obligations by professionals to society,
to the client, and to the profession.
 Determinants of Occupational
Ethics
• Ethical considerations to public,
clients, profession
• Fulfilment of professional standards of
performance
• Contribution to development of
profession
 Ethical Principles for Profession
• Professionals shall hold paramount the safety,
health and welfare of the public and shall strive to
comply with the principles of sustainable
development in the performance of their
professional duties.
• Professionals shall perform services only in areas
of their competence.
• Professionals shall issue public statements only in
an objective and truthful manner.
• Professionals shall act in professional matters for each
employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid
conflicts of interest.
• Professionals shall build their professional reputation on the
merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with
others.
• Professionals shall act in such a manner as to uphold and
enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering
profession and shall act with zero-tolerance for bribery, fraud,
and corruption.
• Professionals shall continue their professional development
throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the
professional development of those engineers under their
supervision.
 Models of Ethical Profession
• Four Component Model (James Rest, 1984)
– Ethical perception and interpretation
– Ethical judgment or formulation - ethical reasoning
– Choosing the course of action using moral values and actions
– Ethical implementation of decisions along with follow-up using
moral strengths
• Person-Situation Interactionist Model (Linda Trevino, 1986)
– Cognitive moral development as the critical variable in explaining
decision behaviour
– Critical variables determining ethical decision making
• Individual variables: locus of control, ego strength, field dependence
• Situational variables: reinforcement contingencies, organizational systems
and culture
Infrastructure of Professional
Ethics in Public Service
Infrastructural Basis
 Instruments and Tools
• Normative and technical standards
• Regulatory and self-regulatory instruments
• Moral and value-focused instruments
• Technical operating tools
• Charter of client service
• Ethical audit mechanism
• Accountability assessment mechanism
Challenging Issues
 Professional Ethics: A
Challenging Issue

• Conflict of interest
• Business rationality vs service
rationality
• Equality and equity considerations
• Process compliance vs compliance to
results
• Professional and positional ethics
 Factors Affecting Managerial
Ethics in a Profession
• The Professional as a Person
– Personal capability
– Family influences
– Religious values
– Personal standards and needs
• Dynamics of Profession
– Professional values
– Institutionalization of
profession
– Standards of profession
• The Employing Organization
– Policies and strategies
– Codes of conduct
– Behaviour of leaders
– Behaviour of peers and subordinates
• The External Environment
– Global system
– Governance
– Norms and values of society
– Ethical climate of profession
 Challenges to Managerial Ethics
• Socio-cultural challenges
– Social values and norms
– Level of empowerment
• Strategic and Structural challenges
– Political and bureaucratic capabilities
– Rationality vs populism
– Profit vs service
– Transparency vs secrecy
– Accountability dilemma: people vs managerial leadership
– Managerial capability
 Challenges....continued
• Systemic and Methodological challenges
– Performance management
– Professionalism vs political consideration
– Social vs financial consideration
– Technological applications
• Behavioural challenges
– Compliance to ethical values and norms
– Political capability and commitment
– Managerial behaviour
– Group dynamics
– Risk factor
– Conflict of interest
– Ethical dilemmas
– Role conflict
 Ethical Problems in a Profession
• Position vs rank
• Expertise vs authority
• Political organizing
• “Groupthink” syndrome
• Organized anarchism
• Capability for generating intellectual resources
• Issues of research orientation
• Social and political support
 Improving Professional Ethics
• Philosophical base
• Selection of “good people”
• Cultural improvements
• Codes of ethics and management rules
• Leadership competency
• Goal-orientation and objectivity
• Participative management
• Independent social audits and monitoring
• Formal protective mechanisms for persons acting
ethically: Whistleblower protection
Value Based Management: Basis
for Ethics
• Drive value for key stakeholders
• Focus your business on what counts -
relentlessly
• Facilitate deployment of strategy and
management philosophy
• Establish accountability at all levels
 Institutionalizing Ethics
• Strategic interventions
• Institution building interventions
• Systemic and methodological
improvements
• Behaviour change interventions
• Collaborative interventions
Any queries, comments,
suggestions … PLEASE
Thank you for kind attention