ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE - IAS Scoreiasscore.in/pdf/ethicsnotes/Sample Question With Answer.pdf · G S S C O R E Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude [1] SECTION - A 1. Do you agree

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Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude [1]

SECTION - A

1. Do you agree that because of absence of commitment and responsiveness, a wide gap has

emerged between "Government" and "Governance"? Discuss with respect to utilisation of public

funds in welfare activities.

2. Our politicians profess to live for the people, and swear by them in every speech. But there is

no other section of humanity, which so flagrantly robs the people and works against their

interests. Substantiate with examples.

3. In India, Power is demonstrated only if it is being misused, nepotism is one such example.

Comment.

4. It is often said that small bribes in day to day functioning do not make much difference in terms

of cost and we should take steps for controlling big corruption. But at times small bribes can

have big costs on common citizens' life. Do you agree? Give your arguments with examples.

5. How can the character of an individual be linked with work efficiency? Even with strong

character of an individual, work culture of the organization make the people reluctant of taking

initiatives. Discuss the steps needed to create an inspiring and innovative work culture.

6. Dedication and motivation can get people far in life. Motivation turns into dedication anddedication turns into success. List the steps needed to keep the civil servants motivated toachieve the goal of welfare of the society.

7. Social accountability has provided shift from ‘vote’ to ‘voice’ to citizens but integrity and ethicalityat individual level decides its success. Do you agree? Substantiate with example.

8. Public service must be founded on single most moral virtues of “Fulfilment of one’s duty”, restof the foundational values may follow it automatically. Elaborate.

9. The deepening value crisis in the contemporary Indian society is casting its evil in all walks of life.Analyze.

10. 'Dis-value among public servants ultimately makes democracy dysfunctional'; corruption is just oneexample of it. Analyze.

SECTION - B

11. In India, a woman dies every two hours because she had an unsafe abortion. According togovernment data for 2008-09, however, a total of 11.06 million abortions were recorded thatyear. Abortion was made legal in India by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act,which was passed by Parliament in 1971 and came into effect in 1972. The Act permits abortion

if the doctor believes "in good faith" that "…the continuance of the pregnancy would involve arisk to the life of the pregnant woman or grave injury to her physical or mental health; or thereis a substantial risk that if the child was born, it would suffer from such physical or mentalabnormalities as to be seriously handicapped".

ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE

Sample Questions

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[ 2 ] Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

As a result of this focus on maternal health, the onus still lies on the woman to explain or prove

how it will harm her physically or mentally.

It is almost implied that married women would state contraceptive failure and single women

would state coercion or rape as a reason for pregnancy. Merely stating that it is an unwanted

pregnancy may not be enough. The MTP Act fails to define terms like "abortion", "miscarriage",

"termination of pregnancy", "health", "substantial risk", and "seriously handicapped", making

the doctor's opinion sacrosanct.

At the same spell, the abortion debate deals with the rights and wrongs of deliberately ending

a pregnancy before normal childbirth, killing the fetus in the process.

It is one of the most polarizing moral issues - most people are on one side or the other, very

few are undecided.

a) In the light of the given framework, is abortion always morally wrong?

b) The issue is though related to women but the decision related to abortion mainly lies on the male

counterpart. Discuss the ethical issues involved.

12. The ‘no fail' policy of the RTE Act, according to which no child from Class 1 to 8 will fail

irrespective of how poorly he or she fares in exams - has become mandatory to pass all students

up to middle class. Though various state governments believe that this will increase the literacy

rate and benefit unprivileged students, get students enthused about learning rather than simply

excelling in exams but it is having side-effects on learning process of the students also.

a) How do you assess the effectiveness of no-fail policy?

b) Does the punishment and strict rules related to examination pattern improve learning?

c) How the attitudinal change of parents can help in improving the education outcome?

13. Once you have visited a hospital to see your relative, there you found that a case of acid victim

came but the hospital administration was busy in fulfilling formalities instead of treating the

victim. Once you have read in newspaper that hospital is bound to treat such cases as emergency

according to government rules, so you persuaded the staff to take the case instantly and fulfil

the formalities later on.

You got very disheartened by the situation and found that even due to presence of rules,

guidelines and regulations people are not aware about their rights. What steps can you take at

your end to increase the awareness about different rules, guidelines and norms prescribed by

government to the hospitals?

14. Indian history has seen some extraordinary reformers who not only established the very

foundation of modern India but also made an impact on the world with their philosophy and

great work for the society. During the period of Indian Renaissance many social reformers as

Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, etc. has initiated steps for improving the

social rigidness. If you were given the chance of creating awareness in the society against the

prejudices and norms prevailing, what steps will you take to improve the situation of women

in India? (avoid politico-economic angle and discuss any two-three issues only).

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15. There is an anomaly in the society. People when travel in local trains do not follow the rules

related to hygiene and sanitation but when the same people travel in Metro they follow all the

rules. Similarly, when people roam in local markets their behaviour is different as comparison

to that in Shopping Malls. Are the stringent laws and penalties in the Metro and Shopping

Malls bring a change in their behaviour or the peer pressure? Is the peer pressure can be used

to bring a change in organisational system and reduction of corruption in the system?

16. You are a Tribal officer of Jharkhand. Once you visited a tribal region. You noticed that poverty,

hunger, malnutrition and impoverishment have been the perennial problems for them. With

your team efforts you initiated a development drive there by providing subsidised foods, primary

education and health facilities.

But you were shocked to see that they had rejected these subsidies and asked for livelihood

amenities to live a respected life, not on charity.

a) What would be your reaction to the above situation?

b) What steps would you initiate to improve their livelihoods?

17. You are attached to an NGO related to education as a teacher. With the help of the NGO, you

want to start school for children living on street and of roadside vendors who cannot afford

education. You have started creating awareness about the programme to the people, but you

were shocked to see the response of people as they declined the proposal. They did not trusted

you because of their past experience in which NGO used their names just for getting foreign

aid and did not implemented any welfare activity at the ground level.

The numbers of NGOs are increasing day by day in India but the change that should have

brought is missing.

a) What are the ethical issues involved in the working of NGOs?

b) Though the purpose of foreign aid is genuine, then also it breeds corruption. Do you agree?Analyse.

c) How the trust deficit between citizen and NGOs can be decreased in the above case study?

18. Some years back an extremely heinous crime - the deliberate adulteration of the widely used

cooking medium - mustard oil came up. The business engaged in milling mustard seeds foundthat the available supply of these seeds would not produce enough mustard oil for meeting thedemand in the market. Because of the shortage of supplies, the price of mustard oil in the

market had shot up. In order to make a killing in monetary terms, oil sellers decided to get anincreased supply by mixing poisonous seeds with mustard seed, milling them together. The end

product still looked like pure mustard oil. The lure of money had so blinded them that they putthe new amalgam on the market as normal mustard oil. Of those who used this mixed oil,dozens died and hundreds fell dangerously ill. The adulteration is a form of corruption occurs

when the devil in human beings takes over. Discuss the ethical issues involved in the abovecase study. Why and how the corruption has impacted the ethical conduct of individual? Why

the government usually fail to control adulteration?

19. You are a senior functionary in rural development ministry of Government of India and in

course of your tour in the remote part of the country you want to have a first hand assessment

of rural development programmes and their impact on the socio-economic condition of people,

especially of BPL category. The district officials show you some of the houses constructed under

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[ 4 ] Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

rural housing schemes. You also talked to the people and local PRI representatives. The officials

gave you a brighter picture of the situation where as people in general were critical about the

attitude and approach of the officials (including elected). You were sad when you found that

impact of the rural development programmes/schemes has been far from satisfactory.

(a) Bring out the ethical issues involved in rural development programmes.

(b) What recommendations would you propose to make so as to bring impact on rural development

programmes?

20. You are the Municipal Commissioner and with active cooperation of citizens and subordinates,you have prepared a citizen charter for better sanitation in municipal area. You have set outfollowing time bound targets in the charter.

(a) Daily collection of solid waste from each household.

(b) Cleaning of all important drains before monsoon in order to prevent water logging.

(c) Cleaning vegetable wastes from vegetable markets every following morning.

(d) Levying penalty on those who do not use public utilities and openly urinate on public places.

What difficulties Municipal Administration might face in performing afore mentioned worksand how would you take cooperation of people in performing the work efficiently?

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SECTION - A

1. Do you agree that because of absence of commitment and responsiveness, a wide gap hasemerged between "Government" and "Governance"? Discuss with respect to utilisation ofpublic funds in welfare activities.

Thinking line:

• The Administration is the cutting edge of the public administration system in the country. Beit the issue of ration or electoral identity cards, procurement of foodgrains, implementation ofemployment guarantee schemes, supply of drinking water, mutation of land records, functioningof primary schools and healthcare centres or control of epidemics in the countryside, it is theinstrumentalities of the administration with which citizens have to interact.

• The requisites moral qualities include not only the willingness to serve the public but also thewillingness to behave competently, efficiently, honestly, responsibly, objectively, fairly and

accountably.

• There are laid down rules and procedures for every aspect of the government’s functioning and

its interaction with the common man but, due to overemphasis of it, the adequacies of fundutilization get jeopardized as accountability in the public sector has traditionally been based on

compliance with rules and procedures. It didn’t matter what government did as long as it observed

the rules.

• The government machinery should not mainly focuses of target completion but on actual impact

of it on the target beneficiary. The commitment and responsiveness to the marganalised persons

are also important.

2. Our politicians profess to live for the people, and swear by them in every speech. But there

is no other section of humanity, which so flagrantly robs the people and works against their

interests. Substantiate with examples.

Thinking line:

• When the country attained independence, we had a set of political leaders who had sacrificed

everything they had for the Nation. They were all of impeccable status and had unquestionable

credentials. However down the years, gradually but firmly greed for money and wealth put

loyalty to the country and its people into oblivion. This has increased the political corruption.

• Political corruption implies corrupting the political life of a nation at all levels. In its broader

aspect, it seeks to politicize all walks of life and in its narrower sense, legitimizes unholy political

actions for benefiting vested interests whether personalized or institutional.

Sample Answers

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ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE

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[2] Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

• There are many examples of it. Thousands of crores of public money has been stashed in secretforeign bank accounts by corrupt politicians. In Madhya Pradesh an education minister wasindicated for misappropriating funds allotted for the purchase of tat pati (jute matting) and othermaterial meant for the village schools. In several states the politicians and their relatives havegrabbed land reserved for building houses for the homeless. In all such cases it was the voicelessand deprived sections of society who were robbed and it was their leaders who did it.

3. In India, Power is demonstrated only if it is being misused, nepotism is one such example.Comment.

Thinking line:

• The power in form of wealth or contacts is generally used in negative sense to showcase the

favouritism or nepotism.

• Nepotism is based on deep attachment of people to their families or caste i.e. favouringfamily member in getting job or contract (with respect to government activities). People inhigh places feel that they should earn enough not only for themselves but also for their

children, grand-children.

• Other than nepotism power is demonstrated in form of wealth, favouritism, misuse of publicresources for private use, etc.

• It this is the attitude, those sectors of society that did not have an opportunity to share the

power in the past may also rationalize that they must also be able to emulate those who hadearlier enjoyed misuse of their power and assessed wealth by rampant corruption.

• Thus a vicious cycle of corruption is launched where a society tolerates amassing wealth and

does not question as to how that wealth is accumulated.

4. It is often said that small bribes in day to day functioning do not make much difference interms of cost and we should take steps for controlling big corruption. But at times small

bribes can have big costs on common citizens' life. Do you agree? Give your argumentswith examples.

Thinking line:

• Corruption is often described as either 'grand' or 'petty'. Grand corruption typically takesplace at the top levels of the public sphere and the senior management levels of business,where policies and rules are formulated and executive decisions are made.

• It also often involves large sums of money (political corruption is another common term that

may be used to refer to grand corruption more generally or specifically to the negativeinfluence of money in political campaigns and political parties).

• Small scale, administrative or petty corruption is the everyday corruption that takes place

at the implementation end of politics, where public officials meet the public.

• Petty corruption is most commonly found as bribery in connection with the implementationof existing laws, rules and regulations, or in abuse of power in daily situations (e.g., the

traffic police who takes money every day from taxi drivers in return for not harassing themfurther). It usually involves modest sums of money in any given exchange.

• However, endemic petty corruption can result in great costs and can place serious stress onthe functioning of state systems, in a way comparable to grand corruption.

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• Under this Citizens are compelled to pay for services that should be free. About half of the

population live either below poverty line or on the margin, the small bribes in day functioning

push them more to the darkness of poverty and unemployment.

• The state budgets are pillaged by corrupt politicians; public spending is distorted as decision-

makers focus spending on activities likely to yield large bribes like major public works;

foreign investment is stymied as businesses are reluctant to invest in uncertain environments;

and economies suffer. This led to diversion of money from welfare activities.

• But corruption not only costs in terms of money. It costs in terms of public trust and citizens'

willingness to participate in their societies.

5. How can the character of an individual be linked with work efficiency? Even with strong

character of an individual, work culture of the organization make the people reluctant of

taking initiatives. Discuss the steps needed to create an inspiring and innovative work

culture.

Thinking line:

• It is usually said that "the people make the place". This is true for the efficiency of the

organisation too. The character of an individual defines his stable and distinctive qualities

inbuilt into his life which determine his or her response regardless of circumstances." It

affects all aspects of a person's performance, even how he reacts to situations on the job,

how he handles the ethical dilemmas in daily functioning, etc.

• A person with high character considers work as worship and work for the goal of the

organisation rather than personal benefits.

• But, as human being is a social animal and when it work in groups it form an informal

relationship among them. This informal relationship generates a peer pressure and even a

person of high character has to mend before them. Thus the work culture of an organisation

too defines the work efficiency of individuals.

• The steps needed for creating an inspiring and innovative work culture are:

a) Improving communications.

b) Having proper monitoring and reporting procedures for promotions.

c) Be fair but firm in dealings with subordinates.

d) Take active interest in the personal and family needs/ problems of subordinates.

e) Take immediate action in cases of indiscipline and do not condone indiscipline in any form

and at any level.

f) Discourage overemphasis on hierarchical status and 'pulling of rank' in day-to-day dealings.

g) Promote information sharing and communication through periodical departmental meetings,

production committees and small group activities/quality circles.

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6. Dedication and motivation can get people far in life. Motivation turns into dedication and

dedication turns into success. List the steps needed to keep the civil servants motivated to

achieve the goal of welfare of the society.

Thinking line:

• Motivation is the positive attributes that energise, direct and sustain the relevant behaviour.

• A motivated and willing civil servant is the best instrument to achieve the outcomes desiredby the state and society. Motivation comes through incentives. Contrary to popular perceptionthat it is monetary incentives which matter the most, the fact is that academic theory as wellas experience both in the Corporate sector and in Government, indicates that it is the non-monetary incentives which are the key factors in motivating employees especially in thecontext of Government.

• These returns satisfy the self-esteem and self-satisfaction needs of the employees. They include,for instance, the pride of having an association with an organization, job challenge andsatisfaction, opportunities for learning and advancement, a sense of being part of a noblercause, job security and so on.

• The steps needed for motivating public servants are:

a) Linking rewards with performance.

b) Utilise performance appraisals that are not just task related but also reflect on competenciesspecifically relevant to public service work.

c) In matters of promotion, the performance of a candidate should be given due weight.

d) Convey social significance of job, if possible establish opportunities for direct contactbetween employees and beneficiaries of the service.

e) There is need to recognise the outstanding work of serving civil servants including Nationalawards. Awards for recognizing good performance should also be instituted at the State anddistrict levels.

f) It should be the responsibility of the head of the office to examine the job content of eachperson working in the organization to ensure that the job content is meaningful and challengingso that the employee derives a sense of satisfaction in performing the tasks assigned tohim/her.

g) Ensure a congenial work environment in the office.

h) Promote value-based leadership.

i) Improve training programs and processes in order to fulfil the expectation of citizensbecause a sense of fulfilment of duty towards society gives a sense of accomplishment.

7. Social accountability has provided shift from ‘vote’ to ‘voice’ to citizens but integrity and

ethicality at individual level decides its success. Do you agree? Substantiate with example.

Thinking line:

• In a democratic society administrators are obliged to give a satisfactory account of what they

do and in what manner they exercise the powers conferred on them for the betterment of

society.

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• Social Accountability is a form of accountability in which citizens, communities, independent

media, and civil society organizations use to hold public officials and public servants

accountable.

• It brings transparency in governance and works to enhance and integrate citizen voice into

the everyday work and decision-making processes of the state.

• Hence social accountability depends on the principle that more information means more

empowerment, which in the context of greater participation means more voice, which means

greater accountability.

8. Public service must be founded on single most moral virtues of “Fulfilment of one’s duty”,

rest of the foundational values may follow it automatically. Elaborate.

Thinking line:

• Successful implementation of public policy and-even more important-maintaining the

principles of democratic government depend on the professionalism of public servants who

have a clear sense of their proper role. This means the dutiful execution of all work even

with which an official may not agree.

• If public servants did not fulfil his duty towards the work and society, the result would be

chaos in public administration and a breakdown of democratic accountability.

• In public service "Duty" implies individual's wish to help others, to benefit society, or to serve

the public interest.

• Hence every duty is holy, and devotion to duty is the highest form of the moral virtue; it is

certainly a source of great help in enlightening and emancipating the person and all other

virtues such as honesty, integrity, selflessness, altruism, etc. flow automatically.

9. The deepening value crisis in the contemporary Indian society is casting its evil in all walks

of life. Analyze.

Thinking Line:

• The many ills that our society as a whole is suffering today are mainly due to crises of values.

• Values are principles that allow us to guide our behaviour to fulfill ourselves as individuals.

• They are fundamental beliefs that help us prefer, accept and choose one thing over another

or a behaviour over another.

• There is erosion of social, moral, cultural, economic and political values at all levels. The

erosion of values has led to the spread of selfishness, unlimited greed, corruption, violence,

and destruction, abuse of human rights, frustration and crisis of character.

Value Crisis at the Individual Level

• The sole aim of all the strivings at the individual level has become attainment of personal

success. It is a worldly success, defined in purely materialistic terms as acquisition of money,

power and prestige.

• The rat race to this success commands enthusiastic support of the powerful elite classes.

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Their upbringing and enculturation have tuned them for single-minded pursuit of career

growth and economic success.

• All other life values, which give meaning, worth, and fullness to human existence are seenas roadblocks and unnecessary diversions from the high road to material success.

• Similarly, the concept of a good life has been restricted to very narrow confines. Good lifeis one with unrestricted enjoyment of sensuous pleasures and fulfillment of unlimited desires.It is a consumeristic haven filled with all kinds of artifacts for comfort and luxury. Itsguiding slogan is, 'higher the quantity of consumption, better the quality of life'.

Value Crisis at the Societal Llevel

• The Indian society has traditionally been a group-oriented society. It provided a counter-balancing communitarian pull to the tendency of selfish individualism. With the ascendancyof ideologies and isms like/individualism, consumerism, rights-ism, etc., this communitarianfeeling has declined.

• This deadening of social consciousness has reduced our sensitivity to a variety of social evilslike, poverty, injustice, exploitation, caste, class and gender inequalities, etc.

• The better endowed citizens, whose sensitivities and attitudes affect social transformation,have closed their eyes to these problems and have retreated into their own citadels ofcomfort and prosperity.

Value Crisis at the Cultural Level

• Indian culture is an unbroken living tradition spanning several millennia. In its evolutionover this long span, with many ups and downs, it has generated a variety of ideas,philosophies, religious beliefs and social customs. But the value crisis is reflected in theconfusing, ambivalent attitude of a section of society towards their culture. The most talkedabout point of current cultural crisis is the fast change in lifestyles, food habits, forms ofgreetings, common courtesies, modes of entertainment. Some of these changes are due tochanging socio-economic conditions but many are the result of copying western modes.

• The crisis of values can only be overcome by combined efforts of all. Everyone has to commithimself towards ethical standard in his life. Unfortunately, there is a big gap betweenpreaching and practicing of what one believes or what one says.

• One's actions must reflect the values that one intends to inculcate in children. Problemscannot be overcome by pointing fingers on others.

• Education occupies an important place in societal development; therefore it could be usedeffectively to transform the society. This can be achieved through well articulated policies onvalue education and the incorporation of value education in the school curricula at all levelsof education.

10. 'Dis-value among public servants ultimately makes democracy dysfunctional'; corruption isjust one example of it. Analyze.

Thinking line:

• Civil servants have a special responsibility of managing resources on behalf of the community,delivering services to the community and taking decisions that affect a citizen’s life. The coreconcept of democracy is associated with a system of welfare and redistribution aimed atnarrowing social inequalities; system of decision-making based on the principle of majorityrule. This concept has led to the implementation of Welfare activities as a democratic valuein the nation.

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• For implementation of these ideals government has initiated many programmes and policiesPublic servants are severely criticized for their irresponsiveness, insensitivity and lack lustreperformance in the delivery services in the field of transport, health, education, social sectorurban development and environment management. Further the recent disclosures of affairsand scandals have shown the deep rooted dis-value system in the organization. Target ofthese initiatives are not reaching the beneficiaries.

• Corruption is a very serious social and societal evil as it generates economic distortions inthe public sector by diverting public investment into capital projects where bribes and kickbacksare more plentiful. Corruption reduces the quality of government services and infrastructure,and increases budgetary pressures on government.

• Hence the dis-value in the public servants are discouraging them in fulfilling their dutywhich in turn makes democracy dysfunctional.

SECTION - B

11. In India, a woman dies every two hours because she had an unsafe abortion. According togovernment data for 2008-09, however, a total of 11.06 million abortions were recordedthat year. Abortion was made legal in India by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy(MTP) Act, which was passed by Parliament in 1971 and came into effect in 1972. The Actpermits abortion if the doctor believes "in good faith" that "…the continuance of thepregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or grave injury to herphysical or mental health; or there is a substantial risk that if the child was born, it wouldsuffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped".

As a result of this focus on maternal health, the onus still lies on the woman to explain orprove how it will harm her physically or mentally.

It is almost implied that married women would state contraceptive failure and singlewomen would state coercion or rape as a reason for pregnancy. Merely stating that it is anunwanted pregnancy may not be enough. The MTP Act fails to define terms like "abortion","miscarriage", "termination of pregnancy", "health", "substantial risk", and "seriouslyhandicapped", making the doctor's opinion sacrosanct.

At the same spell, the abortion debate deals with the rights and wrongs of deliberatelyending a pregnancy before normal childbirth, killing the fetus in the process.

It is one of the most polarizing moral issues - most people are on one side or the other, veryfew are undecided.

a. In the light of the given framework, is abortion always morally wrong?

Thinking line:

• Even if we accept that the foetus is human being with a right to live, this doesn’t mean thatall abortions are wrong. In some circumstances it may be ethical for a mother to have anabortion to defend herself from the danger to her mental or physical health that continuingwith the pregnancy would cause.

• Where continuing the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life or health.

• If continuing with the pregnancy would cause the mother’s death, even those most strongly

against abortion accept that this is a case where abortion is ethically acceptable. Some

societies ban abortion almost completely while others permit it in certain cases. Such societies

usually lay down a maximum age after which the foetus must not be aborted, regardless of

the circumstances.

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• At various times some of the following have been allowed in some societies:

a) Abortion for the sake of the mother’s health

b) Including her mental health

c) Abortion where a pregnancy is the result of a crime

d) Such as crimes like rape, incest, or child abuse

e) Abortion where the child of the pregnancy would have an ‘unacceptable quality of life’ such

as cases where the child would have:

i) Serious physical handicaps,

ii) Serious genetic problems,

iii) Serious mental defects

• Most opponents of abortion agree that abortion for the sake of the mother’s health can be

morally acceptable if there is a real risk of serious damage to the mother.

b. The issue is though related to women but the decision related to abortion mainly lies on the male

counterpart. Discuss the ethical issues involved.

Thinking line:

• It is a woman’s individual rights, right to her life, to her liberty, and to the pursuit of her

happiness, that sanctions her right to have an abortion. A women’s reproductive and sexual

health and shape her reproductive choices. Reproductive rights are internationally recognized

as critical both to advancing women’s human rights and to promoting development. Each

and every women has an absolute right to have control over her body, most often known

as bodily rights. But in the society there is mainly a bias towards men and their superiority

in marital relationships. Low levels of access to contraception and lack of control over

reproductive choices and health decision-making often mean that Indian women get pregnant

frequently and then majority of women are pressured into having abortions. Decisions

related to her life and body are still taken by others often the men folk and it is assumed that

she will follow them.

• Further sex selective abortions are also prevalent in which women have no say.

12. The ‘no fail' policy of the RTE Act, according to which no child from Class 1 to 8 will fail

irrespective of how poorly he or she fares in exams - has become mandatory to pass all

students up to middle class. Though various state governments believe that this will increase

the literacy rate and benefit unprivileged students, get students enthused about learning

rather than simply excelling in exams but it is having side-effects on learning process of the

students also.

a. How do you assess the effectiveness of no-fail policy?

Thinking line:

• Under this no student up to Class VIII can be detained or failed. All students up to Class

VIII are automatically promoted to the next class.

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• The idea was simple: teachers would now assess a child’s learning throughout the year,intervening with special help where necessary. This system was designed to make teachersaccountable for their student’s learning outcomes, instead of blaming children for not havinglearnt. It also, in a few short years, had the virtuous effect of lowering the numbers of drop-outs, as failing children are more likely to drop out than any other, and poorer children,were more likely to fail than any other.

• The lack of examinations and subsequently that of healthy internal academic competitionmay deprive students of essential incentives to study hard and actually learn. This policy hasled to students developing a lackadaisical attitude, with there being no risk of failing. Theyalso say this system makes no distinction between good and bad students, and betweenthose who work hard and those who don’t.

b. Does the punishment and strict rules related to examination pattern improve learning?

Thinking line:

• Schools are still following the old system of teaching which relied on examinations todetermine whether children had grasped the subject matter or not alongwith strict rules andpunishment.

• Students have to be tested for their knowledge of a subject to ensure that they have attainedthe minimum levels of learning that are required to reach the next higher class, but thistesting has to be done without the pressure of an exam and punishment. Punishment curbsthe tendency of free learning in students.

• Those who have not attained that minimum understanding have to be given remedialclasses by the teachers until they attain that minimum level of learning. Apparently that isnot happening in our schools and children are being promoted to the next class even if theyhave not understood the concepts of their current class.

c. How the attitudinal change of parents can help in improving the education outcome?

Thinking line:

• The role of parents in their children’s education has long been recognised as a significantfactor in educational success and school improvement.

• Parental encouragement and support for learning activities at home combined with parentalinvolvement shows that building effective partnerships between parents, families and schoolsto support children’s learning leads to improved learning outcomes. Parents are the first andcontinuing educators of their children.

• Parental engagement (of various kinds) has a positive impact on many indicators of studentachievement, including:

a) Higher grades and test scores

b) Enrolment in higher level programs and advanced classes

c) Lower drop-out rates

d) Higher graduation rates

e) A greater likelihood of commencing tertiary education.

• Beyond educational achievement, parental engagement is associated with various indicatorsof student development. These include:

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a) Better social skills

b) Improved behaviour

c) Better adaptation to school

d) Increased social capital

e) A greater sense of personal competence and efficacy for learning

13. Once you have visited a hospital to see your relative, there you found that a case of acid

victim came but the hospital administration was busy in fulfilling formalities instead of

treating the victim. Once you have read in newspaper that hospital is bound to treat suchcases as emergency according to government rules, so you persuaded the staff to take the

case instantly and fulfil the formalities later on.

You got very disheartened by the situation and found that even due to presence of rules,

guidelines and regulations people are not aware about their rights. What steps can you take

at your end to increase the awareness about different rules, guidelines and norms prescribed

by government to the hospitals?

Thinking line:

• The medical profession is considered a noble profession because it helps in preserving life.

We believe life is God given. A patient/victim approaching a hospital expects medical

treatment with all the knowledge and skill that the doctor possesses to bring relief to his

medical problem. A doctor/hospital staffs owes certain duties to his patient and a breach

of any of these duties gives a cause of action for negligence against the doctor/hospital. The

doctor has a duty to obtain prior informed consent from the patient before carrying out tests

or treatment. However the principal of emergency case says to treat on priority basis. The

attitude of the medical staff should be compassionate and not judgmental and Life threatening

emergency:

a) Embrace patient welfare as their primary professional responsibility.

b) Respond promptly and expertly, without prejudice or partiality, to the need for emergency

medical care.

• Now the second issue in this case is related to role of an active citizen. What you should do

as an active citizen to spread awareness. Active Citizenship is about people who are involved

in community services such as; (Counseling, encourage, teach and educate those who are

lack of knowledge of violation of human rights/ duties without expecting anything in

return). Active citizenship means people getting involved in their local communities and

democracy at all levels, from towns to cities to nationwide activity. Active citizenship canbe as small as a campaign to clean up your street or as big as educating young people about

democratic values, skills and participation. Active citizenship is one of the most important

steps towards healthy and responsible societies.

• For spreading awareness one need to engage and talk to different stakeholders of society:local community, civil society, NGOs, colleges' students/youth, local politicians and reaching

to different media platform with such stories. Presence and unity of different stakeholders

may make them understand to carry such stories or run campaign for betterment of society.

Public awareness campaigns and other interventions delivered via television, radio, newspapers

and other mass media can be effective for altering attitudes towards such victims.

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14. Indian history has seen some extraordinary reformers who not only established the veryfoundation of modern India but also made an impact on the world with their philosophy andgreat work for the society. During the period of Indian Renaissance many social reformersas Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, etc. has initiated steps for improvingthe social rigidness. If you were given the chance of creating awareness in the societyagainst the prejudices and norms prevailing, what steps will you take to improve thesituation of women in India? (avoid politico-economic angle and discuss any two-threeissues only).

Thinking line:

• In the 21 st century India is fast emerging as a global power but for half of its population,the women across the country, struggle to live life with dignity continues. Women are facingproblems in every sphere of life whether employment, access to health care or propertyrights. The attention required is still not being paid to the issues that concern this section ofpopulation. Women empowerment in India is still a distant dream. There still exists a widegap between the goals enunciated in the constitution, legislation, policies, plans, programsand related mechanisms on the one hand and the situational reality of the status of womenin India, on the other hand. India is fast developing but women's in India continue to bediscriminated. The declining sex ratio in India amply portrays the discrimination showntowards women at the stage of birth.

• They are victims of crime directed specifically at them, rape, kidnapping and abduction,dowry-related crimes, molestation, sexual harassment, eve-teasing, etc. Around 40 per centof married women in India are victims of domestic violence.

• Women need to be more assertive and aware of their own rights at home as well as at work.Hence following steps can be taken:

a) The change in the family attitude is the first that can raise the status of the Women in India.Respect for women within family should be maintained. India is a traditionally patriarchaland male-dominated society. Therefore, without the positive and liberal mindset of theaverage Indian male to encourage the women, a real elevation of the working women'sstatus in the society is going to remain a distant dream.

b) Further the discrimination or immoral behaviour presented towards women in societyespecially in front of son, inculcates a sense of second gender, which ultimately led toincrement in crimes against women in society.

c) Awareness should be increased in the society related to the different prejudices and normspresent. NGOs should play an active role.

d) Women can be indulged in social self-help women's groups and other women's organizationsthat are ready to assist women in upgrading their skills, connecting them with job andentrepreneurial opportunities, and addressing their grievances, whether at the workplace orat home.

e) Provide them with basic education, as education helps the women in gaining confidence andstanding against the prejudices present in the society.

15. There is an anomaly in the society. People when travel in local trains do not follow the

rules related to hygiene and sanitation but when the same people travel in Metro they

follow all the rules. Similarly, when people roam in local markets their behaviour is differentas comparison to that in Shopping Malls. Are the stringent laws and penalties in the Metro

and Shopping Malls bring a change in their behaviour or the peer pressure? Is the peer

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pressure can be used to bring a change in organisational system and reduction of corruption

in the system?

Thinking line:

• In our everyday lives, attitudes play a major role in affecting our behavior. They influence

how we feel and behave toward others in our decisions The positions we take towards

public issues and policies are also strongly influenced by our attitudes. These attitudes affect

how citizens feel about such issue as hygiene, sanitation, environmental conservation and

other community issues.

• In the above case study the attitude of people towards the Metro or the shopping mall isdifferent from that of local trains and markets. This attitude and perception of the things

change their behaviour in two contrast situations.

• Further the strict obligation of rules and regulations also play a major role. The rules are

strictly followed without discrimination hence this creates a sense of respect towards system

and people automatically follow them.

• In this scenario the peer pressure also plays an important role. Whenever significant numbers

of peers interact formally or informally, they constitute a force to be reckoned with. When

they share mutual respect, they will listen to, learn from, and secretly support one another

in ways that can shape opinions, create resistance, or generate energy.

• Each and every citizen become a police for the other and pressurise them to follow the rules

and regulations.

• This can be initiated for improving the working of governmental organisations.

• In this the informal organisational system can help in increasing accountability of the people

towards society.

16. You are a Tribal officer of Jharkhand. Once you visited a tribal region. You noticed thatpoverty, hunger, malnutrition and impoverishment have been the perennial problems forthem. With your team efforts you initiated a development drive there by providing subsidisedfoods, primary education and health facilities.

But you were shocked to see that they had rejected these subsidies and asked for livelihoodamenities to live a respected life, not on charity.

a) What would be your reaction to the above situation?

Thinking line:

• In the above situation the tribal people want a sustainable livelihood tool rather than charityin form of subsidies which may help for short term goal but fail to initiate a growth drivensociety.

• You may call a meeting with the leader of the tribal society to understand their viewpoints.This will help in understanding the different dimensions of the issue.

b) What steps would you initiate to improve their livelihoods?

Thinking line:

• The steps can be taken are:

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a) Initiate a livelihood development programmes such as initiation of financial inclusion driveor formation of self heal groups to improve their suitable skills.

b) Provide a basic education ground for all people and create awareness about their rightsprovided under different laws, programmes and policies.

c) You can help them in using their indigenous knowledge for improving crop yield to maintainfood security in the long run.

d) You can help them in vocational education related to low level skills so that they can initiatecottage industries.

e) You can initiate a process for establishing a village mandi for selling of minor forest produceand can initiate a process of placing their art and culture in different Melas and trade fairs.

• All the above stated process may help in improving their livelihoods in long term.

17. You are attached to an NGO related to education as a teacher. With the help of the NGO,you want to start school for children living on street and of roadside vendors who cannotafford education. You have started creating awareness about the programme to the people,but you were shocked to see the response of people as they declined the proposal. They didnot trusted you because of their past experience in which NGO used their names just forgetting foreign aid and did not implemented any welfare activity at the ground level.

The numbers of NGOs are increasing day by day in India but the change that should havebrought is missing.

a) What are the ethical issues involved in the working of NGOs?

• NGOs in the country assume a conspicuous role in multifarious developmental programmes andactivities. The achievements and success of NGOs in various fields and the excellent work doneby them in specific areas is no doubt a tremendous task that has helped to meet the changingneeds of the social system. However, inspite of its achievements in various fields, cases ofvarious NGOs have come up which have worked against the ethical values.

• Some of the unscrupulous elements have made fortunes by floating NGOs for their personnelgains and managing grants from the government as stated in the above case study. It is a commonexperience that there have been serious charges of misuse and misappropriation of funds receivedas grants-in-aid form the government, foreign donors and raised through their own resources bythe most of the NGOs.

• The reasons for the failure of a large number of NGOs to come up to the desired levelof expectation are numerous. The major argument against many NGOs is: they are the creationof funding agencies and hence ‘their entire existence, not merely dependency, is on donor money,almost always from above. Being a ‘favoured child’ of western donors, they are capable ofexerting pressure on national governments with enormous power in terms of money, technologyand knowledge.

• Further several retired government ofûcial, politicians and people with vested interests haveformed NGOs or GONGOs (Government-Operated NGOs). This extraordinary mushroominghardly enhances the ideology of civil society activism as NGOs now are formed ‘to compromisewith donor’s likes and dislikes and even to fudge data to suit the clients needs’. It is unfortunateto learn that many of the new generation of Project NGOs create hypothetical beneûciaries formeeting targets within a stipulated period.

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• The patron-client relationship emerging out of such a model of development raises numerousquestions about the accountability and legitimacy of NGO activity. A ‘puppet’ NGO, in spiteof its best records, is bound to betray the very spirit of civil society activism and replaceaccountability by accountancy.

• It appears that reliability and sustainability of NGO activities, the two distinguishing criteria fortheir success, are hardly fulûlled in many instances.

• Due to the above stated ethical issues involved in the functioning of NGOs people are reactingsceptical to the NGOs.

• As in the above case people has denied educational help as with the past experience they knowthat they are just being numbers in databook of NGOs and the change at ground level will beminimum. Further exploitation of people (children and women) by NGOs on name of charityis also widespread.

• It seems that NGOs often indulge in a double standard. Thus, on the one hand, they argue fortransparency and democratic participation while criticizing the state/bureaucracy for their failureto do so. But, while discharging their duties, they themselves fail to observe such norms.

• The need for transparency in dealings, democratic accountability in transactions, and sensitivity

to the concerns and aspirations of the people they serve has forced some to argue for a code ofconduct for NGOs. But code of conduct work only on ethical people as they follow the rulesand regulations hence ethics at individual level counts more.

b) Though the purpose of foreign aid is genuine, then also it breeds corruption. Do you agree?Analyse.

• The foreign aid aims at removing the impediments in developing countries and to providebasic amenities to the people. This purpose looks genuine.

• But mostly the purpose behind it is of influence i.e. using soft power to mould the developingcountry towards their larger goal.

• Further the accountability and transparency of the utilisation of funds are missing which

breeds corruption. The donor either gives tied funds (to be used in particular scheme) oruntied.

• The outcomes are usually flaunted in the reports to allow flow of foreign aid continuously.This further reduces the accountability of the field departments of using the fundappropriately.

c) How the trust deficit between citizen and NGOs can be decreased in the above case study?

The suggestions are:

1. A short term training programme for strengthening the managerial capabilities of NGOs willgo a long way in improving their performance and effectiveness significantly.

2. The overdependence of NGOs on funding agencies and the syndrome of dependency shouldbe reduced by involving the government directly in funding activities.

3. Donor agencies should also take active initiation in selecting the funding projects and evenselecting of NGOs too. The working of NGOs relies on the ethical values of the Managementhence it should be selected properly.

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4. The NGOs should be given license and fund by government by seeing their past records andmission and vision of organisation.

5. The donor agencies should go for surveying the viable projects for NGOs and the needs ofthe people t meet the local needs rather than just completing targets.

6. Proper monitoring the activities of the NGOs and the enterprises run under the umbrella isthe need of the hour. Therefore, the NGOs should also accountable for the funds on the onehand and the beneficiaries on the other.

18. Some years back an extremely heinous crime - the deliberate adulteration of the widely usedcooking medium - mustard oil came up. The business engaged in milling mustard seedsfound that the available supply of these seeds would not produce enough mustard oil formeeting the demand in the market. Because of the shortage of supplies, the price of mustardoil in the market had shot up. In order to make a killing in monetary terms, oil sellersdecided to get an increased supply by mixing poisonous seeds with mustard seed, millingthem together. The end product still looked like pure mustard oil. The lure of money had soblinded them that they put the new amalgam on the market as normal mustard oil. Of thosewho used this mixed oil, dozens died and hundreds fell dangerously ill. The adulteration isa form of corruption occurs when the devil in human beings takes over. Discuss the ethicalissues involved in the above case study. Why and how the corruption has impacted theethical conduct of individual? Why the government usually fail to control adulteration?

Thinking line:

• Food safety and quality are very important for every consumer because everyone of us is a foodconsumer. Food influences our health. Hence Food that is available to consumer should be safe.But the above case study depicts the lack of ethics in food chain. This example shows howgravely the minds of some people have got corrupted.

• One of the reasons for unethical behaviour may be high competition on the food market.Producers to be more competitive try to lower the price that may create the possibility ofunethical practices, i.e. food frauds.

• The problem of lack of ethics in food supply chain cannot be solved only by food law andstandards. Controlling it is also very complex because the chain of food is long. It is built ofmany parts and has many food chain actors (farmers, food producers, food distributors, foodsellers). Each of these groups may act in unethical way. If some problems appears in initial stageit lasts through the rest of stages, i.e. if a farmers do not act in ethical way and do not informthe producer about the method of production, producer cannot inform the consumers or distributorscorrectly. All food actors should behave in the ethical way – obey law requirements, provide theirclients with full information, pay attention to the safety and quality of food.

• But just obeying laws may not work because people influences food safety by their behaviour,decisions, work attitude, i.e. while buying ingredients, taking measurements, ensuring traceability,food labeling, internal audits. Unfortunately, even the best food safety and quality standardscannot guarantee food safety, if they are implemented and improved with lack of ethics. Ethicsshould be the primary rule of all activities within food sector.

• To summarize ethics should be the first and main rule of all food actors as well as employeesof food sector, and the food authorities because people make up decisions and in this way theyinfluence the safety of food. The unethical decision of the actor of food chain influences otherpeople life as well as their own because we are all the consumers of food. We all should keepin mind that nothing without ethics and ethical behaviour can work.

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19. You are a senior functionary in rural development ministry of Government of India and in course ofyour tour in the remote part of the country you want to have a first hand assessment of ruraldevelopment programmes and their impact on the socio-economic condition of people, especially ofBPL category. The district officials show you some of the houses constructed under rural housingschemes. You also talked to the people and local PRI representatives. The officials gave you a brighterpicture of the situation where as people in general were critical about the attitude and approach ofthe officials (including elected). You were sad when you found that impact of the rural developmentprogrammes/schemes has been far from satisfactory.

(a) Bring out the ethical issues involved in rural development programmes.

(b) What recommendations would you propose to make so as to bring impact on rural developmentprogrammes?

Thinking line:

(a) The various ethical issues involved in rural development programmes are-

• Lack of proper evaluation on part of officials shows acting in an irresponsible way.

• Failure to realize the plight of poor reflects the lack of empathy.

• The officers are responsible to make sure the benefits of these schemes reach the poor forwhom such schemes are intended. But they are not doing it and moreover giving a differentpicture in front of senior officials. It reflects negligent attitude on their part.

(b) When it is found that the impact of these programmes is far from satisfactory, it is the dutyof the senior officers to himself conduct an evaluation programme and arrive at the realsolution of the problem.

• He should check the records himself rather than believing the officials.

• He should set up some monitoring committees, the function of which will be to see if thebenefits of such schemes are ultimately reaching the poor people or not.

• Adequate steps to fill any gap in the results should be taken.

20. You are the Municipal Commissioner and with active cooperation of citizens and subordinates,

you have prepared a citizen charter for better sanitation in municipal area. You have set outfollowing time bound targets in the charter.

(a) Daily collection of solid waste from each household.

(b) Cleaning of all important drains before monsoon in order to prevent water logging.

(c) Cleaning vegetable wastes from vegetable markets every following morning.

(d) Levying penalty on those who do not use public utilities and openly urinate on public places.

What difficulties Municipal Administration might face in performing afore mentioned worksand how would you take cooperation of people in performing the work efficiently?

Thinking line:

While preparing the Citizen Charter and making specific commitments; Municipal Commissionerand his subordinates should deliberate in detail, the various difficulties that might be faced bycorporation. A suitable mechanism should always be kept handy, so as to face the problem as andwhen it arises.

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(a) Following difficulties may arise:

• Requirement of huge manpower and transporting the same to dumping ground or to recyclingplant.

• Segregating different type of solid waste.

• Inspite of the best arrangements some of the people still may prefer to dump their solidwaste on public places, like street pavements, in drains, etc.

To overcome these problem people should be made aware to deposit their solid waste only withmunicipal people. They should be persuaded to segregate their domestic solid waste accordingly.

(b) Following problems may be witnessed:

• Prioritizing big and small drains.

• Floating solid waste in the drains like plastics.

• Encroachments on the drains.

People could be made aware about the difficulties faced when solid wastes like, plastic, etc. arethrown in the drains. Priority should be fixed by first cleaning the main big drains and thereafterthe smaller one. Entire work needs to be over by May-end and all such collected wastes should bedried-up and removed before monsoon.

(c) The cleaning issues in the vegetable markets are:

• Problems of sanitation along with the garbage.

• Cattles roaming all around the vegetable markets.

• Sometimes vegetable wastes are thrown in drains, thus choking it.

Necessary measures need to be taken by calling a meeting of all concerned. Cattle owners should bewarned first and later on the cattle's may be confiscated in they do not mend their way.

(d) The issues are:

• Public utilities are not cleaned and maintained.

• People may not have adequate information, where they are located.

• General habit of people.

A massive awareness drive needs to be put into practice. Advertisement through local newspapersand through poster and banners should be put into practice, cleaning at regular intervals of thepublic utilities must be ensured. Even after that, if few people openly urinate, fine should be imposed.

ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE - IAS Scoreiasscore.in/pdf/ethicsnotes/Sample Question With Answer.pdf · G S S C O R E Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude [1] SECTION - A 1. Do you agree

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