Ethics 2014
Section – A
1. (a) All human beings aspire for happiness. Do you
agree? What does happiness mean to you? Explain with answers. (150 Words) (10
M)
(b)What does ethics seek to promote in human life?
Why is it all the more important in Public Administration? (150 Words) (10 M)
2. (a) In the context of defence services,
‘patriotism’ demands readiness to even lay down one’s life in protecting the
nation. According to you, what does patriotism imply in everyday civil life?
Explain with illustrations and justify your answer. (150 Words) (10 M)
(b) What do you understand by ‘probity’ in public
life? What are the difficulties in practicing it in the present times? How can
these difficulties be overcome? (150 Words) (10 M)
3. (a) “Integrity without knowledge is weak and
useless, but knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” What do
you understand by this statement? Explain your stand with illustrations from
modern day context. (150 Words) (10 M)
(b) “Human beings should always be treated as ‘ends’
in themselves and never as ‘means’.” Explain the meaning and significance of
this statement, giving it’s implications in the modern techno-economic society.
(150 Words) (10 M)
4. (a) Which eminent personality has inspired you
the most in the context of ethical conduct in life? Give the Gist of his/her
teachings. Giving specific examples describe how you have been able to apply
these teachings for your own ethical development. (150 Words) (10 M)
(b) There is a heavy ethical responsibility on the
public servants because they occupy positions of power, handle huge amounts of
public funds, and their decisions have wide ranging impact on society and
environment. What steps have you taken to improve your ethical competence to
handle such responsibility? (150 Words) (10 M)
5. (a) The current society is plagued with
widespread trust-deficit. What are the consequences of this situation for
personal well-being and for societal well-being? What can you do at the
personal level to make yourself trustworthy? (150 Words) (10 M)
(b) It is often said that poverty leads to
corruption. However there is no dearth of instances where affluent and powerful
people indulge in corruption in a big way. What are the basic causes of
corruption among people? Support your answer with examples. (150 Words) (10 M)
6. What factors affect the formation of a person’s
attitude towards social problems? In our society, contrasting attitudes are
prevalent about many social problems. What contrasting attitudes do you notice
about the caste system in our society? How do you explain the existence of
these contrasting attitudes? (150 Words) (10 M)
7. What does ‘accountability’ mean in the context of
public service ? What measures can be adopted to ensure individual and
collective accountability of public servants? (150 Words) (10 M)
8. We are witnessing increasing instances of sexual
violence against women in the country. Despite existing legal provisions
against it, the number of such incidences is on the rise. Suggest some
innovative measures to tackle this menace. (150 Words) (10 M)
Section –
B
9) Now-a-days, there is an increasing thrust on
economic development all around the globe. At the same time, there is also an
increasing concern about environmental degradation caused by development. Many
a time, we face a direct conflict between development activity and
environmental quality. It is neither feasible to stop or curtail the
developmental process, nor it is advisable to keep degrading the environment,
as it threatens our very survival. Discuss some feasible strategies which could
be adopted to eliminate this conflict and which could lead to sustainable
development. (250 Words) (20 M)
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10 ) Suppose one of your close friends, who is also
aspiring for civil services, comes to you for discussing some of the issues
related to ethical conduct in public service.
He raises the following points:-
(i)
In the present times, when unethical
environment is quite prevalent, individual attempts to stick to ethical
principles may cause a lot of problems in one’s career. It may cause hardship
to the family members as well as risk to one’s life. Why should we not be pragmatic
and follow the path of least resistance, and be happy with doing whatever good
we can?
(ii)
When so many people are adopting wrong
means and are grossly harming the system, what difference would it make if only
a small minority tries to be ethical? They are going t be rather ineffective
and are bound to get frustrated.
(iii)
If we become fussy about ethical
considerations, will it not hamper the economic progress of our country? After
all in the present age of high competition we cannot afford to be left behind
in the race of development
(iv)
It is understandable that we should not
get involved in grossly unethical practices, but giving and accepting small
gratifications and doing small favours increases everybody’s motivation. It
also makes the system more efficient. What is wrong in adopting such practices?
Critically analyze the above viewpoints. On the
basis of this analysis, what will be your advice to your friend? (250 Words)
(20 M)
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11) You are a no-nonsense, honest officer. You have
been transferred to a remote district to head a department that is notorious
for its inefficiency and callousness. You find that the main cause of the poor
state of affairs is the indiscipline of a section of employees. They do not
work themselves and also disrupt the workings of others. You first warned the
troublemakers to mend their ways or else face disciplinary action. When the
warning had little effect, you issued a show cause notice to the ringleaders.
As a retaliatory measure, these troublemakers instigated a woman employee
amongst them to file a complaint of sexual harassment against you with the
Women’s Commission. The Commission promptly seeks your explanation. The matter
is also publicized in the media to embarrass you further.
Some of the options to handle this situation could
be as follows:
(i)
Give your explanation to the Commission
and go soft on the disciplinary action.
(ii)
Ignore the commission and proceed firmly
with the disciplinary action.
(iii)
Brief your higher-ups, seek directions
from them and act accordingly.
Suggest any other possible option(s). Evaluate all
of them and suggest the best course of action, giving your reasons for it. (250
Words) (20 M)
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12) Suppose you are the CEO of a company that
manufactures specialized electronic equipment used by a government department.
You have submitted your bid for the supply of this equipment to the department.
Both the quality and cost of your offer are better than those of the
competitors. Yet the concerned officer is demanding a hefty bribe for approving
the tender Getting the order is important both for you and your company. Not
getting the order would mean closing a production line. It may also affect your
own career. However, as a value-conscious person, You do not want to give
bribe.
Valid arguments can be advanced both for giving the
bribe and getting the order, and for refusing to pay the bribe and risking the
loss of the order.
What those arguments could be, Could there be any
better way to get out of this dilemma? If so, outline the main elements of this
third way, pointing out its merits. (250 Words) (20 M)
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13) Rameshwar successfully cleared the prestigious
civil services examination and was excited about the opportunity that he would
get through the civil services to serve the country. However, soon after
joining the services, he realized that things are not as rosy as he had
imagined. He found a number of malpractices prevailing in the department assigned
to him. For example, funds under various schemes and grants were being
misappropriated. The official facilities were frequently being used for
personal needs by the officers and staff. After some time, he noticed that the
process of recruiting the staff was also not up to the mark. Prospective
candidates were required to write an examination in which a lot of cheating was
going on. Some candidates were provided external help in the examination.
Rameshwar brought these incidents to the notice of his seniors. However, he was
advised to keep his eyes, ears and mouth shut and ignore all these things which
were taking place with the connivance of the higher-ups. Rameshwar felt highly
disillusioned and uncomfortable. He comes to you seeking your advice.
a) Indicate
various options that you think are available in this situation.
b) How
would you help him to evaluate these options and choose the most appropriate
path to be adopted? (250 words) (20 M)
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14) In our country, the migration of rural people to
towns and cities is increasing drastically. This is causing serious problems
both in the rural as well as in the urban areas. In fact, things are becoming
really unmanageable.
Can you analyze this problem in detail and indicate
not only the socio-economic but also the emotional and attitudinal factors
responsible for this problem?
Also, distinctly bring out why –
(a) Educated
youth are trying to shift to urban areas
(b) Landless
poor people are migrating to urban slums
(c) Even
some farmers are selling off the, land and trying to settle in urban areas
taking , petty jobs.
What feasible steps can you suggest which will be
effective in controlling this serious problem of our country? (250 words) (20
M)
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