Ethics 2015
Section A
1 (a) What is meant by ‘environmental ethics’? Why
is it important to study? Discuss any one environmental issue from the
viewpoint of environmental ethics. (150 words) (10)
(b) Differentiate between the following (10 marks)
(200 Words)
i.
Law and ethics
ii.
Ethical management and management of
ethics
iii.
Discrimination and preferential
treatment
iv.
Personal Ethics and Professional Ethics
2) Given are two quotations of moral
thinkers/philosophers. For each of these bring out what it means to you in the
present context.
(a) “The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the
attribute of strong.” (10) (150 words)
(b) “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of
the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light” (10
marks) (150 words)
3) (a) “A mere compliance with law is not enough,
the public servant also have to have a well developed sensibility to ethical
issues for effective discharge of duties” Do you agree? Explain with the help
of two examples where (i) an act is ethically right, but not legally and (ii) an
act is legally right, but not ethically. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(b) How do the virtues of trustworthiness and
fortitude get manifested in public service? Explain with examples (10) (150
words)
4) (a) Social values are more important than
economic values. Discuss the above statement with examples in the context of
inclusive growth of a nation. (150 words) (10 Marks)
(b) Some recent developments such as introduction of
RTI Act, media and judicial activism, etc. are proving helpful in bringing
about greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of the
government. However, it is also being observed that at times the mechanisms are
misused. Another negative effect is that the officers are now afraid to take
prompt decisions.
Analyse the situation in detail and suggest how the
dichotomy can be resolved. Suggest how
these negative impacts can be minimised. (150 words) (10 Marks)
5) Two different kinds of attitudes exhibited by
public servants towards their work have been identified as bureaucratic attitude
and the democratic attitude. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(a) Distinguish
between these two terms and write their merits and demerits.
(b) Is
it possible to balance the two too create a better administration for the
faster development of our country?
6) Today we find that in-spite of various measures
of prescribing codes of conduct, setting up vigilance cells/commissions, RTI,
active media and strengthening of legal mechanism, corrupt practices are not
coming under control. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(a) Evaluate
the effectiveness of these measures with justifications
(b) Suggest
more effective strategies to tackle this menace
7) At the international level, bilateral relations
between most nations are governed on the policy of promoting one’s own national
interest without any regard for the interest of other nations. This lead to
conflicts and tension between the nations.
How can ethical consideration help resolve such
tensions? Discuss with specific examples. (10 Marks) (150 words)
8) Public servants are likely to confront with the
issues of “Conflict of Interest”. What do you understand by the term “Conflict
of Interest” and how does it manifest in the decision making by public
servants? If faced with the conflict of interest situation how would you
resolve it? Explain with the help of examples. (10 Marks) (150 words)
Section –
B
9) A private company is known for its efficiency,
transparency and employee welfare. The company though owned by a private individual
has a cooperative character where employees feel a sense of ownership. The
company employs nearly 700 personnel and they have voluntarily decided not to
form union.
One day suddenly in the morning, about 40 men
belonging to political party gate crashed into the factory demanding jobs in
the factory. They threatened the management and employees, and also used foul
language. The employees feel demoralized. It was clear that those people who
gate crashed wanted to be on the payroll of the company as well as continue as
the volunteers/members of the party.
The company maintains high standards in integrity
and does not extend favours to civil administration that also includes law
enforcement agency. Such incident occur in public sector also. (20 Marks) (250
Words)
(a) Assume
you are the CEO of the company. What would you do to diffuse the volatile
situation on the date of gate crashing with the violent mob sitting inside the
company premises?
(b) What
can be the long term solution to the issue discussed in the case?
(c) Every
solution/action that you suggest will have a negative and a positive impact on
you as (CEO), the employees and the performance of the employees. Analyse the
consequences of each of your suggested actions.
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10) You are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is a
primary school run by the government in your area. Midday meals are provided to
children attending the school. The headmaster has now appointed a new cook in
the school to prepare the meals. However, when it is found that cook is from
Dalit community, almost half of the children belonging to higher castes are not
allowed to take meals by their parents. Consequently the attendance in the
schools falls sharply. This could result in the possibility of discontinuation
of midday meal scheme, thereafter of teaching staff and subsequent closing down
the school. (20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Discuss
some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to create right ambiance.
(b) What
should be the responsibilities of different social segments and agencies to
create positive social ambiance for accepting such changes?
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11) One of the scientists working in the R&D
laboratory of a major pharmaceutical company discovers that one of the
company’s bestselling veterinary drugs has the potential to cure a currently
incurable liver disease which is prevalent in tribal areas. However, developing
a variant of the drug suitable for human being entailed a lot of research and
development having a huge expenditure to the extent of Rs. 50 crores. It was
unlikely that company would recover the cost as the disease was rampant only in
poverty stricken areas having very little market otherwise.
If you were the CEO, then
(a) Identify
the various actions that you could take
(b) Evaluate
the pros and cons of each of your actions
(20 Marks) (250 Words)
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12) There is a disaster prone state having frequent
landslides, forest fires, cloudbursts, flash floods and earthquakes, etc. Some
of these are seasonal and often unpredictable. The magnitude of the disaster is
always unanticipated. During one of the seasons a cloudburst caused a
devastating floods and landslides leading to high casualties. There was major
damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and power generating units. This
led to more than 100000 pilgrims, tourist and other locals trapped across
different routes and locations. The people trapped in your area of
responsibility includes senior citizens, patients in hospitals, women and
children, hiker, tourist, ruling parties, regional presidents along with his
family, additional chief secretary of the neighboring state and prisoners in
jail.
As a civil services officer of the state, what would
be the order in which you would rescue these people and why? Give
Justifications (20 Marks) (200 Words)
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13) You are heading a district administration in a
particular department. Your senior officer calls you from the State
Headquarters and tells you that a plot in Rampur village is to have a building
constructed on it for a school. A visit is scheduled during which he will visit
the site along with the chief engineer and the senior architect. He wants you
to check out all the papers relating to it and ensure that the visit is
properly arranged. You examine the file which relates to the period before you
joined the department. The land was acquired for the local panchayat at a
nominal cost and the papers showed that clearance certificates are available
for the two of the three authorities who have to certify the site’s
suitability. There is no certification by the architect available on file. You
decide to visit Rampur to ensure that all is in the order as stated on file.
When you visit Rampur, you find that the plot under reference is a part of
Thakurgarh fort and that the walls, ramparts, etc., are running across it. The
fort is well away from the main village, therefore a school here will be a serious
inconvenience for the children. However, the area near the village has
potential to expand into a larger residential area. The development charges on
the existing plot, at the fort, will be very high and question of heritage site
has not been addressed. Moreover, the Sarpanch, at the time of acquisition of
the land, was a relative of your predecessor. The whole transaction appears to
have been done with some vested interest. (25 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) List the likely vested interest of the concerned
parties.
(b) Some of the options for action available to you
are listed below. Discuss the merits and demerits of each of the options:
(i)
You can await the visit of the superior
officer and let him take a decision.
(ii)
You can seek his advice in writing or on
phone.
(iii)
You can consult your predecessor/
colleagues, etc, and then decide what to do.
(iv)
You can find out if any alternate plot
can be got in exchange and then send a comprehensive written report.
Can you suggest any other option with proper
justifications?
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14) You are recently posted as district development
officer of a district. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable
tension in the rural areas of your district on the issue of sending girls to
schools.
The elders of the village feel that many problems
have come up because girls are being educated and they are stepping out of the
safe environment of the household. They are the view that the girls should be
quickly married off with minimum education. The girls are also competing for
jobs after education, which have traditionally remained in boys’ exclusive
domain, adding to unemployment amongst male population.
The younger generation feels that in the present
era, girls should have equal opportunities for education and employment, and
other means of livelihood. The entire locality is divided between sexes in both
generations. You come to know that in Panchayat or in other local bodies or
even in busy crosswords, the issue is being acrimoniously debated.
One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident
has taken place. Some girls were molested, when they were en route to schools.
The incident led to clashes between several groups and a law and order problem
has arisen. The elder after heated discussion have taken a joint decision not
to allow girls to go to school and to socially boycott all such families, which
do not follow their dictate.
(a) What
steps would you take to ensure girls’ safety without disrupting their
education?
(b) How
would you manage and mould patriarchic attitude of the village elders to ensure
harmony in the inter-generational relations? (250 words) (25 Marks)
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