CASE

STUDY by Apala Mishra

06/07/20 6:10 PM

for case study refer lukmaan best copy. and DRISHTI case studies for ethics.

Introduction
• The case highlights the issue of DECREASING PUBLIC MORALITY
• Caste- br Ambedkar- caste system plagues the country like a disease.
• “” Paradox between

VALUES- ETHICAL DILEMMAS-

• RESPONSIBILITY (can fit almost everywhere) • personal relations vs ethical values
• Rule of law • Integrity vs personal well-being
• Equality and social justice • private interest vs national or public interest
• Rights- right to life, right to health, rt to education • meritocracy vs
• Right to dignified life • development vs environmental/ human rights
• professionalism • rule of law vs social norms
• business ethics / workplace ethics • Rule of law vs public will
• humanity and compassion, empathy • Rule of law vs empathy
• spirit of service/ dedication to service • LAW VS CONSCIENCE
• honesty • Truth vs loyalty (loyal to depot or blow whistle)
• tolerance • personal relation vs public duty
• integrity • Social obligation v/s moral righteousness
• family values • Public opinion vs morality
• moral righteousness • Duty vs morality
• courage of conviction • bureaucratic vs democratic attitude
• spirit of service • MEANS VS ENDS
• Openness to change • short term vs long term gains
• Transparency • democracy vs mobocracy
• Probity • retributive justice vs reformative form of justice
• Objectivity • justice vs mercy
• Impartiality • ETHICS VS LAW
• Senior’s instructions vs your own rational thought process
• Neutrality
• Work culture
• Code of conduct
• Justice of John Rawls
• Golden mean of Aristotle
• 4 cardinal values- courage, temperance, justice,
wisdom
• Duty of Kant
• Social contract of Hobbes Locke Rousseau
• FIDUCIARY DUTY- legal responsibility to act in the
best interest of other party. Eg. doctor’s fiduciary
duty towards patients. •
• Corporate governance
• Professional ethics- secrecy, Hippocratic oath, trust of govt &
public
• Social contract

ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED-

1. sabse pehle disrespect to constitutional morality aana chahiye.
2. Defeat of main purpose (eg. Woman empowerment)
3. Means and ends- wrong means

(Notes by Apala Mishra- UPSC •

AIR-09)

COURSE OF ACTION- (Points to be kept in mind. no APPROACHES

particular order.)
DON’T FORGET SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND PERSUASION
• UTILITARIAN APPROACH- The option that will produce the
• Realistic self- assessment and evaluation of moral most good and do the least harm.
responsibility + maintaining my emotional stability. • RIGHTS APPOROACH- option which best respects the
+ leadership skills. rights of all those at stake
• use of info technology • JUSTICE APPROACH- In cases of social justice/ gender
• Using persuasion skills and social influence justice
• Using emotional intelligence • COMMON GOOD APPROACH- option that best serves
• identification of hotspots using data community as a whole, not just few members.
• App on the lines of AROGYA SETU • VIRTUE APPROACH
• incase of cyber security- involve Cyber Crime div.
• incase of any death - post mortem, respectful
cremation
• form a committee ( parents committee, women
committee, youth committee…)
• surveillance
• SHG, NGO, ASHA workers to be involved
• Openness to change
• Role models? Setting an example myself.
Observational learning
• In situations of conflicting goals- MAXIM OF FUSION-
fusion of individual, organizational and social goals
to help evolve unison of ideals, and commit to such
fusion.
• When ever case study says Public Uproar- write press
enquiry to stabilize public protest
• gram sabha meeting- pledge taking ceremony
• community policing system
• If u r dsp, write report to DM.
• awareness campaigns
• Operant conditioning- use of reward or punishment
• ● Try to change the situation- speak up, do something
○ The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never
does anything- Roosevelt
○ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere- Martin
Luther King Jr.

Wrong option/ demerits of an option

- CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE
- Will set a wrong precedent
- Lack of VIRTUES like courage and fortitude
- Justice will not prevail ( theory of justice equality
principle)
- Violation of rights (such as right to dignified life)
- Not following moral command or categorical
imperatives of Kant will lead to cognitive dissonance
- Lead to poor social capital
- When truth is lost everything is lost
- Justice must not only be done, it should also be seen
to be done
- Will turn democracy into mobocracy
- Rule of law will be threatened
- Short term gains but long term stress
- Career in jeopardy
Ethical issues involved-
Child labour in factory - Violation of child rights
- Respect for law of land- respect
for constitutional morality
- Dignity of life
Nepotism in - maintaining integrity of process
recruitment - Professional responsibility
- Right to equality- respect for
constitutional morality
- Meritocracy and fairness
- Impartiality
Senior says give info • Work culture
to bidder • Probity in governance
• Fairness and justice to all
• Abiding to oath of secrecy
• Value of courage and fortitude
• Interpersonal relations with
seniors

Seniors corrupt - Collusive corruption

- Lack of civil services values
- Loss of integrity
Dalit teacher food - Caste discrimination- disrespect
of rule of land
- Difficulty in implementing
government policies
- Schools as institutions of change
Girl education - Crime against women
stopped - Compromising attitude of society
towards gender parity
- Traditional mindset
- Responsibility of state to provide
equal opportunities for all
Rehabilitation of - Virtue of empathy and
adivasi compassion
- Social justice of John Rawls-
benefit and burden should be
shared equally
- Inclusive development
- Right to dignified life
- Social contract
Scheme for an old - Rule of law
person without - Work culture
documents - Empathy and compassion
- Inclusiveness of government
schemes
- Objectivity

(Notes by Apala Mishra- UPSC

AIR-09)

CONCLUSION ( or anywhere else)-

• REMEDY SHOULD NEVER BE WORSE THAN DISEASE
• Justice should not only be done, it should also be seen to be done.
• Achievement of highest good- ‘summom bonum'
• Bahujan Hitay, Bahujan Sukhay.
• GANDHIAN TALISMAN
• Gandhi Sarvodaya- welfare for all
• Gandhi’s 7 sins
• be the change you want to see in this world- Gandhi
• Practice what u preach.
• Trusteeship model- Rich people are trustees of wealth they have, and
wealth is to be used for welfare of community at large
• Incase of environment related ques- ECO-CENTRISM- NATURE
CENTRED, rather that human centred, Values. and “BIOSPHERICAL
EGALITARIANISM"
• As per Hindu mythology, Shri Krishna advised Arjuna that one should
not escape his ‘dharma’. Arjuna’s duty is to be a warrior and to do
what is right and just, even if it means fighting with his own brothers.
Similarly, the duty of the senior officer is to take the right decision
even if it means punishing the most talented mentee. National
security and people’s trust in the organization should be the
foremost priority of any officer.
• True ethics is DHARMA in Aurobindo Gosh’s words
• on social justice- A NATION’S GREATNESS IS MEASURED BY HOW IT
TREATS IT’S WEAKEST MEMBERS- GANDHI JI
• RULE OF LAW, KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY OF MORAL DUTY AND VALUE
OF MUNDAKA UPANISHAD- SATYAMEV JAYATE
• NISHKAMA KARMA
• Whole is the sum of parts. For ethical functioning of the whole, each
part, i.e. individuals must function ethically. Small minority is good
enough to start with.
• For corporate governance - Uday Kotak panel.
• One must not be a moral absolutist.

QUOTES-

• When the whole world is silent, even one voice

becomes powerful - Malala Yosufzai

• As suggested by Gandhiji, we always have control over the

means but not over the end. As quoted in his book ‘Hind
Swaraj’, “one should not expect rose flowers by sowing the
seeds of Babool.”
• happiness is when what u think, what u do and what u say
are in harmony - Gandhi
• A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is
ready to be servant of the society - B.R. Ambedkar
• Three things cannot be long hidden- The sun, the moon and the truth”-
Buddha
• In law, man is guilty when he commits a crime. In ethics, he is guilty
only if he thinks of doing so. - KANT
• Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law -
KANT
• EVERY REVOLUTION STARTS WITH A SINGLE MAN- GANDHI
• Rabindranath Tagore: “Tadi tor daksune kue naa aashe, tabe
eklechalo re” (If they answer not to your call, walk alone”).

• "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for

good men to do nothing"- Edmund Burke (ethics
case studies, need for courage of conviction)