The Strength of Ethics in Public Administrati...

The Strength of Ethics in Public Administration

Author Name : Dr. Dinesh Sharda, Ashmeet Kaur

ABSTRACT

Ethics have become an organizational priority in the 21^st Century; ethics is neither a luxury nor an option. There is a growing impatience within society with selfish and irresponsible action that impoverishes some, while enriching the crafty.

Administrative ethics denotes the professional code of morality in civil services. They regulate and conduct and behavior of different categories of civil servants. It is the moral justification and consideration for decision and actions made during the completion of daily duties when working to provide the general services of government and non-profit organizations. The civil services, being a profession in the modern state has developed code of morality for its members. This code consists of traditions, precedents and standards which have to be kept up by the civil servants. The civil servants are expected to set up high moral standards not only for themselves but also for the community at large. This is more so in the context of the growing size and role of administrations and its impact on the society. The second five year plan also emphasized as the ethical values in Public services.

Originally the ethics framework identifies general core values that should be common to all member states. There should be a sense of responsibility and ability to utilize resources, willingness to engage in problem solving, skill in communication personal confidence to initiate new ideas.

For the effective and responsible government, there must be administrative ethics or morality in government. These are the basic rules of good governance and ethics which are quite similar. Ethics is a branch of philosophy which is mainly concerned with critically evaluating moral terms like good, right, duty, obligation, bad virtue which are considered as integral part of our inter-actions and transactions. This clearly shows that unless the ethics becomes part and parcel of public life, administration cannot function efficiently and effectively.