Lecture 2

• Before getting into the topic we should know why the name Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude is given to the name of the subject?
  • Answer is very simple, an Administrator with ample aptitude which is called as potential ability cannot become effective administrator unless he is with Ethics and Integrity. In the same way the vice versa is also same.
  • Ethics will provide an ability to differentiate between right and wrong and follow the path of righteousness, where are integrity will ensure that this path of righteousness is across time and space. And Ethics ensures Validity whereas Integrity ensures Reliability
• Attitudes, Values, Morals and Ethics (AVME)
  • What are they?
    • They are mental constructs that serve as instruments for behaviour regulation. It guide our decision making, influence our choices, direct our behaviour or actions
    • Mental constructs are any objects that cannot be directly measured or observed, (intangible). We cannot prove them as fact.
    • The only way to measure the above is through his behaviour
  • What are they made up of?
    • Beliefs or Cognitions
    • Emotions and feelings
    • Action tendency or behavioural dimension
  • Are they static or dynamic?
    • They are neither static nor dynamic but relatively permanent
    • Why?
      • People want Stable Character or Identity, with frequent change they will be called as Characterless. They change slowly and stably without any abrupt change. Identity will give a frame of reference to deal with the objects and events of the world
      • They are relatively permanent due to the result of massive investment of time, cost and energy to acquire AVME
      • You’ll experience guilt or tension when the moment you departure from AVME
      • Individuals are guided by the consistency
      • Shaping of Identity happens through personal feedback and societal feedback and it will differ for different persons which can be expressed through behavioural tendency
      • Values don’t change the way in which the behaviours that express our values may change
        • For eg: Patriotism is a value, where they express it in different ways to show their patriotic feeling through different behaviours
  • Are they Absolute or Relative? (Deontological and Teleological)
    • They can be both depends on the context and situation, some are context and situation independent can be called as Absolute and some are context specific can be called as Relative
    • For example Speaking in truth is a value of one person which may be Absolute all the time but if some harm will happen to majority section with his truth then he opt for conditional truth or telling lie, which is Relative
    • From the above example, truth for the sake of self pride is not good in the above case. So, the idea of relativeness is more sensible than Absoluteness
  • Are they culture specific or universal?
    • They can be both, Values that are binding only specific people of the country is culture specific
      • Eg: Familism, Dependency, collectivism (familiar values in Indian context)
    • Values that are binding to the people in our country also binds the people in other nations are universal and brings universal brotherhood
      • Eg: Humanism etc
  • Are they Subjective or Objective?
    • It is not purely Subjective because AVME happens with social import and they are not purely Objective because morals cannot always be seen in social laws.
  • How they are interrelated to each other?
    • From the figure above where we have put Values in the centre means everything comes from it (If image is not seen properly get it from the provided link image )
    • Remember the figure then you wont get confusion on these elements.
    • So what are Values?
      • Worth we allocate to something, it is Abstract (exist only in mind) and Global (which means everything subsumed under value)
      • Values are general determinants of behaviour and they are not tied to any specific object (intangible)
      • The fundamental thing that is driving the value is Conscience, which is inhibitory conditioning within the individual that prevents him from wrong doings. Conscience always says what not to do (negative connotation)
      • Positive Conscience is Ego ideal, which says what to do
    • Attitudes:
      • If values tied to an objects that becomes Attitude or Attitudes are the Values that have been applied to specific objects
      • It domain is narrower than Values
      • Attitudes are specific predictors of behaviour, which means Values maybe same for different people but not their attitude towards it, they may change.
    • Morals:
      • They are values held by individual and it distinguishes what is right and what is wrong
      • Every moral is a Value but every Value is not a moral
    • Ethics:
      • They are Values held by society and it distinguishes what is right and what is wrong
      • They represents themselves as norms, which are set of rules and behaviour agreed upon by the societal members and are binding on all members
• A simple interlinkage between these can be stated trough following example:”
  • Raja Rammohan Roy who is with a modern mental construct was against the societal norms which were values during that time that is sati. He has a negative attitude towards it and it can be stated through his behaviour on such event and his value of humanitarianism has been objectified him to behave such way. His Value being on his own can be stated as moral, now the moral is Anti sati, it has been ingrained into society through many condemns in different ways (like publications, protest etc). Through the process of time it has been accepted by majoritarian has become societal norm which is Ethical and later as Law.
  • Path follow: from Values to Moral (individualistic) to Ethical (Societal) will shape norms and Laws through constitutional validity. In the same way the reversal is also possible
• When Ethical and Moral conflict happens most of the times moral will compromise and change will takes place to morals of an individual to avoid social stigma
• But in the above example there was no compromise in morals of Raja Rammohan Roy, he faced many social stigmas and still he fighted and succeeded in transforming morals into ethics.
• Remember: But as a Public Administrator you should compromise your Morals when it clashes with administrative Ethics. In modern sense the chances of conflict may be less when compared to Administration before 90’s

                                    Thank you, Jai Hind….