Is ethics in public service necessary to succeed professionally? Critically comment. (150 Words)
Ethics are the moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour, and these ethics form the bedrock upon which the public service stands. Public service demands perseverance, fortitude, unbiased actions, objective understanding, service to others etc. For a public servant to succeed professionally, he/she has to inculcate the above mentioned characteristics which could be possible only through strong ethical foundation.
This would lead to deliver the output efficiently as one is focused on the task at hand despite of the deviations or complexities involved. Examples of various scams where the public servants involved like the Coal scam, 2g spectrum scam etc. because these public servants lacked right attitude despite of the fact that they are qualified professionals and were in the higher positions.
However, having just ethics may not be sufficient, the public servants should also have strong aptitude and technical know-how to deal with complex situations and he/she should act in a swift and efficient manner. Constraints in the form of political interference, disincentives act as a deterrent for ethical conduct. Moreover, at times one has to deviate from the path of ethical conduct to obtain desired outcomes
Ethics coupled with effective legal framework are pre-requisites for succeeding professionally in the public service