mohan kanda - Ethics in Governance: Resolution of Dilemmas with case studies

ETHICS IN GOVERNANCE

RESOLUTION OF DILEMMAS

With Case Studies

Second Edition

Mohan Kanda

With Case Studies, Second Edition

2016 by Publisher

All rights reserved. No part of this book or parts thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any language or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author.

Cover design by: Anantha Laxmi Juvvadi

Published by BS Publications in association with Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad

Published by

For

my father

the Late Sri Justice Kanda Bhimasankaram

who introduced me to the joys of reading and, more importantly, taught me what lay beyond.

I have, on occasion, managed to imitate him. I realized long ago that it is impossible to emulate him.

Ethics is gaining prominence in the debates on Governance in recent years on account of increasing expectations from people in regard to ethical standards in public services. There is a general perception across the country that values and standards in the delivery of public services are on the decline. This raises questions about the costs of misconduct on the part of public servants, costs in terms of losses in trust and confidence in public institutions charged with promoting economic and social development. There is a move worldwide to restore a measure of trust in the integrity of public institutions and officials, to improve the quality of service delivery and promote better governance. It can be argued that the perception of a fall in public standards in linked to the shifting role of the State, which is going through a rapid process of reform, liberalization, privatization and globalization along with advances in technology and aspirations of people.

Public service as on institution is under pressure to transform itself to respond to these challenges. As public servants are asked to take on new and sometimes conflicting roles, need is being increasingly felt for a cost-effective structure and an enabling environment to bring about desirable standards in conduct and behaviour.

Ethics can be defined as a set of standards that society places on itself which helps guide behaviour, choices and actions. Persons involved in the delivering of public services face ethical dilemmas in the discharge of their functions, their behaviour towards colleagues and in dealing with issues arising in interaction with other stakeholders.

An attempt is made in this work to deal with origins of ethics, evolution of great ethical traditions, theories of how one ought to behave and arguments about specific ethical issues. The book provides critical information and refers to the personal experiences of a senior public servant in the fields of ethics and integrity in governance, along with emerging perspectives. It addresses the key dimensions of values in public service, of governance and maintenance of ethical standards.

Institutions and laws depend on the individuals who operate them. Public servants have the responsibility to ensure that the services provided are not only effective, efficient and reliable, but also that their delivery is free from corruption and malpractices. This applies not only to public officials but also to political leaders, elected, or appointed.

I am particularly delighted at the opportunity of offering foreword for on eminently useful book by a distinguished senior colleague of mine Dr. Mohan Kanda with whom I had the privilege of working for decades together. The book in every aspect bears the mark of rich, practical and conceptual experience of the Author.

I hope the book will serve not only as a guiding spirit for public servants but also prove of interest to other readers with its wide gamut of subjects and case studies covered.

(V.S. Sampath)

April 2014

New Delhi

I congratulate Dr. Mohan Kanda for authoring a book on a subject of vital importance in todays world. Ethics in Governance- Resolution of dilemmas with Case studies is a relevant book for civil services aspirants and serving officers. Governance is not about rowing the ship like the stewardship that guides the direction of the ship. Further, Governance is about setting and deciding the direction of an organization and how one influences it.

Dr. Kandas competence lies in the ethics and values he believes in. He has always believed in the three Es -excel, exceed and expand. His forte is the ability to take his team along with him. Dr.Kanda has structured the book in a way which follows the ABCs of any great book- accuracy, brevity and clarity. These qualities are the cornerstones of this book. The lucid way in which the book has been written makes it a fantastic read. The book fills gap in the reading material available in the market -with theories as well as the dilemmas faced by public servants and how they can be resolved. It provides case studies along with recommended approaches that will help the readers in making decisions when one is at the crossroads of seemingly close choices. My complements are to Dr.Kanda for keeping the logos, pathos and ethos intact in the book. I feel confident that more editions will come out in the future.

M. Gopalakrishna, IAS (Retd)

Formerly Chairman, Rural Electrification Corporation,

Government of India

I was delighted to read Mohan Kandas book Ethics in Governance. His delineation of the concept of ethics in all its dimensions, relating that to the concept of governance in general and governance in India, in particular, is appreciative. Einstein had differentiated a successful person from a purposeful person; the former being one who takes the maximum from the society and giving the least to it and the latter taking the least from the society and giving the maximum to it. Mohans message is that ethics will generate purposeful persons rather than successful persons.

The road map suggested by Mohan is a good first step, which will march India towards governance informed by ethics. I suggest Mohan should carry forward his message strongly to sub serve and achieve the title of his book.

Dr. S. Chakravarthy, IAS (Retd)

Formerly Spl. Chief Secretary to Government of A.P. and Member, MRTP Commission

This book is a rich source of thought on the subject Ethics in Governance. It forms a valuable compendium to all the people who are in public service now or aspiring to come into civil service in future, as it contains the perceptions, experiences and experiments of a conscientious civil servant. As such, all the public servants whoever wish to retire from service with a clean conscience, the richest treasure a man can have, would do well to study the book at least once.