Ethical Issues
Responding to unethical behaviour
You are a no-nonsense, honest officer. You have been transferred to a remote district to head a department that is notorious for its inefficiency and callousness. You find that the main cause of the poor state of affairs is the indiscipline of a section of employees. They do not work themselves and also disrupt the working of others. You first warned the troublemakers to mend their ways or else face disciplinary action. When the warning had little effect, you issued a show cause notice to the ringleaders. As a retaliatory measure, these troublemakers instigated a woman employee amongst them to file a complaint of sexual harassment against you with the Women's Commission. The Commission promptly seeks your explanation. The matter is also publicized in the media to embarrass you further. Some of the options to handle this situation could be as follows :
(i) Give your explanation to the Commission and go soft on the disciplinary action.
(ii) Ignore the Commission and proceed firmly with the disciplinary action.
(iii) Brief your higher-ups, seek directions from them and act accordingly.
Suggest any other possible options.
Evaluate all of them and suggest the best course of action, giving your reasons for it.
Aptitude & Foundational Values
Meaning of Aptitude
Dedication to Public Service
Impartiality and Non-partisanship
Blog Mentoring
Young Minds
Meaning of Aptitude
Dedication to Public Service
Impartiality and Non-partisanship
Blog Mentoring
Young Minds
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Insights with KM
Compassion is derived from the Latin "compati," which means 'to suffer with." In academic literature, there is a broad consensus that compassion involves an awareness of the other person's suffering and the consequent motivation to help or provide succour to the suffering individual. In his book Human Emotions, Lazarus defines compassion as "being moved by another's suffering and wanting to help." Similarly, Gilbert, in his book The Compassionate Mind: A new approach to life's challenges, interpreted compassion as a "deep awareness" of others' suffering combined with a desire to help. Most definitions of compassion focus on being touched by the other's suffering and the motivation to help. From an Indian perspective, compassion, known as karuna, is integral to the Buddhist value system and philosophy. Compassion or karuna is considered a "spiritual awareness" of others suffering. Dalai Lama defines compassion as an "openness to the suffering of others with a commitment to relive it."