MITRAS IAS

ETHICS
L.A.W.S - 01
SECTION A
Q.1. Why government need to adopt strategy of persuasion? When persuasion becomes unethical?
Substantiate with suitable examples. (150 words)

Q.2. Can war be justified on any ground? Examine in the light of ethics in international relations.
(150 words)

Q.3. Examine the relevance of Gandhian values in present times. Substantiate with suitable
examples. (150 words)

SECTION B
Q4. In the initial years after Independence, relations between Ministers and civil servants were
characterized by mutual respect and understanding of each other’s respective roles, with neither
encroaching upon the other’s domain. However, in subsequent years, matters started changing for
the worse. While some civil servants did not render objective and impartial advice to their
Ministers, often some Ministers began to resent advice that did not fit in with short-term political
interests. There was also a tendency for some Ministers at the Union and the State levels to focus
more on routine administrative matters such as transfers in preference to policy making. At the
same time, some civil servants learnt the art of ‘manoeuvring’ for favours in return for pliability in
their decision making. This trend was further accentuated by rising materialism and
acquisitiveness in society as well as decline in values across the board. As a result, ‘Civil Services
Neutrality’ which was the hallmark of the civil service in the pre-Independence era as well as in the
period right after Independence, was gradually eroded. These trends led to the phenomenon of
‘politicisation of the civil service’ in India.
a. What do you understand by Civil Services neutrality?
b. What are the benefits of this value in civil services?
c. What are the disadvantages if neutrality is not observed?
(250 words)

Q5. Deepali works in the Human Resource Department in a Marketing firm. Marketing job entails
a lot of travel, and accordingly the firm provides for many perks. She finds that some employees
engage in activities such as getting doctor’s appointment during office hours, making personal
 MITRAS IAS
phone calls, using office computer and Internet for personal reasons. As a new employee, she finds
this behaviour unethical but her colleagues tell her that since the employees tend to spend so much
of their weekday hours on the job, it is all right to engage in some personal work.
Consider the fol lowing options and evaluate them:
a. Strict monitoring of the employees for such unethical behaviour.
b. Ignoring this issue altogether.
c. Dismissing the employees who are found to be engaged in such activities on a regular basis.
d. Reporting the matter to the Departmental head.
e. Issuing warning to the employees.
(250 words)

Q6. In January 2009, in what was perhaps corporate India's largest frauds, Satyam Computer
Founder R. Ramalinga Raju resigned after admitting that the company had cooked its books and
was overstating its profits. More recently, Reebok India filed a criminal complaint against former
top employees, Subhinder Singh Prem and Vishnu Bhagat, accusing them of a financial fraud of up
to $233 million. Indian microlenders had faced severe criticism in 2010 for flouting corporate
governance practices and adopting coercive tactics to recover money from borrowers. This
allegedly led to suicides in Andhra Pradesh, prompting the state to enact a law in October 2010. All
these issues, at some level or the other, talk about the lack of implementation of corporate
governance.
a. What is corporate governance? How is it important in the Indian corporate sector?
b. How will the mandatory provision of corporate social responsibility change the perception of
private sector in the eyes of common man?
(300 words)