D K Balaji Rank – 36 General Studies – 4: Ethics and Integrity Strategy
by
INSIGHTS · August 3, 2015
My General Studies – 4 (Ethics & Integrity) Strategy
Dear Friends,
I intend to share my strategy for “Ethics, Integrity and Civil
Services Aptitude”. Before I start, I intend to make it clear that my
strategy may not be foolproof. Thus, I cannot guarantee that following
my strategy would assure everyone very high score.
It is just the strategy that I followed and it has offered me a decent score of
121/250.
The opening remarks about the syllabus for ETHICS paper in CSE notification read as follows:
“This paper will include questions to test the candidates’
attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public
life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts
faced by him in dealing with society”
These words caught my attention very much and I decided that ETHICS paper is designed to evaluate the ‘
ethical competence‘, but
not the ‘
knowledge about ethics‘.
So, I decided not to run behind any book or any material of any
institute. Now, when I see bulky material for ETHICS by various
top-notch institutes, it just surprises and amazes me. That aside, I
decided to
understand the
meanings of every term in the syllabus first. Mind you, I wanted to
understand the meanings, not know their definitions. So, I decided to learn meanings from internet. Here, the links offered by
www.insightsonindia.com helped me a lot. It just reduced my effort to visit all sites suggested by Google search engine.
After reading about every term, I started thinking deeply about it. I
used to pick some 4-5 terms randomly every day and read about them and
kept on thinking whenever I found time (while eating, bathing, before
going to sleep etc etc). My thought process revolved around two
intentions. First, I tried to express and explain the meanings of each
term in my own way with my own words, in simple English. Second, I tried
to link those concepts to my life or lives of people whom I know. I
couldn’t connect every term to my life or lives of people whom I knew.
In such cases, I did something different. I would explain that a little
later.
To illustrate, after reading about VALUES, I kept on thinking about that. Later, my understanding got crystallized as below:
“
Values imply ‘Preferences’. Whatever is preferred or valued by
an individual becomes his/her value. Whatever is preferred or valued by
society, as a whole becomes societal value. Thus, Indian society prefers
COLLECTIVISM. So, it is Indian society’s value. Similarly,
INDIVIDUALISM is valued in America and hence it is American society’s
value. Values change with time. Because People and society prefer
different things at different points of time. In India, before – 1947,
PATRIOTISM was the most predominant value. Similarly, post-1991, thanks
to the consumerist culture being set in in India, MONEY also now become a
value…”
I want to emphasize that the above text is not an excerpt from any
textbook. It is just my understanding of VALUES being shaped by my
thought process and examples are all my own observations.
I used to do like this for almost every term in the syllabus.
I took extra care in ensuring that I expressed the meaning of every term in as few words as possible. To illustrate,
Values mean preferences;
ethics means guide about right or wrong;
Transparency means provision of access of government information to public;
Accountability means holding a person answerable to his/her acts;
Attitude
means a person’s own evaluation of another person, idea, situation etc.
Examples abound. (I have read somewhere that depth of understanding is
inversely proportional to the quantity of words used to express the
same).
This helped me remember things easily and express my understanding in a very effective way.
So,
LESSON 1 – learn meanings, develop your own understanding by thinking and then be able to express the same in as few words as possible.
Then, I connected every term to my life or lives of persons I knew.
After thinking about VALUES, I thought of my values and the incidents
where I have demonstrated those values in my life. I realized that
HONESTY is my value. I recounted the following incidents where I had
demonstrated HONESTY.
- Incident 1 – In my 10the Standard Board exams, in
English Paper, we were asked to write the opposite of POPULAR. I had
written IMPOPULAR. Then, exam invigilator who was walking accidentally
saw my answer script and told me, the correct answer is UNPOPULAR.
However, I did not change my answer.
- Incident 2 – One Saturday, I ate IDLI at Parimala
Hotel in Tumakuru Bus stand. I forgot to pay the money and came out of
the hotel. Even hotel people did not ask me. I realized that in the
evening when I found excess money in my pocket. Then I promptly went to
the hotel, said sorry and paid the money on Monday morning.
(I intentionally recollected even minute details such as Hotel name, what I ate eve, to prove that it is not a cooked up story)
I did this exercise for almost all terms. This is just a sample.
You people can also recollect such incidents from your life.
So,
LESSON 2 – Connect your life with terms in syllabus, recollect specific incidents and use them in your answers
(The real life incidents may be as simple as offering a seat to
elderly in bus, helping a visually challenged cross road and so on .
Yet, bring them into your answers).
Sometimes we may not have such real life incidents from our lives.
Then, what to do? If possible, quote the examples from the lives of
great souls, which you may have read or heard of. Please don’t run
behind autobiographies and biographies now. Whatever you know by now,
just try to recollect them. One tip I can give you here – our language
subjects up to 10th standard had many such anecdotes. Just recollect
them. Here I give a few such anecdotes for your benefit.
- Sir M. Visvesvrayya, then Dewan of Mysore state, used Government
vehicle while he went to tender his resignation. After tendering his
resignation, he drove back by his private vehicle.
- He always maintained two sets of candles – one set bought out of
government money and the other set bought from his money. He used the
former set of candles for looking into official documents and used the
latter set to read books. (The above two anecdotes are the best examples
for not misusing public resources for private gain)
- Kuvempu, Jnanapith awardee, a poet and Karnataka’s pride, was once
Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University. His son Poornachandra Tejaswi was
studying BA in the same university. Once, an English Professor
approached KUVEMPU and told him that his son had scored marks below
minimum pass-mark in English Paper and asked KUVEMPU as to what to do.
KUVEMPU went through the answer script and instructed the professor to
award to even lesser marks. (This anecdote is the best examples for
avoiding conflict of interest)
- A Rajput Prince was conspired to be killed. Panna who worked in the
court learnt the conspiracy. In order to save the Prince, she replaced
the Prince with her own kid. Her own kid got killed. (This anecdote is
the best example for LOYALTY)
- A workaholic engineer was working in a major scientific project.
Abdul Kalam sir was the project head. Children of that engineer once
asked their father to take them to an exhibition in the evening.
Engineer sought permission from Kalam sir to leave early and mentioned
the reason as well. Kalaam sir agreed. However, he got so much involved
in the work that he completely forgot that he had to leave early. Kalaam
sir observed the engineer being engrossed in the work. So, he only took
children to exhibition. (This anecdote is the best examples for EMPATHY
TOWARDS SUBORDINATES)
- Satish Dhawan was the chairman of ISRO during the first launch of
SLV, the mission failed. He took the responsibility for failure. In the
next attempt, when the launch was successful, he gave full credit to the
team that had worked for it (This anecdote is the best examples for
LEADERSHIP and TEAMBUILDING)
- Sagayam, an IAS officer from Tamil Nadu has disclosed his and his
family’s assets on the website. (Best Example for PROBITY, TRANSPARENCY)
- K. Jairaj, Karnataka-cadre HAS officer was to approve the dismissal
of a lady typist on the grounds of unruly behavior by her against her
colleagues. Jairaj sir delved a little deeper into the issue and found
out that she had been widow and one co-worker misused her, promising her
a new life. And this had pushed her into depression. Adding salt to the
wound, her co-workers started abusing her in filthy language. This had
made her lose her temper. Later, considering her precarious financial
condition and need to educate her son, two increments were cut and she
was reinstated to service. Later, her son got a very good job in
Infosys. (Example for COMPASSION TOWARDS WOMEN; EMPATHY TOWARDS
SUBORDINATES; WORK CULTURE)
Such anecdotes are many. You can use them in your answers. I repeat,
please don’t run behind autobiographies and biographies now (You can
read them, may be, after Mains). I never did so. The above anecdotes
were heard or read by me in newspapers and on Internet. I just used them
in answers.
Hence,
LESSON 3 – Try to use anecdotes (only If you know any) about great souls in your answers
In some cases, you may not have your real life incidents or anecdotes
from lives of great souls. In such scenarios, try to create
hypothetical scenarios and quote the same as example. Always start such
examples with SUPPOSE….. ASSUME…. and so on.
To illustrate, for a question on ‘conflict of interest’, you can write an example as
suppose
an IAS officer is a part of an interview panel. While taking
interviews, he/she discovers that a candidate is a son of his friend.
Then that IAS officer should disclose that fact. He should abstain from
taking interview of that candidate.
This kind of scenarios have to be created in exam hall depending upon
the nature of the question. So, that kind of thinking has to be
developed beforehand.
One more important tip – every case study you solve is a hypothetical
scenario. So, you can use the case studies you may have practiced as
hypothetical scenarios for your answers in the exam.
LESSON 4 – Create hypothetical scenarios on your own and use them in your answers.
CASE STUDIES
Remember the following things while answering case studies.
- Try to provide practical solutions. Ideal solutions, if unworkable, would not fetch you marks.
- Give out-of-the-box yet practical solutions.
- Try to provide specific solutions. Avoid generalized solutions. To
illustrate, don’t say, “I would take steps to promote TRANSPARENCY.
Please mention how do you promote TRANSPARENCY.
- When you are asked to give all the options available to you. Please
give even the most undesirable course of action as one of the options.
However, don’t choose that option. To illustrate, in a case that
mentions about offer of bribe to you, mention ‘acceptance of bribe’ as
one of the options. But prefer the options ‘rejection of bribe’.
- Do not touch upon only core issues. Also touch upon peripheral
issues in a case study. To illustrate, suppose a case study in which “you
are the head of committee investigating the irregularities of colleges.
You are in dilemma whether to recommend for the derecognition of
college and spoil the career prospects of students or to recommend their
regularization in the light of future of thousands of students. You
have been offered a bribe of Rs. 5 crores.” In this case study, a core issue is ‘whether to regularize colleges’.
Most candidates would just address this issue in their answer. However,
there is another issue, which I would call ‘peripheral issue’, that is,
offer of bribe. Try to address that issue as well. While addressing
bribe issue, please don’t just say I won’t accept the bribe. Also say I
would lodge complain against the person who has offered bribe.
- Let your solutions try to balance conflicting options, as much as
possible. (Caution – such balancing may not happen always). Let’s us
consider the examples mentioned in the previous point. In that most
candidates would say, either “i shall recommend derecognition of
colleges because errant colleges have to be punished” or “I shall
recommend for regularization of colleges because of the future of
students”. I would say, try to think of a solution that punishes
colleges and at the same time rescues the career prospects of thousands
of students. Such solution can be – allowing already enrolled students
to finish their course and recognizing their degrees while prohibiting
any fresh admissions. Or accommodation of students of such colleges in
other proper colleges.
One more illustration – suppose an elderly couple living in a village
in a dilapidated house. They need a good house. They get some pension.
Unfortunately, their son who lives in city would snatch that pension
away from them. You are the head of a housing corporation. They apply
seeking sanction of house under some housing scheme. Upon scrutiny, you
realize that their income (because of pension) is more than the minimum
income limit for a beneficiary. However, you can bend the rule and
sanction a house. What will you do? In this case study, most candidates
would take either of the two extreme stands – bending the rule and
sanctioning the house in the light of humanity and compassion towards
weaker sections or rejecting the house since that is against law. I
would say, try to balance both. Such solutions can be
- Consider this as a special case and request your higher ups to Grant you power to sanction the house
- Reject the house under this scheme and try to accommodate their application in another housing scheme, if possible
- Reject the house under this scheme and try to keep these couple in
touch with some NGO or philanthropist who may help them build the house.
(Also ask the nearest police inspector to warn their son and ensure
that he’d not snatch their pension in forthcoming months – this is a
peripheral issue which most candidates miss)
Miscellaneous
- Be prepared to write about your ‘role model’ and what have you
learnt from him/her. Let your role model preferably be someone whom you
have seen for long time, like your parents, teacher etc., rather than
some great soul whom you have not met even once. This is my personal
opinion, which may not be correct.
- Whenever you answer some abstract question such as ‘happiness’
according to you, try to include the dimensions of ‘public life’ and
‘private life’. To elaborate, write what is happiness , according to you
in public life and what is happiness according to you in private life.
- Let all your answers reflect your EMPATHY towards public and colleagues or co-workers.
- Bear in mind that you are not just a public servant, but you have
some responsibility towards your subordinates as well. Thus, if media
and public protest against your subordinate whom you know hasn’t
breached his duty, don’t disown him/her. You stand by him/her.
- Always be gender neutral – use s/he rather than using just ‘he’. Use him/her instead of ‘him’.
- Know about your weaknesses as well. There may be a question that may
ask you mention your weaknesses. Be smart in answering such questions.
- Be ready with even at least one incident in which you have acted
unethically. But while writing such incidents, don’t forget to mention
that now you are repentant of such act and has never committed that act
again.
- Questions in ethics may be very much unpredictable. So, even if you
get a completely new type of question, don’t get shocked. Remember that
it is a new type of question to every other aspirant writing with you.
Just stay calm and think.
- It is very tough to write very short answers in ethics (personal
experience in exam – I found it very difficult to shorten the answers).
So, please be ready to write fast.
- Ethics is a simple paper. Don’t complicate it. Don’t try to master
the philosophies of all great thinkers on the earth. It is neither
practicable nor desirable. I know coaching institutes bringing out a
separate book on the philosophies of thinkers. I doubt their utility.
Don’t waste time mastering them. Again, this is purely my personal
opinion, that may be altogether incorrect.
GIST OF MY ETHICS ANSWER
Question – PATRIOTISM in civilian life according to you:
Answer –
“Putting bits of paper only in dustbin; Not jumping a traffic signal;
Flushing the toilet after use…”. These three I remember exactly. But I
now feel, more points can be added – “switching off lights when not in
use, keying off the bike when it is at halt (mostly at traffic signals),
and son on.
I have detailed my strategy above. Hope it helps to all of you.
However, no strategy is cool-proof. You may draw inputs from my
strategy. But, please draft your own strategy.
I wish all of you a heartfelt ALL THE BEST.
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