“The discretionary powers vested in the public authorities are probably the biggest source of unethical practices.” Discuss. To what extent is the Code of Conduct helpful in preventing unethical practices?
Answer: Discretionary power refers to the power of a person to decide on his own without prior restriction or decision backed by any law.
Discretionary Power as a Source of Unethical Practices
- Since there is no provision for punishment in respect of discretionary power, there is a strong possibility that it can be misused.
- It gives full power to the public servants to take any action they like. This often gives rise to corruption in the society.
- Discretionary power is exercised without any legal restriction. Therefore, there is no legal accountability of the public authorities.
- Discretionary power with regard to the ....
Do You Want to Read More?
Subscribe Now
Take Annual Subscription and get the following Advantage
The annual members of the Civil Services Chronicle can read the monthly content of the magazine as well as the Chronicle magazine archives.
Readers can study all the material before the last six months of the Civil Services Chronicle monthly issue in the form of Chronicle magazine archives.
Related Content
- 1 “Fall down seven times and stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
- 2 "There is no passion to be found playing small-in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela
- 3 “The Mahatma’s vision of a strong and prosperous India – Purna Swaraj - can never become a reality if we do not address the issue of the stranglehold of corruption on our polity, economy and society in general.”
- 4 Discuss some ways and means to prevent unethical behavior among civil servants.
- 5 There is no Code of Ethics prescribed for civil servants in India although such codes exist in other countries. Do you think code of ethics is important to curb corruption? Justify
- 6 Ethical value without institutional support will gradually dissipate. Do you agree? Justify
- 7 The citizens’ voice can be effectively used to expose, denounce and restrain corruption. Do you agree? Justify your answer.
- 8 An emotionally intelligent person can be a good administrator. Do you agree with this view? Justify your answer.
- 9 What is meant by ‘crisis of conscience’? Give an example where such crisis has led to extreme step. 150 words
- 10 What do you understand by inner conscience? Can inner conscience be efficient tool to solve ethical dilemmas?
