Ethics in Private Relationships
-
An individual’s private relationship such as marriage, family, kinship, friendship differ from his/her public relationship such as relationship of politicians, bureaucrats with people at large, and a doctor’s relationship with his patients. Private relationships are more intimate relationships.
Attributes of private relationship:
-
Private relationships are often given or inherited. They are relatively permanent. More tolerance for imperfections. Expectations of loyalty, love, affection from one’s partner.
- Ethics in private relationship are generally directed by individual virtues, universal human values, religion, social norms and law of land. Therefore they comprise limited influencing factor.
-
Ethic makes for action that one can defend publicly and comfortably. These actions are those that not only owns oneself but also the community can live with.
-
Ethics in private relationship are also checked by private religious law.
-
Individual familial and community obligations have long been written into law and supported by serious sanctions from ancient time to today’s inheritance divorce, marriage and other law.
-
In India, along with moral codes, religious institutions and constitution provision governs ethical issues in private relationship
Ethics in Public Relationships
-
Compared to Private relations Public relations are more formal and instrumental in nature. They are outside one’s relatively narrow circle of intimacy. Examples of Public relationships include Colleagues – Superiors – Subordinates in office, Teacher- Student, Politicians – citizens, Bureaucrats – citizens, Doctor- Patient, and Strangers etc.
-
Public Relation is a management function that engages monitoring and evaluating public attitudes and maintaining mutual relations and understanding between an organization and its public.
-
There are code of professional standards for the practice of public relation to meet goals. Such asTo provide behavioral guidelines to its members. To educate management on public relations standards.To distinguish public relations professionals from those individuals
Characteristics of public relationship:
- Diversity of opinion and expectation in Public
- Public relations are very instrumental in success of organization
- It is necessary to Engage with public due to work/benefit.
- Expectation for respect
- Role of public servant in preserving and maintaining faith of public
- Need of ensuring Accountability and maintaining transparency
-
Ethical in public relationship are governed by power. They comprise contradictory values and influence ethical decisions in public relationships. It is well recognized that major fact of professional survival is personal integrity such as, follow the sincere and moral standard. Integrity is also important because it is necessary to build self-confidence. It is significant to follow ethical standard in public setting to sustain authority, develop confidence among people about the system, and to accomplish social wellbeing of society.
According to Dwight and Waldo, there are 12 areas of ethical claim on public officials. These are as under:
Constitution
- Law
- Nation
- Country or people
- Democracy
- Organization-Bureaucratic norms
- Profession and professionalism
- Family and friends
- Collective groups such as class, race, union, interest group, and church
- Public interest and general welfare
- Humanity
- Religion or God
Ethical values in Public Relationship:
- Commitment to public goods.
- Accountability to the public.
- Commitment beyond the law.
- Respect for the worth and dignity of individual.
- Inclusiveness and social justice.
- Respect of pluralism and diversity.
- Transparency, integrity and honesty.
- Responsible stewardship of resources.
- Commitment to excellence and to maintain the public trust.
Nolan committee defined standards of public life which serves as a foundation of probity in governance. According to him, “7 principles of Public Life” needed are: (Acronym O-SHILA-O)
-
Objectivity
-
Selflessness
-
Honesty
-
Integrity
-
Leadership
-
Accountability
-
Openness
In public relationship, public officials need to cope with five primary cluster of roles which are:
- His role in his personal and family sphere.
- His role as a professional.
- His role for the job.
- His role towards his jurisdiction and work influence.
- His role towards society and humanity at large.
Public servant must have to adjust with cluster of roles. Each role in the cluster has different concerns, values, and standards of behaviours. Each is marked by mix of ethical claim. Some duties are responsibilities and informal. Others are obligation and formal.