GS4 (Ethics in public administration)
Is diligence an important value for a civil servant? How would you inculcate it?
Best answer
Srishty Srivastave wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 4.5/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)
Diligence implies steadfast application, assiduousness and industry. It is important for a civil servant as it stems from the belief that work is an end in itself and not a means to an end. Work performed as duty with diligence will be better performed than work performed for some material or non-material gain. As a civil servant, service to the public is our duty, therefore it must be performed with all the diligence and sincerity that one possesses. Therefore, diligence is important in application of other values as well.
Diligence will make a civil servant go beyond his office hours to complete the assigned work. It will make him/her put in extra effort in reaching out for participation of people and undertaking better due diligence in regulatory compliance.
It can only be inculcated by a strong motivation towards work and by attempting to think of work not only as a means to achieve something bigger and better like prestige, social status, power but as a reward in itself. Hence, this inculcation can only be an intrinsic one by a change in attitude and mindset towards work. While attitude alignment can be done by rewards and punishments coming from an external source, the transcendence of external gratification can only come from within.
Diligence will make a civil servant go beyond his office hours to complete the assigned work. It will make him/her put in extra effort in reaching out for participation of people and undertaking better due diligence in regulatory compliance.
It can only be inculcated by a strong motivation towards work and by attempting to think of work not only as a means to achieve something bigger and better like prestige, social status, power but as a reward in itself. Hence, this inculcation can only be an intrinsic one by a change in attitude and mindset towards work. While attitude alignment can be done by rewards and punishments coming from an external source, the transcendence of external gratification can only come from within.
