Ethical Governance and Society—Need for Systemic Reforms
| Author | Mamta Pathania |
| Published date | 01 July 2013 |
| Date | 01 July 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0019556120130321 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
ETHICAL GOVERNANCE
AND
SOCIETY-NEED
FOR
SYSTEMIC REFORMS
MAMTA PATHANIA
The spirit
of
good governance lies
in
ethics and morality, and
with the erosion
of
values, moral deviation, corrupt behaviour
and
actions,
it
demises.
In
a
modern
society,
public
administration has mainly three goals to
achieve-to
serve
public;
interest, to establish rule
of
law,
and to reflect people-'s
expectations
in
governmental works. The menace
of
corruption
is an important issue that is bothering
jhe
policy makers,
administrators and the general public
for
a long time. There
is an emerging global consensus that fighting corruption and
building 'good
governance'
are essential
for
the socio-
economic development
of
any nation. Therefore for the success
of
ethical governance both
in
theory and practice, there must
be
transparency, openness, information flow, degree
of
congruence
in
communication coupled with effective use
of
information and communication technology.
INTRODUCTION
IN MODERN societies, with the increasing role
of
the state in social and
economic fields, emphasis on the quality
of
its governance is
of
prime
concern to all. Our system
of
governance is founded on the lofty principle
of
rule
of
law, wherein the State power is divided amongst three chief
organs, each under a mandate to conduct itself in a manner that subserves
the common good
of
all and achieve the objectives
of
a welfare state.
Citizens' demand for good governance is bringing new standards for public
servants-which
include quality service, fair treatment to individuals,
transparency, accountability,
participation-and
for strong measures to
reduce corruption.1 Governance relates to the mechanism, structure and
process that guide political and socio-economic relationship
of
a country.
1UNDP. ''The Ethics
of
Good Governance", in PARAGON Generic Training Module
on Public Service Ethics and Accountability, 1997.
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