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This is an archive article published on August 4, 2024

UPSC Ethics Simplified | Emotional Intelligence: Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills – The caselet

Can you pick a few factors of Emotional Intelligence from this caselet? Don't miss the Post Read Questions towards the end of the article.

UPSC Ethics Simplified | Emotional Intelligence: Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills – The caseletIf you were the DM, what would you have done to save the lady? What would have been the three action points from your side? Asks Nanditesh Nilay after sharing the caselet.

Relevance: UPSC Ethics Simplified draws your attention to a topic of self-awareness and self-management in the form of a caselet. This caselet is an extension of the concept discussed on July 21 (UPSC Ethics Simplified- Emotional Intelligence: Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills – The concept). It is advised to revisit the concept article before reading the caselet below.

Nanditesh Nilay writes for UPSC Ethics Simplified fortnightly. The first article will be a concept while the second article will be a caselet, based on the concept.

THE CASELET

He was the DM of a historical district which was known for its havelis and folk heroes. The DM was very popular among citizens, and his working style was what worked in his favour. As a bureaucrat, he had a no-nonsense attitude with a deeper sense of human values. He was trying his best to bring a similar kind of work culture within his department which he considered ideal himself. However, his subordinates were not very comfortable with his working style because of his humane approach. Nevertheless, he used to work with everyone like a true leader should work — taking the team along. He was competent in addressing all kinds of complex problems and never compromised on deliverables.

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It was around 11 pm when his landline rang, and the voice of a restless lady came from the other side. She was begging to save her life as her mother-in-law had gone outside in the night to bring some kerosene to burn her. There was more weeping and less talking. The DM tried to keep the conversation going by asking about her education and family background along with the address of the place from where she was calling. Her place was a hundred kilometers away from DM’s residence. Simultaneously, he requested the lady to continue talking to him till the time her mother-in-law had arrived. He requested her to gather the courage to talk, instead of crying. The DM shared his name as that lady was unaware of the full name of the District Magistrate.

Post Read Questions for UPSC Ethics paper

Aspirants, as you must have noticed in all the previous caselets, I used to give Ethicist views too. Here I am restraining myself as this is the last case shared on the subject of Emotional Intelligence and I am expecting you to revise the previous articles on EI. Here are the three questions that you must try to answer.

1. If you were the DM, what would you have done to save the lady? What would have been the three action points from your side?

2. What are the important ethical indicators in the first paragraph that the author is trying to convey as an introduction to the case? Can you pick a few factors of EI from this case?

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(The writer is the author of ‘Being Good and Aaiye, Insaan Banaen’ and ‘Ethikos: Stories Searching Happiness’. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (Concepts and Caselets) fortnightly.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiNw5AVJubM?si=5i2Yw6Ob9J7JXgc-

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