Topic: Case study – Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
7. You are the Head of a film production company, which has not been doing well financially for some time. Your company is now relying on its forthcoming movie, which is about to be released shortly. The movie has a cast of reliable actors and even before its release; trade pundits have predicted that the movie will be a hit. However, you face a conundrum as one of the actors in the movie is a citizen of a neighboring country with which relations have been disturbed and a war like situation exists. While the political atmosphere was different when the movie was being filmed, now there is a widespread public demand, with a local political party at the forefront, for replacing the actor from the movie or a ban on the release of the movie itself, if the actor is not replaced. While you are aware of the mood of the nation and the public repercussions of releasing the movie in its present form, you also know that it is not feasible to replace him at this stage as he has a substantial role in the movie. There is also a section in the film fraternity that does not want you to compromise in the wake of threat by the local party as it compromises freedom of speech and expression as well as artistic creativity.
What are the options available to you? Evaluate each of the options and state their merits and demerits. What course of action would you take and why?. (250 words)
Reference: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude
Why the question:
The question is a case study based on the theme of ethics across borders.
Key Demand of the question:
Analyse the case at hand, discuss the nuances in detail and address the demands of the question that follows.
Directive:
Evaluate – When you are asked to evaluate, you have to pass a sound judgement about the truth of the given statement in the question or the topic based on evidences. You have to appraise the worth of the statement in question. There is scope for forming a personal opinion here.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with identification of the stakeholders involved and the ethical concerns/issues underlying.
Body:
State the options available to you as a head of the company.
Evaluate the merits and demerits of the available options.
State your course of action, with reasons.
Conclusion:
It is important to take a stand as art transcends national boundaries and hiring actors who belong to other countries is not a yardstick for measuring patriotism and nationalism. Moreover such actions at home may also adversely affect Indian artists working in the neighboring country.
