A smart city project is underway, and you have been appointed Head of Procurement. Before this assignment, you held a similar role in a major public sector undertaking (PSU), where you earned a reputation for your tender drafting and vendor management skills. Given the smart city project's scale and gigantic procurement requirements, you sensed the perfect fit for the position. A month ago, your section invited tenders for building supplies. Among the applicants was Mr. Sharma a supplier you knew from your previous role at the PSU. Mr. Sharma lived in your neighbourhood, and your spouses were friends. Despite this personal connection, you have always maintained strict professional boundaries. Upon scrutinizing all the tenders, your section found Mr. Sharma's terms the most competitive, so the tender was awarded to him. However, once the decision was made public, another vendor, Mr. Patel, accused you of colluding with Mr. Sharma due to your previous relationship. Mr. Patel filed a formal complaint with the Department Seniors, providing evidence of your prior association with Mr. Sharma. As a result, an enquiry was instituted, and you were placed on compulsory leave pending its outcome. This situation left you questioning where you might have gone wrong despite your efforts to maintain professionalism. 1. Do you think the above case involves a conflict of interest or mere issues? Explain 2. Keeping the above case in perspective, discuss the relevance of impartiality and non-partisanship as professional values 3. In hindsight, how do you think you could have avoided the above unpleasant situation. (250 words, 20 marks)
Main Body
The case study revolves around the possible conflict of interest. The case study shows the possible nexus in the bureaucracy and contractors undermining civil service values.
i) Friendship amongst the spouses may influence the decisions taken imperially.
ii) Strict professional boundaries may be followed but personal relations may influence the decision.
iii) The procedure of selection of tender should have been more transparent.
However, there are more issues that might be involved:
i) Accusation of collusion despite no evidence
ii) Hindrances in performance of duty of civil servant.
iii) Delay in projects due to false accusation ultimately affecting the people.
iv) Possible selfish aim of Mr. Patel to gain tender.
v) Restrict the civil servant to decide the cases on merit.
i) Maintains the professionalism at workplace.
ii) Ensure high quality delivery of services.
iii) Values of honesty and integrity ensued.
iv) Helps maintain the right character.
v) Corruption or greed are not the motivating factor.
vi) Level playing field for all ensured.
viii) Impartiality one of the important value of civil servant.
Aditya Agarwal
Ethics
Conflict of Interest
Professional ethics and conflict of interest in procurement
191
Total words
18
Paragraphs
formal case study presentation
Tone