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In simple terms, we can say that the personal qualities of civil servants (like those of others) consist of personality, character and intellectual abilities. There is in recent times a growing emphasis on the ethical qualities needed in civil servants. The following reasons explain this trend:
• Strong revival of virtue ethics and their application to public administration
• Unpopularity of earlierpositivist and value-neutral approach to public administration
• Scandals in corporate and government entities such as Watergate in USA, Clinton’s dalliance with a female intern in White House, scandals in Enron and WorldCom, and 2G and coal block allocations.