Communication, Ethics, and Professional Conduct: Clarity and Integrity
Communication
Know the communication process: sender, encoding, channel, message, decoding, receiver, feedback, and noise. Review formal vs. informal channels, downward, upward, and lateral communication, and barriers (semantic, psychological, organizational). Understand active listening, assertiveness, and audience analysis. In public service, written communication must be clear, concise, courteous, and correct.
Ethics and Conduct
Review RA 6713 (norms of conduct: commitment to public interest, professionalism, justness and sincerity, political neutrality, responsiveness, nationalism, and commitment to democracy; plus the eight norms and prohibited acts). Know conflict of interest, gift-giving rules, confidentiality, whistleblowing, and ethical decision frameworks (utilitarian, deontological, virtue ethics). Understand accountability, transparency, and due process in administrative discipline.
Traps
Questions confuse legal with ethical (not all unethical acts are illegal). They also misstate gift thresholds or treat courtesy as optional. Watch for options that rationalize a conflict of interest as harmless.
Rule of Thumb
Apply the public-interest test: Would a reasonable citizen, fully informed, see this action as serving the public good? If not, avoid it.
Worked example: A procurement officer accepts a gift from a bidder. Even if small, it creates a conflict of interest and violates RA 6713 norms.