Business Rationale for Fighting Corruption
By Russ Warner, VP Marketing –
Customers are more likely to do business with reputable companies.
While we know it takes a significant effort by individuals, it has been said that raising a child takes a community. The principle is that both individuals and groups are needed to challenge certain difficult tasks.
Fighting corruption takes efforts by individuals and groups, and this arduous task sits with most organizations today.
Why should your organization engage in fighting corruption? Why take time to build a culture of honesty and ethics? Why should you implement policies and procedures to eliminate fraud, theft, and related crimes?
Benefits for Fighting Corruption
Organizations who engage in fighting corruption can obtain various benefits. First, there is the reduction in expenses by reducing fraud, theft, or related crimes and the associated cost of product or monetary loss, as well as employee termination and replacement.
Second, organizations can qualify to receive lower legal sanctions in the U.S., Italy, and other jurisdictions.
Third, the effects of negative press, lowered morale, lowered productivity, and other related issues can greatly impact an organization.
And most importantly, if you take time to recruit and retain principled people, then customers, investors, and other organizations that have integrity, principles, and ethics will be motivated to more into your organization. At the same time, you’ll attract employees with integrity and ethics, which will improve company performance and employee morale. And, customers and clients that are concerned with ethics will make you their company of choice.
In short, you can attract quality and trustworthy investors, employees, and consumers, all by combatting corruption in your organization.
Free Your Business to Prosper
Organizations that work together will reap rewards as well as a few other benefits. If many fight corruption and retain an ethically oriented organization, then the playing field is leveled and there will be no more “prisoner’s dilemma” with business.
Furthermore, cooperation can lead to increase trust from the public and increased influence over regulations and laws in the future as a result.
The risk of taking no action is high by contrast. Not only will your organization have to continue to support the costs mentioned previously, but also entire organizations can go down with criminal prosecution, resulting in business devastation and imprisonment for those involved.
Your organization’s reputation and product or services are spoiled by association, leaving you excluded from bidding processes, financial institutions, credit agencies, and more. Censures and fines may result.
And, it can be difficult to find quality employees, and as with casino risk, you will not have legal remedies to protect you when others do not deliver as they agreed to.
When organizations fail to take action, corruption can rise from a local to a national to a global level. Markets are potentially distorted and opportunities are spoiled. And has been seen in recent times, new laws and regulations are enacted at the expense of all organizations to protect the minority who are involved.
What Can You Do?
The benefits of fighting corruption far outweigh the costs. Some organizations use periodic employee screening as well as pre-employment screening.
All organizations can benefit from lie detection technology such as EyeDetect™ to discover corruption and put an end to it before it starts (or continues). EyeDetect is a nonintrusive and ethical means of deception detection, which makes it a choice tool.
