Go Clean and Eliminate Corruption in Your Organization
By Russ Warner, VP Marketing –
Businesses that pro-actively implement an anti-corruption program are more likely to preserve a culture of honesty and integrity.
Organizations depend largely on honesty and integrity to keep themselves afloat. Honest business dealings allow organizations to create relationships of trust with customers and business partners and to engender profitability.
As such, organizations that implement policies to keep themselves “clean” will be at an advantage. This involves fighting corruption in the business and striving to maintain a clean record.
Corruption in Business
Lamentably, statistics show that businesses are full of corruption. According to the World Bank, corruption is “the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development around the world. It distorts markets, stifles economic growth, debases democracy and undermines the rule of law” (International Chamber of Commerce et al.).
Corruption accounts for 10% of global business costs, 25% of procurement contract costs for developing countries, and 5% of global GDP — including more than $1 trillion USD in annual bribes (International Chamber of Commerce et al.). Also of note is that when business is transacted between a low corruption nation to a medium or high corruption nation, it costs 20% in foreign business taxes.
Organizations can rise to the occasion by putting a stop to corruption. Many organizations are unaware of the cost of corruption and bribery, and internal investigations could prove to be worthwhile. In addition, by working with other companies to sure best practices, together you can more effectively combat the cost of corruption.
Implement an Anti-corruption Program
To fight corruption in your organization, start by implementing a specific anti-corruption program in which employees and contractors are aware of the signs of illicit behavior and activities. For example, a company policy should outline exactly how it will handle issues of extortion, money laundering, fraud, conflicts of interest, gifts and charitable contributions, and the like.
Other policies could include creating procedures for training, sanctions, risk assessment, reviewing, and reporting internal and external affairs to keep everyone within and without the business well informed about what the business is doing.
Additionally, an effective anti-corruption program should include interaction with other companies and programs to share ideas and experiences.
EyeDetect™ is the latest lie detection tool your organization can use as a part of its anti-corruption program. This unique device analyzes an individual’s eye behavior while siting at a computer, responding to true or false questions.
Completely unbiased and mathematical in its assessment of deception, it has been extensively tested and found to be 85% accurate on average in determination of deceptive persons. You can use EyeDetect to supplement your anti-corruption program to keep your business clean.
Note: Suggestions for anti-corruption programs come from this pamphlet source.
