The scourge of corruption

Introduction

When man becomes engulfed in the darkness of greed and gluttony, forgets his true status while partaking in extravagant parties and outward glitter, uses illegal means to gratify his irrational desires, violates the rights of his environment and society, and engages in these behaviours, he is said to have fallen victim to human nature. He chooses the corrupt route to appease his ego when he wants to be better than others. In corruption, man transcends his station and engages in crimes such as theft, bribery, murder, robbery, and looting. He also violates the rights of others and abuses his power, mistaking his brief existence for a few days. The epidemic of corruption is destroying our generations one by one. 

The problem of corruption is global

This is a global problem. They would not have been mentioned in the UN Charter for Celebrating Different Days Around the World if it weren't for the global issue. Due to the value and significance of these days, all UN members are required to hold seminars and discussions in their home nations to raise public awareness of the relevant days, both official and unofficial.

Corruption robs the countries

A nation's corruption epidemic stops it from progressing and instead makes it worse. Financial or moral corruption. Both are terrible for any country. Moral corruption in the nation destroys its civilisation, while financial corruption destroys its economy. The nation's devoted citizenry have long sought to eliminate corruption in all of its forms. As a result, each country has its own anti-corruption institutions that aim to eradicate corruption while being impartial, responsible, and devoid of bias. Corruption undermines our belief that the government is acting in our best interests. We are also compelled to tolerate inadequate infrastructure or services or lose out totally since it wastes taxes or rates that were put aside for big community projects.

Corruption's easy target

Corruption strikes those who stray from the true purpose of life. This faulty road doesn't have a single focal point. They spread their nets out in circles, mirroring the size of the universe. Avarice, lust, greed, lies, cunning, deceit, and self-aggrandizement are all caught in the net of corruption. The vision is impaired. They only see their own caste.

 

Corruption's effects

Everyone is damaged by corruption. Corruption affects society in ways that go beyond the corrupt individuals, the innocent employees who are implicated, or the standing of the organisations they work for the Victorians ultimately pay the price.

Corruption's effects on organisations

Financial loss

Staff morale damage

Reputational damage to the organisation

Resources and attention taken away from serving the community and doing core business, and more oversight and regulation.

Corruption 's effects on individuals

The effects of corruption on an individual's relationships with family, friends, and coworkers may be impacted by disciplinary actions, loss of job and criminal charges.

Corruption's effects on the Community

Unused tax dollars

Goods and services are lost

Having less public trust disadvantages honest businesses that are unable to obtain government contracts.

Principal causes. of corruption

Corruption is committed for a variety of psychological factors, in addition to financial hardship and social survival. Once it gets addicted, it is difficult to stop, and the person starts engaging in needless corruption. In our society, crooked authorities prosper more quickly than honest people because they gain recognition in more influential circles. 

Corruption is caused by a variety of circumstances, such as:

1. The impediment of lawful work.

2. A shortage of resources.

3. A rise in spending. 

4. A lack of accountability, 

5. Unemployment, 

6. Inflation. 

7. Consumerism.  

8. Greed. 

9. Bribe

10. Nepotism

Types of Corruption

The most common and expensive kind of corruption is arguably bribery, which is why it is being linked to it more and more. Because of this, the majority of anti-corruption initiatives concentrate on checklists to stop active (providing) and, to a much lesser extent, passive (accepting) bribery.

In fact, there are numerous different sorts of corrupt behaviours, each of which falls under the traditional description of misusing resources for one's own advantage and necessitating a different approach to remedy.

These various forms of corruption have been categorised, distinguished, and grouped using a variety of methods in an effort to discover shared remedies.

1) FACT (corrupt practises by Favoritism, Authority, Competence and Tribute).

2) 4 P’s (Preference, Power, Privilege and Payment) (Preference, Power, Privilege and Payment).

3) MAPP (Money, Assets, People and Power).

Stats of Corruption

Index of Perceptions of Corruption

According to expert evaluations and opinion polls, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) assigns a ranking to nations based on "their perceived levels of public sector corruption."

According to the CPI, corruption is "the abuse of entrusted power for personal gain." Transparency International, a non-governmental organisation, has been releasing the index every year since 1995.

Based on the circumstances between 1 May 2020 and 30 April 2021, the 2021 CPI, which was published in January 2022, now scores 180 nations "on a scale from 100 (extremely clean) to 0 (very corrupt)".

In terms of international financial openness, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, and Sweden routinely rank high, whereas Syria and Somalia (both scoring low) are considered as the most obviously corrupt countries in the world.

Recommendations for eliminating corruption

Both society and business are negatively impacted by corruption, which presents significant threats to finances, operations, and reputation. Companies are acting to incorporate serious and efficient anti-corruption measures and policies inside their strategy and operations now more than ever. Here are a few recommendations for eliminating corruption.

Commit

Integrate anti-corruption practises into your business's operations and culture. Make it clear to your team members, clients, and vendors that your business has a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption.

Assess

Be aware of your hazards and take precautions. Recognize possibilities to expand your company through better compliance.

Define

Specify what your company's success looks like. Create objectives, plans, and policies, and gain support from colleagues by emphasising the significance of these policies in clear terms.

Implement

Integrate anti-corruption policies and programmes into every aspect of your business, including your value chain.

Measure

What is measured, is accomplished. Track and evaluate the results of your anti-corruption initiatives to determine what is effective and what still needs improvement.

Communicate 

Continually update stakeholders on your progress while aiming for ongoing improvement.

Conclusion

If the international community is equipped with knowledge of the effects of corruption and insights into the sources of context-specific values achieved through corruption, as well as insights into personal greed and the moral environment, the problem may be controlled and effective policy mechanisms may be developed. Effective reform is hampered by political corruption, a lack of state legitimacy, and fragile state institutions; as a result, effective solutions frequently involve international players. But political willlessness is an issue for all nations, not just emerging ones. The ability to control the most pervasive corruption depends on the willingness of governments in the most developed economies to join developing countries in anticorruption campaigns. International collaboration is driving anticorruption progress in all types of countries. Collaboration between researchers and policymakers is beneficial.