Australia has slipped to being the 13th least corrupt country according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, down six places since 2012.
Whilst much of the perception probably arises from community concerns about public entities, the various political and institutional inquiries and allegations, is it reasonable to assume that there is increasing corruption in the private and commercial sector as well?
We don’t know exactly the answer to that, however I believe the conditions are ripe for that to be the case.
With the economy changing rapidly, with increasing volatility and uncertainty, there are many temptations to breach core values for short term advantage, whether individual or corporate.
Nepotism, for instance, may be seen as looking after your mates and family, but it is essentially corruption.
Discrimination against an applicant for reasons of age, cultural background, for instance previous employment in the military, is also corruption.
Bullying and disrespectful behaviour is corruption.
Any breach of values, not just relating to personal or corporate gain is essentially corruption.
Authentic shared values are the rules by which we choose our vision and missions, thoughts, words and behaviours or actions, how we treat each other, all our stakeholders and community.
Their breach is corruption.
We lead and influence others by adherence to our values.
That is how we lead and how we prevent corruption.
What’s your position on this topic?
