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Benefits
Whereas the requirements for acceding to the Convention
On Business Integrity are detailed and stringent,
the benefits may also not be so obvious at first.
However, there are several advantages, ranging from
those that could profit individual signatories as
well as the national economy as a whole. Some of these
are listed below.
- Enhancing company reputation
- Less Uncertainty and
Risks
- Minimizing risk of criminal
and civil sanctions
- Heightening Employee
awareness of Corporate policy
- Protection of shareholders
Assets
- Enhancing
company reputation - The public
reputation of a company is obviously a very precious
commodity to it if only to go by the volume and
quantity of advertising that many firms undertake
to boost their image. A company suffers severe damage
to its reputation by being associated with corrupt
practices in the public mind. Subscribing to the
Convention On Business Integrity not only gives
the positive image but also helps organisations
to put checks in place to control errant employees
or undertake needed reform of defective internal
procedures. Conversely, a company or organisation
can suffer damage to its reputation by being associated
with corrupt practices in the public mind.
- Less
Uncertainty and Risks - The
impact of corruption on the environment in which
the private sector must operate is manifold. First
and foremost, it introduces uncertainty on issue
such as whether or not contracts will be honored,
if impartial and competent adjudicators can resolve
disputes, if future decisions can be predicted with
requisite certainty. Where corruption introduces
uncertainty, it also increases risk. Furthermore,
corrupt relationships operate to keep newcomers
out of the game, thereby inhibiting the growth of
the private sector itself.
- Minimizing
risk of criminal and civil sanctions
- The risk is real because where companies practice,
condone or turn a blind eye to corrupt practices,
they may find that they become entangled in infractions
of the law and the possibility of criminal action
being taken against them or their managers. For
instance, a company that has not geared its corporate
practices to fighting corruption may find that one
of its employees has run foul of the law by receiving
or giving bribe .Apart from the resulting poor publicity
and the loss of business, the company risks other
sanctions including prosecution or being blacklisted
by industry regulators.
- Heightening
Employee awareness of Corporate policy
- In organisations where the management are opposed
to engaging in corrupt practices, it is useful for
them to subscribe to a voluntary code of conduct
like the Convention On Business Integrity Apart
from preventing the embarrassment that may arise
from the behavior of an errant employee, subscription
to the convention is a means of heightening employee
awareness of corporate policy. In addition to providing
a framework in which the employee can situate his
actions, it also amounts to giving training to company
managers and staff in business ethics. It saves
the firm the costs of having to develop separate
codes of conduct for its employees especially as
there is a need for some broad consensus on which
actions are permissible and those that should be
avoided.
- Protection
of shareholders Assets - It
goes without saying that one of the key duties of
management of a company is the protection of shareholder
assets. Since corruption can erode such asset base
through payment of bribes, uncompetitive tendering
for supplies or outright fraud, it is of interest
to a firm for there to be internal controls as well
as external constraints on corruption. It helps
to establish procedures that discourage corruption
in-house and payment of graft to other entities
and thereby contribute to protecting shareholders
assets.
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