6.2 Broad coalitions
As is the case with any endeavor to bring about constructive social change, joint effort undertaken in concert stands a greater chance of succeeding than does single-handed action. In the confrontation with corruption the situation is comparable to the “prisoners' dilemma”, i.e. cooperating in good faith is more likely to produce results than a lone wolf effort.
If whole sectors, or at least the market leaders in a sector, were prepared to renounce corruption in any form as a marketing instrument, the pledging companies would strengthen their own security. More, the show of solidarity would be more effective than solo efforts in reaching the goal envisaged.
Disinterested outside institutions, first and foremost Transparency International, (39) could not only help to initiate and co-ordinate; through their published reports they would also have the means of arousing public opinion and with it the political pressure needed to combat and at least reduce corruption.
6.3 Corporate ethics
The long history of corruption and the fact that even making it a capital offense in some countries has not resulted in its elimination show that stricter laws, stepped-up institutional controls and an improved political framework do not of themselves suffice to master the problem. And as for moral outcries against corruption, these amount to no more than idealistic quixotry. What is needed for a solution with teeth in it is a unified exertion on all fronts – including the business front.
To put it in clear text: in the end companies are not going to be able to shirk doing their bit in the fight against corruption. True, during the past thirty-odd years it has spread like a malignant tumor, so that in many countries today it is almost impossible to do business without greasing palms. It is also true that sometimes a virtual state of blackmail exists that one must go along with in self-defense in order to stay in business. All this notwithstanding, it is neither seemly nor ethically acceptable simply to call attention to the problem and give voice to one's disquiet while shifting the responsibility for doing something about it onto others.
If one does not want to look on passively while morals collapse, and implicate oneself by doing nothing, then one must take an opposing stand. A suitable way to start opposing would be to protect from temptation employees whose work might bring them into the danger zone of active or passive corruption. Prevention begins where the problem can and does arise, namely with human beings. Proceeding from there, the Working Group for Security in Industry and Commerce (Germany) has drawn up Ten Rules:(40)
1.Set a good example. Avoid anything that could lead your employees to conclude that corrupt practices – even including active ones-might find favour or be tolerated in your company.
2.Secure a written commitment from your employees to abide by guidelines expressly forbidding active and passive corruption. Make it clear to them that infractions will have actionable consequences.
3.Let it be explicitly known whether and to what upper limits presents, invitations and other favours may be accepted.
4.Require full disclosure from employees in strategic positions of their financial or other connections to suppliers and customers.
5.Hold training courses for employees on the dangers of corruption and how to recognize them.
6.Appoint a contact person in your company to whom employees can turn for binding advice on what criminal law and the company's own prohibitions entail.
7.Appoint one or more persons in your company to whom observations relating to corruption can be reported direct. Make it clear that this will have no negative consequences for the reporting employee.
8.To the extent feasible, institute the “four eyes principle”(41) and, insofar as necessary, job rotation. Require detailed records of all operations.
9.Inform business partners of the regulations in force in your company. Ask them to establish corresponding safeguards.
10.Reinforce internal controls by upgrading the auditing job's professionalism and prestige and expanding the scope of its authority. In case of doubt bring in outside examiners or experts. Report violations of the law to the police and see to it that legal proceedings are instituted.
As a minimal strategy Moody-Stuart recommends, among other things, that companies which do business in developing countries and are approached by top officials for “commissions” refrain from taking part in sales transactions or projects that in the company's judgment are disadvantageous for the buyer or interested authority, respectively. Further, no compromising of the company's standards should be entertained, even when the customer appears to be “magnanimous”. (42)
Every positive social change has to be set in motion by someone somewhere. Through a strict corporate policy every company, and through the exercise of responsible judgment every individual, has leave to practice conduct unsmirched by corruption. This means not only refusing to cave in beforehand but also standing one's ground when the pressure is turned on. The morality of such a stance is beyond doubt: corruption is bad for the people involved, for the company involved, and for the society it impacts upon.
Here as anywhere else, of course, there is no free lunch. Repudiating corruption can prove costly. If a company not only makes up its mind not to grease anyone's palm under any circumstances but to forswear corruption as an access route to the market, no matter how persistently pressed from whatever quarter, it is certain to lose market share in some countries. In a global market this can be painful, and especially so if the countries in question are very affluent markets or very profitable niche markets and competitors are without scruples.
For the moment all one would have to offset the tangible operating loss is the idealistic satisfaction of having remained true to one's standards and the hope of a political change for the better. Individual corporate action can alter a corrupt climate only marginally at the most. There is also the hope that in time the word about the correct stand the company has taken will get around, making it immune to undue expectations and coercion. In the longer term there is the further hope that when the social “cleansing” comes to pass people will remember those who refrained from joining in the merry cosi fan tutte roundelay. At the same time, though, it would be unrealistic to expect that every “new broom” government swept into office on a platform of virtuousness will in the event turn out to be so much better than the ancient régime it castigated and replaced.
Short-term, the repudiation of corruption in very many cases has to be juxtaposed against the appreciable price of abridged entrepreneurial success. This fact in no way detracts from the ethical argument for proscribing corruption unreservedly – but it does lessen the probability that the precepts constituting the argument will be honored in practice.
Over against the costs are the returns, admittedly much less readily quantifiable. To its own employees and its social environment the company presents a credible demonstration of its creed: this company does not just talk about values – it lives up to them. The positive example set by an internationally reputable company and made plain for all to see can encourage others to go and do likewise, thus getting a positive, cumulative upward trend off the ground.