Examples when High Levels of Corruption Limit Investment and Growth and Lead to Ineffective Government - Essay Example

High levels of corruption limit investment and growth and lead to ineffective government. Discuss with reference to concrete examples To start with, corruption is one of the biggest ailments that a society could ever face. This step is carried out to get the needs fulfilled on the part of the people as and when they feel the need for the same. Corruption aims to cut through the normal set system and do something totally different. It aims to deprive the common man who is willing to go the normal route do something different in order to satisfy his need. Corruption is blatantly observed in politics and in some institutions; where a number of people make wrong use of power and authority and hence accept things which are normally not meant for them, whilst being in their respective capacities. They make use of the liberty provided by their job to do something totally uncalled for and unethical all said and done. Bribe is a reward promised or given to a person in order to corrupt his judgment or conduct. Bribery is the crime of offering, giving, or accepting a bribe. (Leiken, 1996) Public officials are sometimes bribed to grant favors or to permit the violation of law. Other persons who are sometimes offered bribes are voters, witnesses in courts, jury members, labor officials, employees and athletes. Thus corruption disrupts the normal flow of a society and does something totally immoral within the realms of a society, which is not only disturbing for the commoners but also leaves a bad mark on the social fabric. The reasons for corruption to increase are aplenty and the same have to be addressed in the proper light so as to make the ones who commit this heinous crime accountable for their actions in front of everyone and more than that, they are not allowed the liberty to take the general public for a ride since they seem to end up doing things which are completely uncalled for and unrelated with the capacity of their respective professions. (Kaufmann, 1997) The corruption stems out from a number of different facets, more so due to abysmal economic conditions. We can take the example of a police officer as to how he becomes corrupt and then gauge the essence of pressure which is thrust upon him from different fields of life. The profession of police has become somewhat very common with the terms that we know as corruption and bad practices. This is indeed a very negative thing that has happened to the law enforcement agencies and the reasons for the same are aplenty. The reason for the increasing corruption within the ranks of the police officers is manifolds and in order to understand the very same, we first need to identify what causes these corrupt practices to grow in the first place. (Coleman, 2004) A failure of provision of basic amenities in life for these police officials owes as the biggest causes that leads to corruption becoming rampant left, right and center. Add to that there is a general sense of disharmony amongst the public when it comes to the work of different police officers no matter how hard they try or how good they are towards the public dealings. They are always suspected for their acts which indeed form up as a problem issue for these officers who at the end of the day are also normal human beings. The lack of respect and dignity thus becomes an important point here under the discussion of corruption which is rampant within the police officers and certainly the whole of the police force is blamed for the same. A police officer does not necessarily need to be a corrupt one to start with. He is the person who demands respect for his actions and behaviors and to think of him doing one such thing that is nothing but derogatory is indeed insulting the whole profession and more than that the people attached with this sacred working regime. (Nevin, 2000) Another example is that of Enron where a large number of people lost their jobs as well as their retirement savings and not to forget the losses that were incurred on the part of the banks as well as investors claiming to be around billions of dollars in bad loans and investments. Apart from this more than ten investigations were carried out to discern the real issue, which led to the same so that every possible angle related with corruption, could be looked at. It is true that Enron is not the only company, which is against external audits. Recent surveys and sheer evidence from the US has proved that the pressure on companies can do much more harm than any good in this regard. Considering the same in the light of Enron, the gloss is pretty much fading away from the term associated with auditing and its like. One needs to comprehend the fact that external inspection could at times be a bit imperfect and flawed to say the least. Conceivably, for the same matter, the time has arrived to amend the article concerned with conviction and faith everywhere that the best way indeed is to pressurize performance from organizations is a team of outsiders who more or less come in from time to time so as to measure, judge, condemn as well as bring shame. (Wilentz, 2002) With the passage of time, all Enron can at this juncture in its history show is that some auditors were corrupt but one must not forget that there is also some new evidence that audits can harm and not improve the performance as such of the company. Different researches have proved that indeed audits do backfire in the longer time frame and they must be kept as far away as possible. The political tenet is a significant one when an individual talks about the corrupt practices rampant within any society. The basis for this evil is indeed very potent. The effects of this corruption which is manifolds in direction are such that people are made to suffer who do not adhere to the prevalent system. They have to adopt the system and the methodology of the working regime otherwise their works come to a halt. Their usual business becomes a problem for their own selves as well as their dependents. The third world corruption is indeed a stark reality when one speaks of the bare facts related with the Indian society and its malpractices. There are schemes which are made to extort money out of the general public and the harsh reality lies in the fact that the innocent commoners do not even get to know that they have been made fool out of their own skins. (Quah, 1999) They contribute in all forms towards these mass schemes which are nothing except sheer madness and insanity as one might put the same as. The international concerns related with the corrupt practices in one way or the other have stood up and questioned the intentions of the Indian government every now and then as to what basis there is when corruption remains a significant key in the whole related context of things and then one must understand that these practices are so much out of control that they are very difficult to administer in the first place let alone take complete care of. The role of the pressure groups could be sustained for a while but after this ‘high’ time these pressure groups leave, suggesting that they have done their bit and there is no hope whatsoever since the society is deeply involved in the malpractices which could hail from the small day to day dealings to major transactions happening on the national and international circuit. These include the drug trafficking which is happening right in front of the authorities without even their paying heed to the very same to the corruption in buying seats for the national and the provincial governments. Voters are bought as so are the leaders and hence there is a lot of give and take in the Indian society, not to forget the whole of the third world so to speak. It is a very common saying that leaders are mirrors of their own men and women and the same is so very right for the Indian populations where the leaders make fool out of ordinary people on a day to day basis and there is no asking them for their acts and deeds. There is so much cleverness and talent in these wicked ways that one can just fathom about their evil intentions and remain stunned for good. The British Call Centers face a lot of difficulties whilst dealing with the pressure groups which seem to emanate from every nook and corner of the country. There are some factions which are against the very presence of foreigners in their territory. Then there is a thinking mindset which goes against the British since they gained their freedom from them in the year 1947 and they, to date perceive all the British as their rulers by default. Thus the mindset in terms of this form of thinking needs to be changed in order to gain a solid ground as far as the Indian society and the relevant call center market is concerned. The aspects raised by the Transparency International in the wake of the Indian society are such that they speak highly of the culture of taking bribes for even the most legitimate of things which suggests that the culture is such that people do not perform their duties until and unless there is some cash on offer by the customer or the client which visits the offices. Similarly, the call center market within India is a booming industry and the working methodologies are very different from what is the normal working regime within the rest of India. (Rosenau, 2001) The corporate culture and the way of doing things in a new environment backed by the corporate structure brought together in essence by the British companies comes as somewhat of a surprise to all and sundry and thus these companies face pressure from the traditionalists who think that these invaders of their respective economy will eventually eat up the whole revenue and share that is present within the market and this is undoubtedly the case in the present scheme of things. The reason for the same is that the people are fed up of the bribe culture and the corrupt practices which have literally made them hostage for even the easiest of chores in their day to day lives and this without a shadow of a doubt is a bane for them. Transparency International has pointed at the accountability aspects that need to be invigorated within the Indian culture and thus has presented a number of options as to what the political leaders of the country can inculcate but this goes without much saying and advice on their part and the system fails to improve in all essence. There is a lot of shortcoming in the society and the Transparency International and other international regimes can do so much more only if there is someone to listen and actually implement what they have to say. The poor must not become easy preys for the system which is unfair by all measures and hence the whole culture has to change once and for all if good things have to make rounds within the Indian society and if it wants to have booming business within the lengths and breadths of the nation. Continuing with the same example, it is a pretty documented fact that the British law does not permit companies to offer or take bribes to anyone, be it in the form of different officials from their own government or the ones where their offshore offices are set up or to businessmen and women hailing from their own territorial regimes or from the outsourced workplaces. (Allan, 1994) This is one principle on which the edifice of the British legal structure is solidly built. The British make sure that there are no impediments in the wake of the same and they attempt their best to follow the rule book as much as they can. It is only when they leave their own country and break new grounds by entering new markets that they face a lot of tussle and problems. Their focus is on giving value for money to the people for which the business has expanded into their own countries as well as earn revenue in a fair and straight manner, where there are no glitches and hiccups as such. They follow the legal angles and thus one can be pretty sure of their policies and strategies which are always under the umbrella of legal structures. In the call center industry, almost everyone is familiar and comfortable with buying services from third-party suppliers-activities such as software development, credit-risk assessment and so on and so forth. The offshore movement of jobs has become an issue not only in travel but also in other industries. Two such nations which stand out in this scenario are India and the Philippines that appear to be the most popular locations for setting up call centers as these countries offer a pond of civilized, scholarly English-speaking personnel who will do the same amount of work as their American counterparts for much lesser money. Shifting jobs to lower-wage countries, a form of what is known as offshore outsourcing, is an increasingly popular practice among different countries’ businesses seeking to cut operating costs. There has been an ever-increasing argument over British companies whether they should outsource jobs or not. Delusions left, right and center have often polluted them. Add to that, there has been a clear indication attached to this notion, which the media every now and then tries its best to exploit. (Johnson, 1981) In a number of newspapers and magazines, the issue related with workplace bribes and corrupt practices amongst the top management and the workers has been highlighted every now and then. However, analysis of this issue needs a left to be desired of the same. People can have vastly different opinions about as to how these problems can be dealt with a stern hand, both in the light of morality as well as that of legislations as governed by the law of the place and that of the company itself. Similarly, these laws state the points related with giving and taking bribes and in British regimes, the same have been mentioned quite forthrightly. What this means is the fact that the British companies and organizations know what they want from their offshore agents and professionals and what they want from their future assignments. However, one needs to understand the fact here that large companies and conglomerates in the world of today require a lot of extra handling on the part of the people who are at the top positions, those who are assigned the responsibilities as managers and the ones who have specialized jobs. Thus it is not an easy job to handle and manage so many people, let alone their cultural and social differences and more than that their preferences and disliking for each other. At the end of the day, work has to reign supreme and those who do not fulfill this criteria are either fired for their shortcoming or are assigned some other project, task or job so that they understand their responsibility in a better and more exclusive manner. It is more customized to state as a matter of fact. Thus the legal implications of following the laws of Britain ensures that these companies remain steadfast in their approach and there are no problems for the companies when they enter new markets and maintain their respective standing within the new markets and business environments. The implications for the legal shortcomings make sure that these people follow the British policies and strategies in their day to day dealings as well as preach the same in the British call centers and companies which have entered in the Indian markets and other third world nations. It is a fact that the government would need kickbacks and bribes in order to turn the lawful rights of the British call centers into reality. There would be problems left, right and center for the British regime since the Indian companies who would be the competitors and the governmental departments will pose contrasting situations and awkward circumstances which would make the British call centers to think time and again of their move towards the Indian markets. All these steps would be discouraging to state the least but the best way to counter these is to create a wall which would remain resilient in the wake of adversity and there would be no looking back no matter how difficult the events turn out to be, at the end. There has to be a policy for countering these happenings and events and the British companies must make sure they do not offend anyone present within the government or within the competing organizations that are providing the same products and/or services at high costs to the Indian markets. The main benefit that the British call centers could provide is in terms of employment opportunities to the Indian people and thus gives them a ray of hope in their lives as well as provides different products and/or services at a cost effective and cheaper rate than is possible from the competing organizations and companies at exorbitant rates. The incentive has to be such that everyone gets attracted to the different policies of the British call centers which are being set up within the Indian markets and where the benefit is going to be two fold and in both directions, for the company itself in terms of its revenues and profit margins and for the people of India since it would provide them opportunities to understand their own selves in a better manner and give them an international taste of conducting business. Plus there is the aspect of getting to know what is happening on the global level and hence there is a lot of room for improvement having said all this. The aspect of cheap labor is such that can be talked about at detail here. The British call centers and related companies usually abstain from hiring young ones since they believe it is against the universal law and hence one must understand the same in the related contexts which if seen in a broader setting is pretty true. The child labor topic is one that can be discussed at length here since India usually employs a number of children when it comes to different companies and organizations and since British companies and call centers need to make their mark in a better manner, there is a dire need to keep away the young ones from the office regime of the British call centers and companies. This is indeed a positive step since it would ask of other national and regional companies within the Indian business to understand their policies and strategies in a better and more effective manner. Since there is an absolute no-no policy for taking and giving kickbacks in the wake of the British call centers and companies, there will be opposition to their policies and strategies which are adopted as such. There would be problems in getting even the lawful rights and there would emerge certain lobbies which would be against the very presence of these British companies when it comes to their operations within the Indian society and the business market so to speak. British companies would love to exploit the essence of having cheap labor since this is a major plus for these British companies and call centers which they can get when they enter the third world nations and more specifically the Indian business markets. Cheap labor might just give a number of incentives and instant rewards for these British companies but they would not be able to sustain the very same for a long period of time and pretty soon they would be back at implementing the basics. They would have to give kickbacks and bribes to the government and the different pressure groups which seem to emanate every now and then from different segments of the society. This is absolutely against the legal framework of the British companies and the call centers but one can see that within the Indian markets the same would be very pivotal in order to make people realize that their business could flourish if the lobbying for their survival is indeed strong and there are no problems for people attached with the business of the British call centers and the companies in a direct manner and even in an indirect capacity. The problems are many and there have to be policies which need to be drafted, approved and implemented by these British call centers and companies within a short period of time so that their operations do not come to a halt all of a sudden and that the different publics within the Indian business regimes remain happy and contented with what the British call centers have to offer to them, no matter in whatever capacity the same offering is. The British call centers and companies need to understand for their own selves what holds more priority for them in this business shift towards the Indian markets and what is of absolutely no use since it has to keep up with the different regimes present in the government and the resourceful businessmen and women present in the different strata of the Indian society, who can literally make or break different policies and strategies from coming in action or getting disapproved right at the very starting. The need of the hour is to realize what would be the relevant course of action and more important is the fact as to how to go about doing things in an intelligent manner and not exactly the most lawful and righteous of ways. Government’s policies should be such that they should benefit the people who are at the top and thus help them reach new milestones and are at a loss to benefit any poor member of the society. (Klitgaard, 1998) The government does not pay heed to the common man rather drafts policies which are more suited to the needs and whims of the big fish and the result is in the form of corruption left, right and center. This enables them to run in a smooth manner as well as fill their own pockets from time to time. The common man becomes much poorer after these policies are set into execution. All said and done, it is the duty of the government to curb corrupt practices and activities and the common man and woman on the street also needs to realize his or her role within the proper contexts, whilst being a part of the society. Bibliography ALLAN, T.R.S. (1994). Law, Liberty, and Justice: The Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism. Oxford University COLEMAN, Stephen. (2004). When Police Should Say "No!" to Gratuities. Criminal Justice Ethics, Vol. 23 JOHNSON, Paul. (1981). Unions, Pensions, and Financial Responsibility: The British Experience. Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 2 KAUFMANN, Daniel. (1997). Corruption: The Facts. Foreign Policy KLITGAARD, Robert. (1998). Combating Corruption. UN Chronicle, Vol. 35 LEIKEN, Robert S. (1996). Controlling the Global Corruption Epidemic. Foreign Policy NEVIN, Tom. (2000). Corruption. African Business QUAH, Jon. (1999). Corruption in Asian Countries: Can It Be Minimized. Public Administration Review, Vol. 59 ROSENAU, James. (2001). Transparency International and Corruption as an Issue of Global Governance. Global Governance, Vol. 7 WILENTZ, Sean. (2002). A Scandal for Our Time: Republicans Ruled; Ergo, Enron. The American Prospect, Vol. 13, 25 February Word Count: 3,838 Read More