Course Overview:

Corruption is an illegal and dishonest way in which people in positions of power and authority engage in unethical and illegal activities for personal gain. This leads to them taking undue advantage of others and to increase in their ability to influence or cause harm to those not adhering to their requests.

Bribery is a common means of corruption, which includes receiving or giving gifts in exchange for personal favours out of the boundaries and limits defined for a job role. Corruption is rampant in all sectors and causes major disturbance, injustice and harm to citizens and employees across these sectors.

Corruption in the government deprives worthy citizens of certain opportunities they deserve, while corruption in the workplace impacts many employees and the progress of the business. Undeserved promotion is a common example of favoured progress, which in turn negatively affects the career progression and development of those employees who deserve a promotion purely because of exceptional performance and sheer hard work.

Corruption in the workplace has become a hindrance to the quality and efficiency of service delivery by organisations. In short, corruption has a negative impact on the performance of employees and eventually the profit of the organisation. Corruption at the senior levels of management of an organisation has a direct impact on the progress of the organisation and results in huge losses.

Forgery of signatures and stamps at this level becomes very easy because of the authority and responsibility that rests with people at these levels. Given the major setbacks corruption can cause to a business, it is very important for organisations to have regular and defined systems, processes and checks in place to minimise its effect.

Digitisation is a very critical aspect that can help combat corruption as it reduces manual intervention and interfaces with sensitive data and information, thus reducing the chances of critical data being tampered with. Further, digital systems also offer additional security features that not only prevent corruption but also help organisations identify attempts made by employees to tamper with critical information and systems.

Outsourcing important functions of the business to neutral parties who would have no benefits tied to the information or function they handle could be another way to prevent corruption. Besides these, regular audits and checks as well as strict and evident disciplinary actions for such cases help set a good example and discourage employees from indulging in fraudulent activities.

This Zoe training course (Corruption in the Workplace) will empower you with a clear and in-depth understanding of all aspects of corruption in the workplace. It will prepare you for all possible instances and opportunities that could bring you face-to-face with corrupt individuals and practices and will provide you with the necessary knowledge, awareness and confidence to deal with such situations.

Further, by undertaking this Corruption in the Workplace course, you will not only be able to confidently and successfully manage instances of corruption but will have the necessary information, awareness and capability to predict or foresee corruption and take necessary steps to prevent it.

The knowledge gained through this Corruption in the Workplace course will increase your skills and ability to partake in implementing certain activities and initiatives within your organisation that will help keep a close watch on employees to ensure that there are no corrupt practices followed.

This Corruption in the Workplace course will also broaden your perspective to devise modern ways and systems and to implement these in your organisation, thus helping you demonstrate your talent and potential to invite future opportunities for career growth and progression.

Course Objectives

The main objective of this course is to empower working professionals with—

• complete knowledge and information related to corruption and corrupt practices in the workplace
• the necessary awareness to predict corruption and put in place necessary steps to prevent the occurrence
• the required skill and confidence to play an important role in implementing systems, processes and other steps to keep a regular check on business operations and employee behaviour
• the required skill and capabilities to devise modern means to combat corruption in the workplace
• the awareness to consciously or sub-consciously not indulge in corrupt practices during business operations
• additional skills, knowledge, confidence and exposure to play critical roles in combating corruption in the workplace, thus demonstrating one’s abilities to undertake higher roles and responsibilities fostering growth and development

Training Methodology

Zoe Talent Solutions offers customisation of all its training courses as per the training audience. The trainer delivers expert opinion and relevant information through detailed and simple-yet-attractive presentations and lectures. The trainer is most welcome to questions raised by the audience and patiently resolves these in the context of the information presented.

To foster two-way participation, the trainer indulges the audience in group activities and competitions, small group presentations, debates, speeches, etc. Case studies and role-plays enrich the learning experience. The trainer also encourages experiential learning by allowing trainees to share their real-life experiences and the steps they undertook to deal with corruption.

Like other Zoe Talent Solutions courses, this course too follows the Do–Review–Learn–Apply Model.

Organisational Benefits

With professionals attending this course, their organisations will benefit in the following ways:

• Trained and experienced employees aware of corruption and means to deal with corruption in the workplace & to maintain a healthy workplace environment
• Reduced or no corruption as a result of alert and informed employees keeping a check on minutest details and processes
• Modern systems and processes as well as regular internal checks to prevent corruption
• Reduced costs for fighting corruption because of employees including regular checks and audits as part of their daily routine
• Greater credibility for investors because of reduced risks of corruption
• Economic growth and growth in the organisation’s talent pool as a result of all ethical practices and processes and rightful promotions being undertaken within the organisation
• Good employer branding and greater employee retention because of lack of corrupt practices and credible and deserved opportunities to employees

Personal Benefits

Professionals undertaking this Corruption in the Workplace course will benefit in the following ways:

• Increased knowledge and understanding of corruption in your workplace
• Greater experience and confidence to efficiently handle instances of corruption within your organisation
• Increased awareness, exposure and talent to predict instances of corruption and to devise preventive steps against it
• Increased knowledge and information to implement modern means of preventing corruption in one’s organisation
• Better career prospects as a result of rightful and deserved promotions based on performance and hard work
• Faster economic growth and development of one’s organisation as a result of no corruption
• Increased skill and capabilities to undertake additional roles and responsibilities within one’s organisation, thus fostering faster career growth and progression

Who Should Attend?

• Senior management, board members and directors responsible for economic growth and development within the organisation
• Investors and shareholders who would be interested in knowing the credibility of a firm before investing in it
• Financial officers responsible for keeping a check on the financial assets of an organisation and advising the organisation regarding its assets and spending
• Policymakers responsible for framing policies that set standards of work practices as well as disciplinary policies in the event of corruption
• Mid-level managers and human resource professionals responsible for driving a culture of values and ethical practices
• All other working professionals who need to thoroughly understand corruption and means to handle corruption

Course Outline

The course will cover the following areas important for understanding and managing corruption:

Module 1 – Scales of Corruption

• Petty corruption
• Grand corruption
• Systemic corruption

Module 2 – Sectors of Corruption

• Political corruption
• Police corruption
• Judicial corruption
• Corruption in educational institutions
• Corruption within labour unions
• Corruption in religion
• Corruption in philosophy
• Corporate corruption

Module 3 – Different Types of Corruption in the Workplace

• Manager to manager corruption
• Manager to supplier corruption
• Mid-level manager to junior staff corruption
• Junior staff to junior staff corruption
• Junior staff to subordinate corruption

Module 4 – Methods of Corruption

• Payoffs and bribes
• Grafts and embezzlement
• Blackmail and extortion
• Favouritism/nepotism
• Influence peddling
• Networking
• Abuse of discretion

Module 5 – Forms/Types of Bribery

• Bribery and kickbacks
• Bribery to a public official
• Bribery to a foreign official
• Bribery to a witness
• Banking bribes
• Sporting bribes

Module 6 – Ways to Deal with Bribery

• Assess the situation
• Maintain presence of mind
• Notify supervisor immediately
• Do not promise
• Make necessary documentation
• Monitor third-party agents

Module 7 – Causes of Corruption

• Personal greed
• Lack of ethical sensitivity
• Low awareness
• Lack of ethical cultural environment
• Lack of courage and transparency
• Inefficient controls
• Slow judicial processes
• Ignoring corruption charges
• High market and political monopolisation
• High levels of bureaucracy
• Low levels of democracy

Module 8 – Effect of Corruption on Business

• Inefficiency
• Loss of resources
• Weakened development (lesser investments)
• Increased crimes
• Financial losses
• Damaged business image

Module 9 – Ways to Stop Corruption

• Clear protocols
• Open communication
• Oversight for financial transactions
• Review systems
• Robust ethics/governance
• Stringent action