Why study ‘corruption’ and ‘integrity?’

The anti-corruption arm of the Council of Europe, GRECO, opens its website – with the following statement:‘

The Fight against Corruption: a Priority for the Council of Europe’.

‘Ever since antiquity, corruption has been one of the most widespread and insidious of social evils. When it involves public officials and elected representatives, it is inimical to the administration of public affairs. Since the end of the 19th century, it has also been seen as a major threat in the private sphere, undermining the trust and confidence which are necessary for the maintenance and development of sustainable economic and social relations. It is estimated that hundreds of billions of Euros are paid in bribes every year.’

SAXION could not agree more.

At the same time we can read as judgment of Transparency International, the NGO fighting corruption, that “business executives in Europe are unfamiliar with the OECD-Convention against international bribery”.

While the Convention’s enforcement has been inconsistent across OECD countries, it remains a primary reference point for the fight against international bribery. It is therefore both a surprise and a concern for TI that three-quarters of senior business executives participating in the TI-2008 Bribe Payers Survey indicated that they were not at all familiar with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention – with the least familiarity of all indicated by respondents from Western Europe and the United States.

It was surprising that senior business executives from higher income countries were less familiar with the Convention than those from lower income countries: 79 percent as opposed to 68 percent respectively were ‘not at all familiar’ with the Convention. Furthermore, respondents from foreign-owned companies showed less knowledge than those from domestically-owned firms: 67 percent as opposed to 77 percent respectively were ‘not at all familiar’ with the Convention.

Given modern developments in the Netherlands and in Europe, it is desirable that also students of SAXION learn what is hidden by the words ‘corruption’ and ‘integrity’. They should learn to see what happens in our world of trade and industry and between companies and public officials. Once you know better what evil is corruption, you are better equipped to stand against it.

SAXION’s goal is that our alumni will in the future not belong to that ‘quarter of company officials surveyed across Europe’ that considers it acceptable to bribe clients to stay in business and beat the recession, as was the result of a poll, the  European Fraud Survey 2009 by Ernst & Young. The consultancy questioned 2,200 people in major companies in 22 European countries. Half of those surveyed thought one or more types of unethical business behavior was acceptable.