Abstract
This chapter describes, through a phenomenological analysis, the experiences of a group of 18 selected executives, advisors, and professionals from public organizations in Colombia, who have either participated in or observed corrupt practices up close. The purpose of this analysis is to design a diagnostic tool for identifying characteristics elements that serve as an indicator of corruption risks in public entities. To achieve this goal, in accordance with the phenomenological method, the interviewees were asked to narrate their experiences, which were reduced to eidetic categories using an inductive coding approach. Categories were then organized into a textural narration that exposed the noema. Finally, the results were interpreted by identifying 13 characteristic elements in 4 typical corrupt behaviors. From these, a Likert scale instrument was developed to diagnose symptoms of corruption to be applied in public entities as a complement to the traditional risk assessment systems within the audit and control processes.
TopThe Institutionalization Of Corruption
According to the collective corruption approach (Ashforth & Anand, 2003; Palmer, 2008), there are four-phase process through which corruption is institutionalized in an organization:
The Initial Decision or Act: top executives make irregular decisions and use organizational mechanisms to create an unethical environment that protects themselves from blame. They achieve it through the separation of information and processes into procedural subunits focused on goals, the use of general verbal orders instead of specific and written ones, and the use of their leadership ability to manipulate the obedience habit of lower-level employees.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Terms of reference: Refer to the characteristics and requirements requested by a government organization for the participation of a company in a bidding process or any other type of procurement process that involves objective contractor selection.
Rotation of employees: The process of dismissing and hiring workers in a government organization is distinguished from employee transfer in which they change functions in predetermined periods without being dismissed.
Legal form over economic substance: Cultural practice within an organization in which compliance with formal requirements (documents, declarations, signatures) takes priority over the economic facts being developed. It is a concept contrary to that preached in accounting as “substance over form.”
Unsuitable workers: Workers hired by government organizations who do not meet the education, experience, and overall capacity requirements to perform the assigned functions.
Irregular Public Procurement: Contracts entered by government organizations without an objective selection process that would allow the most appropriate contractor.
Overpricing: Acquisition of goods or services by public entities for a higher value than the market or reasonable value.