Dealing with corruption: A guide for business managers

Business corruption, sometimes linked to political corruption, is unfortunately a widespread phenomenon. Bribery and extortion, in their various forms, are common modes of corruption, whose morality is studied in detail, but they are not the only ones. Corruption is also associated with public procurement corruption, embezzlement, influence peddling, and malfeasance. Committing fraud and embezzlement, falsifying documents, evading taxes, acting through favoritism or nepotism, and trafficking in privileged information are also behaviors that can be classified as forms of corruption. Corrupt activities may provide short-term economic advantages for the company, but they are always detrimental to the integrity of individuals and, sooner or later, also harm the company. Various international organizations strive to combat corruption, which causes so much harm to the common good of society. Companies, in turn, have an essential role in the fight against corruption, which can be realized through a set of practices and attitudes.