Teamwork. It can really lift the performance of an organisation. But what happens when employees use teamwork to act against an employer or other employees who refuse to engage in corrupt conduct?
When employees start using their alliances and networks for corrupt activities, we have seen the concept of teamwork sour – and organisations can suffer huge financial losses when this behaviour goes unnoticed or unchecked.
How alliances and networks are used
Corruption can range from minor things like using a company credit card to buying a small personal item, to major fraud involving millions of dollars. Because it is difficult to define, it is also difficult to detect. And when employees form alliances and networks, they can work together to both facilitate the corrupt acts and also cover up the corrupt activities of a group.
The group gains its strength from ensuring that no one speaks out about its activities. There are many ways that this can happen and some include:
- Promotion: If a corrupt employee is promoted, the promotion brings the opportunity to further extend the employee’s network of friends. This means more people to assist with the perpetration of corruption. The promotion of a corrupt employee also means that corrupt activities become an accepted part of the organisation’s culture – the worse the person’s behaviour, the more they are rewarded.
- Jobs for mates: There is also the ‘jobs for mates’ concept. To protect a corrupt activity from being detected, a group of employees may put pressure on management to appoint a friend into the role. Or a corrupt manager may ensure that only friends are appointed, in order to assist with the corrupt activity. The effect can be that people are appointed to roles for which they are not qualified.
- Greater scope in roles: Sometimes in the public sector, the scope of a role may be increased. For example, an assistant commissioner role might turn into a deputy commissioner role. On paper, the role has expanded to include new tasks befitting a deputy commissioner. But in reality, the job has stayed the same. The upshot is that the employee is performing the same job with better pay and more seniority.
- Acting positions: The same is true of an acting position. For example, if someone is appointed as an acting deputy commissioner, there is no requirement for transparency. It is an acting role so there is no need to advertise. In some cases, public sector acting positions can go on for years without being reviewed.
The key is the network of like-minded employees – ensuring there are plenty of people in place to engage in the corruption or help conceal it.
There can be a close relationship between a group engaging in corrupt conduct and bullying.
For example, if an employee is new to a workplace, a corrupt group may seek to enlist their help to conceal the conduct or to take part in it. If the employee refuses, or threatens to expose the conduct, they may be subject to bullying by the group until they eventually resign or are transferred. Spreading of gossip or rumours and damaging professional reputations by the group is one way that group bullying can occur.
Content retrieved from: http://www.wiseworkplace.com.au/_blog/WISE_Blog/post/corruption-in-company-the-use-of-alliances-and-networks/.