Management Consulting and Corruption Management

Over two thousand five hundred years ago the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle said," Law can control only actions and not motives." He also said. "What the world requires is cleansing of hearts and not of garments". These statements are relevant today. We have been witnessing steady decline in standards of public administration. The growing scale of corruption eats away huge resources of the economy. It is said that in construction industry alone 20% of the funds are washed away by the evil of corruption. This holds true in all other areas of economic and business activity though in varying degrees and proportions.

As management consultants we are interested in ensuring that our knowledge becomes available for conserving resources, using them productively for the benefit of society. The managerial tools of planning and control are inadequate to deal with the problem. We try to quantify the parameters whereas the root of the problem lies in intangibles. We can devise controls taking into account this factor.

.Performance appraisal of employees at all levels including managers should include parameters with yardsticks drawn from our traditional values. It is the value system which triggers or controls motives. If the motives are good the results will be good .The seeds of corruption are sown in the minds of men. So we must attack the problem at that level. Performance appraisal should include parameters to cover the following:

Evidence of a desirable value system and its frequency
Evidence of misusing the organization's facilities and assets, its frequency and magnitude
Evidence of dishonest practices and its frequency
Capacity to resist/decline temptations
Family background free of corruption
Life style - excess and extravagance
Evidence of performance violating basic values- frequency
Evidence of getting results by bribing, seducing decision making authorities who dispense favors and contracts
Evidence of leaking out business secrets of the company/ organization

This format can be expanded and revised based on experience. Organization manuals can include policies to deal with cases of corrupt practices. Based on appraisal results training in assimilating a value system with focus on ingredients necessary can be given to employees.
Such an attempt to modify and implement the performance appraisal report will be a useful experiment and bring beneficial results to the organization.