Corruption and Ethics
Corruption and Ethics
Corruption and Ethics
Corruption and
ethics
Dr Zhibo Qiu
King’s Business School
• The abuse of power for private gains – individuals, business organisations, and institutions
• Types
• Bribery
• Embezzlement
• Nepotism and cronyism
• Kickbacks
• Conflict of interest
• Fraud
• Money laundering
• Other types of abuse of power
• Selective enforcement of law, harassment, intimidation, etc.
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What are the costs of corruption?
• Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUjGUpg2I0k
• Country-level
• Economic costs
• Loss of public trust
• Social inequality
• Firm-level
• Increased operating costs
• Reputation damage
• Legal and regulatory risks
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Compared to political lobbying
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How to combat corruption?
• Anti-corruption campaigns and legal reforms.
• International organisations and treaties.
• International and national anti-corruption courts
• International aid and development assistance.
• Capability building programmes
• Corporate governance and compliance programs.
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Other business ethics
Business ethics
• Labour rights and working conditions
• Environmental sustainability
• Artificial Intelligence
• Minority rights
• Implement ethics training and awareness programs on compliance and corporate governance.
• Create a culture of ethical conduct within the business organisation by promoting open discussions and
sharing best practices.
Ø Business integrity as a strategic response to ethical challenges (Malan, Talyor, Tunkel, & Kurtz, 2022)
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Critics on business ethics
• Tokenism
• Superficial displays of ethical behaviour, such as greenwashing or diversity initiatives, without a
genuine commitment to ethical principles.
• Lack of enforcement
• Ineffective regulatory frameworks to hold businesses accountable for unethical behaviour.
• Short-termism
• Unethical decision-making and harm to stakeholders in the long run.
• At the expense of consumers.
• In a kleptocratic system, government officials, politicians, or ruling elites use their positions of authority
to enrich themselves and their associates through corrupt practices, such as bribery, kickbacks,
embezzlement, and nepotism.
• “Rule of thieves”
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Business and politics in the UK
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“Our shell companies hide their money, our private schools educate their children, our
lawyers defend their reputations, our financial markets fund their companies, and our
banks launder their money.
It’s absurd to talk about the threat that dictators pose to our democracy without acknowledging
how without our assistance they wouldn’t be a threat at all. It’s like condemning a war without
mentioning you supplied the weapons, or criticising a party that took place in your own house.”
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Group discussion - Problem
• Discuss the following questions:
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Group discussion - Solution
• Discuss the following questions:
• How could UK firms and the UK government address these ethical issues?
• Consider both market and nonmarket strategies.
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Questions?
Dr Zhibo Qiu
Lau China Institute
King’s College London
[email protected]
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/zhibo-qiu