The causes of corruption

Answer 1

Low salaries

Corruption is often attributed to the low salaries of civil servants. This differentiates between need driven (satisfying basic requirements for survival) corruption and greed driven (satisfying desires for status and comfort that salaries cannot match) corruption.

It may be true that it is more difficult to stay honest, hard-working and trustworthy on a low salary, but it is also true that most people with low salaries are still able to do so and that many corrupt officials are people in high, responsible positions, earning good salaries.

In conjunction, corrupt practices flourish in systems where employees have high job security; where the level of professionalism in the public service is low; and hence officials rather serve their own interests than perform their duty to serve the public. However, low salaries are not a valid reason for and do not justify corruption. Culture A gift culture exists, particularly in Africa, in which it is tradition that a small reward is paid for services rendered. Such a gratuity or tip becomes part of the cultural environment and in certain countries the payment of such rewards is so embedded in tradition that any attempt to rein in the practice would be seen as an attack on treasured cultural values. In Africa, this was traditionally seen as awarding special honours to the Chief and, in this light, it often regarded as acceptable and "normal" for politicians to accept such rewards. In some countries it is common practice in the commercial arena for business transactions to be accompanied by the giving of personal gifts or benefits, ranging from the Christmas bottle of whiskey to much more elaborate and extravagant items. In essence, the root of corruption is greed rather than culture, public life requires a standard of its own; and those entering public office must be made aware of this from the outset. The absence of rules, regulations, policies and legislation All organisations, whether public or private sector, must have rules, regulations and policies that guide management and other employees in terms of acceptable behaviour and conduct within the organisation. Rules, regulations and policies are instrumental in organising people, steering them towards a common goal and ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and equally. In order to be effective, such rules and policies must be clearly communicated to all individuals in order to be understood and applied objectively. Corruption is more likely to flourish in an organisation that does not have a wide range of rules, regulations or policies that guide employees in their work. Similarly, a country must have clear policies and legislation that guide the behaviour of all citizens and residents within that country. However, organisations and countries must strike a reasonable balance in terms of policies and legislation; whilst corruption flourishes in an environment without clear rules and regulations, similarly, corruption finds fertile in a country that has a numerous laws, rules and regulations that restrict business and economic activities. Such a climate creates industries' dependence on individual civil servants to engage in economic activity; thereby circumventing bureaucratic red tape through corrupt offers. Range of discretion No system can exist unless one person or authority is used, to some extent, to make decisions. Such a person is said to have the power to exercise discretion - the freedom to act within certain limits. Corruption takes place in institutions where public officials: • have great authority; • can exercise discretion with respect to interpretation and application of regulations; • are not required to be accountable to anyone; and • are driven by greed. Therefore, an environment with a higher range of discretion without accountability is more conducive to corruption. In conjunction, political office is one of the primary means of gaining access to wealth in less developed countries. If corruption occurs on the top level and the political leadership of the country does not set a good example with respect to honesty, credibility, transparency, integrity and the persecution of offenders, citizens become disillusioned and offenders are not deterred from entering into corrupt practices. The absence of transparency Where there is no transparency in an organisation, i.e. where tasks and functions are conducted in secret and are not open to examination by other government officers or the public, the opportunity for corruption increases. Transparency is a prerequisite for democracy in which sovereignty is vested in the people and the conduct of civil servants must be open to examination. It is therefore vital that citizens in general and the media (radio, television, newspapers) in particular are guaranteed the right to freedom of speech; the media can inform citizens of any action by a civil servant that might be corrupt in nature and appropriate calls for action can be made. A transparent system deters corruption as the conduct of civil servants is under constant scrutiny. The absence of accountability In a democracy, public leaders and civil servants must be accountable to the people they serve. Accountability means that public leaders and officers must provide logical and acceptable explanations for their actions and decisions to the people they serve. Civil servants and officers in responsible positions must at all times adhere to the principles of transparency and be accountable to the people they serve. However, accountability is dependent on the enforcement of rules, regulations and policies, if there is a lack of effective institutional mechanisms civil servants cannot be held accountable and corrupt practices can flourish. The absence of a watchdog institution If there are no internal or external institutions or bodies that investigate cases of corruption or that act on complaints relating to corruption, employees may take advantage of the fact that the chance of being caught doing something corrupt is remote. Even if the offender is caught, the consequences would probably be minimal if the system has no watchdog function. Corruption in less developed countries Although corruption is a universal phenomenon and exists in all countries, it is a more serious matter in less developed countries. The conditions of these countries are such that corruption is likely to have different causes and consequences than in more developed countries. The socio-economic conditions in low income countries are more conducive to the growth of corruption. Corruption is a symptom of deep-rooted economic and political weaknesses and shortcomings in the legislative and judicial system of the country. To aggravate the situation, accountability in these countries is generally weak, the chances of being caught are small and the penalties when caught are light. Non-governmental organizations that could serve as watchdogs and provide information on corrupt practices are generally not well developed.

Answer 2

Corruption occurs because it is human nature to take the easy way out and to gain personal benefit from whatever means possible. Both "nature" (Biological) and "nurture" (psychological) factors have a part in corruption.

The answer above provides no reasons and no examples to backup such a claim.

Corruption occurs because of self-interest.

For example, when the United States of America invaded Iraq or Afghanistan, the fact that the United States had an interest in obtaining the oil from those countries may have influenced their decision, because those countries have oil and the United States of America needs it. Maybe those countries were invaded for noble causes or perhaps it is an example of corruption.

Could any action, interpreted as noble, actually be corrupt?

Yes, it is possible, but it is also possible that it was a truly noble act.

Can a person act nobly, if it interested that person more, to act corruptly?

Yes, it is possible, but it is also possible to appear noble and be corrupt or appear corrupt and is noble or sometimes noble, sometimes not.

I suspect that corruption occurs when opportunism becomes the mindset of those people who hold positions of responsibility.

Eliminate the possibility of self-interest, of opportunism to occur and you eliminate corruption. Do not blame the whole human species, we cannot help but be this way, until we learn differently and learn we must, for each and every one of us, we must learn.

So, the human species, when it acts corruptly, does so because it believes that "if nobody is looking out for me, then I might as well look out for myself" and "if people fail to look out for me, then I do not have to look out for them" and opportunism is the mindset that would result from these judgments.

Believing nobody cares for you may cause self-interested behaviour, it may cause a person to act in a corrupt manner. If people believe no one cares for them, then, in their minds, they have reason to act in their own interest regardless of the consequences for others.

If this is all the case, that an uncaring world causes self-interested behaviour or believing in an uncaring world causes that behaviour, then people need to believe in a caring world to eliminate all self-interested behaviour. This is a psychological problem, it has to do with our perception of the world and how that affects our mentality and the actions we take based on that mentality.

Therefore, if a politician acts corruptly, it is due to the way they perceive the world to be, the mentality that forms from that perception and the actions that that mentality causes.

How do we go from "believing in an uncaring world" to "believing in a caring world" and how can we make true this belief? This makes me think that there is some kind of flaw with the way we live our lives that causes others to feel uncared for.

Perhaps corruption breeds corruption in that corruption caused by opportunistic behaviour, causes others to feel uncared for, which heightens their belief in an uncaring world, which leads them into corruption and the cycle continues. Society will not last long unless we learn to care for the well being of everyone because corruption will destroy us all unless we learn to care for everyone. Everyone means everyone.

Answer 3

for power, for money, for revenge, for the fun of it; it depends on the person you are talking about, but most of the corruption, like the one in

Korea, is mostly because of power and money

Answer 4

I would first say Greed. Then, followed by the need for power. Both of these traits are, in my opinion, the cause of corruption. Im sure there are others, but to me, those are the two biggies.

Answer 5

Causes of corruption in my opinion occur when respect for fellow man has deteriorated to selfishness and lack of patience with the desire to move ahead without encountering the challenges to overcome all obstacles that would lead to success with determination and persistance,and also lost hope in this life thinking that the pursuit of happiness the right way is a waste of time.

Answer 6

Overwhelmingly it is without doubt greed

Answer 7

Scottish accents