A Review on Different Types of Corruption and Prevention Strategies

Abstract

Corruption is rampant in many countries globally and it’s not a new phenomenon. It is an epidemic to the social development, economy, investment and growth of a country. In India, its roots have been visible in different forms since the colonial past. The greed arising out of money and material gains is considered as the root cause of corruption that causes a person or a business to act unethically by engaging in corrupt practices. Since corruption is prevalent in different organizations in different forms it has a strong relevance for organizational behaviour literature. The paper reviews different strategies that have been effectively used by organizations in controlling corruption and finds out that rational thinking, honesty, and anti-corruption initiatives, building a strong organizational culture and teaching morality have been helpful to certain extent. Following an extensive literature review, which examines different types of organizational corruption, reason for corrupt practices, and its impact; this paper suggests some strategies to overcome that. The paper brings forth the concept of workplace spirituality as a new strategy to curb corruption in organizations and argues that until the employers and employees jointly understand the nuances and implications of workplace spirituality, the eradication of corruption would be difficult. Workplace spirituality involves some key ideas central to business and organizations like the quality of human existence, personal values and beliefs, interrelationships with others, and connections to the natural world and beyond. The paper is unique in its sense to conceptualize organizational corruption and eradication strategies and in suggesting workplace spirituality as a new dimension under the existing gamut of strategies.