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BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION’S INTEGRITY SYSTEM
The integrity of organization’s internal stakeholders (officials) is said to be a
key determinant of public trust in organizations, government and a central
concept in good governance
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The best way to gain that trust is to demonstrate ethics and
integrity in business, not because of legal requirements – but because it is the
right thing to do
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In products, integrity is the source of sustainable competitive advantage
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Integrity starts with a product concept that describes the new product from the
potential customer's perspective
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The system is a mix of institutions, laws, regulations, codes, policies and
procedures that provide a framework of checks and balances, to foster an
environment of high quality decision making, and to identify and address
inappropriate behavior
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Without integrity at the helm of a company, a business is usually short-lived
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It has been drilled in our mindset the importance of integrity whereby without
it, an organization will eventually collapse
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Without integrity at the helm of a company, a business is usually short lived
...

Furthermore, the consequence of global competition means that
customers will simply not consider a company that shows any less than
the highest level of integrity
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What is Integrity?
The term integrity has been variously defined
...
Integrity violations will include
corruption, fraud, maladministration, conflicts of interest, improper use of office
and so on (Huberts et al
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Integrity in organizations relates to means of tackling corruption, misconduct and with a view of
establishing a culture of ethical behavior among all organizational members and to foster the ethical
culture
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Integrity is “a firm’s adherence to a code of m o r al o r c r eat i v e
v a l u e s
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Integrity is what compels you to do the right thing all the time
...

Integrity at the individual level
At the individual level, integrity is more than ethics; it is all about the character
of the individual
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The person of integrity takes time for self-reflection, so that the events, crisis
and seeming necessities of the day do not determine the course of her/his
moral life
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Likewise, good people wi ll not stay for long
i n b a d organizations
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If more people were to practice
integrity, the world would definitely be a better place
...
Integrity is definitely a good
characteristic to possess, but not too many people do
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It involves walking the talk—not just talking it
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This may be associated with
aspects of internal locus of control
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Individuals of
integrity will not twist facts for personal advantage; they are willing to stand
up for and defend what is right even when it means loosing the job; they will be
careful to keep promises; and they can be counted on to tell the truth
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It is the soundness
and honesty with which it conducts its business transactions and the
relationship that it promotes with all parties with whom it interacts
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Organizations
that operate with integrity do so intentionally and make it part of its everyday
practices so that it becomes part of the culture
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In business, the organizations should have a commitment on the integrity and
high e t h i c a l s t a n d a r d s an d t o c o m p l i an c e wi t h ap p l i c ab l e
g o v e r n m e n t a l l a w s , r u l e s an d r eg u l at i o n s
...
T h e o r g a n i zat i o n c an ac c o m p l i s h t h i s o b j ec ti v e b y
c o n d u c t i n g t h e m s e l v e s honestly, with consideration for others, with
respect for professional obligations, and with regard for legal and regulatory
requirements
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A culture of integrity has to start at the top and be seen in the conduct and
activities of the executives
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The development of shared values improves
the work environment and productivity in the following ways;
❖ It strengthens personal effectiveness, corporate loyalty, and ethical
behavior
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At the corporate level, we talk about leaders that have created a corporate
culture of integrity that provides consistency, trust, and predictable results
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They must be able to discuss these values openly as well
as live the values they advocate
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This culture impacts the interpersonal
relationships within the company and creates a highly valued work
environment
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As the culture of integrity permeates the relationships with
customers, vendors, and suppliers, trust paves the way for transaction time and
cost to diminish and for partnerships to develop
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He n c e , employees that practice integrity in their routine work culture shall be
evaluated and the end result that shows satisfactory performance he or she
shall be handsomely rewarded
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❖ Personal and organizational values
❖ Legal framework in which the organization and clients operations take
place
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❖ Reward systems and recognition policy
❖ Disciplinary measures
❖ Establishing a corruption Resistance Mechanism within all organization’s
operations (to develop a strong integrity culture)
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❖ Establishing a system of transparence, employee empowerment and
fairness
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❖ Establishment of the Code of Ethics and Code of conduct to govern staff
discipline and ensure effective implementation and supervision for
compliance
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❖ Having a strong policy on whistle blowing
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Enemies of Integrity
Integrity can be destroyed by the following behaviors;
- Self –interest (things we want)
- Selfishness (things we don’t want to share)
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- Self-rightness (doing what I think is right instead of doing what is right
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Ethical lapses by employees can put organizations at substantial risk
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❖ Disseminate information to create awareness;
Recent changes in regulatory requirements and more stringent sentencing
guidelines demand an integrated approach to ethical awareness, one that
encompasses the four organizational practices of controls, clearly defined
principles and purpose, core values, and culture
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To overcome the barriers to building organizational integrity,
leaders must question key organizational practices while constructing a culture
based on ethical behaviors
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❖ Develop and incorporate integrity compliance and fraud risks awareness
module in the curriculum for all new staff of the organization
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❖ Develop a system of client engagement to share information about
integrity efforts and seek views/ feed back on areas where you have to
improve
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❖ Developing a mechanism of holding people accountability and shaming
those staff found guilty of non compliance to set integrity procedures
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RELEVANCE OF ORGANISATIONAL INTEGRITY
Without trust and confidence, markets do not function, and value is destroyed
...
Lacking trust, competencies are
meaningless
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Working with personnel who lack integrity is risky because you cannot rely or
count on them to do what they have said they would do, their focus goes away
from customers to protecting oneself, and they are unwilling to live by the
values
...
C o m p a n i e s d i s p l ay i n g a “ c l ear c o m m i t m en t t o et h ic al
c o n d u c t ” a l m o s t i n v a r i a b l y o u t p e r f o r m c o m p an i es t h at d o n o t
display ethical conduct
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Business ethics and integrity are important to all parties dealing with the
business
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Conducting the business and the employees with
i n t e g r i t y e n a b l e s t h e organization to create a supportive work
environment, helps the organization attract and r e t a i n c u s t o m e r s a n d

employees, and promotes the financial success
...
Acting with integrity
demonstrates the organization respect for their investors and
shareholders and will help them avoid or reduce penalties, fines
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In order for a corporation t o h av e i n t eg r i t y , i t
m u s t h a v e a n e t h i c a l en v i r o n m en t wi t h em p l o y ees an d
b u s i n e s s partners willing to follow and enforce corporate culture, policies,
and procedures
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Likewise, if business integrity is actually being practiced it signifies
that the organization is showing respect to all their stakeholders and
shareholders
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We will be fair and honest when dealing with our customers, partners and
stakeholders, and ensure that we consistently do what we say, and deliver on
our promises to the people that we deal with
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It is a combination of all our beliefs, actions and experiences
that eventually, like building blocks will form the strong foundation
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The main benefit is that
an organization that has integrity will work better, for several reasons:
• Decision-making is easier and more consistent; staff find it easier to meet
new challenges
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• There is less turn over of staff, its ability to attract and retain quality staff and they feel they
have better opportunities to develop
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• Corruption is much less likely to arise
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• The competitiveness and organization’s reputation will be enhanced
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It’s an effort to make others aware of
practices one considers illegal, unjust, or harmful
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TYPES OF WHISTLE BLOWING
(a) Internal whistle blowing
This is when the whistle blower may make disclosure to the higher authorities
in the organization of the improper conduct like cheating of fellow employees
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An example is reporting sexual harassment by a colleague or
fellow employee to higher authorities with an aim of getting just treatment and
protection
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(b)
External whistle blowing occurs when disclosure of practice is
made to outside individuals or authorities outside the organization or
groups such as reporters, public interest groups, or regulatory agencies
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Such an open effort puts the
employees’ career on the line, so to speak and opens up possibility of
retaliation from those in the company who are engaged in the practice in
question
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Such action protects an employee from
being fired, receiving damaging recommendation letters when looking
for a job, or being blacklisted from the profession
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This form of whistle blowing protects an employee from retaliation but
may not be as effective as open whistle blowing in certain situations
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This is when government employees become aware of unethical practices on
the part of their colleagues or other employees and bring them to the higher
authority notice
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Corporate whistle blowing
This is when the moral obligations of the employees will be put to test when
they come to know of the practices of their corporation as being short of ethical
or legal norm
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• It creates an environment of suspicion in the organization and has
implications for employee loyalty
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• Preserves the reputation of the company
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• Protects society from harm
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• Have all the facts and properly understand their significance
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• What is the best way to blow the whistle?
• What is my responsibility in view of my role in the organization? The
justification for blowing a whistle depends not only on the wrong doing
of others, but also on whether the employee is more justified in blowing
the whistle, and may even have an obligation to do so
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• Arrangements against whistle-Blower protection

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