1

MANAGING
to reduce corruption;
involving the staff

Slides for a seminar session and discussion Denis Osborne, 2007
Ethics and Good Governance
2
BE TRANSPARENT
To be transparent is to let people
see through us - see what we do and why.
Transparency builds trust,
shows honesty and integrity, exposes corruption
But how do we operationalise transparency?
To be transparent what must be done?
by us and by our departments?
in our activities?
Ethics and Good Governance
3
INFORM, or TELL
How well do we tell clients
and general public what we
are doing and why?
Are there annual reports, press
releases, newsletters, etc, to
target groups including end-users?
Are the messages effective?
Do people get the message?
How do we know?
Ethics and Good Governance
4
RESPOND
Invite questions; give answers
People should know where and who to ask
Do people know where to seek information?
Give them an address, hotline number, a name.
People should find what they want to know
How readily is information given?
How quickly is it given?
OR told why they cannot be told!
Ethics and Good Governance
5
LISTEN
Information needs to flow both ways
Do we listen to others seek their views
and inputs about the quality of service?
Do we ask for their priorities for change?
Do we use suggestions boxes?
Do we conduct surveys?
Do we meet with focus groups?
Do we get their ideas, and feedback
Quality Assurance of service received?

Ethics and Good Governance
6
CONSULT
Do we involve clients and the public generally in
shaping, deciding and implementing policies?

Consultation leads to participation in which
citizens co-operate to maintain the transparency
of government
and other
organisations.
Ethics and Good Governance
7
HOW MUCH TRANSPARENCY?
There are many calls for more transparency
Should there be limits? If so, what guides us?
We need confidentiality, not transparency
For police investigations before prosecution
For commercial competition
(dont tell anyone who is bidding)
For national and global security
For staff proposals on policies, etc
For Privacy (PERHAPS!)? What else?
Ethics and Good Governance
8
SOME DANGERS
Demands for MORE TRANSPARENCY
are seen by staff as an indication of mistrust
The objective needs to be explained to
Build Trust in Government and Public Service
With a personal responsibility to ensure our
actions allow no reasonable suspicion
ALSO remember, beware targets
discredited by experience in the USSR
(state farms) and the UK (health)!
Ethics and Good Governance
9
BE ACCOUNTABLE
To be accountable we must act responsibly
and report ; and give account
This means more than just responsibility
If you give me a letter to post
to be responsible, I must post the letter
to be accountable, I tell you I posted it
to be more accountable, I tell you
where and when I posted it
In French, Korean, Spanish, Thai
there is no one-word translation for accountability
Ethics and Good Governance
10
ACCOUNTABILITY: TO WHOM?
I am accountable to the Boss
to the public and their elected leaders
to clients I serve directly, to public in general
to future generations, to God
Giving account by an organisation includes:
annual reports (for different readers?)
project reports / reports to end users
audited accounts
reports of work intended, policy changes
Ethics and Good Governance
11
TO IMPROVE ACCOUNTABILITY
WE NEED A SEPARATION OF POWERS
POWERS ACCOUNTABLE TO EACH OTHER
In the State
between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary
(the changing roles of a President?)
In Business
Outside auditors with no conflict of interest
Within the Organisation
with different people to place orders,
check goods, make payments
Ethics and Good Governance
12
MORE DANGERS
Demands for MORE ACCOUNTABILITY
require everybody to give account
Managers tell staff to write reports
(which they may think are never read!)
The best staff hate this most!
they want more time to do the work
to get results, give good service
For what do we give account, how?
Try the checklist, select ONE target
Ethics and Good Governance
13
SET INFORMATION FREE?
Some countries and organisations have a
Freedom of information policy, giving citizens
a right to know the US, Japan, the ADB.
In Japan in 2001 (as earlier in US)
it changed the way people worked
it cost time, money, reduced productivity
it made Officials even more risk averse
(more meetings with less minutes)
But ADB policy excluded access
to initial policy proposals, etc
Ethics and Good Governance
14
AN EXAMPLE, THE MKSS
Controversial movement in Rajasthan, India
Educated citizens
demanded access local government accounts
and gave data on wall charts to villagers.
Villagers found that payments had been issued
for clinics, schools and public toilets that had never
been built, for workers long dead,
and for disaster relief that never arrived
DEMANDED MORE INFORMATION
Similar actions work well elsewhere
Ethics and Good Governance
15
A CHANGING WORK CULTURE
Getting better transparency and accountability
changes the Public Service work culture
From telling the public nothing,
unless authorised to tell
To telling everything,
except what is expressly forbidden, and
then explaining why they cannot be told!
WITH A LOSS OF POWER
in consequence
Ethics and Good Governance
16
A KEY ROLE FOR MANAGERS
Who leads? In this as said more generally:
Political will (top), people pressure (bottom-up), and
mid-level: MANAGERS private & public sector
Managers are responsible for products, services
for VFM, and for maintaining or re-building trust
Thus Managers are expected to:
Control, guide and motivate staff
Advise bosses, warn of dangers
Ensure department not cheated
+ by suppliers, customers or colleagues
Ethics and Good Governance
17
INVOLVE THE STAFF
Convince them of need to combat corruption
Convince them that they can do much to help
If necessary convince them that there is an
opportunity for all of us to change behaviour
Consult them on risks to Department (they may
know best), ask them to recommend actions
Brief them on risks we perceive
Make action responsibility of all staff,
not only ethics or anti-corruption group?
Ethics and Good Governance
18
ADVISE THE BOSS
Of the risks for the Department
Of actions proposed to minimise risks
and to build trust
Perhaps suggest they reinforce message
to staff, suppliers, clients
Warn them if their actions might risk
reasonable suspicion of corruption!
Report (to whom?) if we think they
are acting corruptly
Ethics and Good Governance
19
WATCH SUPPLIERS, CLIENTS
There have been many initiatives to reduce
corruption in procurement
Some forget that properly competitive bidding
depends on potential suppliers/contractors not
knowing who the others are
Too much transparency is bad
Clients also cheat governments for
benefits, pensions, tax concessions
One simple test: did we get VFM?
Ethics and Good Governance
20
WATCH THE STAFF
What are signs that there may be corruption?
Delays; Too keen at desk early, late, little leave
Excess wealth; Secretive; Evasive; Reassuring, etc
Too sociable with clients, suppliers, contractors
Sometimes oldest, senior, staff go bad! Why?
disappointment, anger, fear about career,
sickness, relationships, drugs, blackmail
Explain to staff why Trust but Verify
We trust you, but check so that others
will trust us all
Ethics and Good Governance
21
PART OF OUR TASK
AS MANAGERS, is to motivate staff and others
for example, how do we explain the benefits from
writing reports that nobody will read?
(perhaps writing helps us think more clearly?)
MORE GENERALLY wise management requires
good competition and good regulation
in practice what will that mean?
GOOD MANAGEMENT in all systems
as antidotes to corruption and fraud
Ethics and Good Governance
22
MANAGERS NEED HELP
Groups of managers in one speciality or one
locality may help each other grasp issues
The anti-corruption agency or other bodies
should be able to help in several distinct ways
Advise on good management (good governance)
systems, patterns
Train managers and staff in ethics and
anti-corruption issues
Help them to detect likely corruption,
know what and when to report,
and know how to protect evidence
Ethics and Good Governance
23
WHAT WOULD YOU DO
IF APPOINTED HEAD OF A DEPARTMENT
THAT WAS ALLEGEDLY VERY CORRUPT?
Does higher/top management know, disapprove?
Try to get support of top management, and staff
Your reputation and ours is at stake
Clarify your aims
Retribution for wrongs done, the past
Better standards, for the future
Combine soft measures and tough
Focus on, target, one activity at a time
Ethics and Good Governance
24
ADAPT
These ideas are important
We need to adapt them to our society
and to our organisation
and take ownership for what we will do
Remembering
The acid test is not so much the
measures that have been formulated,
but the sincerity and determination
in enforcing them.