Corrupção: OCDE

OECD calls on businesses to step up their fight against bribery

Companies should put in place strict internal controls and establish ethics and compliance programmes as part of a strategy to combat bribery in international business deals, according to a new guidance agreed by the 38 countries that are party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

From March 2010, the OECD Working Group on Bribery - made up of representatives from these 38 nations - will monitor countries’ progress in encouraging their companies to implement the Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance.

“Too few companies are aware of how damaging foreign bribery is to their business, their industry and the world economy. Bribery distorts everyone’s ability to compete in a global market,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. “This is the most comprehensive guidance ever provided to companies and business organisations by an international organisation on this issue and marks another step forward in the fight against bribery.”

Specifically, the Good Practice Guidance calls on businesses to:
· Adopt a clear and visible anti-bribery policy that is strongly supported by senior management;
· Instill a sense of responsibility for compliance with the policy at all levels of the company, as well as independent compliance structures;
· Keep up regular communication and training on foreign bribery for all employees, as well as with business partners; and
· Encourage observance of anti-bribery compliance measures, and disciplinary procedures to address their violations.

The Guidance also recommends that business organisations play a leading role in providing information, advice and training to companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, on how to protect themselves against the risk of foreign bribery.

>> More information on OECD work on anti-corruption is available at www.oecd.org/daf/nocorruption.

O santo anda roto. O diabo veste Prada

The 'Luxury Prime': How Luxury Changes People
Q&A with: Roy Y.J. Chua
Published: February 1, 2010
Author: Sarah Jane Gilbert

Executive Summary:

What effect does luxury have on human cognition and decision making? According to new research, there seems to be a link between luxury and self interest, an insight that may help curb corporate excesses. Roy Y.J. Chua of Harvard Business School discusses findings from his work conducted with Xi Zou of London Business School. Key concepts include:
- People who were made to think about luxury before a decision-making task were more likely to endorse self-interested decisions that might potentially harm others.
- Although luxury does not necessarily induce people to harm others, it may cause them to be less considerate.
- Limiting corporate excesses and luxuries might be a step toward getting executives to behave more responsibly toward society.

início da entrevista:

Are people who travel in town cars and on corporate jets different—on a psychological level—from you and me? Does the availability of luxury goods "prime" individuals to be less concerned about or considerate toward others? The answer from new research seems to be yes.

HBS professor Roy Y.J. Chua and Xi Zou, an assistant professor at London Business School, suggest that luxury goods have an important effect on human behavior that is only now becoming clear—and that may have implications for addressing the continuation of objectionable choices among, for example, high-flying executives on Wall Street.

According to Chua, their research found that "people who were made to think about luxury prior to a decision-making task have a higher tendency to endorse self-interested decisions that might potentially harm others." Their findings are detailed in the HBS working paper "The Devil Wears Prada? Effects of Exposure to Luxury Goods on Cognition and Decision Making" (paper aqui).