Corruption in corporate India

Corruption, like God, is omnipresent in India. This seems to be the conclusion of a survey done by MDRA (Marketing and Development Research Associates) among employees of private sector companies in India recently. This is not a shocking revelation at all. 90% of the respondents felt that corruption is 'common' in corporates.

Acceptance of corruption is higher as one goes up the corporate ladder. 'Only' 83.4% of lower management was corrupt whereas venality increased to 88.1% and 90.2% in middle and senior managements respectively.

Corruption involved monetary transactions (39.2%), exploitation (17.1%), breach of trust (14%), fraud (13.3%), sexual favours (12.9%) and nepotism (3.4%).

36% of corrupt practices were noticed in recruitment, 24% in promotion and appraisal of employees, 22% in procurement and 17% in project implementation.

80% of the respondents said that company balance sheets are window-dressed. This was especially so in IT, telecom and retail sectors.

Can a honest person thrive in the corporate world? Cynics among us would want to know 'can such a person even exist in the corporate sector?' It is sad but perhaps true that in order to be successful, one has to be corrupt or atleast tolerant to corruption. One may ask, are there not persons of 'proven' integrity in the business world? Possibly yes, but they may be at the bottom of corporate pyramid.