During the forty-odd years I worked full time, I was associated with 12 organisations, spanning both the corporate sector and academia. One common thread ran through every one of these organisations; I saw at least one employee being caught fudging bills and making an ignominious exit.
This was one crime which happened at different echelons - the cross-section I came across covered a Managing Director, a General Manager, a Materials Manager, sundry sales executives and even accounts clerks, maintenance engineers and security officers: greed was universal. I am pretty certain that there would have been an'iceberg effect' too- for every one caught, there would have been myriad who got away.
I have never really understood why people push the envelope in this aspect, because this is one area where generally the costs outweigh the benefits. The GM was caught for a false bill for a piddly amount of Rs. 800, for instance and except the MD who was supposed to have got a hefty kickback of a few lakh rupees in a land deal, the potential gain in each of the other instances at best ran into thousands..
What motivates people to behave this way? Is it hubris, is it arrogance, is it living beyond their means? One finds similar behaviour in students too when they try to cheat in examinations. I have even come across a case of a student trying to impersonate another in an online internal test - and being caught ! Not only during exams, hostels are another such area. The institute where I worked longest had a 'no liquor, no cigarettes, no drugs' policy in the hostels, for good and bad and each day, many students were apprehended at the gate.
Maybe the best strategy to be followed by such people should be the Eleventh Commandment - Thou shalt not be found out!
This was one crime which happened at different echelons - the cross-section I came across covered a Managing Director, a General Manager, a Materials Manager, sundry sales executives and even accounts clerks, maintenance engineers and security officers: greed was universal. I am pretty certain that there would have been an'iceberg effect' too- for every one caught, there would have been myriad who got away.
I have never really understood why people push the envelope in this aspect, because this is one area where generally the costs outweigh the benefits. The GM was caught for a false bill for a piddly amount of Rs. 800, for instance and except the MD who was supposed to have got a hefty kickback of a few lakh rupees in a land deal, the potential gain in each of the other instances at best ran into thousands..
What motivates people to behave this way? Is it hubris, is it arrogance, is it living beyond their means? One finds similar behaviour in students too when they try to cheat in examinations. I have even come across a case of a student trying to impersonate another in an online internal test - and being caught ! Not only during exams, hostels are another such area. The institute where I worked longest had a 'no liquor, no cigarettes, no drugs' policy in the hostels, for good and bad and each day, many students were apprehended at the gate.
Maybe the best strategy to be followed by such people should be the Eleventh Commandment - Thou shalt not be found out!
