The inevitable globalization of our economies forces us, effectively, to play, if you like, by a totally new set of rules requiring of us much greater transparency and accountability than we were used to in the past. There is going to be no half-way house. We are either in or out of the game. More to the point, it is about what we, members of civil society in particular, can do to bring about change for the better, to increase the levels of awareness of the insidious nature of doing business without due regard to ethical standards of behaviour. Without a high degree of consciousness of the responsibility that is implicit in all that we do as corporate leaders, without a personal commitment to convert the concept of integrity into a personal living experience, the virtues of functioning as part of an integrity system will have little chance of finding practical expression, to the detriment of all concerned.
Integrity has an important bearing on the economic well-being of a nation.
This may seem like a sweeping generalization, but we do not have to look farther than the current crisis afflicting many countries in our region to see the connection. This poll of polls reflects the perceptions of the international business community about the levels of corruption in the countries in which they operate. The bigger the number, the more corrupt a country is perceived to be. While many detractors are quick to dismiss the index as being of no real significance, it is really quite interesting that the countries currently facing the greatest turmoil are among those perceived by the international business community to be among the most corrupt. Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea are on the IMF life support system while the Philippines has been kept afloat by the IMF and the World bank, on and off, mostly on, for the last thirty-five years or so.