From individual deviance to collective corruption: A social influence model of the spread of deviance in organisations
(2004) From individual deviance to collective corruption: A social influence model of the spread of deviance in organisations. In Bailey, C. and Cabrera, D. and Buys, L., Eds. Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century Conference; Centre for Social Change Research; Queensland University of Technology.
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Abstract
The consequences of corruption in organisations are pervasive and severe. As well as threatening the well-being of individual employees and the effective functioning of organisations and industries, corruption can erode the moral fabric of society as a whole. Perspectives on corruption have highlighted the critical role that normative factors play in developing microcosms that support and maintain corrupt activities. There has been a relative lack of interest, however, in the mechanisms underlying how corrupt actions that initially violate norms regarding acceptable work behaviour gain the social support necessary to become embedded features of the work environment. This paper adopts a social influence framework to explain how deviant acts that start out as isolated incidences enacted by a minority of individuals in an organisation can, under certain conditions, become day-to-day organisational procedures and practices executed through the coordinated efforts of numerous employees. The paper explores the cognitive and psychological processes that underlie the powerful influence of deviant individuals on work groups and the collective properties of groups such as climate, norms, and culture. Strategic implications for the prevention of corruption are discussed in relation to several key factors that moderate the effects of deviants on the attitudes and actions of other group members. This approach also links in well at a practical level with several existing and widely used corruption-prevention strategies.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Subjects: | 370000 Studies in Human Society > 370100 Sociology > 370107 Social Change 350000 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services > 350200 Business and Management > 350208 Organisational Planning and Management |
| ID Code: | 649 |
| Deposited By: | Callan, Paula |
| Deposited On: | 21 December 2004 |
| Copyright Owner: | Copyright 2004 Jackie M. Wellan |