Customs, logistics ‘most corrupt’ sectors in Turkey: Survey

The most common unethical behavior in the private sector is to give money or gifts while asking for a favor, according to the Ethics Management and Corruption Perception in the Private Sector study, conducted by the Ethics and Reputation Association of Turkey (TEİD). 

Senior managers and employees from some 356 companies in the country’s top 500 list took part in the survey. 

Some 57 percent of respondents named the logistics and customs sectors as the most corrupt, followed by the construction, media and communications, pharmaceutical and banking sectors. According to the survey respondents, the lowest levels of corruption are believed to be in the IT, civil aviation, defense and consultancy sectors. 

Survey participants named the most common unethical behavior as “offering money or presents to ask a favor or speed up the business process,” followed by “using corporate means and opportunities for the sake of personal interests.” 

Some 31.5 percent of respondents said corruption is “common” in the private sector, while 11.8 percent said it was “very common.”
 
Although over 90 percent of respondents said they know of unethical behaviors in their own companies, almost half of respondents said their company did not have any anti-corruption programs in place. 

Around 10 percent said they would be willing to work for a company involved in a corruption legal investigation if the company paid well. 

In response to a question about whether they would “promise to accelerate a business process” in return for some benefit, 23 percent of respondents said “it depends.” Some 38 percent said it was “acceptable” to offer promotions without any cash value to stakeholders with whom they do business. 

According to World Bank data, corruption costs around $4 trillion to the world economy, with a loss in productivity of more than 22 percent.