Guanxi is a term used in Chinese culture to describe an individual's social network of mutually beneficial personal and business relationships. The character guan,关,means “closed”and "caring" while the character xi 系means “system”and together the term refers to a closed caring system of relationships that is somewhat analogous to the term old boy's network in the West. In Western media,the pinyin romanization guanxi is more widely used than common translations such as "connections" or "relationships" because those terms do not capture the significance of a person's guanxi to most personal and business dealings in China. Unlike in the West,guanxi relationships are almost never established purely through formal meetings but must also include spending time to get to know each other during tea sessions,dinner banquets,or other personal meetings. Essentially,guanxi requires a personal bond before any business relationship can develop. As a result,guanxi relationships are often more tightly bound than relationships in Western personal social networks. Guanxi has a major influence on the management of businesses based in mainland China,Hong Kong,and those owned by Overseas Chinese people in Southeast Asia.
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory,these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society,but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For example:
Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for the rule of law. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented ". Governance in this context can apply to corporate,international,national,or local governance as well as the interactions between other sectors of society.
Bribery is the offering,giving,receiving,or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official,or other person,in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations,essentially,bribery is "Corrupt solicitation,acceptance,or transfer of value in exchange for official action." Bung is British slang for a bribe.
Governance is the process of making and enforcing decisions within an organization or society. It encompasses decision-making,rule-setting,and enforcement mechanisms to guide the functioning of an organization or society. Effective governance is essential for maintaining order,achieving objectives,and addressing the needs of the community or members within the organization. Furthermore,effective governance promotes transparency,fosters trust among stakeholders,and adapts to changing circumstances,ensuring the organization or society remains responsive and resilient in achieving its goals. It is the process of interactions through the laws,social norms,power or language as structured in communication of an organized society over a social system. It is done by the government of a state,by a market,or by a network. It is the process of choosing the right course among the actors involved in a collective problem that leads to the creation,reinforcement,or reproduction of acceptable conduct and social order". In lay terms,it could be described as the processes that exist in and between formal institutions.
Corporate transparency describes the extent to which a corporation's actions are observable by outsiders. This is a consequence of regulation,local norms,and the set of information,privacy,and business policies concerning corporate decision-making and operations openness to employees,stakeholders,shareholders and the general public. From the perspective of outsiders,transparency can be defined simply as the perceived quality of intentionally shared information from the corporation.
The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention is an anti-corruption convention of the OECD that requires signatory countries to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials. The convention is a legally binding international agreement that focuses on the supply side of bribery by criminalizing acts of offering or giving bribes to foreign public officials by companies or individuals. Its goal is to create a level playing field in the international business environment.
Media transparency,also referred to as transparent media or media opacity,is a concept that explores how and why information subsidies are being produced,distributed and handled by media professionals,including journalists,editors,public relations practitioners,government officials,public affairs specialists,and spokespeople. In short,media transparency reflects the relationship between civilization and journalists,news sources and government. According to a textual analysis of “Information Subsidies and Agenda Building:A Study of Local Radio News”,an information subsidy is defined as “any item provided to the media in order to gain time or space”. In order to understand media transparency,one must gain an understanding of the different aspects in which media transparency is researched,understood,and explored. The following page will attempt to examine media transparency as it has grown and how it affects the modern world.
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority,in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption may involve many activities which include bribery,influence peddling and embezzlement and it may also involve practices which are legal in many countries. Political corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts with an official capacity for personal gain. Corruption is most common in kleptocracies,oligarchies,narco-states,and mafia states.
The CDP is an international non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom,Japan,India,China,Germany,Brazil and the United States that helps companies,cities,states,regions and public authorities disclose their environmental impact. It aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm,driving disclosure,insight,and action towards a sustainable economy. In 2022,nearly 18,700 organizations disclosed their environmental information through CDP.
The institutional corruption in Angola refers to the pervasive and long-standing issue of corruption within the country's government and public institutions. The aftermath of the 30-year civil war and the influence of the Soviet command economy have resulted in significant institutional damage and the emergence of a centralized government with authoritarian tendencies. This has allowed the president and his associates to exert control over the nation's resources,enabling them to exploit the economy for personal gain through legal and extra-legal means.
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk,and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
Civil service reform is a deliberate action to improve the efficiency,effectiveness,professionalism,representativity and democratic character of a civil service,with a view to promoting better delivery of public goods and services,with increased accountability. Such actions can include data gathering and analysis,organizational restructuring,improving human resource management and training,enhancing pay and benefits while assuring sustainability under overall fiscal constraints,and strengthening measures for performance management,public participation,transparency,and combating corruption.
Corruption in China post-1949 refers to the abuse of political power for private ends typically by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),who hold the majority of power in the country. Corruption is a very significant problem in China,impacting all aspects of administration,law enforcement,healthcare and education. Since the Chinese economic reforms began,corruption has been attributed to "organizational involution" caused by the market liberalization reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. Like other socialist economies that have undertaken economic reforms,such as post-Soviet Eastern Europe and Central Asia,reform-era China has experienced increasing levels of corruption.
Corruption in Poland is below the world average but not insignificant. Within Poland,surveys of Polish citizens reveal that it is perceived to be a major problem.
Joel S. Hellman is the dean and distinguished professor in the practice of development at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He was appointed in July 2015 and led the school,the oldest school of international affairs in the United States,during the celebration of its centennial anniversary in 2019. Formerly,he was chief institutional economist at the World Bank.
Corruption in Myanmar is an extremely serious problem. Owing to failures in regulation and enforcement,corruption flourishes in every sector of government and business. Many foreign businesspeople consider corruption "a serious barrier to investment and trade in Myanmar." A U.N. survey in May 2014 concluded that corruption is the greatest hindrance for business in Myanmar.
Anti-corruption comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms,anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measures is sometimes drawn. In such framework,investigative authorities and their attempts to unveil corrupt practices would be considered reactive,while education on the negative impact of corruption,or firm-internal compliance programs are classified as the former.
Lisa Cameron is an Australian economist currently working as a Professional Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.
