BRIAN SIM Country head and managing director PERSOLKELLY Malaysia
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New approaches to people oriented human resource management
Showing posts with label employees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label employees. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
How to win in the workplace
Rightways - Sowing the seeds of Success:
Think Global, Act Local; Change & Grow Rich; Sow as You Reap & Soar High!
Richard Tan
MBA(UK), BCA(NZ), AMA(USA),MMIM
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Employees believe Huawei will survive widespread bans in West with ‘Wolf spirit’ culture
 |
A true multinational - Newspaper headline:A Huawei Technologies Co logo sits on display inside an electronic goods store in Berlin on December 17. Photo: VCG |
Former Huawei employee in US laments government's 'endless assaults on the company'
○ The top global telecom equipment provider has been going through a tough year in 2018
○ Chinese and foreign employees hold different views on Huawei's rapid expansion and aggressive corporate strategy
When Jason Li was assigned to the Mobile World Congress at the beginning of 2011, shortly after he joined China's Huawei Technologies, he impressed Ren Zhengfei, the former military officer who founded the company in 1987, with a presentation about the company's products in English.
"He [Ren] came to the company's stand the day before the congress kicked off and asked me where I studied before joining the company. I said New Zealand," Li said, noting that Ren immediately suggested that this newly recruited employee should fly to the UK office and help build a local talent center as part of Huawei's global expansion.
The Shenzhen-based company has experienced a rapid expansion over the past 30 years, and has footprints in more than 170 countries and regions. However, it has been under the spotlight recently as Meng Wanzhou - its chief financial officer - was arrested by the Canadian authorities in Vancouver on December 1 at the request of the US on suspicion of violating US trade sanctions.
Under pressure from the US, more governments in the West have been considering blocking Huawei's core products over security concerns, which is considered as a major setback in its development into a multinational giant.
Former employees of Huawei like Li spent years working overseas, and describe Huawei's corporate culture as a "wolf culture" that helped it become successful.
However, this "wolf culture" also sparked controversy, and might have harmed its current operations.
Arduous journey
When Li started working at Huawei's London office, he started everything from zero. From 2012 to 2014, he had traveled to over 20 countries and spent most of his days in countless hotels and airports, sacrificing much of his spare time to reach out to more foreign telecom carriers and companies.
"As soon as I left Egypt after a business trip to Cairo years ago, the country plunged into civil conflict, and some of my former coworkers were stuck in the hotel. And one time in Nigeria, we were exposed to yellow fever," he told the Global Times, referring to those days at Huawei as an unforgettable memory.
Long working hours on challenging projects with constant business trips to remote areas are common descriptions of the workplace culture at the world's largest telecoms equipment maker.
"Employees at Chinese telecom companies such as Huawei and ZTE endured hardships in an earlier stage of global expansion," Xiang Ligang, a veteran industry analyst close to Huawei, told the Global Times in a recent interview.
Ren, the founder of Huawei, is considered one of the most successful Chinese executives during the country's reform and opening-up. He was influenced by the military theories of Mao Zedong, according to a book on Huawei's development published in April.
Like Mao's military theories, which advocated taking small and medium cities and extensive rural areas first as part of a revolution, Ren started from remote and less developed areas to avoid fierce competition with foreign rivals.
"In some countries in Africa and South America, telecom operators could not afford expensive products. They also lacked staff members for maintenance and operations. This gave more room for companies like Huawei and ZTE, which continuously assigned staff to those areas, to grow," Xiang said.
Huawei beat Ericsson and Nokia in the global mobile infrastructure market in 2017, as the Chinese company took 28 percent of the market share and became the largest mobile infrastructure provider worldwide, according to the latest industry report from IHS.
"In the early days, Huawei assigned most of its senior executives to the overseas market to explore business opportunities," Xiang said, noting that accepting these assignments later became an unwritten rule.
Lingering conflicts
Huawei's corporate culture has a long-lasting influence on its staff. An former employee who worked as a programmer at Huawei's then headquarters in Nanshan district, Shenzhen in the early 2000s said that he worked for Huawei for about one year and a half shortly after he graduated from college but the short experience there has instilled a lasting impact on his future career. He learned to be hardworking, persistent and low-key.
Even after he left Huawei, he sometimes, as if he had been brainwashed, still would read aloud the internal letters written by Ren Zhengfei circulated online to his then-girlfriend-now-wife, partly as a way to woo and impress her, and partly as a way to draw inspiration and strength for himself.
The employee in his early 40s who only spoke on condition of anonymity said he worked long hours from about 10 am to 10 pm every working day at Huawei. When he was tired, he would sleep on the mattress under his desk. "All co-workers did the same, especially the managers," he said. "When a new project kicked in, we would work overnight."
This so-called wolf spirit - a high-pressure workplace - is also known as a "mattress culture," as many of its engineers work so hard that they use blankets and mattresses to sleep at the office. And this military-style management was sometimes rejected by its foreign staff overseas, which led to deeper culture clashes.
"As far as I know about this so-called military style management, it's implementing the corporate policy in the most efficient way," Li said.
For example, when he worked at the company's London office, all the staff there were required to punch in and out every day, following strict discipline.
"Sometimes, foreign employees preferred more flexible working hours, especially when it was bad weather. But the headquarters rejected this request," he said, noting that localizing its business in foreign markets was a bumpy road over some similar daily issues.
For some foreign employees, being part of a growing Chinese company is still remarkable experience.
"I have great respect for what the company has achieved… Huawei's growth and expansion have been amazingly impressive. It was exciting to be a part of that," William Plummer, the company's former US vice president of external affairs, told the Global Times.
Plummer, who is considered an eight-year veteran bridging the Chinese company with the US government, was reportedly laid off by Huawei in April amid rising tension between China and the US.
He noted that the experience with Huawei was sometimes frustrating both "due to the US government's endless assaults on the company, and the company's inability to trust and listen to non-Chinese experts in dealing with such matters."
The company has been going through a tough year in 2018. In January, major US carrier AT&T suspended potential cooperation with Huawei in its mobile business over security concerns.
And the "Five Eyes" nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US) decided to take aim at all Chinese telecoms equipment companies. Australia slashed its use of Chinese-made products in August, followed by New Zealand and the UK.
In particular, the US government targeted Huawei for years, as American counterintelligence agents and prosecutors began exploring possible cases against its leadership back in 2010, according to the New York Times.
Focus on own work
After Meng's arrest, several of Huawei's Chinese employees shared posts on their social media accounts to support each other, claiming that the company can definitely get through this difficult time.
"It will survive widespread bans in Western countries … and we should focus on our own work," a current employee at the company told the Global Times.
Some observers suggested that Huawei's foreign and Chinese staff, who often hold different attitudes in the workplace, may see its struggles in a different light.
Many Chinese staff work very hard overseas because of Huawei's incentive stock options. "Three years after I joined Huawei, I earned about 300,000 yuan ($43,500) a year, and my bonus was almost the same as my basic salary," said a former Chinese employee "Eric," who worked at Huawei from 2009 to 2013 and spent a year in Mumbai, India.
Working long hours is driven by growing business. Many employees understand that the better financial performance Huawei has, the more profits its employees could share in accordance to employee stock ownership plans.
However, to become a true global tech firm, Huawei will need to diversify its leadership, Plummer suggested.
As the case of Meng has entered the judicial system, some believe that Huawei's situation will get worse, even though there is no proof for the US allegations.
Looking into this dilemma, the company's aggressive and customer-centered business strategies might have helped its take over as much market share as possible.
"But in the long run, as a private company that insists on not going public, its opaque financial status also raises questions over its sustainability," Eric said.
By Chen Qingqing Source:Global Times
 |
Newspaper headline: A true multinational |
Related:
Americans still covet trade with China, blame Trump administration for complicating issue
The past year was a tough year for China-US relations. From Washington DC to Iowa to Seattle, this Global Times reporter recently talked to over 50 government officials, scholars, reporters, businessmen and farmers in the US and asked them what they think of the trade war and China-US relationsChinese diplomacy defeats US interference
China should be confident in this: As long as China maintains steady peripheral diplomacy, the US can do nothing to China and Beijing will gain the initiative in diplomacy toward Washington.Related posts:
https://youtu.be/rqRItBZOp5g Ren Zhengfei leads Huawei Technologies, one of the world's largest manufacturer of telecommunication h...
https://youtu.be/0fDUgBJ8yfY https://youtu.be/0jnDXocDmRo http://sh-meet.bigpixel.cn/? from=groupmessage& isappinstalled=0 .
4 https://youtu.be/03D-0uDOj_c https://youtu.be/N8IyDSrMY3w The arrest of a top Huawei executive may spark a conflict that could cr...
https://youtu.be/pSHOSumep9E https://youtu.be/4fJKlEyEOEg https://youtu.be/N5Ta_RhsXYY American economist Jeffrey D. Sachs says ...
Photo: VCG China’s business people, researchers, scholars say they ‘feel the chill’ in US Growing China-US tensions have affected te...
Rightways - Sowing the seeds of Success:
Think Global, Act Local; Change & Grow Rich; Sow as You Reap & Soar High!
Richard Tan
MBA(UK), BCA(NZ), AMA(USA),MMIM
Employees believe Huawei will survive widespread bans in West with ‘Wolf spirit’ culture
|
A true multinational - Newspaper headline:A Huawei Technologies Co logo sits on display inside an electronic goods store in Berlin on December 17. Photo: VCG |
Former Huawei employee in US laments government's 'endless assaults on the company'
○ The top global telecom equipment provider has been going through a tough year in 2018
○ Chinese and foreign employees hold different views on Huawei's rapid expansion and aggressive corporate strategy
When Jason Li was assigned to the Mobile World Congress at the beginning of 2011, shortly after he joined China's Huawei Technologies, he impressed Ren Zhengfei, the former military officer who founded the company in 1987, with a presentation about the company's products in English.
"He [Ren] came to the company's stand the day before the congress kicked off and asked me where I studied before joining the company. I said New Zealand," Li said, noting that Ren immediately suggested that this newly recruited employee should fly to the UK office and help build a local talent center as part of Huawei's global expansion.
The Shenzhen-based company has experienced a rapid expansion over the past 30 years, and has footprints in more than 170 countries and regions. However, it has been under the spotlight recently as Meng Wanzhou - its chief financial officer - was arrested by the Canadian authorities in Vancouver on December 1 at the request of the US on suspicion of violating US trade sanctions.
Under pressure from the US, more governments in the West have been considering blocking Huawei's core products over security concerns, which is considered as a major setback in its development into a multinational giant.
Former employees of Huawei like Li spent years working overseas, and describe Huawei's corporate culture as a "wolf culture" that helped it become successful.
However, this "wolf culture" also sparked controversy, and might have harmed its current operations.
Arduous journey
When Li started working at Huawei's London office, he started everything from zero. From 2012 to 2014, he had traveled to over 20 countries and spent most of his days in countless hotels and airports, sacrificing much of his spare time to reach out to more foreign telecom carriers and companies.
"As soon as I left Egypt after a business trip to Cairo years ago, the country plunged into civil conflict, and some of my former coworkers were stuck in the hotel. And one time in Nigeria, we were exposed to yellow fever," he told the Global Times, referring to those days at Huawei as an unforgettable memory.
Long working hours on challenging projects with constant business trips to remote areas are common descriptions of the workplace culture at the world's largest telecoms equipment maker.
"Employees at Chinese telecom companies such as Huawei and ZTE endured hardships in an earlier stage of global expansion," Xiang Ligang, a veteran industry analyst close to Huawei, told the Global Times in a recent interview.
Ren, the founder of Huawei, is considered one of the most successful Chinese executives during the country's reform and opening-up. He was influenced by the military theories of Mao Zedong, according to a book on Huawei's development published in April.
Like Mao's military theories, which advocated taking small and medium cities and extensive rural areas first as part of a revolution, Ren started from remote and less developed areas to avoid fierce competition with foreign rivals.
"In some countries in Africa and South America, telecom operators could not afford expensive products. They also lacked staff members for maintenance and operations. This gave more room for companies like Huawei and ZTE, which continuously assigned staff to those areas, to grow," Xiang said.
Huawei beat Ericsson and Nokia in the global mobile infrastructure market in 2017, as the Chinese company took 28 percent of the market share and became the largest mobile infrastructure provider worldwide, according to the latest industry report from IHS.
"In the early days, Huawei assigned most of its senior executives to the overseas market to explore business opportunities," Xiang said, noting that accepting these assignments later became an unwritten rule.
Lingering conflicts
Huawei's corporate culture has a long-lasting influence on its staff. An former employee who worked as a programmer at Huawei's then headquarters in Nanshan district, Shenzhen in the early 2000s said that he worked for Huawei for about one year and a half shortly after he graduated from college but the short experience there has instilled a lasting impact on his future career. He learned to be hardworking, persistent and low-key.
Even after he left Huawei, he sometimes, as if he had been brainwashed, still would read aloud the internal letters written by Ren Zhengfei circulated online to his then-girlfriend-now-wife, partly as a way to woo and impress her, and partly as a way to draw inspiration and strength for himself.
The employee in his early 40s who only spoke on condition of anonymity said he worked long hours from about 10 am to 10 pm every working day at Huawei. When he was tired, he would sleep on the mattress under his desk. "All co-workers did the same, especially the managers," he said. "When a new project kicked in, we would work overnight."
This so-called wolf spirit - a high-pressure workplace - is also known as a "mattress culture," as many of its engineers work so hard that they use blankets and mattresses to sleep at the office. And this military-style management was sometimes rejected by its foreign staff overseas, which led to deeper culture clashes.
"As far as I know about this so-called military style management, it's implementing the corporate policy in the most efficient way," Li said.
For example, when he worked at the company's London office, all the staff there were required to punch in and out every day, following strict discipline.
"Sometimes, foreign employees preferred more flexible working hours, especially when it was bad weather. But the headquarters rejected this request," he said, noting that localizing its business in foreign markets was a bumpy road over some similar daily issues.
For some foreign employees, being part of a growing Chinese company is still remarkable experience.
"I have great respect for what the company has achieved… Huawei's growth and expansion have been amazingly impressive. It was exciting to be a part of that," William Plummer, the company's former US vice president of external affairs, told the Global Times.
Plummer, who is considered an eight-year veteran bridging the Chinese company with the US government, was reportedly laid off by Huawei in April amid rising tension between China and the US.
He noted that the experience with Huawei was sometimes frustrating both "due to the US government's endless assaults on the company, and the company's inability to trust and listen to non-Chinese experts in dealing with such matters."
The company has been going through a tough year in 2018. In January, major US carrier AT&T suspended potential cooperation with Huawei in its mobile business over security concerns.
And the "Five Eyes" nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US) decided to take aim at all Chinese telecoms equipment companies. Australia slashed its use of Chinese-made products in August, followed by New Zealand and the UK.
In particular, the US government targeted Huawei for years, as American counterintelligence agents and prosecutors began exploring possible cases against its leadership back in 2010, according to the New York Times.
Focus on own work
After Meng's arrest, several of Huawei's Chinese employees shared posts on their social media accounts to support each other, claiming that the company can definitely get through this difficult time.
"It will survive widespread bans in Western countries … and we should focus on our own work," a current employee at the company told the Global Times.
Some observers suggested that Huawei's foreign and Chinese staff, who often hold different attitudes in the workplace, may see its struggles in a different light.
Many Chinese staff work very hard overseas because of Huawei's incentive stock options. "Three years after I joined Huawei, I earned about 300,000 yuan ($43,500) a year, and my bonus was almost the same as my basic salary," said a former Chinese employee "Eric," who worked at Huawei from 2009 to 2013 and spent a year in Mumbai, India.
Working long hours is driven by growing business. Many employees understand that the better financial performance Huawei has, the more profits its employees could share in accordance to employee stock ownership plans.
However, to become a true global tech firm, Huawei will need to diversify its leadership, Plummer suggested.
As the case of Meng has entered the judicial system, some believe that Huawei's situation will get worse, even though there is no proof for the US allegations.
Looking into this dilemma, the company's aggressive and customer-centered business strategies might have helped its take over as much market share as possible.
"But in the long run, as a private company that insists on not going public, its opaque financial status also raises questions over its sustainability," Eric said.
|
Newspaper headline: A true multinational |
Related:
Americans still covet trade with China, blame Trump administration for complicating issue
The past year was a tough year for China-US relations. From Washington DC to Iowa to Seattle, this Global Times reporter recently talked to over 50 government officials, scholars, reporters, businessmen and farmers in the US and asked them what they think of the trade war and China-US relationsChinese diplomacy defeats US interference
China should be confident in this: As long as China maintains steady peripheral diplomacy, the US can do nothing to China and Beijing will gain the initiative in diplomacy toward Washington.Related posts:
https://youtu.be/rqRItBZOp5g Ren Zhengfei
leads Huawei Technologies, one of the world's largest manufacturer of
telecommunication h...
https://youtu.be/0fDUgBJ8yfY
https://youtu.be/0jnDXocDmRo http://sh-meet.bigpixel.cn/?
from=groupmessage& isappinstalled=0 .
4 https://youtu.be/03D-0uDOj_c
https://youtu.be/N8IyDSrMY3w The arrest of a top Huawei executive may
spark a conflict that could cr...
https://youtu.be/pSHOSumep9E
https://youtu.be/4fJKlEyEOEg https://youtu.be/N5Ta_RhsXYY American
economist Jeffrey D. Sachs says ...
Photo: VCG China’s business people,
researchers, scholars say they ‘feel the chill’ in US Growing China-US
tensions have affected te...
Rightways - Sowing the seeds of Success:
Think Global, Act Local; Change & Grow Rich; Sow as You Reap & Soar High!
Richard Tan
MBA(UK), BCA(NZ), AMA(USA),MMIM
Monday, August 28, 2017
Corruption has no place in any culture
LATELY, we have been seeing many photographs and a lot of video footage of handcuffed men and women in orange T-shirts bearing the words “Lokap SPRM”.
These are people who have been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with its investigations. Lokap SPRM is the Bahasa Malaysia term for the MACC lock-up.
Some of these men and women have been or will be charged in court for offences such as offering or soliciting bribes and abuse of power. If they are guilty, they will be punished.
But what if the wrongdoing is partly to do with how the private sector operates?
If businessmen believe that greasing someone’s palm is an acceptable way to get ahead of the competition, and if a company’s culture tolerates or even encourages corrupt practices, why should the employees be the only ones held accountable when the authorities enforce the law?
It is not easy, however, to prove that a company has criminal intent.
This will matter less if there are provisions in the law that deem companies responsible if employees commit certain offences in the course of their work.
This concept of corporate liability for the crimes of employees has been introduced in countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia.
Malaysia has long talked about introducing such provisions.
In July 2013, for example, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low said the Government wanted to introduce a “corporate liability law”.
The idea is to hold boards of directors and CEOs of companies responsible for bribes given by their employees unless it is proven that there are measures in place within the organisation to prevent corruption.
Since then, Low and senior MACC officers have several times brought up this matter.
It appears that the plan is to either amend the MACC Act or to come up with a fresh piece of legislation.
At one point, Low said the Bill would be tabled by March this year and that the new provisions would come into effect in 2018.
However, the draft legislation has yet to reach Parliament.
The latest update was from MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki, who was quoted in a Sin Chew Daily report this week saying that the Cabinet had approved the Bill for the Corporate Liability Act and that it would be tabled in October.
It is understandable if the business community is less than enthusiastic about this.
There is always the fear that an employer will be unfairly blamed for an employee’s lack of integrity.
There is also the well-worn argument that complying with additional rules and regulations will increase costs amid already challenging conditions.
It is likely, however, that the new provisions are applicable only if the companies cannot demonstrate that they have done all they can to prevent the offences, or if they are negligent in addressing the risks of such offences being committed.
We will have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, businesses should examine their practices and procedures.
It is definitely in the best interest of a company to ensure that its employees understand well that corruption is not part of its corporate culture.
For that matter, corruption should not be part of any culture.
- Sunday Star Says
Amend MACC Act to give it more bite
TRANSPARENCY International Malaysia (TI-M) hails the call by the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to amend Section 23 of the
MACC Act 2009 to give it greater clarity so that corrupt practices and
other related offences could be better tackled especially in state-owned
enterprises (SOEs).
As stated by MACC deputy commissioner (Operations) Datuk Azam Baki, MACC
needs more bite to act against corrupt public officials including
ministers, assemblymen and politicians.
TI-M also supports MACC on the recently proposed new law known as
“Misconduct for Civil Service Act”, where civil servants who caused
substantial financial losses to the Government due to negligent acts or
non-compliance with official policies or procedures would face criminal
charges under this proposed new Act.
TI-M has been advocating for these amendments to the existing MACC Act
for the past several years and hopes to finally see the light at the end
of the tunnel.
Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 prohibits “an officer of a public body”
or public officials from abusing their power for any gratification for
themselves or for their relatives. TI-M shares Azam’s opinion that many
politicians are being appointed into SOEs and public interest entities
(PIEs).
In addition, TI-M is also looking forward to the inclusion of the
corporate liability provisions into the MACC Act 2009, which will
ultimately hold companies accountable for corruption cases involving
their employees.
Currently, when an employee is caught for corruption or bribery, he or
she will face the consequences and can be charged individually. The
company which the respective employee works for is not held liable for
its employees’ acts, as in law the company not being a human person is
not capable of having criminal intent.
With the introduction of the corporate liability provisions, companies
can be held accountable for their employees’ involvement in corruption
or bribery if they are found to have failed to take adequate steps to
prevent such corrupt acts by their employees.
When this becomes a reality, employers in the private sector would have
no choice but to initiate anti-corruption programmes in their
companies/organisations to mitigate and eventually eradicate corrupt
practices.
TI-M, meanwhile, has been encouraging companies in the private sector to
adopt the ISO 37001 Anti Bribery Management System as an initiative to
put in place all the preventive controls and systems while
simultaneously getting the top management to commit to the elimination
of any form of bribery in their organisations.
On the proposed Misconduct for Civil Service Act, any effort or law to
address misconduct which results in loss of taxpayers’ money should be
lauded.
However, we would like to raise the issue of whether the proposed law
should only apply to civil servants. What about instances where orders
or instructions come from politicians or persons in elected positions?
Should they not also be held liable if proven to be involved?
Any proposed law should fairly apply to everyone involved in the decision-making process, and that includes politicians.
Azam has been reported saying that each year, the AuditorGeneral’s
Report reveals a litany of malpractices among government departments and
agencies, some of which are outrageous, for which the civil servants
responsible should be charged with criminal offences instead of just
disciplinary action under the domestic rules applicable to them.
TI-M supports these new measures proposed by the MACC and hopes that the
Government will give due consideration and also fully support the same
by effecting the necessary changes in the law. This would ensure that we
plug the existing loopholes in our anti-corruption laws.
DATUK AKHBAR SATAR President Transparency International Malaysia
Related Links:
MACC to meet on Sept 4 over CM's refusal to apologise
MACC questions ex-MPSP president - Nation
MACC wants more muscle - Nation
Lim must apologise, says MACC
MP defends Lim's MACC remarks - Nation
MACC's threat of legal action on Guan Eng an unhealthy development
Unisel employees pledge support for MACC probe - Nation
MACC reaffirms stand to stop graft, urges people to follow suit - Nation
Unisel employees pledge support for MACC probe - Nation
MACC reaffirms stand to stop graft, urges people to follow suit - Nation
We are not harassing Selangor, says MACC chief
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Reporting an offence is not defamation
Rightways - Sowing the seeds of Success:
Think Global, Act Local; Change & Grow Rich; Sow as You Reap & Soar High!
Richard Tan
MBA(UK), BCA(NZ), AMA(USA),MMIM
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Corruption has no place in any culture
LATELY, we have been seeing many photographs and a lot of video footage of handcuffed men and women in orange T-shirts bearing the words “Lokap SPRM”.
These are people who have been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with its investigations. Lokap SPRM is the Bahasa Malaysia term for the MACC lock-up.
Some of these men and women have been or will be charged in court for offences such as offering or soliciting bribes and abuse of power. If they are guilty, they will be punished.
But what if the wrongdoing is partly to do with how the private sector operates?
If businessmen believe that greasing someone’s palm is an acceptable way to get ahead of the competition, and if a company’s culture tolerates or even encourages corrupt practices, why should the employees be the only ones held accountable when the authorities enforce the law?
It is not easy, however, to prove that a company has criminal intent.
This will matter less if there are provisions in the law that deem companies responsible if employees commit certain offences in the course of their work.
This concept of corporate liability for the crimes of employees has been introduced in countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia.
Malaysia has long talked about introducing such provisions.
In July 2013, for example, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low said the Government wanted to introduce a “corporate liability law”.
The idea is to hold boards of directors and CEOs of companies responsible for bribes given by their employees unless it is proven that there are measures in place within the organisation to prevent corruption.
Since then, Low and senior MACC officers have several times brought up this matter.
It appears that the plan is to either amend the MACC Act or to come up with a fresh piece of legislation.
At one point, Low said the Bill would be tabled by March this year and that the new provisions would come into effect in 2018.
However, the draft legislation has yet to reach Parliament.
The latest update was from MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki, who was quoted in a Sin Chew Daily report this week saying that the Cabinet had approved the Bill for the Corporate Liability Act and that it would be tabled in October.
It is understandable if the business community is less than enthusiastic about this.
There is always the fear that an employer will be unfairly blamed for an employee’s lack of integrity.
There is also the well-worn argument that complying with additional rules and regulations will increase costs amid already challenging conditions.
It is likely, however, that the new provisions are applicable only if the companies cannot demonstrate that they have done all they can to prevent the offences, or if they are negligent in addressing the risks of such offences being committed.
We will have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, businesses should examine their practices and procedures.
It is definitely in the best interest of a company to ensure that its employees understand well that corruption is not part of its corporate culture.
For that matter, corruption should not be part of any culture.
- Sunday Star Says
Amend MACC Act to give it more bite
TRANSPARENCY International Malaysia (TI-M) hails the call by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to amend Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 to give it greater clarity so that corrupt practices and other related offences could be better tackled especially in state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
As stated by MACC deputy commissioner (Operations) Datuk Azam Baki, MACC needs more bite to act against corrupt public officials including ministers, assemblymen and politicians.
TI-M also supports MACC on the recently proposed new law known as “Misconduct for Civil Service Act”, where civil servants who caused substantial financial losses to the Government due to negligent acts or non-compliance with official policies or procedures would face criminal charges under this proposed new Act.
TI-M has been advocating for these amendments to the existing MACC Act for the past several years and hopes to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 prohibits “an officer of a public body” or public officials from abusing their power for any gratification for themselves or for their relatives. TI-M shares Azam’s opinion that many politicians are being appointed into SOEs and public interest entities (PIEs).
In addition, TI-M is also looking forward to the inclusion of the corporate liability provisions into the MACC Act 2009, which will ultimately hold companies accountable for corruption cases involving their employees.
Currently, when an employee is caught for corruption or bribery, he or she will face the consequences and can be charged individually. The company which the respective employee works for is not held liable for its employees’ acts, as in law the company not being a human person is not capable of having criminal intent.
With the introduction of the corporate liability provisions, companies can be held accountable for their employees’ involvement in corruption or bribery if they are found to have failed to take adequate steps to prevent such corrupt acts by their employees.
When this becomes a reality, employers in the private sector would have no choice but to initiate anti-corruption programmes in their companies/organisations to mitigate and eventually eradicate corrupt practices.
TI-M, meanwhile, has been encouraging companies in the private sector to adopt the ISO 37001 Anti Bribery Management System as an initiative to put in place all the preventive controls and systems while simultaneously getting the top management to commit to the elimination of any form of bribery in their organisations.
On the proposed Misconduct for Civil Service Act, any effort or law to address misconduct which results in loss of taxpayers’ money should be lauded.
However, we would like to raise the issue of whether the proposed law should only apply to civil servants. What about instances where orders or instructions come from politicians or persons in elected positions? Should they not also be held liable if proven to be involved?
Any proposed law should fairly apply to everyone involved in the decision-making process, and that includes politicians.
Azam has been reported saying that each year, the AuditorGeneral’s Report reveals a litany of malpractices among government departments and agencies, some of which are outrageous, for which the civil servants responsible should be charged with criminal offences instead of just disciplinary action under the domestic rules applicable to them.
TI-M supports these new measures proposed by the MACC and hopes that the Government will give due consideration and also fully support the same by effecting the necessary changes in the law. This would ensure that we plug the existing loopholes in our anti-corruption laws.
DATUK AKHBAR SATAR President Transparency International Malaysia
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Richard Tan
MBA(UK), BCA(NZ), AMA(USA),MMIM
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