India has the perfect ingredients to start up a business. Relatively low costs, cheap labour/manpower with quick access and a large consumer base! At most cases the third ingredient drives volumes. But then, are these consumers actually getting their value for the money they shell out? The answer to this question is quite debateable as it as a very qualitative factor involved – Ethics!
One of the greatest industrialists of India once quoted – “you lose a fair amount of business if you choose not to participate in corruption”. Now this person may have nominated a successor, but we sure hope this message doesn’t get percolated down. The situation is like a double edged sword- on one side you have to manage your dependencies, while on the other side focus on your sales. The impact of unethical practises is big.
In a survey by KPMG, 99% of the respondents feel that unethical practises contribute to inefficiencies and increase costs, while almost 70% feel that private sector business houses contribute to these practises. Now these are some statistics from within an organization. When the government comes into the picture – about 50% of them agree that corruption has a direct impact on the firm’s growth.
Well at the end of it all it’s only the consumer who has to bear the brunt. As per reports, industries with most unethical practises are real estate, telecommunications, Education and Financial Services. All these four industries have a direct involvement with the consumer and it is him who ends up pulling his hair. Whether be it dealing with construction delays from unrecognized builders or getting doubly charged for your mobile bill – end of the day consumers have to start raising their voices.
Some final words – business houses do indulge in unethical practises which impact their customers! Some of these are triggered by the government, but finally it’s up to the business house whether to keep the customer in mind or their board of directors! Tell us what you think!
