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CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF ADMINISTRATORS & MANAGEMENT

CONSULTANTS

PROFESSIONAL LICENSING PROGRAMME

TAMALE MODULE 1

APRIL 2022 BATCH

TAKE-HOME ASSIGNMENT FOUR (4)

Presented by:

STUDENT NAME:

STUDENT ID #:

STUDENT INDEX #:

July 2022
Q1)

White-collar crime is defined as the term “a violation of the criminal law by a person of the

upper socioeconomic class in the course of his occupational activities” (Sutherland, 1941).

Sutherland asserts that the financial loss attributable to white-collar crimes exceeds the dollar

loss attributable to all other categories of crimes. For instance, white-collar crime cost the

American corporate community $50 billion in 1980. This was over ten times more than the total

amount of money lost to all types of street crimes (Eitzen, 1986). In the United States, the price

of computer crimes alone was estimated to be $15 billion in 2003. (Schaefer, 2005). The "Daily

Graphic" newspaper in Ghana reported that the country lost almost $10 billion in ghost names in

the Ministry of Education alone in 2001. Organizations often suffer more than individuals due to

white-collar crimes. White-collar crime can put workers at risk through unsafe working

conditions, harm consumers through the sale of hazardous goods, and pollute a

community(Scholars & Soley, 2017; Wheeler & Rothman, n.d.).

An organization like mine needs to keep a check on these crimes to prevent economic loss and

maintain a healthy workplace atmosphere (Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, 2014).

Such types of crimes cause significant financial damages to the organization. It affects a business

organization's reputation and trustworthiness in the eyes of different stakeholders. 

My organization should be interested in preventing the happening of white-collar crimes

because of the following reasons:

 To maintain healthy and positive workplace culture. Preventing such crimes will make

the workplace environment ethical and positive. A healthy workplace environment is

important for business success and better performance.

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  To prevent financial losses and strengthen the financial position of the business by

indulging in ethical business practices. Huge financial losses impact an organization's

reputation. Thus to maintain the organization's brand image and strong financial position

a check on white-collar crime activity is a must for our organization.

 Avoid decreased morale among employees is also one of the prime reasons that my

organizations should be interested in preventing white-collar crimes. Any kind of

unethical or illegitimate activity in the organization directly impacts employees’

motivation level. Therefore, to avoid such situations, the organization should take

preventive measures to reduce or prevent the happening of such crimes.

 Indulging in white-collar crime leads to legal consequences. To avoid legal consequences

an organization keeps a check on all business activities and processes to ensure, there is

no chance of happening such unethical practices. 

Any organization could face a lot of issues because of white-collar crime. One lousy employee or

outside partner is all it takes to ruin your company. Therefore, it is crucial that every business be

interested in white-collar crimes and have safeguards in place to stop crimes from occurring thus

including my organization (Introduction and Overview of White-Collar Crime, n.d.; Yamoah, 2014).

Having safeguards in place as an organization interested in white-collar crimes entails

establishing clear policies to inform staff members of all statutory requirements and monitoring

staff members and records to spot inconsistencies and other possible indicators (Sajid Bashir,

2011). These kinds of safeguards can go a long way in assisting my organization in preventing

fraud, embezzlement, extortion, theft, and other typical white-collar crimes. White-collar crimes

must be taken seriously, regardless of how small my organization is or how many employees we

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have as an organization. Otherwise, we may encounter as an organization any or all of the

following; potential fines and legal troubles, loss of profits, ruining our reputation, etc.

Q2)

Yes, as an organization, we have a formal policy on white-collar crime as the repercussions can

be disastrous at the occurrence of these crimes. The damage is not just done to the organization;

it can also affect regular employees, stakeholders, and the community at large (Gottschalk, n.d.).

The prosecution of these offenses can damage a corporation beyond its capacity for recovery,

which just makes the situation worse. This frequently results in hundreds or even thousands of

people losing their jobs, further spreading the pain. What can be done, then? To do nothing is to

condone the misbehavior, but strong prosecution may result in disaster.

a) We have established a zero-tolerance policy and re-echoed our code of conduct for white-

collar crimes which impose strict punishment for infractions of a stated rule, to eliminate

undesirable conduct. Establishing a zero-tolerance culture is the foundation for fighting fraud

and making sure employees understand them well.

b) While dealing with white-collar crimes, an organization faces several challenges and

obstacles. The challenges that my organization has experienced in documenting and dealing with

white-collar crimes are as follows:

 Proving who is responsible: This is one of the major challenges we face as an

organization in dealing with white-collar crimes internally. In those cases where the

different modes are used and more people are involved in the crime, it is difficult to

prove who agreed to go ahead and execute the offense. It often gets difficult to point the

right person behind the white-collar crime action. 

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  Complex investigations: White-collar crime involves a huge number of financial

transactions. In certain cases, the financial transaction takes place between multiple

states. The defense attorney needs to know the laws and regulations of different states.

This makes the investigation a complex process. 

 The understanding of risk or benefit analysis of cooperation: It is a challenging

situation to calculate the risk and benefits associated with cooperation. Many a time

developed regimes encourage an individual or business organization under investigation

to cooperate with the authorities to obtain credit and avoid corporate conviction.

Cooperation depends on perceived benefits. At times it gets difficult for the party under

investigation to analyze the risk and benefit. 

 Different kinds of Evidence: White-collar crime is not a small activity. It usually

involves a huge amount. To prove the case, the prosecution needs to collect a variety of

evidence in the form of contracts, bank statements, receipts, cheques, and emails.

Collecting this enormous amount of evidence is sometimes a challenging task for an

organization. 

c)

Penalties and punishment for white-collar crime vary from organization to organization. Every

organization has its laws therefore, punishments and legal actions against crimes and frauds

differ from one organization to another. If an individual is convicted of a white-collar crime, then

under the law punishment, penalties, or both are mandatory. 

Some of the common penalties and legal actions for White Collar Crime are as follows: 

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  Fines: This includes a monetary amount to be paid for the damages. As a penalty, the

convicted individual is surcharged and asked to pay a fixed sum of money as per the

policies in place within the organization or as prescribed by a law court order if

convicted. 

 Court cost: This includes the cost or amount incurred by the victim on the litigation

process and legal fees to file and fight the case. All the expenses incurred by the victim

on filing a legal case and all legal processes are charged as a penalty from the party to

default. 

 Restitution: It is a monetary payment that is imposed as a penalty on the accused

employee to recover the loss or damage. It also includes returning the objects that were

stolen or lost to the victim or the organization. 

 Imprisonment: In certain cases, as per the intensity of loss or damage and the type of

crime an employee is given imprisonment as a non-monetary penalty. The term for

imprisonment depends on the severity of the crime. 

d) an organization needs to keep a check on white-collar crimes to prevent economic loss and

maintain a healthy workplace atmosphere. Such types of crimes cause significant financial

damages to the organization. It affects a business organization's reputation and trustworthiness in

the eyes of different stakeholders. 

Taking preventive measures and framing organizational policies that minimize or prevent such

type of activity in an organization is the only solution to the problem. Therefore, an organization

and for that matter, ours needs to follow certain measures and steps to reduce the chances of

white-collar crimes.  

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 Steps or Methods to minimize white collar crimes: 

 The organization needs to screen the candidate properly before making the selection

decision. A background investigation needs to be conducted to understand the candidate.

Only if the candidate is clear and honest in every aspect should be selected for the vacant

post.

 To avoid any fraudulent activity, the organization needs to strictly segregate employees'

duties and responsibilities. This will help to avoid common types of fraud in the

organization.

 Provide ethical training to employees from time to time. Encourage ethical behavior

among the employees. Also, educate the employees on the consequences of unethical

behavior and practices. 

 Frequent audits are a must in the organization. Auditing will help to ensure that the

financial statements are accurate and authentic. With the help of auditing, an organization

can easily identify any kind of unethical activity. 

 Promote an ethical culture in the organization. The top management should set the base

for lower-level management. Encourage the employees to discuss everything with their

supervisors or managers while making ethical or other decisions. A culture that embraces

ethical practices will have minimal or no chance of white-collar crimes. 

 Technology when used in the right manner and for the right purpose can be a savior.

Hence, the use of technology is a useful method to combat white-collar crimes from

happening. The organization must use strong and technologically advanced software and

applications to monitor each process and activity. The technology will serve as a

surveillance partner to spot an activity that seems unethical or wrong. 

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 References

Gottschalk, P. (n.d.). Organizational opportunity and deviant behavior : convenience in white-collar

crime.

Introduction and Overview of White-Collar Crime. (n.d.).

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. (2014). https://doi.org/10.2307/2084686?
uid=3739968&uid

Sajid Bashir. (2011). Antecedents of white collar crime in organizations: A literature review.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, 5(35).
https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbmx11.008

Scholars, J. W., & Soley, S. (2017). ScholarlyCommons ScholarlyCommons White Collar Crime: The
Role Of The Firm In Occupational Crime White Collar Crime: The Role Of The Firm In
Occupational Crime. https://repository.upenn.edu/joseph_wharton_scholars/

Wheeler, S., & Rothman, M. L. (n.d.). Michigan Law Review Michigan Law Review The
Organization as Weapon in White-Collar Crime The Organization as Weapon in White-Collar
Crime. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlrhttps://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol80/iss7/3

Yamoah, E. E. (2014). Strategies for Combating White-Collar Crimes in Ghana. Higher Education of
Social Science, 6(2), 44–48. https://doi.org/10.3968/j.hess.1927024020140602.4545

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