Fraud prevention initiatives in the Nigerian public sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabiu Abdullahi ◽  
Noorhayati Mansor

Purpose Detecting and preventing fraud are challenging and risky tasks, especially in a fast developing economy such as Nigeria. The efforts become crucial in the government sectors, as they involve public’s trust and resources. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the fraud incidence and the elements of fraud triangle theory (FTT) with the aim of combating current fraud outrages in the Nigerian public sector. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted and 302 questionnaires were distributed to the staff of the departments of accounting, internal auditing and investigation of ten selected ministries, departments and agencies of Kano State, Nigeria. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. Findings The study reveals a significant relationship between three elements of FTT and fraud incidences in the Nigerian public sectors (p-value < 0.001 for pressure and opportunity and p-value = 0.024 for rationalization). Practical implications The findings of the study are useful for forensic accountants and the Nigerian anti-graft bodies to enhance existing control mechanisms in fraud prevention initiatives. The research also contributes to bridge the gap in academic theory and empirical study related to FTT. Social implications Fraud scandals can cause public’s frustration, damage the reputation and integrity of the ruling government and result in negative image of the public sector. Originality/value Accordingly, the study suggests a salary scale reform (SSR) in the Nigerian public sector and improvement in fringe benefits to increase employees’ standard of living. The study concludes with recommendations to enhance fraud awareness and training programs to the government employees.

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1480-1503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riyad Eid ◽  
Amna Al Zaabi ◽  
Rashed Alzahmi ◽  
Yasmeen Elsantil

Purpose The implementation of marketing concepts to the public sector is still a relatively new topic for researchers and practitioners. Moreover, although branding has become more prominent in the public sector, its role with employees is under explored. Following a review of internal branding and marketing literature in the private sector, the purpose of this study is enrich and contribute to the internal branding concept and the literature by expanding its insightful knowledge beyond that of the Western school of thought to the UAE government sector. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a quantitative survey conducted among 304 public sector employees. These were measured on a five-point Likert scale. To test the model and the hypothesized relationships among the constructs of the model, structural equation modeling was used. Findings The strength of the relationship between the constructs indicates that features of the suggested internal branding model are crucial to achieving both employee and customer satisfaction in the public sector. Originality/value This study provides new theoretical grounds for studying internal branding in the public sector. It also supplies public sector organizations with a number of operative factors that may be essential if they are to provide enhanced satisfaction to public needs. It further contributes to the existing body of knowledge by expanding its knowledge beyond the Western school of thoughts as the study is about a non-Western government culture. Finally, it is probably the first to provide an integrative perspective of internal branding constructs in the public sector.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu ◽  
Theodora Aba Abekah Koomson ◽  
Stanley Agbenya Alipoe ◽  
Yusuf Ahmed Kani

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the views of employees on the motives behind frequently reported fraudulent activities at the workplace. Using the fraud triangle theory (FTT) as the theoretical lens, the study examines the effect of pressure, opportunity and rationalization on fraudulent acts by employees at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach The study follows a correlational quantitative approach using questionnaires as the main data collection tool. A total of 243 valid responses from employees working in different state-owned enterprises in Ghana were used in the empirical analysis. The hypothesized relationships of the study were tested using the partial least square-structural equation modelling technique. Findings The results from the structural analysis showed that pressure, rationalization and opportunity are important in explaining why employees engage in fraudulent activities at the workplace. Originality/value The findings do not only provide empirical support for the applicability of the FTT in the Ghanaian context but most importantly offer some useful insights into the fraud discourse from the public sector workers’ perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diep T.N. Nguyen ◽  
Stephen T.T. Teo ◽  
Helen DeCieri ◽  
Marcus Ho

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether formal authority of the HR department has any impact on line managers’ evaluations of HR department effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were conducted in Vietnam. Study 1 comprised a survey of 405 line managers to test the hypothesized model. Study 2 comprised a survey conducted with 155 line managers validated the findings from Study 1. Structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro were used to analyze the data.FindingsLine managers’ perceptions of the HR department’s formal authority had a positive and indirect impact on HR department effectiveness through the HR department’s strategic involvement and influence. Public sector line managers tended to perceive their HR departments as possessing a higher level of formal authority than did their private sector counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends the theory of political influence as it applies to the HR department. Specifically, the study provides empirical evidence of the influences of an organization’s political conditions on the perceptions of HR department effectiveness. This study also contributes to the extant literature on HRM in Vietnam by showing how Vietnam’s HR departments can utilize power and influence in accordance with specific ownership types.Practical implicationsPublic sector HR managers could establish their formal authority among stakeholders as a way to enhance the recognition of HR department effectiveness. This can be done by relying on the presence of the traditional bureaucratic characteristics of the public sector which confer the HR department with formal authority.Originality/valueThe study contributes an understanding of the determinants of HR department effectiveness in the context of Vietnam. Research findings show that highly formal authority practices in the public sector affect the way line managers perceive the strategic involvement of the HR department. The more formal the authority, the more the public sector HR department is perceived to be involved in the strategic management process. Thus, formal authority is a prerequisite that public sector HR departments need to signal its importance among line managers. To have a long-term influencing role in the organization, the HR department in the public sector needs to develop its political and influencing skills. In contrast to this, the private sector HR department needs to develop a strategic partnership with line managers in order to increase its influence and perceived effectiveness.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Verheij ◽  
Sandra Groeneveld ◽  
Lisette Kuyper

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how different diversity approaches of public, semi-public and private sector organizations affect negative treatment experienced in the workplace. Broadly speaking, organizations might either approach diversity as a problem of inequality or as a resource and an added value for the organization. As such, a pro-equality and a pro-diversity approach can be distinguished which are both examined in this paper. Design/methodology/approach In a quantitative study, structural equation modeling was used on survey data of a representative sample of Dutch employees. Findings Results show that while both approaches are negatively associated with negative treatment, the pro-diversity is most strongly so. Sector differences were less pronounced than expected, although employees across different sectors of employment benefit from both the approaches to a different extent. Research limitations/implications Further research examining the effect of diversity approaches to negative treatment across sectors is required. Suggestions for further research are discussed. Practical implications Looking at sector differences, the findings showed that employees across public, semi-public and private sector organizations benefitted from the diversity approaches to a different extent. Organizations across different sectors are therefore suggested to adopt different diversity approaches to combat negative treatment in the workplace. Originality/value Most studies either focus on a pro-equality or pro-diversity approach. The present study combines both and, moreover, pays attention to the way both approaches affect negative treatment experienced in the semi-public sector. Examining variation within the public sector is unique in the context of diversity research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alok Tewari ◽  
Smriti Srivastava ◽  
Divya Gangwar ◽  
Vimal Chandra Verma

PurposeThe role of mindfulness in influencing green behaviors has been recognized in literature though it has not been explored sufficiently in the context of organic food. This study makes an attempt to explore the role of mindfulness in influencing young consumers' purchase intention (PI) toward organic food in India.Design/methodology/approachA total of 348 useable responses were collected through an intercept survey at organic food stores using a purposive sampling approach. Data analysis was carried out through structural equation modeling.FindingsMindfulness emerged as a significant predictor of behavioral intention. Further, the specific indirect effects of mindfulness through attitude, perceived behavioral control (PBC), drive for environmental responsibility (DER) and label reference willingness (LRW) were also significant.Originality/valueThis research is one of the initial efforts to link mindfulness with PI for organic food. The results could help the government and marketers tap onto the potential of mindfulness with regard to environment-friendly products and frame appropriate strategies for stimulating the demand for organic food in India


2021 ◽  
pp. 875697282110427
Author(s):  
Qinghua He ◽  
Zilun Wang ◽  
Ge Wang ◽  
Jianxun Xie ◽  
Zhen Chen

Greenwashing behaviors (GWBs) are positive environmental communications in combination with poor environmental performance. Using fraud triangle theory, this study investigated the effects of three types of factors (pressures, opportunities, and rationalizations) that shape contractor GWBs. Primary data from 586 respondents were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The SEM results indicate positive effects for these factors with the exception of isomorphic pressures and reveal the mediating role of rationalization. The fsQCA results present three configurational models that trigger GWBs. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided that shed new light on facilitating environmental sustainability in projects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaela Palma ◽  
Alessandro Hinna ◽  
Gianluigi Mangia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether a pro-social motivation called user orientation (UO), which aims at helping specific others, may affect performance of public sector employees in addition to public service motivation (PSM), and whether any personal, and/or contextual factors affect this relationship (age, tenure, role, and context). Design/methodology/approach Utilizing cross-sectional survey data obtained from 618 Italian public teachers, PLS-structural equation modeling is used to investigate the relationship between PSM, UO, and performance, along with the moderating effects of individual/contextual factors. Findings Findings show positive relationships between the two levers (PSM/UO) and individual performance (IP), depending on job and organizational tenure, role, and the social environment of the areas the schools are located in. Research limitations/implications There might be problems related to causal inference and common method variance, due to the use of the cross-sectional self-reported data. Practical implications Managers should be aware of the crucial role UO and PSM play in order to improve IP in contexts where there is direct contact with the service beneficiaries. Originality/value The paper contributes to a clearer understanding of which motives are involved in the process that leads public service employees to enhance their performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 239920262110647
Author(s):  
Oluka Pross Nagitta ◽  
Marcia Mkansi ◽  
Sylvia Desire Nyesiga ◽  
George William Kajjumba

Introduction: Malaria is a killer disease in the tropical environment; artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) play a central role in treating malaria. Thus, the supply and presence of ACT drugs in hospitals are a key feature in the fight against malaria. Supply chain management literature has focused on the private sector, and less attention has been paid to the public sector, especially hospitals. Aim: This study uses an interdisciplinary lens in investigating how to boost the supply and distribution of ACTs to save lives in low-income countries, specifically in Uganda. Methodology: The study adopted a quantitative research design using a questionnaire as the data collection instrument. Of the 440-population size, 304 of the sample population participated in the study. The model was estimated using structural equation modeling (SEM) to establish the causal relationship among the variables. Results: From the SEM analysis, all the hypotheses were significant at p < 0.05. The availability of ACTs is strongly affected by strategic dimensions (0.612), followed by operation dimensions (0.257); strategic determinants significantly affect operational determinants by a magnitude of 0.599. The indirect influence of the strategic determinants via operational determinants on the availability of ACTs is not significant. Overall, the factors explained 63.9% of the observed variance in the availability of ACTs, and the ACT availability can be predicted as follows: ACT availability = 0.612 × strategic determinants + 0.256 × operation determinants. Top management commitment and organizational responsiveness are among the items that positively affect the availability of ACTs. Conclusion: Strategically, hospital management should invest in cheap technology and software to minimize the unavailability of medicines. Our research suggests that strategic and operational determinants should be integrated into the hospitals’ core business and implemented by the top management. The article contributes to theoretical and policy direction in the public sector medicine supply chain, specifically in public hospitals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Sakinah AS ◽  
Anisah Anisah

This study aims to analyze the influence of leadership and organizational culture on the performance of public sector employees in the city of Jambi. The sample in this study is employees who work in the public sector in the city of Jambi. The data collection method used a questionnaire and analyzed using verification analysis, the analytical tool in this study is using Component Based SEM (Structural Equation Modeling), namely PLS (Partial Least Square). The results of this study will explain whether there is an influence from the main variables studied, namely the leadership, organizational culture and employee performance..


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (07) ◽  
pp. A09
Author(s):  
Reymund Flores ◽  
Xavier Venn Asuncion

This study mainly explores the communication preferences of the public; their level of trust in the government; and the factors affecting their risk/crisis perception amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The key findings —derived from the data collected through an online survey and analysis using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), provide insights on how Local Government Units (LGUs) can improve their risk/crisis communication in this current health crisis. Among the key takeaways include the use of social media platforms, like Facebook, and native/local language for effective risk/crisis communication which may, consequently, foster trust building between the LGUs and the public.


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