Comparative Review of the Latest Concept in Compliance Management & The Compliance Management Maturity Models

Like many other management systems, the compliance management system needs to be measured to know how exemplary the implementation is. The Compliance management maturity model (CMMM) is one measurement method that can help the organization assess the degree of Compliance Management implementation and the effectiveness of compliance management practices to help the organization achieve its objectives. To determine and identify the state-of-the-art CMMM, this study will enumerate and synthesize current CMMM and map their similarities and differences. Furthermore, to determine if the existing enterprise CMMM can measure the current Compliance Management practices by using the ISO 37301 international Standard as a proxy for a state-of-the-art Compliance Management system. The synthesizing process of the enterprise CMMM uses the literature review approach on the existing CMMM and ISO 37301 as the primary benchmark reference. The findings show that despite organizations facing increasing complexity and organizational characteristics of internal and external regulations, the CMMM as Compliance Management measurement tools are very few. The result also shows that the existing CMMM cannot cover all the current CMMM requirements needed from the International Standard.

Social Compliance During High Stringency Periods Efficiently Reduces COVID-19 Incidence: Evidence from Google Mobility Reports

It is crucial to understand and learn as much as possible from the current global Sars-CoV-2 pandemic for the sake of future precautions. Apart from strong government restrictions such as complete lockdowns, curfews, and mask mandates, other factors influence viral transmission. Since June 2020, Denmark has had an extensive test and surveillance program and made data publicly available at the municipality level. Here we use these data and integrate publicly available data on government restrictions, weather data, and mobility data to model COVID-19 incidence in 98 Danish municipalities from September 2020 to February 2021. The inclusion of municipality heterogeneity, weather and mobility data increases the amount of variance explained by ~29% compared to a simpler model taking only incidence and restrictions into account. We found a strong and significant effect from temperature which interacts with government restrictions. Our results indicate that higher temperatures limit viral transmission when government restrictions are low, but that the temperature effect diminishes under stronger restrictions. This is most likely due to a change in human behavior rather than a biological effect. Likewise, we found that changes in residential mobility were significant factors that also interacted with restrictions. When restrictions were strong, we found that increased residential mobility resulted in decreased COVID-19 incidence, suggesting residential mobility as a proxy for compliance. Our results show the increased explanatory power of integrating different variables when modeling COVID-19 incidence. The weather seems to predict human behavior in a quite predictable way and mobility data could be used to measure current compliance with government restrictions.

Disease monitoring programs of rare genetic diseases: transparent data sharing between academic and commercial stakeholders

It has recently been suggested that registries for rare neuromuscular diseases should be formed and governed exclusively by physicians and patients in an effort to limit conflicts of interest. Enacting such an approach would not only be challenging logistically and financially, but it would also exclude the involvement of sponsors, who are an integral component of drug development within the current compliance framework. Therefore, as an alternative to traditional registries, we propose the use of a better collaborative model for post-marketing follow-up that includes all stakeholders. We developed the concept of Disease Monitoring Programs (DMPs), which are designed to monitor disease manifestations over a 10-year period whether on a sponsored drug or not, and ensure consistent collection, ownership sharing and governance of data.

Training for Caregivers and Compliance with Dysphagia Recommendations in a Tertiary Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation Center

Background: Dysphagia is common in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Speech and language therapists give dysphagia recommendations to persons with MS and caregivers. Nonadherence to these recommendations can increase the risk of aspiration. We investigated current compliance with dysphagia recommendations among caregivers and kitchen staff and assessed improvement in compliance by increasing knowledge through tailored training. Methods: An observational cohort study was conducted over 4 weeks during which the compliance of the caregivers and kitchen staff in a rehabilitation center was monitored. A questionnaire was used to assess reasons for noncompliance. A 2-hour training session was provided for all caregivers and kitchen staff to improve their knowledge and skills. The compliance rate was observed again 1 and 6 months after the training. Compliance was defined by whether recommendations were followed. Results: Results showed a significant improvement after training for overall compliance by caregivers (from 58% to >81%, P < .001). This improvement was still observed 6 months later (80%). After training, significant differences were found in compliance with the following recommendations (P ≤ .001): consistency of soup, consistency of liquids, food preparation, alertness, speed, amount, posture, and supervision. Recommendation for utensils did not improve (P = .44). Compliance with diet modifications made by the kitchen staff improved significantly (from 74% to >86%, P = .002), and even more during follow-up (to >95%, P = .009). Conclusions: Dysphagia training tailored to the needs of caregivers to improve knowledge significantly improves compliance with dysphagia recommendations and the quality of care.

Who Is Listening? Spokesperson Effect on Communicating Social and Physical Distancing Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Effective communication during a pandemic, such as the current COVID-19 crisis, can save lives. At the present time, social and physical distancing measures are the lead strategy in combating the spread of COVID-19. In this study, a survey was administered to 705 adults from Switzerland about their support and practice of social distancing measures to examine if their responses depended on (1) whether these measures were supported by a government official or an internationally recognized celebrity as a spokesperson, (2) whether this spokesperson was liked, and (3) the respondent’s age. We also considered several attitudinal and demographic variables that may influence the degree to which people support and comply with social distancing measures. We found that the government official was more effective in eliciting responses supportive of social distancing, particularly as manifested in the stated current compliance with social distancing measures. The effect was substantially stronger among older respondents, although these respondents expressed a lower risk perception. Although there was a general trend for greater endorsement of the social distancing measures among participants who liked the spokesperson, this was non-significant. In addition, respondents’ greater support and compliance was positively associated with (1) higher concern for the current situation, (2) higher concern for the well-being of others, and (3) greater belief that others were practicing social distancing, and negatively with (4) greater self-reported mobility. Current compliance correlated negatively with (5) household size. Since different parts of the population appear to have different perceptions of risk and crisis, our preliminary results suggest that different spokespersons may be needed for different segments of the population, and particularly for younger and older populations. The development of evidence-based knowledge is required to further identify who would be the most effective spokesperson, and in particular to groups with low risk perception and low compliance.

Results and Lessons Learned from Assessing 50 Industrial Parks in Eight Countries against the International Framework for Eco-Industrial Parks

Over the past two years the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) assessed 50 parks in eight developing and transition countries against 51 prerequisites and performance indicators outlined in the International Framework for Eco-Industrial Parks (International EIP Framework). The eight countries covered are: Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, Ukraine, and Viet Nam. This article provides a summary of the analysis and lessons learned from the assessments of the industrial parks and their performance against the International EIP Framework. The methodology is based on assessments of the current and intended performance of the industrial parks on four key categories (park management, environmental, social, and economic), supported by a scoring method. The analysis indicates that the International EIP Framework can be regarded as a practical and relevant means to assess the performance of industrial parks, as well as a basis to identify and prioritize EIP initiatives to strengthen their performance. There is a wide range of performance among the industrial parks assessed. Higher average current performance against the International Framework can be found in Colombia (68%), Indonesia (67%), and Viet Nam (63%). Ukraine and South Africa have the highest improvement potential (27% and 25%, respectively). Across all eight countries, the environmental and social performance categories have a lower compliance (34% and 44%, respectively) compared to economic performance (72% current compliance) and park management (55% compliance). A review of the root-causes indicates that the main compliance issue for 16 prerequisites and performance indicators outlined in the International EIP Framework seems mainly with the industrial park- and country-specific conditions. There is an opportunity to refine the formulation of five prerequisites and indicators outlined in the International EIP Framework. Across all 50 parks assessed, the following topics have the lowest current compliance: energy; local community outreach; environmental and park management and monitoring; waste and material use; and climate change and the natural environment. A low compliance with specific prerequisites and performance indicators under park management, economic, environmental, and social performance indicates a need by the industrial park for technical assistance. If high-performance industrial parks exist in a country, it implies that there is capacity in the country to develop an eco-industrial park. In this scenario, technical assistance should include a stronger focus on knowledge dissemination, sharing experiences, and peer-to-peer learning between industrial parks and the regulating authorities. Industrial parks managed by public–private partnerships and the private sector show a higher average EIP performance than industrial parks managed solely by the public sector. This seems to illustrate that industrial parks perform better if they are run like a private business or public–private partnership, rather than a government-managed initiative. This article is the first academic publication discussing the results from the application of the International EIP Framework with a large number of industrial parks in multiple countries. It is hoped that this article will encourage further EIP assessments to be undertaken in more industrial parks to assist in their transformation into eco-industrial parks.

Umsetzung einer wirksamen Compliance in globalen Lieferketten am Beispiel der Anforderungen aus der europäischen Chemikalien-Regulierung an die Automobilindustrie

This publication based on a master thesis explores the challenges of the automotive industry regarding the European chemical regulations REACH and CLP, as well as potential improvements of the current compliance activities and the related incentives and barriers. It answers the research question: "To what extent should the compliance activities of actors in the automotive supply chain be extended in order to meet the requirements of European chemicals regulation; and where would it help to strengthen incentives in enforcement and the legal framework?“. The study’s structure is based on the transdisciplinary delta analysis of the Society for Institutional Analysis at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. It compares the target state of the legal requirements and the requirements for corresponding compliance with the actual state of the actual compliance measures of the automotive players and attempts to identify their weak points (the delta). The main sources for the analysis are the legal texts and relevant court decisions as well as guideline-based expert interviews with automotive players based on Gläser & Laudel. As objects of the analysis, there are in addition answers to random enquiries according to Article 33 (2) REACH as well as the recommendations and guidelines of the industry associations. The analysis identifies the transmission of material information in the supply chain as a key problem. The global database system used for this purpose, the IMDS, shows gaps in the framework conditions. This results in compliance risk due to the dynamically developing regulation. In addition, the study identifies an incompliance of the investigated automobile manufacturers with regard to Art. 33 REACH. In answering the research question, the study recommends solutions to the automotive players that extend the current compliance activities. In addition, it offers tables and process flow diagrams, which structure the duties and required compliance measures and may serve as basic audit criteria. The analysis is carried out from an external perspective and looks at the entire industry. It therefore cannot cover all the individual peculiarities of each automotive player. As a result, the identified gaps serve only as indications for possible further compliance risks.

Cryptocurrencies and financial crime: solutions from Liechtenstein

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how cryptocurrencies are being used as a vehicle for financial crime (such as money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption) and propose a more effective international standard for regulation that uses the Liechtenstein blockchain act as a benchmark. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates how cryptocurrencies facilitate financial crime through a qualitative study consisting of interviews with 10 presumed providers of illegal financial services and 18 international compliance experts. Findings This study shows that cryptocurrencies are a highly suitable vehicle for money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption and that current compliance efforts in the cryptocurrency sector are ineffective. Research limitations/implications The presented findings illustrate that for a more effective combat of financial crime via cryptocurrency, an international standard for blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation must be created. This paper suggests that Liechtenstein’s innovative and comprehensive blockchain act could be used as a basis for said standard. Practitioners should also consider cooperating transnationally when prosecuting financial crime via cryptocurrency. Originality/value The fact that cryptocurrencies facilitate financial crime is widely known. However, this study combines the perspectives of both compliance experts and presumed criminals to gain a comprehensive understanding of the techniques that money launderers, terrorist financiers and corrupt public officials use. This paper examines the potential for the innovative Liechtenstein blockchain act, which has, thus, far not received empirical attention, to set the benchmark for international regulations.

Who is listening? Spokesperson Effect on Communicating Social and Physical Distancing Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Effective communication during the COVID-19 pandemic can save lives. At the present time, social and physical distancing measures are the lead strategy in combatting the spread of COVID-19. In this pilot, survey-based study, we obtained responses from 705 adults in Switzerland about their support and practice of social distancing measures to examine if these responses are: (1) influenced by whether these measures are supported by an internationally recognized celebrity or a government official, (2) dependent on whether the spokesperson is liked, and (3) age-dependent. We also considered several attitudinal and demographic variables that may influence the degree to which people support and comply with social distancing measures. We found that the government official was more effective, particularly in response to current compliance with social distancing measures, and was substantially stronger among older respondents despite having lower risk perception. Being liked seems to boost this effect. In addition, respondents’ greater support and compliance was positively associated with (1) higher concern for the current situation, (2) higher concern for the well-being of others, (3) greater belief that others are practicing social distancing, (4) feeling greater constraint in freedom of movement, and negatively with (5) city size, and (6) household size. Since different parts of the population appear to have different perceptions of risk and crisis, our preliminary results suggest that different spokespersons may be needed for the younger and the older populations, and for rural and urban populations. The development of evidence-based knowledge is required to further identify who would be the most effective spokesperson, and in particular to groups with low risk perception and low compliance.