While the world is not a perfect place, people still hold out hope that it can become a better place for all citizens across the globe. However, a vicious cycle of corruption, unequal distribution of wealth, and unequal distribution of power, all conspire to create a climate of corruption in every nation on the planet.
Transparency International is a global organization with a vision of a “world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption.” The organization is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting corruption. One of its most public tools in the Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures corruption around the world. It ranks countries on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Unfortunately, no country gets a perfect score in the 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index. Two-thirds of the 176 countries measured were below the mid-point score. The global average: 43 out of 100, and top-scoring nations were far outnumbered by countries were citizens face corruption daily.
- Top score: Denmark and New Zealand with a score of 90.
- Low score: Somalia with a score of 10.
Curious where the United States ranks? Check out the Index and see the results.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the role of ethics, legality, and corruption in global marketing. What are the differences? What factors contribute to a poor business climate? To a poor living situation for citizens?
- Before showing the Index, poll students as to the countries that they believe will score the best, and worst, on corruptions.
- Show a video for the Corruptions Perception Index: https://youtu.be/zshdwWrsv3I
- Bring up the Index: https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016
- Divide students into teams. Have each team analyze an area of the world and locate the high performing and low performing countries. What are the contributing factors to these scores?
Source: Transparency International
