Misuse of Company Resources, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Company assets and resources are meant for the sole purpose of operations within the firm. They are not meant to be used or misused in other ways other than those for which they are acquired (Bacchus, 110). The assets of a company vary in type and purpose. Among many other resources, some of the basic resources that may be available in a company include finances, plant and machinery, motor vehicles, IT equipment, intellectual property, office supplies, authority and customer, supplier and distributor lists and information. In this essay, an analysis into the extent to which resources are misused in companies forms the core topic.

Misuse of Company Resources- Prevalence of the Situation

There have been numerous cases where employers and employees have been linked to misuse of company resources. There are different dimensions from which the misuse can be analyzed. The prevalence of misuse of resources in a company depends on the type of resource in question. This calls for categorization of these resources into broad categories.

Misuse of Human Resources

Human resources are vital assets to the organization. There are different ways in which human resources can be misused, depending on the ranks that exist in an organization. There are cases where misuse of authority has been reported. Human resource managers, for example have been accused of misuse of their authority to hire and fire employees from their individual attitudes.

Recruitment of employees in certain cases is associated with high levels of corruption and nepotism. In other instances, allocation of duties to the employees does not reflect the actual picture as it is supposed to be. Promotions and demotions based on personal relationships both amount to misuse of the office, which is a vital company resource (Garner, 56).

Abuse of Plant, Machinery and Company Vehicles

Plant and machinery is a wide section of a company’s resources. One of the machinery components is the IT equipment. There are cases where employees use companies’ computers to perform their own operations. Using a company’s computers and network services to surf the internet for personal interest is one way of musing IT resources.

There are also instances where employees have been associated with performing personal clerical jobs using company resources. For instance, using office computers and printers to process personal documents without permission is considered wastage of such resources. Some of the workers have also made attempts to steal the IT devices from the workplace.

Machinery should only be used for organizational benefits. Machinery in this case may also be related to company vehicles. Vehicles that are acquired by the company should be used to transport employees or any other equipment that is directly linked to the organization. The legal and ethical codes provide that the use of these vehicles should be limited to office hours. The cases that have been reported of drivers and other employees that are assigned vehicles using them for personal keep increasing. In addition, some company drivers have used organizational cars to transport their own passengers. In addition, some are put into commercial use, which highly violates organizational ethics.

Misuse of Financial Resources

These are the most widely abused resources of a company. Financial scandals that have been witnessed in various companies explain the extent to which most of the workers have abused these resources. Audit reports delivered to finance and accounting departments of various institutions always reflect over-estimations.

Allocation of finances to irrelevant projects other than for those that have been planned by the organization’s Board of Directors amounts to misuse of financial resources. These resources have also been abused through theft. False representation of financial figures to suit personal interests amounts to full misuse of such resources. Most of the office holders have lost positions due to corruption cases involving use of office funds to acquire property. Investigation reports have led to most of the organizational leaders being accused in courts of law, most of who end up losing their positions as leaders of such firms.

Abuse of the Office

The office is not an individual. There have been misconceptions held about the roles of people holding important offices in companies. Some have used their positions to personalize the equipment that are meant for company use. Sexual harassment has also been associated with misuse of office. This comes in cases where an office holder gives favors to particular people in exchange for sexual favors (Boland, 13). This has tainted the public image of most companies, especially where such cases are reported and acted upon by the law. There are a lot more resources of the company that can be abused, other than the ones discussed.

Comparison of the U. S cases to the Rest of the World

The United States of America has had cases where employees and employers have been accused of misuse of office. A few examples of the recently reported cases are as follows. Most of these cases involved misuse of government company resources.

1. Navy commander charged in bribery scheme (IEC, 03). This was a case reported in 2013 when a US navy commander was accused of using his position to participate in bribery involving hundreds of millions of dollars. This was a case associated with a multinational company which supplies food, water and waste services to the Navy.
2. Derek Matthews Heads to Prison (IEC, 05). This was a former Homeland Security Supervisor and was in 2013 charged with taking bribes amounting to nearly $ 13000 from a government contractor. The accusations put against him did not end in his favor, but instead led him to prison.
3. Misuse of Government Purchase cards. This was an audit report of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Most of the employees of this agency were accused of using the company purchase cards for personal expenses. Consequently, the agency had to cancel most of the cards, before undergoing more losses.

It is not practical to rank the United States in terms of the rate at which company resources are used or misused. There have been similar cases reported in Canada and even other countries. To this extent, it becomes a difficult task to measure and rank the rates at which company equipment are being misused. There are cases that are not reported at all, both in the United States and all the other countries. However, cases of corruption are more prevalent in the developing countries than in the United States. From the three samples given above of the 2013 cases, it is clear that company property is not only abused in private companies but also in government agencies.

Causes

The causes of misuse of company resources come in number of ways, ranging from personal, societal to institutional levels.

Personal Causes

There are reasons that may drive an individual into improper use of company resources. These include:

1. Lack of sufficient information on how to use such resources.
2. Desire to satisfy personal needs with limited personal resources.
3. Intentional in-will for the company

Societal Causes

1. Difference in social classes among employees leading to the desire to get rich.
2. Poor economic conditions in the society making the company direct resources to other development programs against the set protocol.

Institutional Causes

The main institutional causes of misuse of company resources include:

1. Lack of appropriate rules and measures put in place governing the use of organizational resources.
2. Poor education and training of the employees in the expected use of company resources.
3. Inappropriate security measures to company resources leading to theft by some workers.

Ethical Dilemmas

There are instances where a senior employee in a company is directly associated with misuse of company property. In the case of a manager, it becomes confusing on the part of employees on the appropriate measures to take so as to punish such actions. In addition, some cases arise out of negligence and it becomes a challenge to accuse any member of a company of misuse.

Ethical Choices

To ensure that proper choices are made by the employees, the top levels managers need to enlighten the workers in the codes of conduct regarding use of company resources. There should also be regular in-service training programs for the employees to let them be aware of the right approach to take while using company resources.

Conclusion

It is the key responsibility of each employee in an organization, irrespective of the position held to ensure that a company’s resources are well taken care of. All the resources of the organization have to be directed towards the key business of the company and have to be used during working hours.

Works Cited

Bacchus, M K. Utilization, Misuse, and Development of Human Resources in the Early West Indian Colonies. Waterloo, Ont., Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1990. Print.

Boland, Mary L. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Naperville, Ill: Sphinx Pub, 2006. Print.

Clarke, P. Code of Business Conduct. New York. Corporate and Legal Affairs, Pesco plc. 2011. Internet Source

Garner, Bryan A. A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

IEC. Interagency Ethics Coulcil: Standards of Conduct for Federal Employees. New York. IEC. 2013. Internet Source. URL=             http://www.iecjournal.org/iec/issues_misuse_of_government_resources/