Procurement Fraud in the IT Sector

TopShelf writes "IT staff usually enjoy unrivaled access to the deepest details of an organization's structure, and all too often, some submit to the urge to use that knowledge for nefarious purposes. Baseline Magazine explores how how Tech Insiders Cheat Their Employers, with examples of executives creating their own vendors to which fat contracts are awarded. Perhaps the most galling case involves a director in the New York City Chief Medical Examiner's office who is accused of scamming FEMA in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks."

Comments

I did this with post-it notes.

[Trigun]

For six years I would take a pad of post-it notes from the supply cabinet. After I had enough stock, I opened a wholesale company and sold them all back at a discount rate. Then I did the same with toner cartridges, pens, erasers, etc. Eventually I worked up to filing cabinets.

I'm trying to figure out how to do it with the company cars, but that one's a little tough.

Encourage loyalty

[MrNougat]

Right off the top - there are always some people who are going to screw you, no matter how you treat them.

But for most employees, instilling loyalty and pride in the company is the best disincentive to theft. It's also the best way to increase productivity.

How does a company do that? Pay employees what they're worth, don't overwork people, be ethical in your business operations. Basically, it's the golden rule. Treat your employees the way you want them to treat your company. Your employees will take care of the rest, and the money will roll in.

It's too bad that most companies are only in business to line the pockets of the top execs this quarter, and damn the next financial period; we'll figure that out later.

Re:Encourage loyalty

[kfg]

It's too bad that most companies are only in business to line the pockets of the top execs this quarter, and damn the next financial period; we'll figure that out later.

It goes a bit deeper than that I'm afraid.

The modern model for business structure requires hiring and treating people as interchangable parts in a machine. This has nothing to do with short term greed, but is rather aimed at the sustainability of the business itself.

This is one of the reasons that new, small businesses can out perform older, larger businesses. They tend to be more reliant on high performing and essentially irreplacable personel. Say; the founder.

One of the reasons that new, small businesses tend to fail is because. . .they tend to be more reliant on high performing and essentially irreplacable personel.

So both short term greed and long term surviability can lead to an air of people not mattering. The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference. In the average company they aren't actually out to get you, they simply don't give a fuck about you.

KFG

Re:In smaller orgs, lack of widespread tech knowle

[Kamineko]

I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling kids!