Why the Business Corruption in Show 'The Mechanism' Takes Place? - Research Paper

Introduction

The Netflix series named 'The Mechanism' shows a case of how people in power and business engage in corruption and how the police and other law enforcement institutions are trying to stop it. While this show is fictional, what it shows happens in many parts of the world, with many corrupt businesspeople bankrolling corrupt politicians. Typically, this activity benefits both parties of the transaction. Specifically, the businesspeople initially provide money to the corrupt government officials in times of campaigns, which these officials use to get elected. After such people get in power, they start awarding the businesses with contracts and other opportunities for making more money. This process leads to more corruption and other ethical evils. For instance, in the series, the family of the investigating officer gets threatened and almost killed in an accident due to the progress that the investigator was making towards finding the corrupt individuals. In other cases, this corruption causes violence, which can lead to the death of many people.

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This form of corruption occurs all over the world regardless of the economic state of the nation in question. The only difference that exists between the countries is the willingness of the governments to stop it and the steps that they implement to stop it. However, in some cases, like in this series, the fight against this corruption receives much opposition from many sides. Specifically, these corrupt businesses and government officials bribe authorities that are supposed to fight corruption, and this hinders the ability of the anti-corruption organs to fight it. For instance, in this series, the narrator initially states that many federal police officers take payments from these corrupt individuals. By accepting this payment, they cannot fight the same organs since they are afraid of losing the money and getting exposed. Moreover, in some cases, these corrupt businesspeople and government officials pay high-ranking law enforcement officers, such as judges and prosecutors. In this show, some judges received payment, which blocked the prosecution of corrupt individuals even when they are arrested.

In places where law enforcement officers receive payment from corrupt individuals, it is hard for other non-corrupt ones to fight this corruption. This factor is evident in this show as the case against the unethical businesses faces many challenges. The challenges that they face include them and their family members receiving threats from the corrupt people individuals. In some cases, it becomes violent, and it can lead to the death of the officers involved. These challenges make some of them back away from these cases, and this allows corruption to continue occurring. Additionally, in some cases, it scares other good officers from pursuing these corrupt individuals for fear of their safety and lives. When law enforcement officers back away from pursuing these corrupt individuals, it encourages more businesspersons and other politicians to engage in corruption since they know that they cannot be prosecuted.

In some cases, such as in this show, the people that engage in this activity are usually high-ranking government officials, and this makes it hard for law enforcement to get to them. For instance, in this series, in the sixth episode of the first season, it becomes clear that the president knew about this corruption and that he also participated in it. Given his participation, it is hard for low ranking anti-corruption officers to succeed in the investigation since the corrupt individuals have the power to stop the investigation. For instance, following the arrest of one of the key persons in this corruption chain for the first time, the government gave him a deal that favored corrupt people and did not give law enforcement officers much information. Such factors make it hard to fight this corruption, and it influences its growth.

Another crucial factor that makes this corruption to become rampant is the desire of many people to get power without following ethical processes. Specifically, some politicians want to get elected, but they cannot fund their campaigns. This desire pushes them to make deals with corrupt businesses, which helps them to get elected and then receive their payment in the future. The only problem is that this payment is usually in forms that are not correct. For instance, they get allocated contracts unfairly, which gives them more money and power. Now, for as long as these businesspersons are still willing to fund politicians, this form of corruption will continue occurring, and it will also get worse.

Characters in the Show that Could have Prevented the Corruption from Occurring

The corruption in the show had its roots deep in the government and in big businesses. Specifically, the corruption went up to the presidency in this case, and it touched on other arms of government. This factor made it hard to stop corruption from continuing. However, that does not mean that it is impossible to stop or prevent this corruption. In fact, in this case, several people could have prevented it from occurring. These people include the main perpetrators. Notably, the president and the businesspeople that initiated it. This corruption happened specifically because these persons started it and allowed it to continue. Therefore, if they believed in ethical behavior, they could not have initiated it, and this could have prevented it from happening.

After it had started happening, the president and the business people could not stop it since it benefitted them. However, other government officers could have stopped it early and prevented the occurrence of many issues. In fact, the federal police officer investigator in the show tried doing this. However, he did not have enough support, and this limited his ability to stop it from proceeding. In the real world, many people usually can stop such unethical behavior. For instance, the press can report cases of such activities, which will shed light on it and prevent people from supporting it. Mancini, Mazoni, Cornia, and MarchettiCITATION Man16 \n \t \l 2057 (2016) discuss the way different forms of the press are handling such reports in European countries. Based on their discussion, press coverage can make corrupt individuals reduce their participation in the activity. However, they say that, in some cases, the press only focuses on corruption cases involving international businesses and not domestic instances. Such behaviors indirectly enhance corrupt activities in a country.

What they Could have Done to Stop it

Stopping corruption is the duty of many people, including those in government, businesses, and law enforcement officers. Each group here has a part to play in stopping this behavior. Particularly, in the case of government officials, they should insist on eradicating this vice, and they could do it by stopping engaging in transactions with corrupt businesses. In this show, the largest contractor business was a corrupt business, and it transacted with the government. This factor reduced the ability of law enforcement agencies to stop corruption. Moreover, politicians and legislators need to enact legislation that illegalizes dealings with corrupt organizations. Specifically, when a company is found to be unethical, then the government should stop interacting with it. This step will reduce the willingness of businesspeople to engage in corrupt activities since they know that they could lose their businesses.

Businesspeople also have a duty to stop corruption. In this case, they could have prevented or stopped it by stopping to bankroll political campaigns and only concentrate on their business. However, their leaderships know that if they fund campaigns, they will have higher chances of getting more contracts from the government. Therefore, they continue doing it to ensure they sustain their businesses. Finally, law enforcement organs of the government also have a role to play to reduce and end corruption. These are the people tasked with stopping it, and therefore, when they are willing to do it, they can achieve this goal. The only challenge that they face is that while some of the people in these organs are usually loyal and ethical in their jobs, some of their colleagues are generally corrupt, and therefore, they receive payment from corrupt individuals. This factor reduces the efficiency of law enforcers to stop corruption. Therefore, these individuals should stop taking payments from unethical businesses and instead engage themselves in ending corruption.

How to Prevent this Corruption from Reoccurring in the Future

Corruption and other unethical practices hurt businesses and the economic development of many nations. Many researchers have investigated this topic to find ways of reducing its occurrence and effects in a country. Shumetie and WatabajiCITATION Shu19 \n \t \l 2057 (2019) say that it can reduce the innovativeness of businesses in a country, which hurts the economy of the nation. This is just one of the impacts that it could have on businesses and the economy of a nation. For instance, it could also worsen the business environment in a nation by making some companies fear to operate in some counties due to rampant cases of corruption CITATION Mak16 \l 2057 (Makhlouf, 2016). These factors show the need to find ways of reducing its occurrence. Specifically, when businesses start fearing to operate in a given nation, the country will have less economic growth, which will not be good for the nation. Thus, it is highly essential to find ways of reducing the occurrence of corruption activities in a country. However, given the extensiveness of corruption globally, some people think that it is impossible to stop it CITATION Mak16 \l 2057 (Makhlouf, 2016). This belief hinders them from exploring appropriate methods of reducing its occurrence.

Conclusion

In the case of this show, several people could stop this activity from reoccurring in the future. These people include legislators and law enforcers. As already discussed, legislators could make laws that prohibit the government from dealing with corrupt businesses, which will make them fear to engage in fraudulent activities. Secondly, law enforcers, and particularly judges, should give stiff penalties to corrupt organizations and their leaders. For instance, they should not just let them walk free after prosecution. Instead, they should make them pay high penalties, including going to prison. This step will create fear in new businesses since they will be afraid of imprisonment, and this will reduce cases of corruption. Moreover, members of law enforcement organs should stop receiving payments from corrupt persons, since this would give them more power and willingness to fight this vice.

References

Makhlouf, H. H. (2016). Corruption in the international business environment. The Journal of Human Resources and Adult Learning, 12(1), 32-39.

Mancini, P., Mazoni, M., Cornia, A., & Marchetti, R. (2016). Representations of corruption in the British, French, and Italian press: Audience segmentation and the lack of unanimously shared indignation. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 22(1), 67-91. doi:10.1177/1940161216674652

Shumetie, A., & Watabaji, M. D. (2019). Effect of corruption and political instability on enterprises' innovativeness in Ethiopia: Pooled data based. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 8(11), 1-19. doi:10.1186/s13731-019-0107-x