Introduction

Business organizations are operating in the world of threats influenced by different factors in the business environment. Research indicates that the capital in a business is an essential tool for the continuity of the organization and the investors to acquire their goals and objectives. Fraud is the greatest threat to business organizations due to the information technology’s increasing loopholes. Despite the advent of computerized approaches in the workplace, fraudulent employees and managers identify the present weaknesses to embezzle the profits and capital aspects at the expense of their employers. Technology has created methods, which lead to direct fraud of business finance. Patterson and Hobbs (2010) argued that the application of ethical standards is the most appropriate tool to avoid fraud in the business environment. Despite the role played by online methods in stopping the vice, the application of ethical standards overwhelms the other approaches since employees are capable of abiding by the appropriate measures without the perception of coercion. The role of ethics serves to stimulate performance while avoiding the eruption of fraudulent cases as depicted in the study; hence, businesses are capable of accruing their intended goals and objectives with success.

In the contemporary society, the definition of fraud argues it out as the case of intentional deceit executed by one party over another for the acquisition of financial advantages or any other benefits. Therefore, the aspect of fraud exists whenever a person bestowed with a particular position in the social, political, and corporate environments engages in the unlawful practices contrary to the expectations of his subjects. Further, the unethical aspect of fraud occurs in the event of false representation. Under such cases, suspects disguise their identity in order to acquire their target gains at the expense of their victims (DeLeon & Green, 2001). Lastly, fraud as a vice exists when a person or a group of people subjects their victims to prejudice as the practice demeans the victims of their social and constitutional rights.

Types of fraud

The corporate sector faces different types of frauds, which may hurt their business’ performance whenever delays occur in the enforcement of corrective measures. With the rapid social changes, any person faces the threat of fraud despite his location following the advent globalization. Experts indicate that there is a type of the vice called individual fraud. The type occurs whenever fraudsters enforce their treachery tactics to deceive individuals of certain benefits. The type of fraud includes cases under which individuals face the wrath of fraudsters unintentionally. For example, a person entrusted with a particular position may develop individual fraud cases whenever he engages in unethical and deceptive practices to any of his subjects (Bindra, Shrivastava, & Seth, 2012). The sale of goods as investments and existence of bogus tradesmen are examples of fraud since the victims spend their money on the purchase of non-existing entities. Studies indicate that similar fraud cases exist under the practice of intentional influence to engage ignorant victims in the participation of non-materializing ventures.

The internet remains to be a source by which fraudsters rely on to commit crimes. Individuals have created protection boundaries in order to keep ensuring safety in the online platform. Online fraud includes Bankcard and checks fraud, which occur when the criminals steal their victim’s bank documents to enjoy the privileges and access the funds (DeLeon & Green, 2001). They extract one’s card or account details; thus, they are capable of proceeding to take the money in the victim’s name. Business opportunity fraud is another type, and it involves offers for financial independence or the generation of extra income by setting own business. For example, a fraudster creates a letter, advert, or website at the online platform requesting the interested traffic to participate in making “easy money” (Kim & Xiao, 2008). The unsuspecting online viewers fall victims to the deceptive approaches once they commit their valuable information to the fraudsters. The prevalence of fraud in donations is evident in the modern society. Under the situation, fraudsters ask people to donate for goodwill services to the needs of a challenged group of people.

Career-related frauds happen whenever an individual responds to online job adverts posted by non-existing and bogus companies. The practice includes bogus publishers, invention promotions, and patent companies, which pose as the ideal destinies for job seekers from their promises to offer good opportunities. They result from initial consultations that require an upfront fee. According to their argument, the fee serves to cover the expenses of the work and research of the career opportunities promised. Hence, whenever victims lose their money, then fraud has been committed. Check overpayment fraud occurs through forgeries implemented to cover payment of higher dues than the actual value of the original document (Bindra, Shrivastava, & Seth, 2012).

Business organizations are subjects to fraud and financial embezzlement if they lack the strategies of planning. Therefore, experts denote that the existence of corporate fraud in the business environment is detrimental to the success since the victimized corporate ventures may rest incompetent the subsequent financial losses accrued in the process. For example, corporate entities are subject to the unofficial exploitation of assets and information. In the event of exploitation, the companies’ insiders play the role of fraudsters and abuse their positions for personal gains. Such cases entail the theft of information and the controversial use of assets to benefit outsiders to acquire illegal financial benefits in the process (Kim & Xiao, 2008). Therefore, organizations should execute ethical and lawful constraints to curb the existence of corporate fraud since its existence is an imminent threat to the intended business performance towards the acquisition of successful outcomes.

The role of ethics in preventing fraud

The application of ethics in the social and corporate world enables people to define situations. In many occasions, the discipline of ethics establishes the principles that people should consider before engaging in different activities. Therefore, ethics serves as a resolution in curbing fraud in the business environment, and corporate managers should embrace the rules established therein, to prevent the injurious results that may occur. Experts assert that businesses should consider the implementation of an anti-fraud culture as the approach would serve in the development of plans and strategies to restrain the existence of the vice (Patterson & Hobbs, 2010). The use of business ethics questionnaires assists managers in the development of the intended corporate culture. For example, the method enables employees to express their views; hence, the top management gains the ability to define the future practices of their personnel. Through the ethical knowledge accrued from such a process, the management is capable of implementing valuable strategies to cull the group of personnel seeming to subject the organization to vulnerable fraud cases. Secondly, the questionnaire serves in the implementation of resolutions whenever the interviewees identify the vital departments evaluate for fraud cases.

The inclusion of ethics in the identification and prevention of fraud enables businesses to establish appropriate strategies and deterrence to fraud. Top managers should adhere to ethical standards during the implementation of objectives. Employees will learn the organization’s fundamentals during the interview; thus, the business entity is likely to hinder the eruption of fraud cases following the personnel’s refrain from unethical involvements in the workplace. Since the dawn of globalization, intercultural conflicts in the workplace have been presenting unlimited challenges to business entities (DeLeon & Green, 2001). The existing workplace conflicts stimulate the eruption of frauds, as the management turns incompetent in the restoration of performance in the human resource fraternity. The use of ethical principles serves to the advantage of the challenged businesses. It enables development of managerial structures, which in turn leads to appropriate and prompt assessment of workplace conflicts before occurrence of fraud (Patterson & Hobbs, 2010).

Ethical considerations are incremental in the development of corporate codes. Every business entity in the global environment pursues to implement a corporate code that will stimulate the acquisition of valuable returns from its target clients, financial partners, shareholders, and interest groups. The application of ethics enables corporate managers to develop a business code. Through the implemented approach, the company’s insiders accrue value-added knowledge concerning their employer’s intentions in the corporate world. Secondly, the employees are capable of executing their performance in relation to the company’s code of business while still desisting from those practices, which seem detrimental towards the acquisition of the short-term and long-range benefits. Arguments indicate that the organizations engaging their employees in development of business codes achieve success with ease since their employees desist from fraud to pursue incremental aspects that will draw positive outcome to the employers for mutual benefits.

The incorporation of constitutional approaches to the rule of ethics aids corporations and the society in the prevention and eradication of fraud. Further, organizations that evaluate their personnel in accordance with the code of conduct acquire the advantage of forecasting the outcomes of different performances in the workplace. The role of ethics is evident in the evaluation process of the personnel through the code of conduct, since the concerned managers can determine suspicious cases that might accrue to vices of fraud before causing harms to the organization (DeLeon & Green, 2001). The strive to implement ethics in the corporate and social environment indicates evidence to the acquisition of appropriate strategies for preventing fraud; hence, any party perceiving a level of vulnerability to the vice should adapt the same method for safety purposes.

Conclusion

The study identified the types of fraud present in the environment. Therefore, adaptation of ethical principles for use in the prevention of fraud serves towards the acquisition of successful results in the absence of the unwanted challenges in every entity. Throughout the study, it is evident that the online added fee fraud and individual fraud cases would become non-existing cases with the use of ethical measures prior to the execution of the intended action (Adams & Balfour, 2013). Lastly, the corporate environment players’ adherence to the identified principles of ethics is incremental to creation of successful business entities in the absence of fraud (Patterson & Hobbs, 2010).