FCPAméricas Blog

Preaching to the Choir, and the Sinners: FCPA compliance training in Latin America

Author: Matteson Ellis

On Mexican highways, there are official government signs that read, “Conduce con precaución. Tu familia te espera” (Drive carefully, your family is waiting for you), and “Después de un accidente, ya nada es igual” (After an accident, nothing is the same). On some routes, the government might leave wreckage from car accidents with signs that read, “In January 2013, six people died here.”

It seems that the Mexican government has identified various ways of convincing people to drive safely. Some drivers follow speed limit signs. Others respond only to speed traps and bumps in the road. As it appears, some are affected by emotional appeals.

How might these lessons be relevant to FCPA compliance training in Latin America?

TRACE President Alexandra Wrage has categorized the various audiences of FCPA compliance training into different groups. There are the “bottom-liners,” also known as “box-checkers.” They are interested in knowing the rules, and focus on adhering to them. They care less about good corporate citizenship and more about being on the right side of company policy and the law. There is the “ethical majority,” those who are driven by a desire to protect the company’s reputation. They respond to messages regarding how compliance can increase a corporation’s standing in the market as well as shareholder value. There are the “idealists.” Unlike the other groups, the idealists’ attitudes toward compliance are driven by the larger picture. They are concerned about the global implications of their company’s business strategies. They are moved to action by the “social, health, and security problems that bribery spawns.” And there are the “criminals.” These are people inclined to break the rules for their own ends.

Each group responds to different types of training strategies. The bottom-liners respond to rules-based compliance approaches. The ethical majority and idealists tend to respond best to values-based approaches. For the criminals, trainers need to stress controls and consequences for violations.

As the Mexico example highlights, some could be affected by appeals to emotion too. For example, a compliance officer of a multi-national commercial real estate development company recently told me that she always begins her trainings by discussing the group’s own country, what type of leadership her audience wishes to have, the pride they feel when their leaders do the right thing, and the shame that results when they do not. A compliance lawyer at an energy company similarly told me that he likes to talk about the participants’ families and children when rolling out compliance procedures. He asks the audience: “Is a corrupt business environment the type of place we really want to leave to our kids?”

Invoking emotion plays off of values, like family and pride. While some values-based approaches promote attitudes like “our company does things honestly” and “if you bribe, you harm markets and democracies and you aid criminals,” an emotional approach takes values a step further. It considers how people ultimately relate to one another. It motivates people at the core. This is often how the most fundamental change in corporate behavior occurs.

I agree with Mrs. Wrage that training strategies need to incorporate several different approaches to reach different audiences. All strategies working together can help generate a culture of compliance. Strategies based on rules and values are essential. But emotional appeals have an important place as well.

The FCPAméricas blog is not intended to provide legal advice to its readers. The blog entries and posts include only the thoughts, ideas, and impressions of its authors and contributors, and should be considered general information only about the Americas, anti-corruption laws including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, issues related to anti-corruption compliance, and any other matters addressed. Nothing in this publication should be interpreted to constitute legal advice or services of any kind. Furthermore, information found on this blog should not be used as the basis for decisions or actions that may affect your business; instead, companies and businesspeople should seek legal counsel from qualified lawyers regarding anti-corruption laws or any other legal issue. The Editor and the contributors to this blog shall not be responsible for any losses incurred by a reader or a company as a result of information provided in this publication. For more information, please contact Info@MattesonEllisLaw.com.

The author gives his permission to link, post, distribute, or reference this article for any lawful purpose, provided attribution is made to the author.

@2013 Matteson Ellis Law, PLLC

Matteson Ellis

Post authored by Matteson Ellis, FCPAméricas Founder & Editor

Categories: Anti-Corruption Compliance, FCPA, Mexico, Trainings

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1 Comment

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One Response to “Preaching to the Choir, and the Sinners: FCPA compliance training in Latin America”

  1. Christian Perez Says:

    Very interesting indeed Matt. Another point worth mentioning is that trainings in Latin America might also be quite useful as due-diligence aids. Depending on the candor of the participants and how the training is conducted you can learn a lot about “non-sancta” practices in the marketplace. Another reason to always consider personal and cultural differences in designing and delivering E&C trainings. One size does not fit all. Great article.

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