Page 44 - Banking Finance June 2021

ARTICLE

Vigilance constitutes a vital cog in the management of an organisation, their inputs are appreciated and they are given
organisation and offers essential opportunities to enhance a role in the decision making process of the organisation as
an organization's efficiency. The overall purpose of every well. This approach recognises the significance of human
organization's role in vigilance is to help management in intellect and seeks to build a strong relationship between
achieving its goal by ensuring any operation is performed in the employees and the employer. Rather than running the
compliance with laid out processes and procedures, thereby organisation top down in a pyramidical fashion, this
diminishing instances of employees' misconduct and approach gives equal importance to each and every
misappropriation of funding. Vigilance is thus basically a employee's inputs and they play a factor in how the
management feature and seeks to protect the dignity, organisation functions. It helps in improving all forms of
veracity, and productivity of management.Constant vertical and horizontal communications within an
vigilance has become a crucial part of any organisation as it organisation.
is a multi-faceted approach resulting in better expense
management, quality assurance and enhanced productivity Participative vigilance is a system in which each employee
which can enable an organisation to survive in this is made responsible and made aware of the responsibilities
increasingly competitive world. on him. Employees need to be sensitised about ethical work
practices and how to spot a breach of responsibility at their
Vigilance has mainly three facets, these are preventive, work place.Every employee in such a system is a stakeholder
punitive, and participative. Preventive vigilance seeks to and he must ensure that he is always vigilant. Every
plug all the gaps, reduce all loopholes, and ensure that employee and every customer of the Bank is a potential CCTV
deficiencies of the system are dealt with to reduce instances camera which can be used not only to identify lapses
of fraud. It aims to identify and resolve vulnerabilities happening but also reporting them to the concerned
present within the system. Punitive vigilance majorly aims authorities. For such a policy to work, the employees also
to impose harsh penalties and punitive measures on those need to have a sense of belongingness to their place of work.
who aid, abet, and condone frauds, it seeks to set an
example for others and acts as a deterrent measure. Lapses cannot be prevented just by the upper echelons of
Preventive vigilance is a proactive approach which seeks to the organisation, rather every employee ranging from a
actively prevent frauds from happening whereas Punitive mere office helper to top managerial officers of an
approach is a reactive approach which comes into action organisation should take an equal responsibility to be vigilant
after an incident has happened. These two forms of vigilance and prevent lapses. The top management has to set the
have largely formed the backbone of the Banking sector tone and ensure enthusiastic participation from all levels of
since the very beginning. the organisation. Participative vigilance instils a sense of
pride and self-esteem within the employees.It reinforces
However, Participative vigilance takes a completely different their commitment towards their workplace as they are
approach in dealing with inadequacies. Participative empowered with authority and given an important
vigilance aims to empower each and every employee of the
company to prevent frauds. Each employee acts as a check
and balance to ensure that fraud cannot be perpetrated by
insiders or outsiders. It needs to be understood by everyone
that just committing a crime is not the only wrong, any
employee turning a blind eye to illicit activities and
condoning them is just as guilty as the one committing them.
The need for vigilance has been underscored by famous
American social reformer Henry Ward Beecher"Vigilance is
not only the price of liberty, but of success of any sort."

Participative Vigilance seems in part to be derived from the
concept of Participative Management wherein the
employees are given a much more active role in an

44 | 2021 | JUNE | BANKING FINANCE