INTRODUCTION
Conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust. example, a doctor has competing professional or personal interests. He is in a dilemma whether to see his professional or personal interest in performing his activities.
We can define "conflict of interest as a situation in which a person has a private or personal interest sufficient to appear to influence the objective exercise of his or her official duties as, say, a public official, an employee, or a professional."
GENERALLY SPEAKING, A CONFLICT OF INTEREST TENDS TO OCCUR IN ONE OF THREE WAYS :
- When an individual has the opportunity to use his or her partners position for personal financial gain or to benefit a company in which the individual has a financial interest.
- When outside financial or other interests may inappropriately influence the way in which an individual carries out his or her partners responsibilities.
- when an individual’s outside interests otherwise may cause harm to partner’s reputation staff or patients.
TYPES OF CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS
These are some of the most common forms of conflicts of interests
- SELF-DEALING, in which an official who controls an organization causes an organization to enter into a transaction with the official or with another organization that benefits the official.
- OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT, in which the interests of one job contradict the interest of another job.
- FAMILY INTERESTS, in which a spouse, child, or other close relative is employed at the place of the official (or applies for employment) or where goods or services are purchased from such a relative or a firm controlled by a relative.
- GIFTS FROM FRIENDS who also do business with the person receiving the gifts.
- PUMP AND DUMP, in which a stockbroker who owns a security, artificially inflates its price by "upgrading" it or spreading rumours and sells the security to add short position and then "downgrades" it or spreads negative rumours to push its price down.
- OTHER IMPROPER ACTS THAT ARE SOMETIMES CLASSIFIED AS CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS ARE accepting bribes, the use of government or corporate property or assets for personal use,etc.