Employee Theft
Employee Theft (Research Paper)
Antonio Childress
Baker College
MGT 212: Section 02570
C. Delbridge
November 27, 2012
EMPLOYEE THEFT Employee theft is a problem of considerable size for many companies. Many corporate security experts estimate that 25 to 40 percent of all employees steal from their employers, and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) estimates that employee theft of cash, property, and merchandise may cost American businesses as much as $50 billion on an annual basis. It is also not uncommon in today's workplaces. And it is often the employee you least suspect that is the culprit Small business owners are not immune to this scourge; indeed, many analysts believe that internal theft of money or goods from employees is a primary cause of a significant percentage of small business failures. In the early 1990s, the DOC estimated that employee theft and embezzlement activities accounted for one out of five business failures, many of which were smaller firms that were unable to weather the erosion that those activities brought to their bottom lines (Walsh, 2000). These devastating losses are often passed on to consumers who are forced to pay higher prices for goods and services to help defer the cost of employee theft. Government research has found that each family pays an estimated three hundred dollars each year to subsidize business losses due to employee theft and shoplifting (Walsh, 2000). Security experts also contend that small business enterprises may be particularly vulnerable to internal theft. Smaller firms often include employees with multiple responsibilities that provide greater opportunity to commit theft and greater means to conceal such actions. In addition, many small business owners fall victim to erroneous assumptions about: (1) the nature of their relationship with employees, and (2) their ability to effectively combat employee theft. Business consultants point out that owners of
Antonio Childress
Baker College
MGT 212: Section 02570
C. Delbridge
November 27, 2012
EMPLOYEE THEFT Employee theft is a problem of considerable size for many companies. Many corporate security experts estimate that 25 to 40 percent of all employees steal from their employers, and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) estimates that employee theft of cash, property, and merchandise may cost American businesses as much as $50 billion on an annual basis. It is also not uncommon in today's workplaces. And it is often the employee you least suspect that is the culprit Small business owners are not immune to this scourge; indeed, many analysts believe that internal theft of money or goods from employees is a primary cause of a significant percentage of small business failures. In the early 1990s, the DOC estimated that employee theft and embezzlement activities accounted for one out of five business failures, many of which were smaller firms that were unable to weather the erosion that those activities brought to their bottom lines (Walsh, 2000). These devastating losses are often passed on to consumers who are forced to pay higher prices for goods and services to help defer the cost of employee theft. Government research has found that each family pays an estimated three hundred dollars each year to subsidize business losses due to employee theft and shoplifting (Walsh, 2000). Security experts also contend that small business enterprises may be particularly vulnerable to internal theft. Smaller firms often include employees with multiple responsibilities that provide greater opportunity to commit theft and greater means to conceal such actions. In addition, many small business owners fall victim to erroneous assumptions about: (1) the nature of their relationship with employees, and (2) their ability to effectively combat employee theft. Business consultants point out that owners of
References: Walsh, J. A. (2000). International Foundation for Protecting Officers, on Employee theft.