Mehrad Ebad, a member of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, has looked into the deeply embedded problem of cheating in a write-up for the chamber’s website.
A translation of the text follows:
In her book “Cheating: Ethics in Everyday Life”, Stanford law professor Deborah L. Rhode argues how one common rationalization “everyone does it” can destroy individuals as well as the whole society.
Two main causes of cheating, Rhode writes, are inequity and having doubts regarding fairness and of course, the motive to gain tangible, quick benefits. But those who cheat do not know that their action affects others and undermines social trust.
Those who cheat over tax or health insurance payment fail to understand that their conduct imposes additional costs on others.
Cheating is one of the human behaviors observed and reported in different societies which, unfortunately, has become prevalent in Iran. The main root of cheating can be greed and the weakness of the law. Other contributing factors include economic issues and the neglect of one’s conscience.
Many foreign goods sold in Iran are counterfeit: from sauce to face cream to cigarettes to chips and coffee … These are just a handful of spurious items. A large number of Chinese industrial machines and tools are being sold off as European and American products
In the Iranian society, cheating has become an epidemic, sometimes amounting to a value. It is as if being a cheater is similar to being smart. You cannot expect to live in a society with no cheaters when people try to bring up “smart” children.
You cannot expect children to avoid cheating when you are bringing them up in a society where parents teach their children to jump the queue, or inculcate in them “to get your due under whatever circumstances”.
Cheating in filing for tax returns, insurance and social security, imports, exports and foreign exchange affairs, by underselling, offering subpar products or changing the brand from Iranian to foreign, while driving and so on.
You may not believe but many foreign goods sold in Iran are counterfeit: from sauce to face cream to cigarettes to chips and coffee … These are just a handful of spurious items. A large number of Chinese industrial machines and tools are being sold off as European and American products.
Sadly, our industry has also been tarnished by cheating, as most of the purportedly imported raw materials are in fact produced locally.
Iranian off-brand goods are being sold in the name of foreign brands or lower grades of raw materials are being offered as higher grades.
Cheating in raw material lowers the quality of final products or inflicts damage to laboratory machinery and equipment, true costs of which appear only over the long term.
Counterfeit, inferior raw materials can cause equipment malfunctions, particularly now that the import of foreign machinery has become challenging under sanctions and meager foreign investment is being made in this field.
An effective way to fight cheating is by increasing oversight and enforcing strict laws for all strata of society. Also, educating students and parents in this area is of utmost importance. It is no secret that the effectiveness of these strategies calls for preparing the ground for promoting a culture of honesty. Writing about cheating is risky but the cost of ignoring it will be irreparable.
