Training on economic crime. Need for staff of the Cargo and Passenger Transport Company

Training on economic crime. Need for staff of the Cargo and Passenger Transport Company

Capacitación sobre delincuencia económica. Necesidad para cuadros de la Empresa Transporte de Carga y Pasajeros

Formação sobre crime económico. Necessidade de pessoal da Empresa de Transporte de Cargas e Passageiros

**Cite as**
Pérez Menéndez, A., Gato Armas, CA, Cardoso Rojas, LE (2024). Training on economic crime. Need for staff of the Cargo and Passenger Transport Company. Mendive. Journal of Education, 22(1), e3650. https://mendive.upr.edu.cu/index.php/MendiveUPR/article/view/3650

Confronting economic crime takes on special importance in the Cuban context, because it damages the Cuban economy and puts the national social project at risk, by defrauding the trust of citizens in the institutions and in the personnel who work in them, which is why Preventive work is vital. The objective of the article was aimed at socializing the results of the initial diagnosis of the training on economic crime content for the staff of the Pinar del Río Provincial Passenger Transport and Cargo Company. The use of theoretical level methods, such as: historical-logical, analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive, and empirical level methods such as: observation, interview, survey and document review allowed us to verify that the diagnosis of needs training of the contents of economic crime and its planning are insufficient. There are few spaces for scientific exchange, limited use of Information and Communications Technologies in training, imbalance between theoretical and practical content in training activities and low motivation of staff and specialists.

Keywords: training; paintings; cargo and passenger transportation company; economic crime.

El enfrentamiento a la delincuencia económica toma especial importancia en el contexto cubano, porque daña la economía cubana y pone en riesgo el proyecto social nacional, al defraudar la confianza de la ciudadanía en las instituciones y en el personal que labora en ellas, por lo que la labor preventiva es vital. El objetivo del artículo se dirigió a socializar los resultados del diagnóstico inicial de la capacitación sobre contenidos de delincuencia económica de los cuadros de la Empresa Provincial de Transporte y Carga de Pasajeros de Pinar del Río. El empleo de métodos de nivel teórico, tales como: histórico-lógico, analítico-sintético, inductivo-deductivo, y de nivel empírico como: la observación, la entrevista, la encuesta y la revisión de documentos permitieron constatar que el diagnóstico de las necesidades de capacitación de los contenidos de la delincuencia económica y su planificación son insuficientes. Existen pocos espacios de intercambio científico, limitada utilización de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones en la capacitación, desbalance entre los contenidos teóricos y prácticos en las actividades de capacitación y escasa motivación de los cuadros y especialistas.

Palabras claves: capacitación; cuadros; empresa transporte de carga y pasajeros; delincuencia económica.

O enfrentamento do crime económico assume especial importância no contexto cubano, porque prejudica a economia cubana e põe em risco o projecto social nacional, ao defraudar a confiança dos cidadãos nas instituições e no pessoal que nelas trabalha, razão pela qual o trabalho preventivo é vital. O objetivo do artigo foi socializar os resultados do diagnóstico inicial da formação sobre conteúdos de criminalidade econômica para o pessoal da Empresa Provincial de Transporte de Passageiros e Cargas de Pinar del Río. A utilização de métodos de nível teórico, tais como: histórico-lógico, analítico-sintético, indutivo-dedutivo, e métodos de nível empírico, tais como: observação, entrevista, levantamento e revisão documental permitiram-nos verificar que o diagnóstico das necessidades de formação dos conteúdos da criminalidade económica e o seu planeamento são insuficientes. Existem poucos espaços para intercâmbio científico, uso limitado de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação na formação, desequilíbrio entre conteúdos teóricos e práticos nas atividades de formação e baixa motivação de funcionários e especialistas.

Palavras-chave: formação; pinturas; empresa de transporte de cargas e passageiros; crimes económicos.

In Cuba, where the state company is the primary actor in the economy, the criminal phenomenon in economic matters has reached an extremely worrying peak, although this is not a general expression of the system, but rather the reflection of isolated people. This is a complex issue, which is linked to economic events and has been the subject of analysis at all levels, mainly through political organizations, giving priority to confronting corruption and other harmful behaviors, for which greater vigilance is required. , demand and control, trying to preserve the ethics of the paintings.

In this sense, the country's leadership implements concrete actions that are part of systematic audits, inspections and controls of the entire business system in the different sectors of the economy. Despite this, the phenomenon has been increasing in recent years, mainly due to the economic situation facing the country, so one of the fundamental aspects to confront this phenomenon in Cuba is the preventive activity carried out. through strengthening the values that our social system promulgates.

The treatment of economic crime is a complex issue, taking into account that the main particularities of its manifestation in Cuba involves several people: direct or collateral perpetrators; That is, without being direct authors of the main crime, they fail to comply with their functional duties and contribute to violating the legally established order, which encourages the concurrence of the criminal offense in State agencies and their dependencies, the directorates subordinated to the local organs of Power. Popular and other economic and social entities.

There have been numerous authors who have addressed topics related to training about economic crimes and their prevention, among which are: Navarro (2018), Cortés (2019), Expósito & González (2019), Castro et al., (2019), Ricardo (2020), Ramos & Pérez (2020) and Goite & Medina (2022), who refer to the exploration of social perception in the face of administrative corruption, training as an alternative to strengthen accounting and internal control in companies, the identification of money laundering risks as a strategy for the prevention of economic crime, criminal justice in Cuba in the face of administrative corruption and the benefits of risk analysis for transport companies.

Economic crime includes crimes of very diverse nature, so it is necessary to know the crime, as it is the best way to prevent it to avoid its expansion in order to reduce opportunities to commit crimes. Hence, the preparation of the cadres of the Cuban business system in economic crime content constitutes an imperative of social importance, including in this area the personnel of the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transportation Company of the Pinar del Río province.

As a result of the empirical investigations carried out such as: interviews with executives, attendance at the conclusions of audits and inspections, review of the minutes of Boards of Directors, Executive Committees and annual training plans, the theoretical reflections carried out, and the experience of work in the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transportation Company of the Pinar del Río province, the following limitations have been found:

- Increase in crimes of corruption, embezzlement, diversion of resources and other modalities.

- In training actions, economic crime content is not always intended , in order to strengthen prevention and control in the exercise of their functions.

So it is evident that it is necessary to increase the wealth of knowledge of the cadres, with actions for their training, in order to achieve crime prevention. In this sense, the legal management of the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transport Company will be in charge of training those who occupy management positions, perfecting the pedagogical actions that allow them to learn correctly, taking them in depth into the complex world of transportation. economic crime, in order to prevent criminal conduct that affects the economic development of the entity and, consequently, of the country.

In accordance with the above, the objective of the article is to socialize the results of the initial diagnosis of the training on economic crime content of the staff of the Provincial Passenger Transport and Cargo Company of Pinar del Río.

In this sense, the importance of implementing training actions in the contents of economic crime must be recognized as a fundamental way to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the performance of the staff of the Pinar del Río Provincial Passenger Transport and Cargo Company, so that they achieve the necessary preparation that allows the reduction of economic crimes.

To carry out the research, we worked with the entire population, made up of seven cadres (directors of the Provincial Freight and Passenger Transport Company of Pinar del Río), and 12 cadres (directors of the subordinate Base Business Units), to a total of 19 tables that make up the sample that coincides with the population.

To obtain information about the process under study, theoretical-level methods were used, such as: historical-logical, analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive, to study the historical evolution, trends and generalizations of the training process in contents of economic crime of the tables, the interpretation of the results derived from the initial diagnosis and to obtain generalizing conclusions. Within the empirical level methods, the following were used: observation, to obtain information about the development of training activities and the forms of training used; the interview with trainers, to know criteria about the training process in which they participate; the survey, with the objective of knowing their criteria on the main causes that affect the training process and the review of documents, to verify the existence of content on economic crime in the training strategies and the ways in which they are planned in the company, taking into account the following dimensions and indicators:

1.2. Level of mastery of the regulatory documents for the training process in economic crime content for cadres.

1.3. Level of participation in the planning of the training process in economic crime content.

2.2. Level of access to the materials that will be used in training on economic crime content.

3.1. Level of motivation towards the training process in economic crime content.

3.2. Level of execution of teamwork in the training process in economic crime content.

3.3. Level of effectiveness of the result of independent work on economic crime content.

4.1. Level of qualification obtained in the training process in economic crime content.

4.2. Level of correspondence between the results achieved and those planned in the training process in economic crime content.

To process the data obtained, index calculation was mainly used as a descriptive statistics technique and five categories were assumed to evaluate the indicators, dimensions and the variable in general. The indicators are evaluated as Very Low when the index (I) is between (0<Id"0.2); Low when the index is between (0.2 <Id"0.4); Medium when the index is between (0.4<Id" 0.6), High when the index is between (0.6<Id"0.8), and Very high when the index is greater than (0 ,8<I), based on the results of the parameterization of the variable. The dimensions and the variable are evaluated from the index calculation as a result of the evaluation of the indicators where numerical values are assigned to each of the categories to calculate the index.

Based on the indicators of the dimensions and the variable, the decision rules (Table 1) and the formulas for calculating the index of the dimensions and the variable were established, as shown below:

Rating scale	Abbreviation	Quantitative Scale
Very high	M.A.	9
High	TO	7
Half	I	5
Low	b	3
Very Low	M.B.	1

The value of I is the evaluation of the indicator where it is taken to the quantitative scale and, in the denominator, 3 is the number of indicators and 9 is the maximum value that it takes on the quantitative scale.

In this case, the value of the index of the four dimensions is added and divided by the result of multiplying the number of dimensions (4) and the maximum value taken by the quantitative scale (9).

To carry out the qualitative analysis of the variable, the calculation of the index of each indicator is taken into account, based on the comparison with the rating scale and the triangulation of the information provided by the applied instruments is carried out.

Based on the triangulation of each of the instruments applied to the selected sample, the training process on economic crime content of the staff of the Provincial Passenger Transport and Cargo Company of Pinar del Río is evaluated in each of the dimensions. and indicators, in order to find possible coincidences and discrepancies that make it possible to reach more complete conclusions from the initial diagnosis process.

In dimension I (process planning), the indicators: level of participation in the planning of the training process in economic crime content and level of knowledge of the training needs in economic crime content are evaluated as Low, with indices of 0.39 and 0.37 respectively; The level indicator in which the normative documents for the training process in economic crime content of the cadres dominate is evaluated as High, with an index of 0.80, therefore, the dimension is evaluated as medium level with an index of 0. .48.

In the case of dimension II (organization of the process), the indicators level of attendance at the training process on economic crime content and level of compliance with the training schedule on economic crime content are evaluated as High, with indices of 0.73 and 0.70 respectively; and the indicator level of access to materials that will be used in training on economic crime content is evaluated as Low, with an index of 0.40. As a result of the analysis, the dimension is evaluated at a medium level, with an index of 0.48.

On the other hand, in dimension III (execution of the process), the indicators level of motivation towards the training process in economic crime content and level of execution of teamwork in the training process in economic crime content are evaluated Low, both with an index of 0.40 and the indicator level of effectiveness of the result of independent work on economic crime content is evaluated as Medium, with an index of 0.54; then the dimension in general is evaluated as Low level, with an index of 0.40.

Likewise, in dimension IV (process evaluation), the indicators level of the qualification obtained in the training process in economic crime content and level of correspondence between the results achieved and those planned in the training process in economic crime content, are evaluated as Low, with indices of 0.39 and 0.38 respectively and, in general, the dimension is evaluated as Low, with an index of 0.33. The variable is evaluated at a medium level, with an index of 0.44, confirming the following insufficiencies.

Insufficient diagnosis of training needs in economic crime content of the staff of the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transportation Company of Pinar del Río.

- Insufficiencies in training planning, based on the individual interests of the cadres and, consequently, with the combination of training forms.

- Ignorance on the part of the cadres of the manifestations of the different economic crimes.

- Insufficient motivation of staff for training, which limits participation in activities, according to their needs and interests.

The results of the methods, techniques and instruments that were applied in the initial diagnosis allowed us to characterize the current state of the training process in economic crime content for the staff of the Provincial Freight and Passenger Transportation Company of Pinar del Río. which reveals some insufficiencies. Hence the importance of delving into the search for some theoretical references to make generalizations that reflect the need to take actions to improve the training process in economic crime content and crime prevention.

In this way, training in economic crime content for the staff of the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transport Company must be operationally defined as the teaching-learning process with a permanent, systemic and directed training nature. All of this, with the purpose of preparing the cadres from the entity where they work, based on the acquisition, updating and development of knowledge, professional skills and values aimed at strengthening control in the exercise of their functions, in defense of the interests of the Socialist State and, therefore, to the prevention of criminal acts that put at risk or harm the economic order in the context of the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transport Company.

In this sense, we must take into account the criteria of González & Gorguet (2016), who propose that the training of managers constitutes a vital activity to increase the results of their business management, where the Cuban state has not spared any efforts and has strived over the years to carry out intense work in this field, due to the great importance and significance of having the staff be suitable, and use, in the performance of their work functions, the most innovative knowledge and methods. most current address information. All of this, with the aim of carrying out the activities they direct more effectively, which reaffirms the need to improve training in economic crime content for staff, in order to increase their wealth of knowledge, in order to achieve crime prevention.

It has been verified that training plans are prepared in accordance with the regulations in resolutions; However, the programs for this type of training are still very general and are not planned taking into account the combination of the different forms, giving more relevance to those aspects that have been considered most important for their work, but leaving aside other subjects. Furthermore, training is observed as a mechanical, rigid activity, with the tendency to train for the sake of training, without taking into account the real learning needs, both individual and collective, of the cadres.

Regarding the difficulties in diagnosing the needs presented by the cadres in the contents related to economic crime, the same learning needs from previous years are reflected in the training plans and the training actions intended for the cadres are of general nature, aimed mainly at the improvement of business direction and management. The barely addressed legal issues do not include what refers to economic crime as a current problem of great relevance, for the sake of the detection and prevention of these criminal behaviors in the entity they direct, taking into account the complexity of the crime, the boom achieved by this and the possibility of the anticipated increase in economic crime.

According to the above, it is necessary to adhere to the criteria of Castro et al., (2019), who explore the social perception of corruption and highlight among the main results: the social perception of lack of control; the low perception of the phenomenon among social actors; the deficiencies in the human resources that intervene directly in control, highlighting the management, economic and security positions where regulations are perceived that may favor fissures in procedures, hierarchical structures that empower some members and a poor rational use of resources is perceived, elements that must be part of the contents of economic crime to be diagnosed in the tables.

The diagnosis must be aimed at the different modalities of economic crime and its manifestations such as money laundering, which constitutes a paradigmatic example of the new crime of our times and is one of the criminal phenomena that has attracted the most attention at an international level, a the legal regulatory framework for actions aimed at confronting this crime has been perfected in our country (Ocampo et al., 2018). Another modality is corruption, which is the denaturalization or deviation of its regular exercise, understood as the entire activity of the state, its main manifestations being: political, judicial and administrative corruption (Ricardo, 2020).

On the other hand, Navarro (2018) recognizes some aspects on which the core of public policy must be designed to confront administrative corruption, such as: non-compliance by public officials with legal provisions, associated with other aspects such as the abuse of authority in the exercise of its discretionary functions, precisely to obtain illegitimate achievements, the lack of internal control and, to some extent also, the impact of the national economic situation, together with the ethical degradation that is sometimes the consequence and others the very cause of this phenomenon, and which is usually simulated through a practice or lifestyle commonly called "double standards."

Likewise, Goite & Medina (2022) believe that economic crime causes great social impact and a rethinking of its treatment serves to overcome the criminogenic thinking that poverty is the essential factor of crime and thus combat the signs of crime from criminology. agoraphobia that has characterized penological treatment for centuries; which does not mean designing a penal structure of "inhibition" against these behaviors or giving rise to the so-called "Criminal Law of the Enemy", where conciliatory formulas are offered between society and crime, for the sole fact that the active subject is part from a non-stigmatized social class. The challenge will be to formulate a criminal policy with control strategies and agencies that, together with crime prevention as an essential function of criminal law, offer useful and viable responses to effectively confront economic crime.

It is also necessary to highlight the need to train staff to carry out effective internal control, since, as Cortés (2019) suggests, there are problems of inefficiency, lack of controls, administrative bureaucracy, absence of controls, regulatory disorders, limited monitoring. and risk and fraud assessment, especially if the transformations that are occurring in the state sector are taken into account. This guarantee raising the quality of performance and contributes to the development of values of responsibility and honesty with the care, adequate and efficient use of the resources of the Cuban State. It is essential for achieving better ethical performance of staff and specialists (Expósito & González, 2019); These are contents that must be planned in the training programs of cadres to give them adequate treatment, using methods, procedures and organizational forms that correspond to the demands imposed by scientific-technical development (Montalván, 2019).

According to the above, it is also necessary to reinforce, in the training of cadres, issues of criminal legislation, in a way that allows them to understand the process of administrative corruption from a participatory perspective, where regulations and power structures intervene; They allow orienting preventive policies in confronting the social phenomenon, to the extent that symmetrical social relations are stimulated and social actions are promoted for the formation of values in different social spaces and raise awareness of the need to protect the resources destined for the people.

An imbalance between theoretical and practical content has also been noted in training activities, which results in affecting the assimilation of the content and even decreasing motivation on the part of the cadres. In this sense, we must consider Matos et al., (2021), who propose cooperative learning for training within the framework of the group and work teams, using attitudes and mechanisms of cooperation and coordination and is favored by the types of activities that are developed that allow them to discover, observe, exchange opinions, ideas, criteria, dialogue and discuss and help each other, share ideas and develop their skills from a joint point of view (Navarro et al., 2019). That is, to achieve this, different forms must be combined, such as the workshop, exchanges of experiences and others, so that debate on the contents is generated from different perspectives.

As has been seen, the training of personnel has never been complete, giving relevance to those aspects that have been considered most important for their work, but leaving aside other subjects. Furthermore, it is observed as a mechanical, rigid activity, with the tendency to train for the sake of training, without taking into account the real learning needs, both individual and collective, of the cadres; Therefore, it will be oriented towards the essential contents discussed in this section and actions will be organized in relation to professional problems of this nature that emerge in the labor entity.

The training process in economic crime content for cadres must be developed in connection with practice in the entity, so that cadres learn to do, prevent, and detect criminal behavior, studying, investigating, doing; that they appropriate the contents and apply them, achieving positive results for the labor entity and, therefore, for society, demonstrating in this process the pedagogical-productive function of the Shared Vocational Training or Training in Integration model, so that in the Cuban homeland committed to maintaining the socialist course, with a vision towards a prosperous and sustainable socialism, nor corruption, much less organized crime, have a place despite developing in a very complex economic-social environment (Ramos & Pérez, 2020).

The determination of the main regularities of the training process in economic crime content of the staff of the Provincial Freight and Passenger Transport Company of Pinar del Río imposes the need to design actions in this sense, taking into account that economic crime tends to It has been perfecting its methods and the level of organization has grown. This represents greater effects on the economy and, in turn, a certain discredit regarding the management of some public actors immersed in this criminal phenomenon; Coupled with the economic transformations that our country is experiencing, it is possible to foresee an increase in this type of crime.

The results of the initial diagnosis carried out on the selected sample and the deepening of the theoretical references about economic crime support the need to design actions for the training of the staff of the Provincial Cargo and Passenger Transport Company of the province of Pinar del River in economic crime content, so that they achieve the preparation required for the prevention and control of economic crime in their company.

Castro, J. A., Rodríguez, R., Riera, C. M., Fabré, I. & Alcolea, A. (2019). Exploración de la percepción social ante la corrupción administrativa. INFODIR., 15(29), 12. https://dspace.uclv.edu.cu/handle/123456789/11125

Expósito, A. M. & González, O. (2019). La capacitación como alternativa para fortalecer la contabilidad y el control interno en las entidades del territorio. Innovación Tecnológica, 25(1), 1-8. http://portal.amelica.org/ameli/jatsRepo/442/4422484001/index.html

Pérez, A., Lao, Y. & Torralba, A. L. (2021). Aproximación al estudio de la gestión del transporte público urbano y suburbano en Holguín, Cuba. RILCO: Revista de Investigación Latinoamericana en Competitividad Organizacional, (9), 3. https://www.eumed.net/es/revistas/rilco/9-febrero21/transporte-publico-cuba

The authors participated in the design and writing of the article, in the search and analysis of the information contained in the consulted bibliography.