In some countries, bribes are a common business practice. One country’s definiti

Question

In some countries, bribes are a common business practice. One country’s definition of corrupt or unethical behavior may be another country’s definition of polite relationship development. Under US law, it’s permissible for a salesperson to take a potential customer to a baseball game or the golf course but not to give them a gift or cash payment. Imagine that you are a rising young executive sent to oversee imports in your company’s Russian subsidiary. Your predecessor shows you the ropes and tells you that bribes are needed for routine tasks like getting imported supplies cleared through customs. “We use customs brokers, and they build bribes into the invoice,” he casually explains. Refusing to give payoffs slows down the business greatly. You know that offering bribes is illegal under US law. But in this case, the bribe wouldn’t be coming from your company; it would come from the customs broker. You also know that US law doesn’t address small payoffs and that even though Russia enacted new anticorruption laws in 2008, the law criminalizes only completed acts of bribery, not the act of demanding or offering bribes. The legislation also doesn’t address corruption in the judicial system that would prosecute such offenses. So, the changes of getting caught or prosecuted are low. Would you continue the practice of giving bribes? Would you risk a business slowdown under your new management if you don’t give bribes? Would you alert your boss at headquarters of this practice?

Explanation / Answer

In this situation, I will continue the practice of giving bribes as it is a necessary element of the business to take place effectively. Moreover the reasons given in the above study are:

- there is a risk of business being slowed down.

- the bribe will not be paid from the company but from the broker of customs.

- It is a small payoff that can be ignored by US law.

- Russian law addresses completed acts of bribery and not acts of demanding or offering bribes

- the chances of getting caught or procecuted is low.

I will not risk the business slowdown based on the above reasons and may not find it important to alert the boss at headquaters of this practice.

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