Bribing foreign Officials: Is it ever justified?
American law expressly forbids US companies from paying bribes overseas in the conduct of business; the rationale behind this law is that American companies should be held to the highest ethical values when transacting business either within the United States or overseas.
However, many other countries (including some Western European nations) do not necessarily abide by the same stringent rules that American companies are bound by through American law. Many American companies claim that this puts them at a competitive disadvantage.
Do you feel it is ever justified for multinational corporations to bribe foreign officials in order to gain access to overseas markets? Would you feel differently if American companies were held to a different standard than companies from other countries? What if this indeed led to a competitive disadvantage for American corporations?
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By definition, bribery is the offering of money or other services to an individual in power to persuade them to use their influence to your benefit or that of your company. It is the unethical act of trying to leverage people through payoffs in order to gain a competitive advantage over others (Lindorff, 2010).
Although common in many countries around the world, the act of bribery has become more and more scrutinized as the global market place continues to grow and more governments are working together to ensure fair trade practices by all. However, many countries such as China continue to get accused of using money and power to influence government officials, corporations, and other entity's to build, manufacture, ...
Solution Summary
This solution discusses the unethical aspect of bribing foreign officials in 473 words with references.