Bribery and other unethical behavior can be found across the world
Mark Wakeman
Bribery & Corruption
Bribery and other unethical behavior can be found across the world. Most countries and international businesses have specific laws, policies, and regulations to discourage the taking and giving of bribes (Lawrence & Weber, 2020). Unethical activity in the corporate world is widespread, although certain practices are more prevalent in some cultures than others. “Bribery is a questionable or unjust payment often to a government official to ensure or facilitate a business transaction” (Lawrence & Weber, 2020).
Examples
There are countless examples of bribery across the globe. Corruption is widespread in some countries and business cultures. Bribery can be simple or relatively innocent everyday activities like a pharmaceutical representative providing incentives to doctors who prescribe specific medications or a contractor bringing gifts to employees of local government agencies for expedited approval of construction permits. Some of the most damaging corruption scandals in the modern business environment involve large international corporations.
GlaxoSmithKline settled a civil corruption case in the US court system alleging the bribery of foreign Chinese officials in 2016. Over the course of three years employees and agents representing the pharmaceutical company paid bribes to Chinese officials to increase sales and contracts, and these payments were recorded as official business expenses. GlaxoSmithKline agreed to settle the case by paying $20 million without admitting any wrongdoing (Lynch, 2016).
FIFA, football’s world governing body, has been under intense public scrutiny since 2015 regarding allegations of corruption. In 2021, the US Department of Justice acknowledged for the first time that “representatives working for Russia and Qatar had bribed FIFA officials to secure hosting rights for the World Cup in men’s soccer” (Panja & Draper, 2020). Five top-level leaders of FIFA received money for their vote to choose World Cup host countries.
AIRBUS, the French airplane manufacturer, was fined $4 billion to settle charges of corruption in France, Britain, and the United States. Allegations detailed how the company bribed officials in 16 countries to secure contracts of sale. Interestingly, the investigation was initiated by AIRBUS CEO, Tom Enders, after an internal inquiry showed financial irregularities (Alderman, 2020).
Personal Anecdote
I am the CEO of a non-profit organization whose program is focused entirely on Kenya. In many ways corruption is a way of life in Kenya and in much of Africa. It is commonplace for the driver of a private vehicle to be stopped at one of the many police checkpoints with the expectation of a bribe in exchange for the driver to released. Kenyan politicians often campaign on anti-corruption platforms, but the day-to-day corruption has not changed in the 15 years I’ve been traveling around Kenya. Although this is a frustrating reality, many Kenyan citizens are involved in small cases of corruption daily, and to push against the expectation of bribery would cause significant friction in their society.
Biblical Integration
The bible has many examples of bribery, showing clearly that corruption issues have been of public concern for thousands of years. Corporate corruption is especially ruinous, as it undermines public trust in the system. “You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right” (New International Version Bible, 1978/2011, Deuteronomy 16:19). It seems that the modern business environment is just as susceptible to bribery and corruption as ancient Israeli society. Of course, the most well-known example of bribery in the bible is Judas’ betrayal of Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver, resulting in Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.
Conclusion
Examples of corruption and bribery are found all over the world, from the beginning of human history. Corruption has directly led to a lack of progress in developing countries and an undermining of public trust. Corporate bribery is an unfair, unethical, and widespread business practice that should be vehemently discouraged. Many of the biggest scandals in the past 10 years have involved companies that have paid heavy fines, but these punitive actions are not enough of a deterrent to change behavior.
References
Alderman, L. (2020, January 31). Airbus to pay $4 billion to settle Corruption Inquiry. The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/business/airbus-corruption-settlement.html
Chadee, D., Roxas, B., & Kouznetsov, A. (2021). Corruption, bribery and innovation in CEE: Where is the link? Journal of Business Ethics, 174(4), 747–762. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04925-x
Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2020). Business and society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy. McGraw-Hill Education.
Lynch, S. N. (2016, September 30). GlaxoSmithKline to pay $20 million to settle U.S. foreign bribery case. Reuters. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-glaxosmithkline-corruption/glaxosmithkline-to-pay-20-million-to-settle-u-s-foreign-bribery-case-idUSKCN1202F3
New International Version Bible (2011). https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New
International-Version-NIV-Bible/
(Original work published, 1978).
Panja, T., & Draper, K. (2020, April 6). U.S. says FIFA officials were bribed to award World Cups to Russia and Qatar. The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/sports/soccer/qatar-and-russia-bribery-world-cup-fifa.html
Resmen, Madjid, A., Sulistyo, F., & Dewantara, R. (2022). Regulation of private sector bribery as a crime of corruption. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478), 11(6), 584–590. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1936
Shepherd, D. A., Parida, V., & Wincent, J. (2020). Bribery from a micro, demand-side perspective. Small Business Economics, 57(4), 1661–1680. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00389-x
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