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Studentstakingbusinesscoursesaresometimesalittlesurprisedtofindthatclassesonbusiness3ethics/3havebeenincludedintheirschedule.Theyoftendonotrealizethat1bribery/1invariousformsisontheincreaseinmanycountriesand,insome,hasbeenawayoflifeforcenturies.Supposethatduringanegotiationwithsomegovernmentofficials,theMinisterofTrademakesitcleartoyouthatifyouofferhimasubstantialbribe,youwillfinditmucheasiertogetanimportlicenseforyourgoods,andyouarealsolikelytoavoidproceduraldelays,asheputsit.P1Now,thequestionis:Doyoupayuporstandbyyourprinciples?Itiseasytotalkabouthavinghighmoralstandardsbut,inpractice,whatwouldonereallydoinsuchasituation?SometimeagoaBritishcarmanufacturerwasaccusedofoperatingafundtopaybribes,andofotherquestionablepracticessuchaspayingagentsandpurchasersanexaggeratedcommission,offeringadditionaldiscounts,andmakingpaymentstonumberedbankaccountsinSwitzerland.Thecompanyrejectedthesechargesandtheywerelaterwithdrawn.Nevertheless,atthattime,therewerepeopleinthemotorindustryinBritainwhowerepreparedtosayinprivate:Look,we'reinaverycompetitivebusiness.Everyyearwe'resellingmorethana￡1billionworthofcarsabroad.Ifwespendafewmillionpoundstokeepsomeofthebuyershappy,who'shurt?Ifwedidn'tdoit,someoneelsewould.Itisdifficulttoresisttheimpressionthatbriberyandotherquestionablepaymentsareontheincrease.P2Indeed,theyseemtohavebecomeafactofcommerciallife.Totakejustoneexample,theChryslerCorporation,thethirdlargestoftheUScarmanufacturers,revealedthatitmadequestionablepaymentsofmorethan$2.5millionbetween1971and1976.P3Byannouncingthis,itjoinedmorethan300otherUScompaniesthathadadmittedtotheUSSecuritiesandExchangeCommissionthattheyhadmadepaymentsofonekindoranother—bribes,extradiscounts,etc.—inrecentyears.Fordiscussionpurposes,wecandividethesepaymentsintothreebroadcategories.Thefirstcategoryconsistsofsubstantialpaymentsmadeforpoliticalpurposesortosecuremajorcontracts.Forexample,oneUScorporationofferedalargesumofmoneyinsupportofaUSpresidentialcandidateatatimewhenthecompanywasunderinvestigationforpossibleviolationsofUSbusinesslaws.Thissamecompany,itwasrevealed,wasreadytofinancesecretUSeffortstothrowoutthegovernmentofChile.Inthiscategory,wemayalsoincludelargepaymentsmadetorulingfamiliesortheircloseadvisersinordertosecurearmssalesormajorpetroleumorconstructioncontracts.InacourtcaseinvolvinganarmsdealwithIran,awitnessclaimedthat￡1millionhadbeenpaidbyaBritishcompanytoanegotiatorwhohelpedcloseadealforthesupplyoftanksandothermilitaryequipmenttothatcountry.Othercountrieshavealsobeenknowntoputpressureonforeigncompaniestomakedonationstopartybankaccounts.Thesecondcategorycoverspaymentsmadetoobtainquickerofficialapprovalofsomeproject,tospeedupthewheelsofgovernment.AninterestingexampleofthiskindofpaymentisprovidedbythestoryofasalesmanagerwhohadbeentryingforsomemonthstosellroadmachinerytotheMinisterofWorksofaCaribbeancountry.Finally,hehitupontheanswer.Discoveringthattheministercollectedrarebooks,heboughtarareeditionofabook,slipped$20,000withinitspages,thenpresentedittotheminister.Thismanexamineditscontents,thensaid,Iunderstandthereisatwo-volumeeditionofthiswork.Thesalesmanager,whowas4quick-witted/4,replied,Mycompanycannotaffordatwo-volumeedition,sir,butwecouldofferyouacopywithapreface!Ashorttimelater,thedealwasapproved.Thethirdcategoryinvolvespaymentsmadeincountrieswhereitistraditionaltopaypeopletohelpwiththepassageofabusinessdeal.SomeMiddleEastcountrieswouldbeincludedonthislist,aswellascertainAsiancountries.Isitpossibletodeviseacodeofrulesforcompaniesthatwouldprohibitbriberyinallitsforms?TheInternationalChamberofCommerce(ICC)favorsacodeofconductthatwouldbanthegivingandseekingofbribes.Thiscodewouldtrytodistinguishbetweencommissionspaidforrealservicesandexaggeratedfeesthatreallyamounttobribes.Acouncilhasbeenproposedtomanagethecode.Unfortunately,opinionsdifferamongmembersoftheICCconcerninghowtoenforcethecode.TheBritishmemberswouldlikethesystemtohaveenoughlegalpowertomakecompaniesbehavethemselves.However,theFrenchdelegatesthinkitisthebusinessofgovernmentstomakeandimposelaw.ThejobofabusinesscommunityliketheICCistosaywhatisrightandwrong,butnottoimposeanything.Inawell-knownBritishnewspaper,P4awriterarguedrecentlythatindustryiscaughtinawebofbriberyandthateveryoneisonthetake.Thisisprobablyanexaggeration.P5However,today'sbusinessman,sellinginoverseasmarkets,willfrequentlymeetsituationswhereitisdifficulttosquarehisbusinessinterestswithhismoralconscience.商科学生有时对课程里包含商业道德课略感吃惊。他们通常没意识到在很多国家，形形色色的贿赂行为正日益增多。在某些国家，这已成为人们几百年来的一种生活方式。假定在一场与政府官员的谈判中，贸易部长向你明确表示如能给他一大笔贿赂，那么你的商品拿到进口许可证就会容易得多，还可能避免他所说的“程序上的延误”。现在的问题是：你是被迫掏钱呢，还是坚持原则？高尚的道德标准说起来容易，但实际上人们在这种情况下究竟会怎么做呢？早些时候，一家英国汽车制造商被指控利用一笔基金行贿，并进行其他一些可疑运作，如给代理商和客户高额回扣、提供额外折扣、向一些在瑞士银行开的匿名账户汇款等。这家汽车公司否认了这些指控，后来指控也被撤销了。然而，当时英国汽车业里就有人准备私下里说：“瞧，我们这一行竞争激烈，每年我们汽车的海外销售额超过10亿英镑。如果花几百万英镑能让一些客户高兴，谁会有损失呢？我们不这样干，别人也会这样干的。”很容易产生这样的印象：贿赂以及其他可疑开支正日渐增多。的确，这似乎已成为商界的一个事实。仅举一例：美国第三大汽车制造企业克莱斯勒汽车公司透露，它在1971至1976年间共发生了250万美元的可疑开支。这一事实的披露，使克莱斯勒与其他300多家美国公司一样，向美国证券交易委员会承认自己近年曾有过某种形式的支出，像贿赂、额外打折等。为方便讨论起见，我们可将这些支出分为三大类。第一大类是那些为政治目的或为