Business and International Bribery

Business and International Bribery

Combating bribery on a global scale has become increasingly important to foster economic development and ethics. In a world where privatization and deregulation are popular trends, business transactions in international trade and cooperation are necessary steps towards leveraging the playing field and encouraging competitiveness. However, it is important for countries and governments to keep a check on bribery prevalence (especially in the developing world) that threatens to dent the economic performance and the livelihoods of shareholders and ordinary citizens.

Bribery refers to giving monetary value gifts to a potential customer or client with a persuasive aim of altering their decision in favor of the corrupt firm. A practice of bribery in international business is linkable to a host of international issues including irreversible damage to transparency and democracy, deterioration of economic development, global insecurity, and worldwide poverty because of widened gap between the rich and the poor. Bribing foreign officials weaken the competitive forces of market-oriented economies such as Malaysia and Philippines. 

In the developed world like the United States, bribery practice constitutes a crime prosecutable in a court of law. However, most communist states view bribery as beneficial to the companies involves as a small amount paid to officials to influence their decisions can result in hefty profits despite the low quality of products and services.

The United States and other developed countries should regulate and restrict bribery in foreign businesses because the resources and gifts offered as bribes are obtained using customers and shareholder’s money. Therefore, it is an infringement of shareholder rights as they are mostly not involved in decision making. Historically, bribery in international business has disincentive and distortive consequences especially with regards to fiscal functions, investment, competitiveness, and multiplier effects. It engineers disincentives to investments by raising the level of uncertainties and risks for multinationals, hence hindrance to economic development.

As the global market emerges, there is an increasing need for a careful consideration of ethical implications of bribery. A US company reputation is at stake if its officials engage in corrupt practices when conducting international business. Besides, a chain of civil lawsuits is likely to occur once the dark engagements come to light. There are countries such as China and Russia that view bribery as culturally acceptable. Therefore, if bribery and corruption are open to each countries interpretation and policies, it can create a barrier to entry into or exit out of the global market. Worth noting is that not all the countries in the modern world encourage their business corporations to offer incentives and gifts as freely as others. In fact, some of the states in the Western world such as Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland are least likely to participate in corrupt practices and rank among the lowest in bribery list. On the other hand, major countries such as Turkey, Taiwan, and Malaysia still rank higher on the list, indicating the extent of damage that bribery and corruption have on the economies of these countries (VOA Learning English).

In summary, it is clear that bribery in international business wields a devastating effect not only on the developing countries but also the developed states. Therefore, it is important for the countries involved to forge for a lasting solution by collaborating to root out bribery. The United States should demonstrate its leadership by assisting the developing countries in Africa, Asia, and South America through the provision of intelligence that leads to capturing and subsequent prosecution of corrupt business officials.

                                      

Works Cited

VOA Learning English,. Corruption Index Released. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.