NCJ Number
117109
Journal
Journal of Business Ethics Volume: 7 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1988) Pages: 789-796
Date Published
1988
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The categories of bribes prohibited under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are examined within the framework of utilitarian, moral rights, and social justice theories.
Abstract
The utilitarian perspective, because it is situation-specific and because quantification of the costs and benefits of bribes is difficult, provides little guidance for assessing the ethics of bribery. In the moral rights analysis, transaction bribes may or may not be ethical depending upon whether the rights of others to equal treatment are violated by the bribe, while variance bribes and outright purchases are unethical because they are coercive and violate competitors' rights to equal treatment. Within the justice or fairness framework variance bribes and outright purchases are unethical, while transaction bribes are unethical if companies are not treated equally because one company has paid the bribe. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act outlaws variance and outright purchase bribes, but allows transaction bribes. Thus, if a company behaves ethically, it will not only satisfy the minimum ethical standards of the Act, but also go beyond what is legally required. Because the Act does not go too far in demanding ethical behaviors from U.S. businesses in the international marketplace, it is not in need of major revision. With regard to the Act's accounting provisions, movement from a reasonableness standard to one of materiality would be appropriate. 58 footnotes. (Author abstract modified)