Bribery in public and private sectors

Question One

Bribery is increasingly becoming a problem in both the public and private sectors. Generally, it constitutes offering something of value in exchange for another thing. This is done in a manner that offers an unfair advantage to a given party. Take, for example, the practice of earmarking in legislation. This allows funds to be directed to specific projects. While the practice is beneficial to certain voters, it has in the past being misused hence becoming an act of bribery. For instance, when it is used to influence the stand of a Congress member on a given debate, then it is bribery.

When pharmaceutical salespersons offer samples to physicians, then this constitutes bribery. The salespersons offer free drugs in exchange for an unfair advantage over their competitors. Hence, their drugs are preferred by the physicians because they are free instead of being judged based on their effectiveness in treatment. Some of the business activities that would constitute bribery include offering money in exchange for contracts or tenders, lowering the bidding price of a contract substantially, and cases where a manager is offered preferential treatment such as being booked into a five-star hotel or being bought expensive dinner to influence their decision on a certain matter. Other activities such as receiving money for goods sold or services offered, rewarding an employee for outstanding work, and offering a simple gift are not considered as bribery.

Question Two

Yes, I would develop a code of business conduct to act as an ethical guideline. In addition to legal requirements, I would include values that employees should always conduct themselves with such as integrity, trust, honesty, fairness, responsibility, accountability, and due diligence. I believe that these variables would ensure that employees maintain high ethical standards. This would eliminate any cases of vices such as bribery.

Question Three

Personal and business ethics are closely related. Many of the personal ethics are applied in the business field as well. For instance, integrity, honesty, accountability, and transparency are all values that apply to both personal and business code of conduct. This is so because, although businesses are entities, they involve people as employees and close interactions among the employees and the consumers. Despite the close relationship, some of the ethics are tailored to suit business needs rather than personal. Some of these include punctuality, confidentiality, non-discrimination, abiding by the law, and observing industry standards. This is where the difference arises between personal and business ethics. Also, it is common to have cases where business and personal ethics conflict. This is because business ethics are tailored to the best interests of the business. For example, an employee may be required to promote goods that they feel are not of the best quality. Refusal to do this may lead to dismissal from the job. The said employee is, therefore, forced to choose between the business and personal values. To avoid such conflicts, Personal and business ethics should be designed similarly. This way, employees are more productive and achieve fulfillment from their work.