Keyahna Blanford International Management April 17th, 2017

Closing Case Bribery and Corruption at Siemens

4-4. What does the case suggest is the value of ethical behavior? What did
Siemens gain by introducing controls to minimize the likelihood of
corruption?

The case suggests that while it may seem worthwhile to engage in unethical business 
practices, in the long run it is essentially bad business. Siemens was involved in a large 

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amount of corruption and bribery all over the world. While this did increase their profits, it 

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ultimately led to a horrible public image, millions of dollars in fines, and even jail time for 

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senior executives. Siemens had to work hard to bounce back from such a setback. 

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However, the hard work has paid off, now that Siemens has more control over their 

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international holdings and an ethical code of business.
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4-5. Most countries lack adequate laws or enforcement to deal with bribery
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and other forms of corruption. Why is this? How do countries benefit from a
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strong rule of law that minimizes

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corruption?

Many developing countries do not have the legislation or the infrastructure to

combat corruption. This is most likely because they have an unproductive or
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even corrupt government and government officials. Companies that engage

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in unethical activities may be drawn towards countries with weak or

compliant governments that can be controlled or bought. While a company
may provide jobs for these developing countries, if there is a lack of
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competition, bribery, or other forms of corruption taking place, all the benefit
generally goes to the company and not the workers. Without the proper legal
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system to outlaw this kind of corporate behavior, citizens may find

themselves stuck with unethical governments.
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4-6. Do you think Siemens was penalized enough for its corruption? Why or
why not? What can governments or other organizations do to discourage
firms and others from engaging in corrupt behavior?

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 Keyahna Blanford International Management April 17th, 2017
Closing Case Bribery and Corruption at Siemens

We should absolutely imprison those who commit illegal activities, but there is nothing to 
gain from demolishing a large multinational organization. It seems that the penalties did 
force Siemens to change its corporate culture, and that is what is most important. It is the 
government’s responsibility to ensure that corporations fall within the legal guidelines, and 
other organizations should promote ethical behavior so it becomes a benchmark for other 
firms.

4-7. Some argue that because ethical standards are lax in many countries,
Siemens and other firms must pay bribes to obtain new business. Do you
agree with this view? Stated differently, when doing business around the
world, is it generally better to emphasize normativism or relativism? Justify
your answer.

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Now, I believe it may be necessary to engage in cultural relativism to a point. We may have 

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to suspend certain ethical standards when dealing in foreign countries. This is partially to 

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ensure that we can compete, but in the long run we can also enable the changes that we 
desire once we are involved. It is nearly impossible to change cultural values as an outsider 

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to a culture. However, once we become linked with a culture, we can suggest that some 
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practices are unhealthy or unethical and change the system from within. While this may be 
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considered Americanization, I do believe this goes both ways. America is not ethically 
perfect. We can learn many things from other cultures. It is important that we constantly 
look at ourselves in the most objective way possible and ask ourselves, “Am I behaving 
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ethically?” and sometimes the only way to do that is by bringing in outside help.
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