In (FCPA. Shearman.com: the One-Stop Resource on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) the court case involving the “U.S. v. Lockheed (1994), the corporation and two of its executives were accused by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of paying a US $ one million bribe to a member of the Egyptian parliament in order to secure sale of aircraft to the Egyptian military.” Lockheed also submitted fraudulent statements to the Defense Security Assistance about the bribes
This was a clear case of corruption in business practices that continue to go on today. Many large corporations have gotten away with this type of practice time and time again. I am also under the assumption this is not the first time Lockheed has consorted with other businesses by unethical means. This practice states; corruption is an integral part of business deemed to be normal practices.
Lockheed plead guilty paying over $24 million in fines and penalties. The fines were a result of Lockheed violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was authored by Senator William Proxmire which was created to prevent U.S. corporations from using bribes to gain sales outside of the country (Professor M. R. Kumara Swamy, 2011). This act was enacted to eliminate…(Professor M. R. Kumara Swamy, 2011)
“government corruption, subsidies and kickbacks.” The act has been over looked by U.S. corporations since it was established since 1977 and 1988 versions. What brought the government to finally crack down on businesses violating the FCPA act is not mentioned in the article.
When companies are convicted of bribes and fraud; the government makes an example of them. This conviction tells other companies if you are committing a crime stop immediately. In (FCPA. Shearman.com: the One-Stop Resource on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) states, “Lockheed, a major defense contractor, was briefly barred from foreign exports in response to the FCPA charges.” This corporation took a major hit. The company was not able to export their materials for a period of one year. Companies can resolve ethical issues by adhering to rules and regulations. Intermittent inspections can be put into place to ensure compliance. Courtesy inspections can be made by outside agencies to evaluate the performance of an organization. Lawyers should be in place also to keep the company within the law of conducting business. In many cases the company need a willingness to be open and subjected themselves to unscheduled inspections. Also, another way for the company to improve is educating the employees. All employees should receive annual training on ethics. This training should be mandatory for all employees: Managers and lower level employees should attend the training. Sometimes people do wrong because of ignorance. This is was not the case for the Lockheed lawsuit. The case involving the United States vs. Lockheed is a marquee case that involves and landmark decision by the court. This decision was made to show businesses what can happen to them if they violate laws.

References
FCPA. Shearman.com: the One-Stop Resource on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2013, from Sherman & Sterling LLP: http://fcpa.shearman.com/?s=matter&mode=form&id=38
Professor M. R. Kumara Swamy, M. P. (2011).
Financial Management Analysis of Money Laundering, Corruption and Unethical Business Practices: Case Studeies of India: Nigeria and Russia. Journal of Financial Management Analysis , 12.