...Jot`s risk assessment: 1. Unsuccessfully identify consumer preferences beside highly seasonal industry : There is continues changes in trends, media, fashion and technology that can affect play preferences of end users and cause sudden shift in demand of Jots products. According to what mentioned in TIE “The success of the toy sector is dependent on satisfying customer needs. As children’s wishes for toys change rapidly, the industry needs to constantly introduce new products to meet these changing desires. The toy industry invests heavily in market analysis, R&D and the protection of intellectual property. The toy industry is one of the most dynamic business sectors in Europe: approximately 60% of toys on the market each year are newly developed products. In 2011, more than 90% of toy companies operating in Europe put new products on the market. This compares to less than 40% in other industry sectors”. The current trend in toy sales is towards electronic toys and computer assisted learning, electronic toys and merchandise from popular films and TV programmes have seen reasonable growth. As level of sales depend on how customers will perceive the products the company`s level of sales will be negatively affected if it unsuccessfully anticipated those preferences. As result Jot will end up with underproduction of highly demanded toys and the overproduction of toys that do not complement with consumer play preferences. However, fashion trends are difficult to predict...
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...Doing Business in Emerging markets Homework 2: Starnes-Brenner Machine Tool Company- to bribe or not to bribe Silvia Mattei 1. Introduction to the main issue Corruption, bribery and other unethical behaviours are still one of the major concerns in International Business, influencing not only the companies’ performance in local markets, but also mining competition and the welfare of the countries in which this practices are considered part of the culture as such. In particular for very large international companies, with subsidiaries spread all over the world, to keep track of unethical practices may be difficult, as to maintain the integrity of the corporate culture in all the people involved in the organization, from the employees, sales managers and top management. Every country has a different culture, and every culture has its own level of tolerance against corruption. Since bad practices like bribery are well ingrained both in the countries’ culture, as well in the companies’ culture, it is evident that changes do not happen over-night, and to draft an anti-bribery policy and post it in the office blackboard is not enough. The aim of this paper is to analyze several perspectives on the topic, taking the reader into the discussion by giving him/her pro and cons by analyzing a specific company and his cultural and managerial issues when facing a period of internationalization and internal changes. 1.2 Company profile Starnes-Brenner Machine tool...
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...Yanis Benjedla Socheat Bourg Engl 110 Business and gifts. To start it is important to know what is a bribe. A bribe it is an amount of money given illegally to some one in return for a done favour. In certain countries, it is common to give cash gifts during business interactions. Some people would say these gifts are bribes and are dishonest. Others would say it's just a part of doing business in a culture. In the case of work it is possible to think, offer a gift during business meal is not a bribes. Therefore to describe it lets develop three different points, we will see in first it is possible to offer gifts in certain culture, then that depends on the amount of money invests in the gift, and for finish it is a simple way to thank a company or a person with whom you worked. Firstly it is possible to offer gifts in certain culture. Indeeed in certain cultures, the exchanges of gifts are necessary to conclude from the business, these practices are very present, and are very well seen in certain countries as in Italy. It is thus very important to differentiate two various categories of gifts: gifts offered by interest in the goal to sign a contract, and the gifts of thanks. One also gives presents quite simply because of being in our culture to do it, to maintain the good relationships with the customers and the business. Secondly according to the people the gift should not exceed a certain amount of money. Indeed some suggest that the value of a gift should not exceed...
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...Bribes and Morality Machiavelli (1882), in writing of cruelty and clemency asks the question of whether it is better to be loved or feared and asserts that both are best. Machiavelli (1882) justifies this conclusion by saying that people are fickle. They will pledge their lives when danger is distant and benefits are high, but desert those to whom they pledge their lives when danger is imminent. The person who places love above all else is in danger during times of crisis. Conversely, men are careful not to offend those they fear, because they fear the punishment and are more likely to remain true to their pledge. There is a caution in this assertion to know the difference between fear and hatred and the recommendation is to be feared, but not hated. Man should strive to be in control of that which is can and not rely on the uncontrollable. Since love is dependent the perception of others and fear is dependent upon actions, man should build on the actions he can control but to do so in such a way as to escape hatred. Pastin and Hooker (1980) state that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is legislation designed to prevent bribery of foreign officials and other payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The legislation is an attempt to address the problem of corruption, but rather than address bribery from a moral perspective, Pastin and Hooker (1980) raise the issue of whether the legislation itself is moral. They offer two tests to assess the...
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...Yanis Benjedla Socheat Bourg Engl 110 Business and gifts. To start it is important to know what is a bribe. A bribe it is an amount of money given illegally to some one in return for a done favour. In certain countries, it is common to give cash gifts during business interactions. Some people would say these gifts are bribes and are dishonest. Others would say it's just a part of doing business in a culture. In the case of work it is possible to think, offer a gift during business meal is not a bribes. Therefore to describe it lets develop three different points, we will see in first it is possible to offer gifts in certain culture, then that depends on the amount of money invests in the gift, and for finish it is a simple way to thank a company or a person with whom you worked. Firstly it is possible to offer gifts in certain culture. Indeeed in certain cultures, the exchanges of gifts are necessary to conclude from the business, these practices are very present, and are very well seen in certain countries as in Italy. It is thus very important to differentiate two various categories of gifts: gifts offered by interest in the goal to sign a contract, and the gifts of thanks. One also gives presents quite simply because of being in our culture to do it, to maintain the good relationships with the customers and the business. Secondly according to the people the gift should not exceed a certain amount of money. Indeed some suggest that the value of a gift should not exceed...
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... doi:10.1017/S0003055410000523 Bribes, Lobbying, and Development BARD HARSTAD Northwestern University JAKOB SVENSSON Stockholm University hen faced with a regulatory constraint, firms can either comply, bribe the regulator to get around the rule, or lobby the government to relax it. We analyze this choice, and its consequences, in a simple dynamic model. In equilibrium, when the level of development is low, firms are more inclined to bend the rule through bribery but they tend to switch to lobbying when the level of development is sufficiently high. Bribery, however, is associated with holdup problems, which discourage firms from investing. If the holdup problems are severe, firms will never invest enough to make lobbying worthwhile. The country may then be stuck in a poverty trap with bribery forever. The model can account for the common perception that bribery is relatively more common in poor countries, whereas lobbying is relatively more common in rich ones. In India, as elsewhere in the developing world, the old business of corruption is meeting a new rival: the Washington-style business of persuasion — –International Herald Tribune, May 31, 2006 ◦ W L obbying and corruption have been the subject of tremendous public interest and research. Surprisingly, these two means of influencing regulation have either been studied separately or viewed as basically being one and the same. The question of why firms choose to lobby or bribe, and of the consequences of this choice...
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...Methodology: As noted above, the highest (and best) level of transparency with the least perceived corruption is indicated by the number, 1. The lower (and worse) levels of transparency are indicated by higher numbers -- 100 and above. According to Transparency International, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) table shows a country's ranking and score, the number of surveys used to determine the score, and the confidence range of the scoring. The rank shows how one country compares to others included in the index. The CPI score indicates the perceived level of public-sector corruption in a country/territory. The CPI is based on 13 independent surveys. However, not all surveys include all countries. The surveys used column indicates how many surveys were relied upon to determine the score for that country. The confidence range indicates the reliability of the CPI scores and tells us that allowing for a margin of error, we can be 90% confident that the true score for this country lies within this range. Note: Kosovo, which separated from the Yugoslav successor state of Serbia, is not listed above. No calculation is available for Kosovo at this time, however, a future corruption index by Transparency International may include the world's newest country in its tally. Taiwan has been listed above despite its contested status; while Taiwan claims sovereign status, China claims ultimate jurisdiction over Taiwan. Hong Kong, which is also under the rubric of...
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...Case study of Japanese bribe The case basically talks about the “bribe” in Japan by the Lockheed Aircraft Company. Mr. A Carl Kotchian is the president of the company. In 1970 they were saved from bankruptcy emergency government loan of $250 million. In order to save from financial disaster Lockheed is desperately looking to sell it air craft in major Japan airline. Eventually Kodama succeed in entering in to contract sell Lockheed aircraft in Japan with $9 million bribe to the Prime Minister Kukeo Tanaka and other government official, they knew that by paying the bribe they were sure that they will get the contract to sell their plane in All-Nippon Airline. Officials from private trading company advised about the bribe, but Mr. A Carl Kotchian says that it was the “Japanese Business Practice” in which local consultant is in more supportive to keep in with local “business practice” US investigate and found $22 million as bribe or secret payment but they mention it as “marketing cost in their books of account. Internal Revenue Codes states it as bribe which is directly paid to the officials and employees. But however it was not considered as bribe during that time for no us enact rules by US government. But due to guilt of bribe Mr. Kochian was resign with the pressure from board of directors and Kodama was arrested. Mainly there are three main stake holders; 1. Mr. A Carl Kotchian who was the president of Lockheed Air Craft Company who bribe different Japanese...
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...The prohibition of corruption in China, Korea * Invitation and Submission of Bids Law of the People’s Republic of China 178 * Interim Provisions on the Prohibition Against Commercial Bribery Acts 179 * China Enforcement Agencies 179 * Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party 179 * Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China 179 * Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China 180 * State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China * Case * Background China’s substantial corruption challenges are deeply rooted in cultural traditions as well as the country’s complex transitory conditions. Further, corruption is increasingly growing in significance as a political issue in China, and in an international context, China’s corruption problems have attracted extensive attention. Like any emerging market, China suffers from corruption and an often unethical business environment. What makes China different from many other national economies is the scale of the bureaucracy and the pace of economic development from a low base, both of which have created conditions ideally suited to the growth of corruption and opportunities for massive financial gain by underpaid local government of officials and by entrepreneurs eager to amass personal fortunes as quickly as possible. The sources of corruption in China In overall terms, corruption in China derives from three main...
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...various comments, in parts though and third, it’s quite long and you risk falling asleep while going through it) Bribes are not, always, about citizens being harassed by officials to get legitimate and legal work done. It is more about people who are not entitled to few services or papers, trying to get those services and papers by paying bribes. Example, of this is can be found in people who try to get passports from addresses which they have not occupied for sufficient periods. And, it is, equally, about someone who had broken a law trying to get away by paying a bribe, like a driver paying bribe to traffic inspector to get rid of penalties. Instances of successful bribes, however small these might be, create a habit in individuals to get their work done. When I say “get their work done” I don’t mean just legal and rightful ones, but unrightfully and undeserved one as well. It is very common for us to see people paying donations and bribes to get their kids into schools and colleges ahead of other meritorious students. It is equally common to see people trying to make fake medical certificates for various purposes or people resorting to pay bribes to skip the drive tests which usually are mandatory (from safety points) to get a license. How sad is a situation when people don’t wear Helmet and drive and then pay bribe not to be penalized. This system of bribe makes them so gullible and they feel elated to have escaped, without even realizing that the law was for their own...
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...become competitive, and will hurt anyone in the process to get to the top. Is it ethical to take part in corrupt international business transactions? Legal? Explain. Yes, culture can affect the ethical standards and shape business behavior in many ways. One of the ways are bribes, many business in other countries uses bribes to get what they want. This is how many of the countries get things done. On the other hand there are still many companies that don’t believe in bribes and think that it is unethical in business, and then they find it very difficult to continue their business in those countries. The reasons why many companies use bribes are because their government officials have very low salaries (Shaw, 2010). Lucrative positions are "sold “Further, “at different rates, it depends on the bribe. When companies take part in corrupt international business transactions, it does mean that it is ethical. It is up to the manager to do business without paying for bribes from the deontological ethical perspective. From the perspective of virtue ethics it would not be a good character to pay off bribes. From the consequential ethics perspective, the manager needs to refrain himself from taking bribes, so that he can root out the problem of corruptions (Shaw, 2010). According to the Foreign...
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...could be said for sure bribery is very much against the law. Bribery as described by the law is when someone improperly gives, accepts, offers or receives something of value for the purpose of influencing the action, views, decisions or public duties of an official, juror, or someone in a position of trust. Bribery is considered a criminal act and it is categorized as a white collar crime. Bribery can be offered or accepted with something promised, money, property, goods, or anything that has value to the other person. Bribery can also be and is associated with extortion. On the other hand one cannot confuse a gift as a bribe. A gift is not a bribe because when a gift is giving there are no intentions or talk about influencing the person the gift is being given to. There are many different types of bribery such as in sporting events where one can bribe a player or a decision making official such as an umpire. Another example of bribery is of a witness where the story of a witness or decision can be altered. A third example of bribery is of a public official such as a judge, politician, or cop (Bribery and Corruption Law, n.d.). There is basically one law that describe who is in violation if they commit bribery because of the fact that bribery can be committed in many places, circumstances...
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...loopholes, especially when compared to the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Similar to the effectives of the Bribery Law, the defects of the HK bribery law also covers equality, enforceability, recourse efficiency and law as a reflection of community standards and expectation four aspects, and each will be discussed with relevant cases. 1. Equality 2.1 Foreign bribes With the prevalence of overseas corruption, most of the countries have set specific regulation against foreign bribes. For example, both the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) make it an offence to bribe foreign officials. Under the Bribery Act a “foreign public official “ is defined more narrowly than under the FCPA but sill includes (1) anyone who holds a foreign legislative or judicial position; (2) individuals who exercise a public function for a foreign country, territory, public agency or public enterprise o; or (3) any official or agent of a public organization. On the other hand, the Hong Kong Bribery Law does not specifically cover the foreign bribes, which results in the controversial judgment on the case HKSAR v. Krieger . In this case, the defendants, the officers of a Hong Kong subsidiary of the Swire Group of Companies were accused of conspiring with a Macau businessman to offer advantages, namely an amount of 29 million MOP (Macau currency) to an agent, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works of the Macao SAR Government, for the...
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...Ghofran Mahrouqi Janeille Okpere Course: BUAD 625: Organizational Leadership and Ethics October 13, 2014 Ethical Issue: Sweta Mangal, CEO and co-founder of Ziqitza Health Care Limited (ZHL), an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) must decide how to respond to an official insisting that ZHL bribe him in order for him to release payment for ambulance services ZHL has provided. Mangal is confronted by a newly hired financial officer, Sanhay Rafati, who argues that if the bribe is not paid his office, will not be able to make payroll or maintain its ambulances, and that the company will face a terrible financial situation. The only alternative ZHL can take at this point is to take out a loan with a high interest rate, which will result in lower profits and may not be financially sustainable long-term. The founders of ZHL have pledged to operate with complete transparency and never pay bribes in its business transactions. As Mangal explains to Rafati, their commitment to these principles is absolute-part of ZHL’s DNA. ZHL operate in a highly corrupt environment in which it’s trying to change by example. Bribery is so common place that it’s viewed simply as part of doing business. Refusing to bribe the official can be detrimental, but ZHL has not only grown rapidly but has earned an international reputation that has attracted the investors. Furthermore, Indian society appears to be evolving, spanning a grassroots movement to combat corruption. What is the right decision and how can...
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...PERSPECTIVE The logic of indirect speech Steven Pinker*†, Martin A. Nowak‡, and James J. Lee* *Department of Psychology, and ‡Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Departments of Mathematics and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 Edited by Jeremy Nathans, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, and approved December 11, 2007 (received for review July 31, 2007) When people speak, they often insinuate their intent indirectly rather than stating it as a bald proposition. Examples include sexual come-ons, veiled threats, polite requests, and concealed bribes. We propose a three-part theory of indirect speech, based on the idea that human communication involves a mixture of cooperation and conflict. First, indirect requests allow for plausible deniability, in which a cooperative listener can accept the request, but an uncooperative one cannot react adversarially to it. This intuition is supported by a game-theoretic model that predicts the costs and benefits to a speaker of direct and indirect requests. Second, language has two functions: to convey information and to negotiate the type of relationship holding between speaker and hearer (in particular, dominance, communality, or reciprocity). The emotional costs of a mismatch in the assumed relationship type can create a need for plausible deniability and, thereby, select for indirectness even when there are no tangible costs. Third, people perceive language as a digital...
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