Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG This case discusses a bribery scandal in which the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical company, Siemens AG, was exposed during 2006 and 2007. Siemens AG is a multinational company based in Munich, Germany. In fact, there wasn’t just one bribery scandal. They were responsible for a series of scandals that involved a few of the company’s employees. They were accused of bribing officials to get contracts and creating slush funds. Siemens was also accused of trying to bribe labor representatives of a labor union called the AUB. Siemens was also being investigated in other countries such as Switzerland, Italy, Greece, The United States, Venezuela, Argentina, and Bangladesh for possible misconduct and other scandals. Siemens agreed to pay the fines of up to 1 billion Euros to settle for the corruption charges that the company was convicted since 2006. They also had to pay fines for back taxes and interest charges by 2007.
Discussion Question 1) In your opinion is “bribing unethical and illegal or just a cost of doing business? Discuss this in the light of Siemens’’ bribery scandal. What options do companies have to win business contracts without bribing, especially in foreign counties? In my opinion, bribery is unethical because bribery is illegal. Bribery is the act of giving a gift or implying money that can change the behavior of the one at the receiving end of the bribe. Not only is it a crime but it is morally wrong to influence a person by offering or a good, money, and anything of value in order to benefit yourself or the company. In this case, Siemens was offering money in exchange for contracts. Bribery is an unfair practice to other competitors or companies that are actually practicing ethically and aren’t breaking laws in order to gain an advantage. In my opinion, bribery is not only unethical but it is also