Is it possible for a businessman to illegally take bribes? Why is it always politicians that get the rap?

Question

Isn't it just as bad when a businessman takes a bribe?
Are they really any better than politicians when they take bribes?
Is it illegal for a businessman to take bribes?
As a real estate agent, it kinda is for me, at least in that I can't
pay buyers for business or kick back money......so if a bribe
is businessman to buinessman, with no third party customer involved, is it really a bribe?
My understanding is that bribes have to involve a gov't representative on some level, or it isn't a bribe.
Well, what do YOU think?

Again, I don't think its a bribe to give money
to a client business-to-business.......unless
its like insider information and traded my gifts or cold cash

II'm still trying to figure out if a businessman can bribe another businessman, and I don't think so.
It would just be an extra inducement.
iT WOULD HAVE TO BE A BUSINESS
regulated like securities or real estate, I believe...

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=bribe

Blunt...most excellent points! Indeed, as you explain, the only person(s) that are
hurt biz to biz is the shareholders, but if a deal was froma private company to another, it would be absolutely impossible
to construe anyexchange between those two parties posssible as a bribe..sort of
like two adults that consent to have sex...
no coersion, so no crime.....coercion
would be the only enforcible way, as if one threatened the other, which really has nothing to do with bribery....and gets into the blackmail and extortion "forced" realm

aged, i was born just after it, in '62, but i heard about the whole alan freed thing...i don;t think it ever stopped, and just became
discreet.....great point though, as a biz to biz example.......and brings to mind that the gov't is involved in all transactions on one level or another with the ICC, SEC, and FCC......can't escape uncle sam!

another ex would be the quiz show scandal, which wasn't gov't involved....
though doesn't it seem like the only examples we can come up with are from the entertainment industry?

Nacman brings up the teacher bribe, which I forgot about.......the politicians get most of the bribe "onus", because they are supposedly public services, representing the good of the people.
Just like when Jimmy Swaggart or Jim Bakker have sex with a prostitute, its much worse than if a businessman did it on a junket. Much of it has to do with how high we hold the perpetrator in........I guess we just don't expect much from businessmen, and expect them to let their pucuniary
interests preceed them

Answer 1

Bribing is bad for business. If your employees are taking bribes then they are not making decision based on good business or technical reasons. Giving bribes to sell things is not good for business because customers start expecting these and they become expensive and you have to include them in the cost of your goods, so your customer will no longer have the cost effective solution and this may effect their competitiveness and ability to survive.
Bribery is not illegal betseen companies but many companies do not tolerate because it is bad for business.

Answer 2

Yes it is just as bad. Although it is probably not illegal. It is illegal when a public official does it. When a businessperson does it, they will just lose their job, and may be sued for it. Unless the bribe affected a government contract of some sort. It is a bribe just not prosecutable in the criminal arena.

Whenever you take money or gifts in exchange for business opportunities, it is a bribe. It is even worse if it was an opportunity that had other people competing for it, and it was awarded on the basis of the gift rather than the merits of those competing for the job.

You can conceivably give a "thank you" gift after the business is awarded, but a gift should not be given with the expectation of business opportunities in exchange. A gift can be given as long as the giver understands that it does not increase their chances to receive business or secure the opportunity.


Example: A homebuilder is asking that 4 lumber companies bid on a contract to supply lumber for the building of homes in a subdivision, and the person with the highest prices turns in their bid with a "gift" of $2000 dollars to the person making the decision. That businessperson agrees to award the contract to that lumber supplier based on the gift rather than the bids. That is a bribe, and that person would be fired from my company.

If the contract is awarded to the highest bidder based upon the bids and other contributing market factors such as service and reliability, they can then send a thank you gift to that person, but it still wouldn't look good if it were money.

Answer 3

Well, this is an excellent question and unfortunately it is not all black and white. The activities may cross over between legal, illegal acts as well as business ethics.

If an activity (and it generally involves money but not in all cases) is such that the giver's intention is to gain an unfair advantage, it is a bribe or there are many fancy words to describe it in business...call it kick back, incentive or rebate or whatever. Is it legal? Well in the public sector it is because the government is suppose to represent all people equally and they should be transparent.

In the private sector, cutting a better deal for the person you are dealing with may be called a kick back (like a rebate with your computer purchase?) but not all kick backs are illegal. You mentioned real estate but there are many instances an agent rebates some of his or her commission to the buyer or the seller so they won't move on to another deal That is absolutely permissable under the law. On the other hand, similar practices in another industry may be considered predatory especially when you have Goliath against the mon and pop business.

Now extortion is totally different. It is a sitaution where a person demands special consideration so that the other person may gain additional advantage is violation of both state and federal law. Not only the person who demands it is guilty but the victim who pays the extortion is guilty as well. I was involved as a victim years back and I refused but the president of another company (who was a victim as well) did paid up. He went to jail.

Answer 4

Definitions of bribe--

1. money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behavior of a person, esp. in that person's performance as an athlete, public official, etc.: The motorist offered the arresting officer a bribe to let him go.
2. anything given or serving to persuade or induce: The children were given candy as a bribe to be good.
–verb (used with object) 3. to give or promise a bribe to: They bribed the reporter to forget about what he had seen.
4. to influence or corrupt by a bribe: The judge was too honest to be bribed.
–verb (used without object) 5. to give a bribe; practice bribery.

Anybody can be bribed, or offer a bribe--be it a political official, businessman, police officer, teacher, student, whatever. If the bribe is given to induce immoral or illegal behaviour, it's wrong, and yes, a bribe given to a businessman can be illegal if the behaviour illicited is illegal. Conversely, not all (by any means) financial arrangements made with political officials constitute bribes, though they can be portrayed that way to the public.

Of course, corruption, I believe, is a relative term, and it's only really illegal if you're caught. Morality can be a different matter, or course, but that's between you and God.

Answer 5

you are probably too young to remember the kickback
scandals when it was discovered that disc jockeys were
being bribed to play certain records.

Answer 6

Yes but they will be caught eventually.