Reading 7.5 : The Ethics of Business in China and Business Ethics in China

The following sections show why bribery and corruption, an ongoing problem in China, are such a detrimental forces in economic and social progress in the untapped market that await the advances global business can bring. Finally, a conclusion provides direction to businesses in moving forward a global economy free from the self-imposed restraints of corruption

· don’t lose sight of the bottom line

the principles of business do not change across international boundary lines. The exchage of gifts may be customary in a country but should always be undertaken with the same quantitative analysis as other business expenditures : why am I spending this money? What do I expect in return? Over the long term, what will be the return on this expenditure?

Businesses too often retreat to the facile position that there can be no success in acountry that has aculture in which gifts and even bribes are “the way business is done”. They not only abandon sound decision-making tools in retreating to such a rationalization, but also shortchange their earnings and their shareholders as they adopt a quick-fix solution rather than a strategy of a long-term presence and continuing and stable returns.

· don’t forget the need for trust in business

in China, a businessman noted that other businesspeople were paying to become their own regulators or even decision makers on contracts they could award themselves when he noted, “an official job is like a piece of fruit. You pay the money and it is yours” . such cynisim is not condusive to the entrepreneurial spirit needed for economis progress.

· what business is doing about corruption

based on The Conference Board solution, it is incumbent on businesses to eliminate the supply side of corruption so that in atrue utilitarian sense those countries in which they choose to do business can have the benefits and growth of free trade in a transparent economy.