Going against ethical business practices by letting bribery root in your business may help you today, but it is going to harm your achievements later. Learn effective ways of how to avoid bribery in international business.
Corruption is rampant these days in businesses and it means misuse of power by someone who has been entrusted with it for their own vested interests. The most common form to avoid bribe in business is the one that entails exchange of money or gifts for a favour or do something which is against the ethical business practice. Bribery has rooted itself so deeply into lives of people and the businesses that to deal with it can be an overwhelming challenge. It can not only damage the business but also the whole practice of doing it ethically. In order to have equal opportunities for all, there is a need to have a practice in place that can eliminate this problem from the very root of it. Here are some tips to protect you from any unethical business practices due to bribery.
How to Avoid Bribery in International Business
Assess the risk involved:
For you to avoid bribe in business, the caretakers of the business must educate the employees about the risks involved. In most countries, to avoid bribe in business or acts of corruption are punishable by law which can bring bad name to the company and later lead to trust issues. This can severely hamper the profitability of business and can have very huge impacts in the long run. On the other hand, the companies need to understand the working principles of doing business in other countries and steer clear from any malpractices.
Commitment from the Top management:
There has to be a zero tolerance policy towards this practice across the entire company. This can be ensured by stating clearly by the committed top management that in an event that the bribery is caught, it can lead to severe implications which can also involve imprisonment or heavy fines. There has to be personal involvement in this case by the company seniors to make that sure that their company is not suffering from any malpractices at the root level.
Due Diligence:
Before being involved in any kind of transactions, the company must thoroughly run a back ground check of the client/vendor’s credibility in the market. In case of any past history involving instances of bribery or corruption should not be ignored and must be the main factor in decision making process. This will make sure that you have entered in a clean transaction when it comes to doing ethical business.
Awareness trainings:
It is the company’s responsibility to make the employees fully aware of the implications and the involvements of risk if there is someone making personal gains in exchange of confidential information. They must organise awareness trainings and educate the employees with the procedures in place so that they do not get involved themselves or can help in identifying those who are. This is a collective effort of all the people in making the company’s integrity rock solid.
Identify procedures and processes:
With the help of set procedures, all the people in an organization will follow a standard process to do things as prescribed by the company’s code of conduct. This will also eliminate any chances of taking a “judgement call” on the basis of their own understanding which can be detrimental to the business.
Related Articles :
