Would you ever accept bribe at work?

[SearchingforPeace]

No. Tips are after you've provided good service. Bribes are usually before any service has been performed. Which gives an added bonus that you're going to try your hardest to make some exception for that one person...aka with strings attached.

Paying a valet when you drop off a car a huge tip to keep a car close is a bribe to the valet.

Paying the bouncer to get in is asking him to violate his rules in order to make an exception for you.

Paying the hostess a huge tip to get a better table is paying a bribe to get her to violate the house rules.

Btibes exist more than most people want to accept.

And many companies don't care. The entire LIBOR scandal involved fixing currency prices corruptly in engage for personal gain. The companies involved doesn't care if their traders violated the rules, as long as they didn't hurt the company.

Outside the US and a few other countries, paying a bribe to a foreign governments, will result in a promotion, not a punishment....

Corruption is the norm in most of the world....most companies have a budget for bribes.... any pretty rife here.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I think there's nothing wrong with getting a tip or a reward for a job well done. That's not a bribe. A bribe would be somebody offering something to you as long as you forget about something else that happened. I wouldn't accept that. I trust my memory, which is usually pretty good. It's hard for me to forget something.

I think there's some degree of sanctimonious sometimes involved with stuff like this. Corruption isn't always obvious or apparent, and it can be difficult to sort out or determine exactly who is responsible. Ideally, I would like a system that respects and values fairness. If this is not the system in place, I do not think people deserve moral condemnation for resorting to other methods.

 

[miss fortune]

we had some sort of presentation for a few people a while back on company ethics... somehow I was forced to attend. they spent the whole time talking about why we shouldn't take bribes. when it came to question time I had to ask "where do you even FIND people who bribe you?"

I don't think that the HR lady appreciated my question

really... I'm almost sad that the opportunity to accept or decline a bribe never even occurs in my job!

I don't think that I'd accept one, but it really would have to come down to the circumstances... can't ever completely rule anything out, after all

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

we had some sort of presentation for a few people a while back on company ethics... somehow I was forced to attend. they spent the whole time talking about why we shouldn't take bribes. when it came to question time I had to ask "where do you even FIND people who bribe you?"

I don't think that the HR lady appreciated my question

really... I'm almost sad that the opportunity to accept or decline a bribe never even occurs in my job!

I don't think that I'd accept one, but it really would have to come down to the circumstances... can't ever completely rule anything out, after all

I just find that hypocrisy is rampant in the world.... there's a lot of people condemning others for doing out in the open what they do behind closed doors. The outrage is often just a method of covering up their own misdeeds. Lots of people like exercising moral judgements against others for things they themselves are guilty of. I have little sympathy for someone like that.

 

[miss fortune]

I just find that hypocrisy is rampant in the world.... there's a lot of people condemning others for doing out in the open what they do behind closed doors. The outrage is often just a method of covering up their own misdeeds. Lots of people like exercising moral judgements against others for things they themselves are guilty of. I have little sympathy for someone like that.

I generally assume that there's a chance I'll do something evil... it's a safer assumption in the end

 

[Chrysanthe]

Unless I emotionally support the company's intentions, then I would not see any reason to feel bad about taking a bribe...depending on who benefited and who got cheated out.

 

[ceecee]

There's a difference between a tip, a bonus and a bribe.

In my line of work there are bribes and fraud that are obvious (upcoding, billing for services not rendered, billing for medically unnecessary services) and bribes that are not so obvious (pharma, medical devices wink wink) and sometimes this is on huge scales. The fines and jail time don't seem to be a great deterrent - not on the executive level anyway. There's simply too much money floating around for some of them to resist. Anyway, no one ever tries to bribe me. I do get a bonus for performance every year, which is nice.

 

[Oaky]

Bribe me a good enough sum of money to leave my job and I'll leave it and travel the world.

 

[GarrotTheThief]

There's a difference between a tip, a bonus and a bribe.

In my line of work there are bribes and fraud that are obvious (upcoding, billing for services not rendered, billing for medically unnecessary services) and bribes that are not so obvious (pharma, medical devices wink wink) and sometimes this is on huge scales. The fines and jail time don't seem to be a great deterrent - not on the executive level anyway. There's simply too much money floating around for some of them to resist. Anyway, no one ever tries to bribe me. I do get a bonus for performance every year, which is nice.

So many doctors milked the system in the 80's and screwed future healthcare professionals. It's sad. Guess insurance companies weren't smart enough to realize that a 5,000,000 dollar salary might indicate a high level of fraud and so they let it happen for years and years.

 

[Jaguar]

Someone offering me a bribe? I have yet to meet someone who would read me so poorly.

 

[ceecee]

So many doctors milked the system in the 80's and screwed future healthcare professionals. It's sad. Guess insurance companies weren't smart enough to realize that a 5,000,000 dollar salary might indicate a high level of fraud and so they let it happen for years and years.

It's much bigger and worse than doctors. This is a recent favorite of mine.

Coca-Cola Spent More Than $100 Million on Its Sham ‘Health Research’ -- Grub Street

Coke directly funded $21.8 million-worth of scientific research and piped another $96.8 million into what it prefers to call "health and well-being partnerships" — essentially, money paid to influential groups and dietitians who, in turn, publicly shared pro-soda views. (Recipients of Coke's money include the American Diabetes Association, the Obesity Society, and a dietitian who got paid to promote a "refreshing beverage option such as a mini can of Coca-Cola" during American Heart Month.) In super-rosy PR speak, the company hails these disclosures as a "critical first step to becoming a more effective partner against obesity." (Whatever you say, Coke.)

 

[Jaguar]

In my line of work there are bribes and fraud that are obvious (upcoding, billing for services not rendered, billing for medically unnecessary services) and bribes that are not so obvious (pharma, medical devices wink wink) and sometimes this is on huge scales. The fines and jail time don't seem to be a great deterrent - not on the executive level anyway. There's simply too much money floating around for some of them to resist.

I chewed someone's ass out the first time I found a fake code on my record. "Well, we have to put something down or we won't get paid!" I replied, "So, you commit fraud to get paid?" Then I dropped a nuclear bomb. They're not smart enough to make a lot of money honestly, so they resort to being nothing more than a common criminal.

 

[ceecee]

I chewed someone's ass out the first time I found a fake code on my record. "Well, we have to put something down or we won't get paid!" I replied, "So, you commit fraud to get paid?" Then I dropped a nuclear bomb. They're not smart enough to make a lot of money honestly, so they resort to being nothing more than a common criminal.

There are people that get into medical coding as a short cut to a decent paying job without a great deal of training. 18 months certification in some cases. I have two degrees in health information and everything from hospital inpatient down to ancillary services coding experience. So you can understand why I bristle when someone says my education is equivalent to going to cosmetology school.

 

[Codex]

No
Sometimes it's difficult to identify a bribe from a facilitation payment. They're both dodgy but one is controversial while the other is illegal ( in most 1st world countries).

Personally, I find it very off putting.

 

[Proctor]

Some really good replies here. I suppose it would depend on certain factors. For one, would the bribe be worth potentially sacrificing my career? A big risk would be in the briber trying to blackmail me after. If they're offering money to look the other way, then they're not the most scrupulous of people. It could easily turn around and bite me in the ass.

Even if they didn't try to blackmail me, they might see me as a contact. Someone whom they or others can approach in further dealings. Even refusing further bribes, it's easy for you to earn a reputation. And even if there's no proof, you're career is still over.

So the bribe would have to be substantial enough that I could walk away if things get sour. Or I would have to find a way to ensure my protection. Perhaps make everything anonymous or keep record of everything that happens so if I'm burned, the other party is too. Even then, there's all the stress and worry of being caught. At the end of the day I don't think it's worth it.

 

[Sil]

No.

The hypothetical forgets that the client knows what you did. I don't want a client that has that sort of info on me. Or deal with a client who thinks that sort of behavior works with me.

 

[Sil]

It's funny because it's so easy to say no when you're outside of a situation.

It's really not that hard. Have principles and stand by them.

 

[Raffaella]

Oh... well... I've bribed people on here. I don't think they knew they were being bribed but it worked, they did what was expected of them

 

[Ingrid in grids]

I'd have money, but they'd have all the leverage. They could keep making me do their bidding lest they expose me taking their bribes.

Accepting would mean I willingly put myself in a vulnerable position hurtful to both my integrity and potentially my career. Hell no.

Yup. Basically this.

However, I have no scruples whatsoever about offering bribes at work. I deal in bribes at work all the time.

I'm a nanny and sometimes bribes are the last card I have left to play.

 

[Cellmold]

Given the situation outlined in the OP, that of relative morality...which IS morality. Then it depends on how principled I am pretending to be at the time.

Frankly, like [MENTION=9335]Ingrid in grids[/MENTION] above me I also deal in bribes at work all the time, but they are not necessarily money. More often they are quick decisions around controlling the flow of people I am serving. If someone is a penny short do I hold the line up and become pedantic over this one point out of principal and consistency, or do I wave it this time because it will speed up the process?

Very often also you have to remember that just because you did this a few times, it doesn't mean you cannot say no another time, something which most people don't seem to agree on. But my view is that it is at my discretion and my judgement, by no means does this somehow create an obligation. You are at the mercy of my moods and they are unfair at all times.

That's human power structures for you.