ABSTRACT
There are few issues in business ethics that are more clearly on the public agenda than that of corruption and bribery. This chapter considers first the concept of bribery and distinguishes it from gift giving. It identifies the inherent features of bribery and its typical effects. The chapter looks at bribery as a complex social phenomenon and confronts the paradox that although bribery is almost universally condemned, its practice is widespread. It points out some of the legal measures undertaken to discourage bribery and corruption more generally, emphasizing in particular the roles of international organizations and global conventions. Corruption in all its forms, including bribery, is by its nature covert, for which the now widely prescribed antidote is financial transparency on the part of business and government. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of the moral character of the different forms of corruption.
