One person’s harmless inducement is another’s criminal bribe. With customs, mores and laws that vary by culture, what constitutes bribery in each business context is not always clear. Help your employees and protect your company by providing clear context and explicit rules.
I was out the other day and overheard a mother trying to coerce her son to get back into his pram so they could go home. “If you get back in your pram, I will give you another biscuit.”
The boy thought about it, weighed the pros and cons, got into his pram and duly received his biscuit. Does this constitute a bribe or an incentive?
A couple of days later, I was shopping in the local supermarket and saw a packet of chocolate with a sign that said, “New item, two for the price of one.” Again, is this a bribe or an incentive?
It occurred to me that from a very early age, we are exposed to bribes, incentives and forms of coercion. We use these to get children to do something we want them to do. The use of incentives is commonplace in business to coerce people into buying one product over another. We are surrounded by examples that the average person would loosely describe as a bribe.
As a result, we grow up being exposed to bribe-like activities — with…
