Is Bribery Really Regressive - Essay Example

?Bribery – analysis of articles The three articles analyzed in this paper focus on bribery, as a phenomenon continuously expanded in countries worldwide. Two of the articles – the one of Martin, Cullen, Johnson (2007) and the one of Segon and Booth (2010) – refer to bribery as a business problem, while the third one – this of Hunt and Laszlo (2009) – refer to bribery as a social behavior. More specifically, in the study of Martin, Cullen and Johnson (2007) reference is made to the role of cultural influences in the development of bribery as a business practice; the empirical research developed on this issue – with the participation of 4,000 firms worldwide – proved that in certain countries bribery is considered as a business strategy. At the next level, Segon and Booth (2010) review the literature published on corruption and bribery as business phenomena; their study focuses on correction and bribery in Vietnam but reference is also made to these problems as parts of business operations in other countries internationally – for example Australia and Britain. A different aspect of bribery is examined in the study of Hunt and Laszlo (2009); the above researchers examine the level of bribery in public services of Peru and Uganda aiming to show the difference in the level of bribery between poor and rich people in the particular countries. It is noted that rich people are more likely to bribe compared to poor people; the cost of bribe for the latter seems to be higher – if taking into consideration the fact that poor people have to use almost all of their income when they have to bribe, while in rich people there is no such case. The methods used in the articles under analysis for reviewing and evaluating bribery as a business and social phenomenon, are differentiated. More specifically, the study of Martin, Cullen and Johnson (2007) focuses on the potential influence of national culture on bribery. Data have been gathered from about 4,000 firms internationally aiming to show that bribery can be influenced by culture and by institutional – drivers (Martin, Cullen and Johnson 1401). The characteristics of bribery as a social phenomenon are presented and analyzed; also, the relationship between bribery and the anomie theory is examined. Then, the hypotheses on which the empirical research developed for the study are presented. Finally, the data used for developing the paper are presented and evaluated; these data have been retrieved from the World Bank in 2000 – the sample of the countries participated reached the 80 countries; after using specific variables for choosing the material used in the article, the study’s sample has been reduced approximately by 20% (Martin, Cullen and Johnson 1408). The above data are analyzed using the hierarchical linear modeling. The results of the research are presented using appropriate graphs; also the implications of the research are highlighted aiming to ensure the credibility of the study. The study of Segon and Booth (2010) focuses on the examination of bribery as a phenomenon related to developing economies; in the above study emphasis is given on corruption and bribery as developed in Vietnam and the challenges that managers in firms operating in the particular country have to face because of the above phenomena. The literature referring to corruption and bribery in developing economies is critically reviewed; effort is made so that the causes of corruption and bribery are identify; moreover, the relationship between bribery and national culture is examined. The concepts of culture, corruption and bribery are carefully reviewed – referring to the relevant literature; particular emphasis is given on bribery and corruption as social and business phenomena in Vietnam. The above study is based solely on literature review – focusing on the issues mentioned above. Hunt and Laszlo (2009) try to identify the cost and benefits of bribery in regard to the income of poor of rich people in Peru and Uganda; in general the article aims to show the level of corruption in the specific countries but also to highlight the potential differences, if any, in the use of bribery between rich and poor in Peru and Uganda. Their study is based on the empirical research on data related to the above countries; in the case of Peru, the data gathered refer to the years 2002 and 2003 and have been retrieved through the household surveys developed in Peru in the above period; as for Uganda, the relevant data have been retrieved through the ‘Ugandan Second National Integrity Survey which includes the responses of 12,000 households’ (Hunt and Laszlo 9). Through the research developed by Martin, Cullen and Johnson, the following facts were revealed: anomie theory could explain the expansion of bribery in businesses worldwide; in any case, the level of bribery in a country’s firms has been proved as related to the conditions of the specific country – reference is made to cultural and institutional conditions (Martin, Cullen and Johnson 1416). Similar findings have been retrieved through the study of Segon and Booth (2010); through the literature review developed for the above study it was made clear that: bribery can be related to national culture; also, countries with strong moral values have been found to be less exposed to bribery; as for Vietnam, it has been made clear that the country suffers from bribery and corruption, two phenomena which are related to the high bureaucracy across the country (Segon and Booth 583). At the next level, in the study of Hunt and Laszlo (2009) the level of intervention of the state in business activities is highly emphasized; the above intervention is not direct but it is developed through the promotion of bribery, which has become a key aspect of business life internationally – referring to the bribery as a practice for dealing with public services. The data gathered for the needs of this study are many, and they have been are appropriately processed – using regression; then, the following assumption is developed: ‘the mechanisms through which income affects bribery are similar in Peru and Uganda’ (Hunt and Laszlo 24). On the other hand, it has been made clear that poor can use bribery at the same level of rich – even if in the case of the latter, the level of profit for the public official involved can be significantly high (Hunt and Laszlo 24). Another important finding of the above study is the following one: ‘the costs of bribery are mostly efficiency losses’ (p.4), meaning the damages caused in the national economy because of the expansion of bribery. The articles analyzed in this paper are characterized by certain implications. In the case of the study of Martin, Cullen and Johnson, the following implications would be highlighted: the data used in the research developed for the study mainly refer to medium and small firms; however, bribery is mostly related to large firms. Moreover, the national wealth of countries involved has not been taken into consideration even if the above factor highly affects the level of bribery developed in each country (Martin, Cullen and Johnson 1415). In the case of the study of Segon and Booth (2010) the following implication could be mostly identified: the lack of empirical research for verifying the findings of the literature review could threaten the credibility of the above study. At the same time, the potential role of bribery and corruption in the economy of Vietnam has not been adequately examined, despite the fact that the relationship between bribery and the national culture of Vietnam has been critically analyzed. The key implication of the study of Hunt and Laszlo (2009) is the following one: the study is highly based on empirical research leaving many gaps in the literature review sector. In this way, the credibility of the research can be doubted, expressing the personal views on corruption and bribes as developed in Peru and Uganda. Moreover, the lack of sufficient literature for supporting the issues discussed in the study would lead to the following result: historic events on which the evaluation of corruption and bribe in Peru and Uganda should be based, are often disregarded or not efficiently supported. The need for additional research on the particular issues is clear. Works Cited Hunt, Jennifer, Laszlo, Sonia. Is Bribery Really Regressive? Bribery’s Costs, Benefits and Mechanisms. May 4, 2009. Available from < http://people.mcgill.ca/files/sonia.laszlo/HuntLaszlonew.pdf> Martin, Kelly, Cullen, John, Johnson, Jean. Deciding to bribe: a cross-level analysis of firm and home country influences on bribery activity. Academy of Management Journal. Vol. 50, No. 6, 1401–1422 (2007). Available from < http://facstaff.uww.edu/parbotek/files/amj2.pdf> Segon, Michael, Booth, Chris. Managerial Perspectives of Bribery and Corruption in Vietnam. International Review of Business Research Papers. Vol.6, No.1, pp.574-589 (2010). Available from < http://www.bizresearchpapers.com/41.Segon.pdf> Read More