c. 1999 Religion News Service
(Dale Hanson Bourke is publisher of RNS and accepts gifts of any value.)
UNDATED _ The unfolding mess surrounding the Salt Lake City Olympic bid is shocking to most Americans. Allegations of payoffs and”gifts”of real estate, scholarships and health care in an attempt to garner votes from members of the International Olympic Committee seems far outside the boundaries of ethical business practices.
How did the upstanding citizens of Salt Lake City lose their moral footing _ or did they?
Ask anyone involved with international transactions to tell you if they have been able to observe the same standards of ethics in their overseas business and they will probably laugh at the question.
The United States has the most regulated laissez-faire business environment in the world. While we extol the virtues of free enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit, we balance those tendencies (some would say we nearly suffocate them) with regulations, governing bodies and the courts.
And in addition to that, we assume a Judeo-Christian code of ethics prevails.
In some parts of the world our standards are curious. To some they are cumbersome. And in many areas of the world, observing American standards simply precludes doing business.
There are countries in Africa where even the most”ethical”person considers payoffs an expected way to do business. You can’t even enter some countries without a cash gift to a government official.
In many cases, it is viewed as we would think of a tip to a waiter or a Christmas present to the paper boy. It is an expected part of the relationship, often compensating for low wages.
Some Asian countries view giving gifts _ including prostitutes _ as a welcoming gesture to a visitor and would expect the same treatment when visiting another country. To not offer would be viewed as rude.
Thomas Welch, the former head of the bid committee for the Salt Lake City Olympics, has acknowledged that payments were made to certain IOC members, but”they were not bribes,”he was quoted as saying in a Salt Lake Tribune article.
Even those investigating the IOC don’t rule out the possibility that direct cash payments and scholarships might have fallen within the guidelines of the organization for acceptable gifts.
And the giving didn’t end once the vote was taken. A budgeted line item for the U.S. Olympic Committee was for lavishly entertaining IOC members during the Salt Lake City games.
IOC members _ even those not accused of wrongdoing _ seem generally comfortable being showered with attention and affection. They might not have expected bribes, but they sure expected a great deal of TLC.
When Americans do business on the international playing field they soon learn they are not playing by American rules. And when a truly international group like the international Olympic committee gathers, each member carries along the expectations of his or her own country.
Shocking as bribes may be in our culture, they are not”wrong”in many cultures. Regulated as gifts may be in this country, the more extravagant the better in other parts of the world.
The spotlight on the Salt Lake City Olympic committee only highlights an issue every international company must face. It does not mean American standards must become worldwide standards. Neither should we allow corruption to become the norm.
Instead of pretending this problem is only about the Olympics, the American business community must acknowledge the issue and help set international standards for ethical business practices that allow for cultural differences and local norms. And then Americans must recognize that holding to certain standards will have an economic impact on our country _ just as refusing to offer gifts probably would have lost Salt Lake City its chance to host the winter games.
DEA END BOURKE
